Ho Yay / The iDOLM@STER

• In the main series, Haruka and Chihaya are often paired in official artwork. Thanks to Chihaya's voice actress liking Yayoi, Chihaya has been paired with Yayoi as well.
• Makoto x Yukiho is also a popular pairing in the main series.
• In-universe, Makoto has always been more popular with girls than with boys, due to her boyish looks. In the 2011 anime, the producer even forces her to play into the character even though Makoto became an idol specifically so she could wear girly clothes, as the latter is not what the fans wanted.
  • Episode 10 of the anime introduces Shinkan Shoujo as a rival group to 765 Pro. One of the members, Nozomi, quickly develops a crush on Makoto, crying after losing because she planned on asking Makoto on a date if they won. You'd think she assumed Makoto was a boy, but when another member, Hikari, points out to her that Makoto is a girl, Nozomi says she already knew.
  • In episode 15, Makoto gets to choose her own clothes during a variety show, and goes with a pink frilly dress, but the usually meek Yukiho excitedly makes her wear boyish clothes instead.
• Rin and Uzuki had always been a popular pairing, but the 2015 anime added even more fuel to the ship, with them meeting each other before meeting Mio, Uzuki becoming immediately interested in Rin, and Uzuki ultimately being the one to convince Rin to become an idol.
  • Rin, along with Mio, later help Uzuki regain the confidence to be an idol again.
• The anime itself launched a few ships, such as Mika x Miria, Miku x Riina and Minami x Anastasia.
• Thanks to the U149 manga and anime, another ship that rose to prominence is Risa x Haru, with Risa saying Haru has potential to be a great idol and Haru developing a sense of respect for Risa and for idols in general while the two train for their first job together.
  • Given Kyowno, U149's author, had drawn Yuri fanart of the series before, this might have been deliberate.
• Another already-popular pairing that gained more steam thanks to a spin-off/adaptation is Kaede x Mizuki, being the first two characters introduced in the adult idol-focused spin-off manga After20 and quickly befriending each other.
  • In the second chapter, Mizuki says she'll take care of Kaede.
  • In the eight chapter, a drunk Sanae convinces Mizuki to say "Kaede-chan" 10 times out loud. When Kaede arrives and answers, Mizuki is seemingly embarrassed, while Kaede thanks her for calling her so much.
• Atsumi Munakata, due to her outspoken love for breasts of all sizes.
  • She is mainly paired with Shizuku and Kurumi, and while she hasn't had many canon interactions with Kurumi (possibly due to Kurumi being unvoiced), she sings a duet version of "Shabon Song" with Shizuku.
  • Atsumi and Kurumi do appear together in the background of Eve Santaclaus's second SSR.