Line #38 Main/PlatonicBoyGirlHeroes


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6	It's common for children's authors and the creators of kids' shows to make the main characters of a story a girl and a boy. They could either already be friends at the start of the story, or they could meet as the plot unfolds. Sometimes [[FireForgedFriends they don't even like each other, but are forced to work together]]. Sometimes the differences between boys and girls create {{conflict}}. Either way, it's ''very'' common in fiction. So much so that, like all tropes, it's probably done for a reason, especially since in real life, most kids have primarily same sex friends.
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8	So why is it done so often in fiction?
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10	One reason is to [[MultipleDemographicAppeal expand the potential audience]]. While some types of stories appeal primarily to one sex or the other, there are many types of stories, such as {{horror}} or {{adventure}}, that have appeal to both sexes. To try to rein in kids who might not want to read a story about a member of the opposite sex, a character of their own gender is included. Sometimes a story that appeals primarily to one sex will include a character of the opposite sex to expand an otherwise limited audience.
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12	Another reason is because many authors simply like seeing the way kids react when paired up with the opposite sex. It can be fun to see the interactions of two people who at times see [[MarsAndVenusGenderContrast the opposite sex as being like space aliens]].
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14	While groups of friends may be a mixture of three boys and a girl or vice versa, or an equal mix of members of both sexes, that isn't this trope, despite often being done for the same reason. This trope only refers to when a single boy and single girl are the main characters of the story. Why? Because that's far less likely (unless they're siblings) than a group of mixed gender friends, and therefore more starkly obvious, [[TheLawOfConservationOfDetail more clearly done for the sake of the story]].
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16	Note that the relationship must be platonic. Romantic relationships don't count, since those involve a more believable reason for two opposite sex kids to get together. [[BrotherSisterTeam Siblings]] don't count either, since that's far more common in real life and less likely to feel "forced" for the sake of getting a girl and a boy together.
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18	This sometimes leads to a ToyShip from the fandom. Compare PlatonicLifePartners, which this trope also falls into if the boy and girl have known each other for a long time.
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20	Named after ''Blog/BloggerBeware'''s tally of the "platonic boy/girl relationship" in every single ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' novel ever.
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22	----
23	!!Examples:
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25	[[foldercontrol]]
26
27	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
28	* Most protagonists of Creator/StudioGhibli films are like this, such as Pazu and Sheeta in ''Anime/CastleInTheSky ''. The studio has an informal rule about keeping it this way in their projects aimed as kids because they see romance between the main two characters as trite and overdone.
29	* Played with throughout ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' in regards to Ash's female companions. While Dawn, May, and Iris fit the mold, some of his companions subvert this (Misty and Serena have overt crushes).
30	[[/folder]]
31
32	[[folder:Comic Books]]
33	* ''ComicBook/MightyJack'' has Jack and his neighbor Lilly working together to save Jack's sister Maddy.
34	* ''WebComic/ZitaTheSpaceGirl'' has Zita and Joseph, who, not including the aliens, are friends. Particularly before the adventure begins.
35	* ''ComicBook/TheAdventuresOfDAndA'' has Denise Dawson and Adam Anderson, who meet in the first story, and are best friends by the second.
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:Fan Works]]
39	* ''Fanfic/FlowingStar'' has Stella and Lincoln as the co-protagonists of the story, with the duo being neighbors and formed their friendship after she saved him from Chandler and his goons.
40	* ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainSeekerOfCrocus'' show Yuri (age 11) and [[Characters/InfinityTrainSeekerOfCrocusChloeCerise Chloe]] (age 10) like this with no signs of ShipTease at all. Amusingly, Chloe ''has'' been on a date with [[WesternAnimation/TheAmazingSpiez Tony Clark]].
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
44	* Unlike the book version, ''WesternAnimation/{{Coraline}}'' adds Wybie, a boy, who joins Coraline on her adventures. WordOfGod says this was done so Coraline wouldn't have to narrate to herself the whole time.
45	* The titular characters of ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'' are even more unlikely than usual, given that one's a genetic mutant alien.
46	[[/folder]]
47
48	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
49	* In ''Film/DinosaurIsland2014'', Lucas is 12, and Kate is 15, but there's no hint of romance between them.
50	* Film/TheAmazingPandaAdventure features Ryan Tyler and Ling, who are united over a panda cub and have very little romance apart from the very end.
51	* The lead protagonists of ''Film/BigFatLiar'' played by Frankie Muniz and Amanda Bynes. WordOfGod says this was deliberately invoked in the film as very seldom do you see this trope in live-action.
52	* The two primary protagonists of ''Film/TheKissingBooth'' and its sequels are high schoolers Lee and Elle, who have been best friends almost since they were born. It's emphasized that their relationship is strictly platonic, though no less meaningful to them. In fact, one of the recurring conflicts throughout the trilogy is their struggle to balance their romantic relationships and their friendship with each other.
53	[[/folder]]
54
55	[[folder:Literature]]
56	* ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' has kids of opposite sexes as the main characters all the time. The review site ''Blog/BloggerBeware'' joked about it happening OnceAnEpisode, which named the trope. Sometimes it's opposite sex kids who are friends, and sometimes it's [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]]: "Some people think it's weird for a boy and a girl to be friends." Sometimes a kid meets someone of the opposite sex and they get caught up in something big together, and sometimes the kid even dislikes the opposite sex, but they still get caught up in the adventure together. Although in at least one case, it was ''the villain'' impersonating the opposite sex friend, who didn't really exist.
57	* ''Literature/FourthGradeCelebrity'' has Casey, a girl, who has Walter, a boy, as her best friend, while she writes letters to a female pen pal.
58	* ''Literature/MyTeacherIsAnAlien'' groups Susan together with Peter, a nerdy smart boy she feels sorry for, and the two end up going on a mission to prove that their teacher is an alien.
59	* In ''Literature/EncyclopediaBrown'', two of the main characters are [[GreatDetective "Encyclopedia" Brown]] and his female bodyguard Sally Kimball.
60	* ''America's Most Wanted Fifth Graders''. A boy and a girl are best friends, and get caught up in a mystery together.
61	* Creator/CSLewis likes this one, using it in four of the seven ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' books:
62	** In ''Literature/TheSilverChair'', Eustace and Jill escape from their BoardingSchoolOfHorrors for a romp through Narnia. Puddleglum, a Narnian native, rounds out the PowerTrio.
63	** ''Literature/TheHorseAndHisBoy'' features the RebelliousPrincess Aravis and the peasant boy Shasta. While the narration states that they marry years later, they're too young and too busy for romance during the story proper.
64	** ''Literature/TheMagiciansNephew'' stars neighbors Digory and Polly, who decide to search a secret attic passage and accidentally stumble onto the titular magician, who sends them world-hopping for fun and profit.
65	** ''Literature/TheLastBattle'' brings back Eustace and Jill to witness the final days of Narnia.
66	* The two leads of ''Literature/TheSeventhTower'' are a boy (Tal) and a girl (Milla). They are working together more out of circumstance than anything, and for a fair amount of the series they don't actually like each other that much, and the one time the possibility of romance is brought up, Tal's reaction is that he's never even thought about it. By the end of the story they might charitably be called "friends", although "comrades-in-arms" is probably closer, and there's not a hint of romantic tension between them.
67	* ''Literature/TokyoDemons'' splits its story into the perspectives of the main protagonist Ayase Watanabe (who is focused on the superpower mystery side) and her schoolmate Jo Oda (who is preoccupied with the organized crime side). While both have their plots intertwined over the trilogy and they ultimately become close friends, both have their own sets of love interests and end the story in a {{Polyamory}} and in a committed relationship respectively. Series author Lianne Sentar explicitly stated that she didn't want her male and female leads to end up together just because they were the most prominent opposite sex pair.
68	* In the ''Literature/YoungWizards'' series of books, protagonists Nita and Kit are [[HeterosexualLifePartners best friends]] who happen to be of different sexes, and despite being brought together as a team by the Power of Heaven Themselves, face considerable misunderstanding from others, to the point that Nita's parents try to forbid them to see each other due to fear their relationship is sexual. (They're actually on a [[MissionFromGod mission from God]].)
69	* In ''Literature/{{Furthermore}}'', Alice and Oliver go through a standard SlapSlapKiss dynamic, but the only become friends and are not romantically involved. In the sequel, they both fall in love with other teens.
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71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
74	* ''Series/CloakAndDagger2018'' stars Tandy and Tyrone, who despite being teenagers growing close due to their WonderTwinPowers, never really have much sexual tension, and are romantically involved with other people for essentially the entire series. Their relationship is closest to that of siblings -- often at odds with each other -- once they start working together, despite what [[TrailersAlwaysLie the show's marketing]] would have you believe.
75	* ''Series/DeadtimeStories'' mostly uses large groups of kids of both sexes, which isn't an example of this trope. However, the episode "Revenge of the Goblins" has a white girl and black boy who are both friends, with no other friends being shown or mentioned.
76	* ''Series/OddSquad'' as an organization often features one boy and one girl as a partner duo, with the main ones being Agents Olive and Otto, Olympia and Otis, and Opal and Omar, among numerous others.
77	[[/folder]]
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79	[[folder:Western Animation]]
80	* ''WesternAnimation/BenAndHollysLittleKingdom'' stars boy elf Ben and girl fairy Holly.
81	* The two lead heroes of ''WesternAnimation/TheDreamstone'' are Rufus and his female best friend Amberley. They start off a straight case in the pilot, though many later episodes downplay them into {{Hero Antagonist}}s to the all-male [[VillainProtagonist Urpneys]].
82	[[/folder]]

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