Vitriolic Best Buds / Western Animation

See the main page here.

---

• A good number of episodes of The 7D focus on the dynamic between Grumpy and Happy. At worst, the former finds the latter an intrusive nuisance who sings all the time. Otherwise, they get along pretty well and even have a few things in common.
• Grubby and Gimmick from The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin. Grubby is brutally honest and Gimmick is an Insufferable Genius, so they end up criticizing, blaming, and arguing with each other. But they still love and appreciate each other very much and would do anything for each other.
• Stan Smith and Roger the Alien of American Dad! are at each others throats constantly, mostly because of the fact that they are both considered to be Cloudcuckoolanders (with Roger being a bigger one than Stan), but they are decently good friends.
• Animaniacs likes the "one friend is friendly, the other is vitriolic" version of this trope.
  • Pinky and the Brain: The show's most famous example. Pinky's lack of intelligence drives the Brain crazy, especially when it interferes with his plans to Take Over the World. But whether he admits it or not, he really does love his goofball friend.
  • Rita and Runt: Rita constantly snarks at Runt's slow wit, but she's always there for him and wouldn't go anywhere without him.
  • The Goodfeathers: Squit is the constant target of Pesto's Hair-Trigger Temper, usually when Pesto misinterprets Squit's innocent remarks as insults, but they "stick together" anyway. Pesto also sometimes bickers with Bobby, who unlike Squit, gives back as good as he gets.
• This trope is arguably the dynamic on Aqua Teen Hunger Force, both among the Aqua Teens themselves and between them and their neighbor Carl. They're constantly making each other's lives hell, and Shake in particular is near-merciless to Meatwad, pranking him every chance he gets, and not-infrequently fatally. But there are moments of Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other sprinkled throughout the show, like Carl bringing Frylock a fruit roll-up after Shake and Meatwad die (They get better.), or Carl, Shake, and Meatwad all coming together to try to help Frylock and to emotionally deal with his cancer. If nothing else, they're still willing to live with each other (most of the time) and even purposefully hang out occasionally (although Carl usually has to be bribed with food or alcohol).
• Archer:
  • The eponymous egotistical superspy and Lana, possibly also his mother. He really does care about them, and they feel the same way, even if they'll never admit it and sometimes want each other dead.
  • Pam and Cheryl are a great example, bordering on With Friends Like These...; Pam didn't seem to care when she thought she murdered Cheryl, and once told her to kill herself as part of a tontine. They both openly insult each other and Cheryl has gleefully framed Pam to cover her own ass. Despite all of this, they're two of the only characters to hang out outside of work, and even seem to live near each other.
• Arthur: Francine and Muffy. Despite being best friends, they bicker frequently and have many Feud Episodes between them.
• Sparky and X-5 on Atomic Betty are always seen hanging out together whenever Betty isn't around, yet the two seem to drive each other crazy. However, they do at least have enough mutual respect for each other that they are willing to fight evil together and listen to Betty's commands.
• Avatar: The Last Airbender:
  • Toph Beifong is like this with pretty much everyone in the gang, but she seems to favor Katara in particular. She says as much in "The Ember Island Players", when she gives Zuko advice and then punches him.
    Zuko: Ow! What was that for?
    Toph: That's just how I show affection.
  • In a way, Zuko and Iroh. It's clear that the two of them care for each other, but Zuko frequently acts insulting, domineering, and snappish toward his uncle, while his uncle is seemingly oblivious. On the flipside, Iroh more or less constantly trolls his nephew. Granted, this fades away over time as Zuko undergoes Character Development and sees his uncle as his real father figure.
    • After Iroh devotes nearly an entire episode to interrupting Zuko's search for the Avatar solely to buy a new lotus tile to replace the one he lost:
      Iroh: Prince Zuko, you're really going to get a kick out of this. The lotus tile was in my sleeve THE WHOLE TIME! *big grin*
    • Which becomes some Fridge Brilliance later on when it becomes clear that Iroh is a member of the underground White Lotus organization, which uses the white lotus tile as a secret handshake...
  • After his Heel–Face Turn, Zuko with Aang. They do get on each others' nerves frequently, and Zuko, who is more glass-half-empty, often ridicules Aang for his idealistic views. However, they learn to appreciate their differences and are able to accomplish many things in doing so. In the post-show comics, things have soften up considerably and they have a brotherly relationship. Come the time of The Legend of Korra, 70 years later, Iroh tells Korra (in the Spirit World) that the two were best friends and that Korra should go seek Zuko's advice about what Aang would have done.
• The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes:
  • Hulk and Hawkeye.
  • In the second season, The Thing of The Fantastic Four and Hulk.
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold has Batman and Green Arrow as this as part of their not-so-friendly Friendly Rivalry.
• Dinobot and Rattrap from Beast Wars start off hating each other and argue constantly. The bickering continues after they grow close, particularly after Optimus forces them together to help save Rhinox. When he hears them still sniping each other later...
  Optimus Primal: It never ends, does it?
  • In fact, it's when one doesn't snark back that the other knows something is wrong.
    Rattrap: Y'know, I used to figure I had you pegged. "Oh yeah, he's a slag-spoutin' saurian, but at least you know where he stands". [sigh] Guess we live and learn...
    [Rattrap turns and leaves. It's here that Dinobot has his Heel Realization.]
  • Dinobot's last words were pretty much exchanging volleys with Rattrap and quoting Shakespeare.
    Rattrap: Like I said, you're just a blasted, slag-spoutin saurian, but, uh... but it's nice to know where you stand.
    Dinobot: Upwind of you for preference, vermin.
  • It's telling that each of them had an opportunity over the course of the series where they could have killed the other (Rattrap to Dinobot in Season 1, Dinobot to Rattrap in Season 2) and neither of them went through with it.
  • Notably, both characters are voiced by Scott McNeil.
• The Brothers Flub: Switches between Type One and Type Two. Fraz hates Guapo and blames himefor everything, while Guapo is either blissfully oblivious or he yells back at Fraz. However, the brothers have stuck together for many years, hardly ever leaving each other and Fraz even once called Guapo his "best buddy".
• The titular chipmunks in Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers are like this. Many episodes include at least one heated argument between them, usually triggered by the fact that Dale has said or done something foolish, prompting the more serious-minded Chip to berate him. These quarrels often involve Chip bonking Dale on the head or kicking him up the backside. However, the pair are close friends for all their squabbling, as Chip's reaction when Dale is captured by Fat Cat's gang as the result of a prank war taken too far illustrates.
• Code Lyoko
  • Odd and Ulrich, definitely. Emphasized most in "Killer Music".
  • Nicolas has actually slugged Hervé on at least two occasions, but they're still friends for some reason.
• Dan and Chris from Dan Vs.. Dan often drives Chris crazy with his various revenge schemes and Chris drives Dan crazy with his lackadasical attitude and gluttony, but the two are best friends.
  • In the Series Fauxnale, we actually see that they became "friends for life" at a summer cap run by a Social Darwinist counselor, where the two worked to take them and the rotten older kids down a peg.
• A one-sided case: Vlad Masters and Jack Fenton of Danny Phantom have this... Jack believes that Vlad's his "best bud" but Vlad actively wants to kill Jack. However, Vlad doesn't do much to disillusion the man, as Jack is an idiot savant and not even having not spoken to the man in twenty years seems to have dissuaded him from it. His put downs range from slamming the door on Jack after inviting the rest of his family into his home to "volunteering" Jack for a suicide mission. Sad, considering they really were best friends before the accident. And Jack never caught onto Vlad's hatred of him until the series finale, where Vlad finally spells it out for him.
• Daria and Jane, which become more blatant as the series progresses.
• Darkwing Duck:
  • This was the case between Darkwing and his next door neighbor Herb Muddlefoot. Herb is usually too friendly and Darkwing found it annoying most of the time, although there were a few times when he stuck up for the guy. (Biggest example: an episode where Herb proved himself SO dedicated to his job — selling kitchen storage products — that he stood up to the villain who was trying to ruin the company's good name. You have to admire someone like that.)
  • Darkwing has a similarly one-sided relationship to his sidekick Launchpad. Launchpad, being a Cloud Cuckoolander, gets on Darkwing's nerves a lot, but nobody is going to get away with messing with him. Launchpad rarely minds Darkwing's insults and is fiercely loyal to him.
• Drawn Together:
  • Princess Clara and Foxxy Love fall into this, which is mostly due to Clara's unconscious racism towards Foxxy and black people but they are good friends and Foxxy even went as far as infamously kissing Clara in the hot tub in the pilot episode.
  • Captain Hero and Wooldoor Sockbat also fall under this and Hero and Xandir sometimes behave like this as well.
  • In fact, pretty much every single houseguest fall under it.
• Frizz and Nug are often depicted as this in The Dreamstone, they bicker childishly on a frequent basis, but are pretty united about their contempt for their line of work and superiors such as Urpgor. Rufus and Amberley also have moments of this, albeit to a much lesser degree.
• El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera: Diego/Dr. Chipotle Jr and Sergio/Senor Sinestro are both dorks who are hopelessly in love with Frida, and have been shown to compete with each other over her. However, they are still the best of friends, trusting each other with their respective secret identities and working together to destroy Manny when they think he is competition for Frida.
• Eddy in Ed, Edd n Eddy acts this way towards his two friends. He often beats on Ed for whatever stupid thing the latter says or does, and often butts heads with Edd whenever the latter tries to warn Eddy of a certain flaw, which often results in the two arguing. This gets deconstructed in the movie when Edd and Eddy get physical and Edd even flat-out admits he'd rather face the consequences of his actions than be around someone who doesn't respects him as a friend. It was at that moment where Eddy finally admits that everything was his fault, causing him and Edd to reconcile at the end.
• In an episode of The Fairly OddParents!, Jorgen calls Cosmo and Wanda his two closest friends, which completely surprises them since in nearly every appearance he's made before and since he's spent it berating them and putting them through painful ordeals. He's also friends with Binky, which usually ends painfully for him. Being Jorgen's friend is generally painful.
  Jorgen: I don't have many friends, okay? I mean, you punch them in the face once and it's all, "Ooh, stop punching me!"
• Stewie and Brian on Family Guy. The two even have their own "Road to ..." episodes! Lampshaded in "Road to the Multiverse" when Brian and Stewie go to a version of Quahog where the US never dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Japan won World War II, resulting in them annexing the US:
  Japanese Stewie: I no like you, but I like you!
  Japanese Brian: I no like you, but I like you, too!
• The Fantastic Four (1978) showed this kind of relationship between the Thing and H.E.R.B.I.E., the latter being created for the cartoon to replace the Human Torch because of rights issues at the time. The two often mock and argue with each other, but they also regard each other as friends.
• Futurama:
  • Fry and Bender have shades of it. They are good friends but they do argue and disagree on things occasionally. Fry even admits this on two separate occasions in "The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz" and "Calculon 2.0," with the latter episode having him admit that the reason why they are not shown under this light very often is because of their mutual love for the soap opera All My Circuits. Fry and Bender even prove that the show glues their friendship by bickering Like an Old Married Couple.
  • Bender and Leela. The only thing preventing the two from leaving each other stranded to die a horrible interplanetary death are the two's feelings for Fry by proxy. That and keeping their jobs. Nevertheless, "The Honking" shows that Bender's feelings for Leela potentially rival even his bond with Fry, creating a platonic Love Triangle of epic proportions.
    Bender: I tried to run you over?
    Leela: It was very sweet of you, Bender.
  • Amy and Leela. Amy frequently insults Leela at the drop of a hat, but still goes out for drinks with her (although she'll still abandon Leela to go off for "coffee" with guys), and invites Leela to her wedding. In a deleted scene for "Kif gets knocked up a notch" Amy says she sees Leela as an older sister. In "The Butterjunk Effect", they both insist that the reason they constantly make jabs at each other is because of the fact that they're friends, and if they actually hated each other, they would be nice instead.
  • Zoidberg thinks that he has this kind of relationship with Hermes, but in reality Hermes just hates him and Zoidberg is too stupid to realize it (or is he?). Conversely, his long friendship with Farnsworth is a genuine example, as while Farnsworth may throw as many barbs at Zoidberg as anyone else, he does so with affection and has held him as a valued friend for many years, keeping him on the Planet Express payroll specifically because of that fact.
• Roy Rooster and Wade Duck from 'U.S. Acres/Orson's Farm' in Garfield and Friends. Although Roy's pretty much this to the rest of the cast, his friendship with Wade fits this trope much more (and more in the cartoon version.) He's always making pranks to scare Wade and other times they argue but there are other times where they act like real friends. Over the seasons their love/hate friendship evolved to the point where they had the closest friendship with each other, besides with Orson.
• The Ghost and Molly McGee:
  • Scratch, the eponymous ghost, accidentally binds himself to optimistic middle-schooler Molly McGee with a curse to follow her to the end of her days unless she leaves the house Scratch was haunting. Molly immediately declares Scratch her new best friend, and despite Scratch's best efforts he starts to grow attached to Molly.
  • A one-sided example with Andrea, who for the whole first season is treated as Molly's Sitcom Archnemesis...right up until the season finale, whereup it's revealled that she considers Molly her best friend and interpreted all their headbutting over the course of the show as this trope. Molly's extremely suprised when she finds out.
• G.I. Joe:
  • G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero had Leatherneck, a Marine and Wetsuit, a Navy S.E.A.L. They're constantly praising their own branches while snarking at the other, have come to literal blows over the slightest thing, but undeniably have each other's back such as Leatherneck getting poisoned by Serpentor where Wetsuit let himself get bit by Serpentor's pet to get an antidote. Upon recovering they returned to insulting each other as a sign of things being okay.
  • The G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 incarnations of Heavy Duty and Tunnel Rat. They refer to each other as "buddies", but they constantly get into fights and disagreements.
• Randy Hernandez and Dr. Mendel Craven in Godzilla: The Series, where they'll jab at each other over their favorite topics, comparing the proficiency of their computer and technological skills, and ideas on how to solve a problem. However, they always have each other's back when danger comes at either of them.
• Goofy and Pete on Goof Troop are a one-sided variety, with Pete being actively antagonistic or purposely using Goofy while Goofy remains blissfully oblivious to the fact that Pete is a jerk who doesn't like him and considers him his best friend. There are a few hints that Goofy does in fact realize that Pete is a jerk and just doesn't mind, sometimes Pete admits that he does actually sort of like Goofy, and their relationship is much better in the movies (except for Pete's parenting advice).
• Hey Arnold!:
  • Helga and Phoebe, though by the end of the show this was shown to be Helga being carelessly demanding rather than actively, intentionally controlling.
  • Grandpa Phil and Jimmy Kafka are best described as best friends who simultaneously like and hate each other. This is mostly because both of them are prideful, competitive, and incredibly stubborn. As a result, they spent decades not speaking to one another, a fact which both of them are shown to severely regret in the episode where he appears.
  • Dino Spumoni and Don Reynolds in "Dino Checks Out" and "Partners".
• The Tallests of Invader ZIM have something like this, constantly bickering and making jabs at each other. It's never explicitly stated what their relationship is, only that they became Tallest at the same time because they happen to be approximately the same height. But they do visibly dislike each other, even though they're together all the time and are often equally flamboyant and nasty.
• Uncle and Tohru in Jackie Chan Adventures, especially in the episode, "The Demon Behind".
  • More like Uncle and everybody.
• It depends on the writers but on default The Misfits from Jem are this, at worst they only seem to be together because they're bandmates. They constantly bicker and fight but several episodes show friendship between them, especially Stormer and Roxy.
• Jimmy Two-Shoes:
  • Samy is Lucius' Yes-Man whom he treats like garbage. However, Lucius states in "Best Bud Battle" that Samy is his best friend. Though he seems to bemoan even having friends. This may be based in a technicality, since Samy is also Lucius' only friend (or at least the closest thing to one).
  • Beezy and Heloise's relationship swings between this and outright enemies depending on the episode. The two are frequently at odds with each other (usually over Jimmy), but they still frequently hang out together and will - at Jimmy's urgings - help each other out of their respective jams regardless.
• Hawk and Dove from Justice League Unlimited are brothers that fall into this territory. The first being a hot-headed sulist who loves fighting and the second a very politically aware Technical Pacifist.
  • The show has quite a few including Black Canary and Huntress, Vixen and Hawkgirl, the Flash and Hawkgirl, the Flash and Green Lantern John Stewart, and Hawkgirl and John Stewart.
• The four main characters from Kaeloo. They mercilessly rag on each other sometimes to the point where it could be considered bullying, they engage in acts of violence with each other, and they often throw each other under the bus. A special mention goes to Mr. Cat and Quack Quack, since Mr. Cat is an Ax-Crazy psychopath and Quack Quack often finds himself on the receiving end of abuse with actual weapons such as chainsaws and bazookas. Yet, when push comes to shove, they're willing to stand up for each other (especially when someone else is targeting one of them) and often show that they really do care about each other. Sometimes they even say they see each other as a family.
• On King of the Hill, this is Hank Hill's relationship with...well, pretty much every character who could reasonably be called a friend. No matter how much they piss him off, he does whatever he can to keep them out of trouble, and there's no one they'd rather have looking out for them.
  • Played straightest with Kahn Souphanousinphone, Hank's Laotian neighbor. Kahn does little but insult Hank and his friends as uncouth hillbillies, but occasionally shows that he likes and respects Hank. He even calls Hank his best friend in one episode, to the latter's astonishment.
• In The Legend of Korra, Korra and Mako's relationship eventually settles into this. It starts off as Belligerent Sexual Tension, and although they give a romantic relationship a shot, the "Belligerent" part doesn't go away, leading to a messy breakup. They end up working things out, and they remain close, platonic friends. This doesn't stop them from bickering almost non-stop with each other.
• Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck of Looney Tunes. Daffy also with Porky Pig and Speedy Gonzales.
  • Foghorn Leghorn and Barnyard Dawg, if the short "Feather Bluster" is any indication.
• Aargh and Slobulus from the Madballs animated series are presumably intended to be close friends, but they often get into arguments, particularly about which of them is the Madballs' biggest fan.
• The Loud House has Lori and Leni Loud. "Friend or Faux" reveals the two eldest Loud siblings to consider themselves the best of friends, above even some of the other friends they've been seen to have. Yet they are always fighting over dresses and items of clothing. This is especially interesting as while Lori is shown to sometimes be ill-tempered with everyone, Leni is usually the Nice Girl of the show, and is shown in one episode to bend over backwards for the sake of her friends. Yet Lori is someone she will show more hostility towards, possibly because people are naturally kinder to strangers. Despite their scuffles, they still love each other and usually get along.
• The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack: Captain K'nuckles and Bubbie constantly fight and yell at each other a lot throughout the show with Bubbie constantly berating K'nuckles for some of the advice he gives Flapjack and for his poor decision making skills and K'nuckles in turn constantly gets agitated at Bubbie for her constant nagging and yelling at him. While K'nuckles would constantly shark at Bubbie, Bobbie in turn would do things to K'nuckles that he sometimes didn't even deserve such as forcing him to swim back to Stormalong Harbor by himself from many miles away for no reason and stinging him with mute jellyfish when she didn't believe his statement that Flapjack lied to him. However they both are committed to helping Flapjack out in any bad situation he gets in.
• Skwisgaar and Toki from Metalocalypse. Skwisgaar almost never speaks to Toki except to insult him, yet Toki seems to hero-worship the guy. A few episodes even imply Toki has a crush on him.
  • To the point that in the Season Finale of the first season, when they are about to get killed together, Toki says he always hated Skwisgaar, and Skwisgaar responds with the words "I knows, Toki, I knows". They are said in a loving tone instead of a hateful one, practically proving this theory right.
  • Also of note, in the episode "Tributeklok", Toki is revealed to be a member of the Dethklok tribute band 'Thunderhorse', as Skwisgaar. He explains: "I'm not payings tributes to myself because in Thunderhorse I'm Skwisgaars!"
  • Hell, the entire band is pretty much like this with each other most of the time (when they're not hiding the fact that they really do care about each other), with Skwisgaar and Toki being the best in-group example.
• Vinnie Dakota and Balthazar Cavendish from Milo Murphy's Law, also a classic Slobs vs. Snobs Odd Couple. Cavendish is frequently condescending toward Dakota, who is actually the more competent member of the team and gets a huge kick out of needling him, but has broken the rules to save Cavendish's life hundreds of times at enormous cost to himself and without ever telling him, for no other reason than that "he's Cavendish; what're ya gonna do?" For his part, Cavendish respects Dakota far more than he lets on.
• Muppet Babies (1984): Piggy and Skeeter, the only two girls in the nursery, are prone to bickering and sometimes catfighting, but like all the babies, they really are friends. Piggy and Gonzo are also a one-sided example: Gonzo drives Piggy crazy, especially when he tries to flirt with her, but she still admits that she loves him as a friend.
• My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
  • The Mane Six often get on each other's nerves with both their flaws and viewpoints, but when the bets are off, they're definitely there for each other.
  • Applejack and Rarity are regularly downright friendly with each other due to their similar responsibilities, but their competitive and prideful natures sometimes pushes them into this kind of relationship.
  • Apple Bloom has shades of this in her relationship with Sweetie Belle — they'll regularly argue, mock each other, and bring up each other's most embarrassing moments, but if one of them needs help with something important, the other is always there.
  • Twilight Sparkle has shades of this with Rainbow Dash. Given that Twilight is probably the most deadpan of the snarkers, and Rainbow does the most of the things done without thinking (as well as the nerd-jock stigma), they both like to rib on each other from time to time. However, both of them respect each other and their abilities (Rainbow thinks Twilight has awesomeness during "Castle Sweet Castle") and know they can depend on each other in a crisis.
  • In Season 9, Grogar seems to be aware of this between the other villains, which is why he persuades them to join forces with each other.
• In Numberjacks, Three and Four are often at odds with each other. Four is frustrated with Three constantly mucking him about and Three is frustrated when Four is going on about technology or just boring her with facts. But, Three often shows the most concern about Four when he's in trouble and vis versa.
• Phineas and Ferb:
  • Baljeet and Buford. They sing a musical number called "Frenemies" about their relationship in one episode and there is an entire episode about them "breaking up" after Baljeet realizes Buford could track him by a GPS, which proves to be Baljeet's last straw, which causes Buford to work with Doofenshmirtz before they reconcile.
  • Perry and Doofenshmirtz sit directly at the intersection of this trope and Friendly Enemy, veering further into the former as Doof nears his Heel–Face Turn.
• Occasionally, Popeye and Bluto were depicted this way. The best example is "Fightin' Pals", which starts off with the two of them exchanging "playful" punches just as Bluto is heading off to explore Africa. When months pass and Bluto doesn't return, Popeye heads to "Darkesk Afrikey" to find his old pal. Driving himself to exhaustion, he finds Bluto... surrounded by lovely native girls, living in a tropical paradise. When Bluto sees Popeye on the brink of death, he hauls out a can of spinach and revives him. The two exchange polite greetings... and proceed to start beating the living crap out of each other, laughing all the way.
  • An Al Brodax Popeye cartoon had Popeye and Brutus starting out fighting over who will take Olive's picture for a fashion magazine cover. While they fight, Alice the Goon shows up and paints a very abstract picture of Olive, who loves it. Popeye and Brutus see it and start laughing at it. Olive smahes the picture over their heads, calling them uncouth. As they leave:
  Brutus: I'm not uncouth. I'm couth!
  Popeye: So am I. Real couth!
  Both: ( to the last line of Popeye's theme) 'Cause we're real couth fighting men!
• Pororo the Little Penguin has the entire cast.
• Squirt and Niblet from The Hub's Pound Puppies. They usually get along fine and interact like good friends. But the episode "Homeward Pound" tested their friendship when they ended up lost in the Canadian wilderness. Squirt took charge and ordered Niblet to follow, but soon, they started to argue and split up. They ended up rekindling their bonds at the end, though.
• Miss Finster and Miss Grotke in Recess. The latter thinks of the former as her friend, though most of the time she's shown not to like her that much. Though there's the occasional Pet the Dog moment between the two of them.
• Regular Show:
  • Our main duo, Mordecai and Rigby themselves spend a lot of time bickering, making fun of, punching, generally making each other miserable For the Lulz, and calling each other losers but are also inseparable life long best friends who would literally go to hell and back to save each other.
  • The main duo also develop this kind of relationship with Muscle Man and by extension, his best friend High-Five Ghost. Though Muscle Man has an obnoxious personality, and constantly makes jokes and perfoms pranks at Mordecai and Rigby's expense (along with everyone else for that matter), they gradually hang out more and more due to their similar interests and Muscle Man being genuinely cool guy beneath it all.
  • They also develop this kind of relationship with their manager, Benson, who has a Hair-Trigger Temper and can be a downright Mean Boss to them, not helped by Mordecai and Rigby's regular lazy and reckless antics constantly frustrating him. But overtime, it's made clear everyone at the park have become True Companions, these three included, and they will stick together when things get rough.
• Rugrats: Angelica with the rest of the kids on the show, especially with Susie Carmichael. However, given Angelica's mean and bossy personality, Susie's probably the closest thing she has to an actual friend outside of Tommy, Chuckie, Kimi, and the DeVille twins.
• The Simpsons:
  • Homer is this to Ned Flanders. Homer insults Ned, steals from him (even to the point of breaking into his house!) and continually wishes him harm. Yet, when it comes to helping Ned through his anger issues, rebuilding his house after a hurricane, saving his business by drawing in potential customers, helping him find a new wife or showing him how to have a good time, Homer is always there for him.
  • Bart and his (mostly) Apathetic Teacher Edna Krabapple, had developed a relationship like this, thanks to Bart's anti-authority streak and Edna not taking his crap, they constantly gave each other a hard time, but it was clear that they did genuinely care about each other and would try help if the other was really feeling down. Perhaps worth noting is that after Edna died with her voice actress, Bart can be seen writing a final farewell to her on the chalkboard, in place of his normal gag in the opening.
  • Bart's relationship with Nelson is perhaps best described as this; While Nelson started out as merilly The Bully towards Bart and the other kids, as his character has evolved he was shown to be a close friend of Bart as often as he is shown to be an enemy.
  • It's probably safe to say that most of Homer and Bart's strongest relationships have some element of this in play, including (naturally) the one they have with each other. Bart's open disrespect and Homer's dysfunctional parenting constantly put them at odds, but they have a lot in common, are always down to engage in the other's Zany Scheme of the week and enjoy each other's company, often even when they're verbally and physically tussling.
    Bart: (pausing for breath as he and Homer are beating each other up) You see, this is the stuff Mom won't do with me.
  • Professional Butt-Kisser Principal Seymour Skinner and his ever-critical superior Superintendent Gary Chalmers became this as time wore on, being frequently seen spending time together and participating in shared projects from Serious Business attempts to deal with Bart Simpson to a joint film distribution venture called "Chalmskinn Productions."
• Brainy and Clumsy are like this on The Smurfs (1981); Brainy really isn't any nicer to Clumsy than he is to anyone else, but for some reason, Clumsy still considers him his best friend, and is willing to stick his neck out for him in the worst of times. In fact, Brainy does sometimes wonder just what he ever did to earn such loyalty from him, as proven from one episode where Clumsy saves him from what Brainy calls "the second worst situation they've ever been in." (Naturally, this causes Clumsy to ask what the worst was, and Brainy recalls an incident the previous summer with Azrael... And guess who shows up five seconds later?)
• South Park: Stan, Kenny, and Kyle's relationship with Cartman. They love and hate each other because Cartman is a sociopathic, deranged racist who makes everyone do his work. As Chef puts it, Cartman is "their friend, whether they like him or not."
  • Lampshaded in one episode where a formerly homeschooled kid with no concept of male friendships begins hanging out with them. He mistakes the boys for bitter enemies, and they are forced to give him a lesson in "guy talk" (a.k.a. the art of harmlessly insulting someone you actually like.)
  • Similarly, in the episode where Token gets upset about being 'the only rich kid in town', the boys explain to him that they all rip on each other all the time. Like they rip on Kenny for being poor, or Kyle for being a Jew, or Stan for being in love with Wendy, or Cartman for being fat, or Cartman for being stupid, or Cartman for having a whore for a mom, or Cartman for being a sadistic asshole...
• A one-sided case in SpongeBob SquarePants. SpongeBob is utterly convinced that Squidward is his best friend while Squidward makes it obvious he's anything but.
  • Except for whenever Squidward assumes SpongeBob is dead, and then he mourns him. When SpongeBob inevitably comes back, Squidward reverts to being a jerk, but we all know as annoyed by SpongeBob as he is, deep down, he likes him.
    Squidward: SpongeBob, no matter what I've said, I've always sort of liked you!
    SpongeBob: Squidward, I used your clarinet to unclog my toilet!
    Squidward: Huh?
  • Another telling example is when Mr. Krabs sells SpongeBob into damnation with the Flying Dutchman for 62 cents, and Squidward is genuinely shocked and angry.
  • Also, when Squidward moves to a gated community where sponges and starfish aren't allowed, Squidward ends up trying to escape because he missed Spongebob (and because he was bored of every day being exactly the same).
  • A memorable example occurs when SpongeBob and Squidward go through hell just to deliver a pizza, and when they finally reach their destination, the customer rudely rejects the pizza all because they forgot to bring him a drink (which he didn't even order), causing SpongeBob to break down in hysterical tears. Squidward weakly tries to cheer him up, but proceeds to angrily march back to the customer and slam the pizza in his face.
  • Then there's the climax of "SpongeBob, You're Fired", where a costumed Squidward rescues SpongeBob by beating down the restaurant owners who kidnapped him, then returning him to the Krusty Krab. Followed by this touching statement:
    Squidward: You know I hate you, right?
    SpongeBob: Yes. Yes I do.
    Squidward: Well, I hate the smell of burning Krabby Patties even more. Please come back and be the fry cook again.
• Star Wars Rebels: Zeb, Ezra, and Chopper. Though all three pretty much constantly bicker and rib each other (usually involving two ganging up on the third) they have each other's backs when it really counts. Zeb even develops Big Brother Instinct for Ezra, in a "the only one allowed to mess with you" way. Eventually Ezra also develops this type of relationship with Sabine.
  • Chopper also develops this dynamic with AP-5, an equally grumpy and cynical Imperial protocol droid who defects. The two basically serve as the show's Anti-Hero Substitute for Artoo and Threepio.
• Steven Universe:
  • Steven regards Lars, a snarky, surly teenager who works at Beach City's local donut shop, as "basically my BFF", even when Lars is teasing him about having a crush on Connie in "Bubble Buddies". On a rare few occasions, Lars seems to reciprocate that friendship, or at the very least appreciates that Steven considers him a friend.
  • Pearl and Amethyst squabble frequently, but they're quick to put aside their differences and work together to accomplish their missions or help Steven, and there's even signs that they really do love one another as family (such as Pearl giving Amethyst a comforting hug in "On the Run").
• Super Noobs: Memnock and Zenblock had this kind of relationship that was most prominent in the first half of Season 1 and peaked in "A Noob Divided Cannot Noob". They both blamed each other for tons of things such as their mistake of selecting the noobs and constantly bickered, jabbed at, and blamed each a lot in many childish ways but are still good alien warrior buddies and always have each others backs in fighting the virus.
• The 1987 version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles features Shredder and Krang as the vitriolic best bad guy buddies of the show. Their constant old married couple like spats towards each other automatically puts them on this list as they argue constantly but work together when they attempt to take down the turtles.
  • In almost every incarnation of the franchise, Raphael's best friend Vigilante Man Casey Jones. The two usual meet because they fight each other, then they bond and become this trope. The two still have Hair-Trigger Tempers, though, meaning that they snark at/fight each other fairly often.
• Teen Titans: Raven and Beast Boy fit into this trope quite nicely and are (eventually) incredibly close friends, but usually they show it through sarcastic quips and the occasional fight. Of course, an awful lot of shipping-enthusiastic fans regard this as Belligerent Sexual Tension. Word of God admits that Beast Boy and Raven were purposely written to be like an old married couple but are platonic.
  • Beast Boy has a slightly friendlier version with Cyborg; the two are usually inseparable, but they still rib each other on a regular basis. For example, in the episode "Bunny Raven, Or, How To Make a Titanimal Disappear", Beast Boy has been hexed by Mumbo so he can only turn into inanimate objects such as telephones. When Cyborg hangs up on him and cracks "At least we finally have a way to shut him up," BB turns into an air horn and makes the loudest possible noise right in Cyborg's face.
• Various engines of Thomas & Friends are known to have their quarrels and laugh at each other's misfortunes, but when it comes down to it, they are still shown that they are good friends and help each other out no matter what.
  • Gordon and James would often bicker and tease each other for their mishaps, although this is only because the two have equally haughty attitudes. However, they are still seen hanging out with each other along with Henry in their Freudian Trio. Henry is also this towards them, too.
    • Let's just say James has this sort of relationship with a lot of engines.
  • Thomas and Percy have their moments of arguing and teasing each other since both tank engines share the same cheekiness and mischievous nature, but aside from that, the two always look out for each other and are really the closest friends of the series.
• Buck Tuddrussel and Larry from Time Squad. Larry frequently is very kind to Tuddrussel with his actions (much less with his words), cooking him meals, cleaning his weapons, sewing clothes for him and, according to Otto, disinfecting his underwear. Tuddrussel usually shows no gratitude whatsoever — in one episode, after exclaiming that "since Larry cooked us such a tasty dinner, I'll now amuse him with some anecdotes" takes out a diary he stole from Larry's room. However, Larry isn't blindly devoted to Tuddrussel whatever venom he spits at him; they regularly participate in old-married-couple-like quarrels, mainly throwing insults at each other, though sometimes Larry complains about being overworked and underappreciated. Usually Tuddrussel will reply telling him that he's just a robot and he's supposed to do what robots do. Larry then goes on about how he can't believe he is just a robot to Tuddrussel, and how he has dreams, needs and feelings too. But they have moments of Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other (usually then spoiled by Tuddrussel, but not always) and blatant Homoerotic Subtext.
• Tom and Jerry:
  • Depending on the Writer Tom and Jerry themselves can be this. Some shorts portray Tom as genuinely wanting to certainly kill and possibly eat Jerry, and/or Jerry as wishing to inflict as much sadistic torment upon Tom as possible, but just as many have them mutually enjoy their feuds and willing to go out of their way to rescue their counterpart from any scrapes. Of course, even when this tropes is in play, other cats are still usually fair game to Jerry, and other small, cute animals for Tom. These rules hold pretty much entirely constant bar intentional subversions where the whole gag is based on the out-of-character nature of the act.
  • The 1975 H-B reboot started this way and eventually made them Heterosexual Life-Partners.
  • And if not with Jerry, Tom has this relationship with Butch.
• Total Drama:
  • Noah behaves this way towards Cody, Eva, Izzy, Owen, and Katie and Sadie. If he's given someone an insulting nickname, chances are they've somehow made it into his good books.
  • Chris and Chef bicker constantly but are still partners-in-crime who love making the contestants miserable.
  • Ella in the Pahkitew Island season, believed that she had this kind of friendship with Sugar as even though Ella is often nice towards Sugar and wants to be friends with her, Sugar often berates and makes fun of Ella for her constant singing. Eventually Ella learned that she was totally wrong when Sugar causes Ella to be eliminated from the show.
• Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race:
  • Gerry and Pete, two lifelong tennis rivals who constantly insult and sabotage each other but are still fast friends.
    Gerry: We're both very competitive, but for half a million each? Game on!
    Pete: Maybe we'll even get some new sponsorships. If anyone needs a pitchman for senior laxatives...
    Both: Call his agent!
  • Chet and Lorenzo. They are step brothers who happen to become family by the marriage of their parents but they hated each other guts and constantly bickered and squabbled with each other while calling each other immature names. They got better at being friends after eventually realizing that they both had more in common with each other than they previously thought.
  • MacArthur and Sanders also fall in this trope as it takes form of Sanders giving out warnings to MacArthur but she does not listen to Sanders and they sometimes bicker. However, they do care about each other and MacArthur even goes as far as picking Sanders up and taking her to the chill zones when Sanders cannot keep going.
  • Jacques and Josee, the ice dancers are the main antagonists of the race but there were times where Jacques decides to put his foot down on Josee's bad behavior in the race and in turn, Josee indirectly abuses Jacques as she often insults him and indirectly causes him to get injured a lot.
• In Transformers: Generation 1, this seems to be how Tracks and his human friend Raoul relate to each other.
• Optimus Prime and Sentinel Prime's relationship in Transformers: Animated is another one-sided example, as Optimus is at best tolerant of Sentinel's Jerkassery (He's still willing to cover for his mistakes, even when he deserves what he has coming for them.) Although this is implied to be as a result of the events that led to Elita-1's "death".
• In Voltron: Legendary Defender, Lance and Keith eventually develop into this. While they argue a lot, they still come to each others' aid and admit that they make a good team.
• The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald: Hamburglar and Birdie are friends in spite of their tendency to bicker and get into squabbles.
• The eponymous Wander of Wander over Yonder is friendly and nice to just about everyone... even people who seem to hate his guts, especially Lord Hater.
• From Winx Club we have:
  • Musa and Stella because of their Betty and Veronica dynamic. Stella is girlish and struggles to sort her priorities while Musa is tomboyish and hot-headed. It's made worse by the fact both of them are very passionate about their opinions and tastes. They are still very good friends and rely on each other when it matters, though. And both have mellowed to each other over the course of the series.
  • From season 4 onwards, the two who clash the most are Layla/Aisha and Stella seeing they are each other's Foil. Stella absolutely loves the perks of being a crown princess — the classy, exquisite gowns and the out-of-a-fairytale balls, while also enjoying partying, shopping, and flirting as if there were no tomorrow. Layla/Aisha, on her part, thoroughly hates the prim and proper lifestyle of a princess and, though she can be well-mannered, feels like all of that is a farce that only serves to cage her. Stella and Layla/Aisha are capable of working well together and have offered comfort to each other, but they often bicker and argue before nearly every decision.
  • The Trix can be nasty and competitive towards each other, sometimes even hurting each other's feelings, but, at the end of the day, they still see themselves as a Coven and sisters (even if not blood-related). When they disagree, they still follow each other and, if they leave, they leave together. With an exception with Tritannus, but Icy makes it up for Darcy and Stormy afterward.
• Xiaolin Showdown:
  • Jack Spicer and Wuya do a lot of old married couple bantering throughout the show but they still remain partners in crime when attempting to steal the shen gong Wu and trying to take down the Xiaolin Monks.
  • Omi and Raimundo fall into this as well. They fight and make fun of each other all the time, but they're arguably the closest of the monks. When things get serious they'll show their brotherly bond (i.e. Omi being the main monk to want to help Raimundo when he's possessed by the Shen Gong Wu and being the only to actually get through to him, Raimundo being adamant in saving Omi from Chase Young and crying when the group realizes they have to leave Omi behind).

---