Homoerotic Subtext / Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage!

This feeling... The feeling that I love Haruka-chan, I want it to reach her!

An: Did I tell you what Kohane did the other day?
Akito: Not that I really care, but did you know you're always talking about Kohane?
An: Am I? Well, all you ever talk about is Toya, so I guess we're even.
Akito: *surprised* ...Do I really?

With Colorful Stage! having an Improbably Female Cast and remarkably close bonds between the few male characters, there are numerous examples of Homoerotic Subtext.

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Akito and Toya

Akito and Toya supply the bulk of subtext for the male cast, thanks to their extremely close partnership that has existed for years before the story starts.

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• Akito and Toya are an Opposites Attract kind of pair, as nearly everything about them makes them Foils to each other, from their different personalities to their interests to their taste preferences to what they're good at and fail at to how they handle and react to situations. Even their color motifs, which are orange and blue respectively, are complementary colors.
  • This even extends to their appearances, as Akito has orange hair and both sides of Toya's hair are different shades of blue. As well, Akito also has multi-colored hair like Toya, with his implied-to-be-dyed pale blond strands swept in the opposite direction that Toya's half-dark blue hair goes into the pale blue.
• Every time Akito introduces himself and Toya to someone new, he nearly unfailingly introduces Toya as "his partner" before telling them what Toya's name is. The only time he doesn't is if Toya introduces himself first.
  Akito: This is my partner, Aoyagi Toya.
• According to an official guidebook, Akito is the one that picks out Toya's clothes for live events.
• Toya's boost item is a pair of microphones, one with an orange highlight (Akito's character color) and one with a blue highlight, referencing back to the fact that he sings alongside Akito.
• In the main story, the temporary disbandment of BAD DOGS and their eventual rejoining almost reads like a couple breaking up and getting back together after realizing they truly love each other. The fact that they only broke up in the first place because Toya pulled a Break His Heart to Save Him doesn't help matters. As well, Akito becomes uncharacteristically dejected after being "dumped" by Toya, so much so that An and Kohane, their rivals at the time, begin to worry about him. Their rekindling in 19 is especially passionate.
• After going to tell Ken his plans following the BAD DOGS break up, Toya tells Ken to take care of Akito.
• Akito and Toya have a Love at First Note-esque scenario in the main story flashback, as Akito knew immediately that he wanted Toya to be his partner after first hearing him sing. The players learn later that this was after Akito had rejected numerous other offers to become his partner from other people because he didn't want to work with anyone that was half-baked.
• Akito is the only Vivid BAD SQUAD character that isn't present in Toya's "Relaxing Cafe Break" 3☆ card illustration. In his place, there appears to be an orange cat that bears a striking resemblance to him, with olive green eyes and a primarily orange fur pattern. Even better, the cat appears to be watching over Toya from the background◊.
• This exchange between Tsukasa and Toya in Toya's "A Bond Between Siblings" side story.
  Tsukasa: I've been thinking you've been laughing a lot lately. I used to try a lot of things to make you laugh... Now it looks like I don't have to anymore. [...] You are like a little brother to me and my second biggest fan after Saki. I must thank Akito for giving you such a smile.
  Toya: [...] I am also very grateful to you, Tsukasa-senpai. As I told you before, it was Tsukasa-senpai who gave me a chance to meet Akito.
• There's the fact that there's a Toya cameo in over half of Akito's cards as of July 2022. Of all the pairs in the game, Toya is the most reflected character from a pair due to the amount of times he's appeared in Akito's illustrations.
• According to the official "Fun-Filled Summer Festival" 4koma◊ released after The Sounds of a Summer Festival! event, one of the exciting prospects of the summer festival for Toya and Len is learning about what Akito was like in elementary school. Their mental image of an elementary school-aged Akito is surrounded by Love Bubbles and sparkles.
• This dialogue between Akito and Toya in Toya's "One day, again..." side story (JP).
  Akito: Look, those guys are worried too.
  Toya: It's no good, I won't say it.
  Akito: Huh!? *gets closer to him* why you! Them aside, you can tell me as a partner.
  Toya: That's not true. I won't tell you because it's you.
  Akito: That's why! Why the hell is that?
  Toya: *internally* I don't need to put into words that you're the best partner.
• There's the ending choreography of "Fragile" where they do the "Ne, watashi to ikitekureru?" movement from "Romeo and Cinderella's" 3DMV. They also tend to do a lot of pointing at each other in 3DMV's beginning from "Fragile", which fans have deemed "gay pointing".
• The 3DMV for "Cinema" has the pair pausing mid-choreo to stare into each other's eyes. The "Colorful Live" performance trades this moment for Akito reaching out longingly for Toya.
• In fact, Akito in particular doesn't appear to mind being physically affectionate with Toya even in the games event stories, as there has been more than one instance of him playfully tackle hugging Toya, much to Toya's surprise every time it happens.
• Their Kizuna Rank titles for each other are pretty shippy, being "A Partner I Have Faith In" and "I Want To Stand By Your Side". Toya also has a Kizuna Rank title with Len that references Akito (and Rin, from Len's side) that says "My Partner Is Important", though the line could also translate to "Take good care of your partner". ^note "相棒は大事に"
• The 3DMV for "Mirai" has Akito and Toya fondly reaching out to each other and the ending choreography becomes very shippy. As well, there are Another Vocals for both of them, which can be interpreted as them singing the song about each other.
• This official 1-koma which is pretty self-explanatory.
• Toya's 2021 Birthday 4koma.◊
• An Ode for the Pure of Heart features some more ship tease between the pair:
  • In episode 1, Toya and Akito discuss going to MEIKO's cafe together to try out her new extra whipped cream menu item after practice, only for it to be broken off because Saki asked Toya to replace Tsukasa as a wedding extra at the venue, which Akito seemed particularly annoyed about. Akito relents after seeing how determined Toya is to fill in for Tsukasa and literally gives him permission to go (jp). He also grumbles about Tsukasa making trouble for Toya, once again showing his protective side.
  • Akito shows his protective side again in chapter 5, snapping at Rui to "not make Toya do anything weird" when Rui "jokingly" mentions a stunt that would involve Toya soaring in the sky.
  • In chapter 6, Toya thinks to himself that Akito would be better suited for playing the role of the man proposing than he would.
  • In episode 8, Toya promises to make up their missed cafe visit by treating Akito to pancakes after school, which ends up being the basis for Akito's untrained illustration◊. It looks more like the two are on a date than anything.
  • When discussing Kohane meeting up at their usual practice place alone, Akito says there's no point in texting her and telling her to meet them at the chapel because who would want to come to such a place at short notice? When Toya points out that Akito came when he asked, Akito insists that it was because Toya texted him saying it was an emergency.
  • The aftershow has Akito and Toya performing "Fragile" in Toya's wedding tux from the event.
• Akito's third-tier Kizuna Rank titles with An. For most paired characters, the third tier of the titles is usually something concerning their relationship, what they have in common, or their dynamic with each other. Instead of being about the relationship, their third-tier Kizuna Rank title says "My partner is the best!", concerning Kohane for An and Toya for Akito respectively. You could say they have loving their partners in common.
• Akito, Toya, and KAITO were the stars of a cover of 'Ifuudoudou', a straight-up Intercourse with You song. What makes it fall into Homoerotic Subtext is the fact that the original song is about women recounting their sexual encounters. Colorful Stage! doesn't alter the lyrics at all, leaving in the unsubtle references to the singer having their body stained with "that overflowing fluid" and being penetrated in there for the male characters to sing. Tsukasa and Rui get in on it as well when they're added to the cover for April Fools' Day.
• Akito is rarely ever depicted blushing, but one of the few times he's been shown doing it is after being playfully teased by Toya.
• According to The Gentleman Thief's Thrilling White Day!?, Toya was one of the people Akito gave the chocolates he made to on White Day.
• Before he was made aware of Toya and Tsukasa's relationship to each other, Akito showed tinges of jealousy whenever Toya displayed any signs of closeness with Tsukasa. Once Toya clarified that they're Childhood Friends and that Tsukasa helped him break out, the action of which lead to Toya and Akito's meeting, Akito warms up to Tsukasa a little, ultimately being thankful for Tsukasas involvement in Toya's life.
  • Before the 2022 "White Day" event, the only times Akito has been shown agreeing to help Tsukasa with anything is when Toya is involved (and even during the "White Day" event he only helped begrudgingly because there were sweets involved). For instance, whenever he's invited to something by Tsukasa and Rui, he only attends if Toya does. As well, a recent area conversation has Akito leaving when Tsukasa asks him for a favor... only for him to come back when Tsukasa clarifies that it's for Toya. Tsukasa was also able to lure Akito out of his hiding place in the classroom by sending Toya in for him in one side story.
    • In general, Akito is shown to be particularly protective of Toya, especially when Tsukasa and Rui are involved, which explains his wariness of leaving him alone with them. He even says as much in one of his April Fools' Day 2022 home screen lines.
• Ringing Sounds at the Summer Festival has Akito realize that if it weren't for Ena encouraging him to pursue music after he lost interest in soccer, he wouldn't have met Vivid BAD SQUAD. What makes this Hoyay is the fact that he remembered Toya separately from An and Kohane when this revelation hits him, implying that Toya is individually important to him. Because of course, he is.
• Along with being protective, Akito is by far the most lenient when it comes to doing things that Toya wants even if he isn't particularly interested in doing it himself. For example, he was adamantly against becoming an extra in the wedding event during A Song of Pure Vows for You, Dressed in Pure White, particularly because of Rui's involvement. However, he quickly changes his mind because of Toya's passionate speech. There's also him tagging along with Toya to anything that involves Tsukasa because he knows that watching Tsukasa's shows makes Toya happy.
• An Area Conversation has Toya becoming depressed after not being able to place what he saw different about Akito when examining him, as he noticed that this is something An and Kohane are often able to point out in each other as partners. Akito reassures him that he was surprised that Toya noticed anything different about him as he just trimmed his bangs a little more than usual, to Toya's delight.
• Akito apparently talks about Toya so much that he's known to Akito's classmates as "Aibou-kun" ("Partner"-kun). Mizuki and Ena also referred to Toya as such before getting to know him, as they knew about him through Akito.
• Despite not being particularly close with Ena herself, she is one of the few people Toya refers to by their first name rather than their last because she's Akito's sister. In other words, a sense of familiarity because she's his partner's family...?
  • Speaking of Ena, Ena's birthday line for Toya in 2022 was her asking him to take care of Akito while smiling. For a lot of people, it came off as though she approves of their relationship.
  • Toya's birthday line to Ena in 2023 is just him talking about her brother rather than anything about her birthday, leading to many people commenting that he treats her as if she is his sister-in-law.
    Toya: Ena-san, Akito has always been a great help to us. I'm truly indebted to him for everything he's done. Please let me say this again, happy birthday.
• Toya's 2022 Birthday card art raised many eyebrows due to heavily incorporating Akito's color palette along with Toya's, particularly in the jewel he was wearing that had a blue-to-orange gradient◊. What makes it extra suggestive is that in the card Toya is wearing a suit and holding a bouquet much like a groom, and the Japanese fanbase was quick to point out that many of the flowers featured on the card translated to love in flower language.^note For example: his bouquet contains a white ranunculus which means "pure love" and the bouquet contains three flowers which usually means "I love you." The background has four roses which means "we will not be separated." Far in the background has wisteria which symbolizes love in Japan. The card also features pansies which can mean both love and forbidden love.
• During "Project Sekai Wondershow Channel #20", it was announced that Akito and Toya would cover "Aun no Beats", a song about the end of a romantic relationship, either because one of the people involved died, or they moved on from it, but either way it's clear that the other singer (or singers) still has love for the other despite knowing that their love is over. It's one of the few SEKAI covers in the game to explicitly be about a romantic relationship, making the fact that it's covered by two male characters all the more surprising. Or perhaps not, considering the amount of Ship Tease between them. The song lyrics and how notably affectionately they're sung are especially questionable. Even more notably, it's the first in-game cover the two had gotten since "Fragile", which was released around the game launch, where it's just the two of them dueting without KAITO and Len singing alongside them.
  Akito: Why do I want to love?
  Toya: Why do I want to be loved?
  Akito: Don't worry, I'll make you smile
  Toya: I held up my heart to you, return it someday, be gentle, okay?
  Both: We were going to be together forever, we were going to be together forever
• The set of cards from The Vivid Old Tale gives even more subtext for the pair.
  • Akito's "One-Act Training in the Morning" trained card has Akito making a bouquet of sunflowers, with three placed on a newspaper along with two other flowers. Toya's 2-star from the same set has him holding a bouquet of two sunflowers wrapped in a newspaper while thoughtfully smelling one he pulled from the bouquet. As with previous uses of flowers in cards, the bouquet has a very hoyay-laden meaning in flower language with a bouquet of three sunflowers meaning "a confession of love." The art team must have known how that would have been interpreted.
  • Not to mention the pair are wearing matching rings on the same hand, something fans were quick to point out.
  • There's also Akito's untrained which features An and Kohane stretching while Akito and Toya sit side by side getting ready to train. Seems normal enough.. until you look at the background and see the pair of birds cuddling up to each other. Perhaps the birds were added to further emphasize the feeling of "partnerships".
  • There's also Toya's second side story in which he has a heart-to-heart with Arata Tono. The two talk about their feeling toward Shibuya, with Arata being conflicted about how he feels because of the good and bad things that have happened to him there, leading to this exchange:
    Arata: A lot of things that I took for granted were suddenly destroyed and disappeared... Really, a number of things. (...) It was necessary to look back eventually. Especially since I've been abroad for a while and I'm away from here.
    Toya: For singing training, right?
    Arata: Yes... But now that I think about it, there may have been a reason why I didn't want to be here.
    Toya: *sad* (If I were in the same position... It may be unbearable for me to continue singing alone in this city without Akito)
  • Toya's reasoning for liking Shibuya is also given, as he explains that it gave him a home when he had nothing, and allowed him to meet his partner who shared the same dream. For that, and because Akito and the rest of Vivid BAD SQUAD make him feel recognized by those that are like him, the city has become irreplaceable for him.
  • From the same side story, Akito catches Arata and Toya at the very end of their conversation and asks them what they're doing together with a noticeably moody tone. They for some reason decide to hide what they were talking about from him, much to his pouty exasperation.
  • An and Toya's Area Conversation about why they chose to go to Kamiyama High School also trickle in a bit of hoyay, as Toya had used his connection to Tsukasa's family as leverage to get into the same school as Akito:
    An: What about you, Toya? You're smart so you could have gone to a good school, right?
    Toya: Well, my parents recommended some schools, but I had originally decided on this school. Akito also said he'd apply here.
    An: But, your dad, how was he okay with that?
    Toya: Because Tsukasa also applied here. When I said I wanted to attend the same school as him, he allowed me to.
    An: ...What, just because of that?
    Toya: (...) My father's family is acquainted with Tsukasa's parents, and they seem to place a lot of trust in the Tenma family. Thanks to them, I can attend the same school as Tsukasa and Akito, and I am enjoying my school life very much. I have to thank the Tenma parents for that.
• Toya's status as a Morality Pet to Akito is often played up in the story, with Toya being the only character that can make Akito bend to doing things he otherwise has no interest in doing. For a particularly notable example, in Toya's "Handling the Puyos at Lightning Speed" second side story, Akito claims that he won't take any more Print Seal photos due to finding them embarrassing, only for Toya to become dejected as he wanted to take more photos as a group. Akito is visibly conflicted after seeing Toya's reaction, leading to this exchange:
  Akito: Damn. I ain't doing it again.
  Toya: Eh?
  Akito: Huh? You, don't tell me you were thinking of doing it again?
  Toya: Yeah. Since it was just the two of us last time, I thought next time we could do it as a group just to have a common experience and image. (pouts)
  Akito: ..... (conflicted)
  Kohane: Uhm, I'd kind of like to do it as a group too. Aoyagi-kun is right, we can have the same experience.
  An: Well, since your partner wants to do it, why don't you join him?
  Akito: Uu... (looks at Toya)
  Toya: (flashes Puppy-Dog Eyes)
  Akito: ..... One day, when I feel like it.
  Toya: Yeah! Thank you, Akito!
  • According to Mizuki's birthday card side story, Akito only participated in Mizuki's party because Toya was going to. In a previous birthday home screen dialogue, Toya's participation in Rui's party is also why Akito attended.
• In Toya's side story from close game/OFFLINE, Toya's idea of a perfect team name for him and Akito is one that takes from both of their names. He ends up coming up with "Yanagi to Kumo" ^note "Willow and Clouds", which comes from the second kanji in their last names.
• Akito's "Together with the Plushies" card features Akito with a bag of plushies but what's notable is that he has two sea slug plushies in his and Toya's image colors implying that Toya won them matching plushies.
• An Animedia interview notes Toya has a desire to become Akito's "strength".
• In Toya's "An Honest Stomach" second side story, Akito and Toya discuss meeting Arata's former partner Souma with KAITO and Len, leading to this exchange:
  Len: When I heard that story before, I thought about it a lot. "If Rin can't sing with me anymore, I'm going to do it for her!", is what I thought.
  Akito: .....
  KAITO: It's painful to even imagine....
  Len: Yeah... that's why I think it's great to sing with the dreams of your loved ones on your back.
  Toya: Yeah, I think so too. Just like Tono-san, I got my dream from my partner.
  Akito: Toya...
• Akito and Toya appeared in both of each other's Summer Campaign Photo interacting in some way.
  • The first photo is a group photo where they're tasting shaved ice for Ken's new menu item. Akito gets a brain freeze and Toya is shown reaching out to him in concern.
  • In the second photo, Akito and Toya are having a meeting in crase cafe... but it looks more like they're on a "business" date.
• The Toya-focused event Walk on and on gives several moments of ship tease:
  • When Toya expresses regret over the fact that he hasn't been able to make a song that he and Akito can sing yet since they partnered up as BAD DOGS, Akito reassures him that he was intending to wait forever until Toya can make something that he was proud of.
  • In chapter 8 when Toya begins putting his feelings into the track he was making, he reflects on everything he and Akito have done together and says that he trusts him more than anyone else.
  • The banner's words are in their character colors◊.
  • Akito is in both of Toya's untrained◊ and trained illustrations◊.
  • In the "From on a Perch" gacha set the characters wearing black (An and Kaito) are on the ground level, while the characters wearing white (Toya and Kohane) are suspended in cages. Akito who is wearing black appears in Toya's cage which is visibly damaged unlike Kohane's, implying that Akito broke into the cage to be with Toya.
  • Toya's unlock outfit "Melody Walker" has a single dark gray wing on its back, with the other wing coming from Alt Color 2◊, which is Akito's Orange character color. Notably, Toya's wing set can't be completed with Alt Color 3 and 4, as 3 has a white wing on the wrong side, and 4 is on the right side but is a lighter shade of gray.
  • The wings on their outfits heavily allude to the hiyoku bird, a one-winged bird that can only fly when it meets its soul mate and is commonly associated with love and marriage.
  • The wing positions match where the birds landed on their shoulders in Toya's trained illustration.
  • The birds featured in their cards are crows, which are socially monogamous and mate for life once they've found their bonded partner.
  • After some mutual mentoring between himself and Souma, Toya is triggered to compose a song that reflects how he feels toward Akito as his partner. After the group listens to Toya's new track, he gives Akito this speech about how important he is to him that almost reads like a Love Confession.
    Toya: I consulted with someone to make this composition. I owe it to him that I was able to make this track. But it's not just that person. I have Akito to thank as well.
    Akito: —Me!?
    Toya: Yes. While making the song, I was thinking about everything I've done so far. I'm here now because you found me after I threw away classical music and sang alone. When I worried that I didn't have a right to sing with you, you said "You can stand by my side". If you hadn't said that, I might have abandoned music altogether. But that didn't happen because you were there to connect me. I realized how happy I would be to sing next to my partner, even now. I was able to make this track because I wanted to be a partner that could stand shoulder to shoulder with you for the rest of my life. (fist bump) Akito, you are the best partner I could ask for.
    Akito: Geez.. That's my line.
    An: Huh? Akito, are you happy?
    Akito: [shyly] Shut up.
  • Toya's card name is "From now and forever" referencing the speech he gave to Akito. As well, upon obtaining this card from the gacha, Toya says the line "You are the best partner I could ask for".
  • The master full combo number for the event song "Utsuro wo Aogu" is 1112 which is Akito’s birthday.
  • Akito's card is titled "How we spend our days off" with the skill name "A Day without An and Kohane". While these are already questionable on their own, Akito's first side story starts off with Toya making sure Akito doesn't push himself too far with solo practice again.
    Akito: Tomorrow we're gathering for practice earlier than usual. Is that okay?
    Toya: Yeah, I'm not going to stay up late. Don't worry. It seems like you've been coming much earlier than the practice time to do more solo training, though. Don't push yourself too hard.
    Akito: It's nothing to worry about. If I overdo it, you'll be worried again. Besides, you're working pretty hard yourself by adjusting the track and practicing every day. I can't lose either.
  • After witnessing the above, Kotaro says what the readers are thinking:
    Arata: It seems like Toya's hard work has got Akito-kun on fire.
    Toya: Then, so am I. I want to do the same as Akito.
    Kotaro: These guys, they're kind of...
  • During the bridge of the event song "Utsuro wo Aogu", the individual members of VBS start singing lyrics that reference the names of their partners.
    Akito: I'll howl out so as not to be agitated ("aorarenai you ni tooboe wa") - Aoyagi Toya
    Toya: I'm sure we'll survive this night ("shinoida your ga kitto bokura") - Shinonome Akito
  • An Area Conversation between Akito and Toya reveals that Toya revealed that Akito likes sweets and pancakes to Souma while talking about the things they like. Even when Akito isn't around he finds an excuse to mention him.
• Vivid BAD SQUAD 1st Connect Live Crash delivers a bunch of Hoyay for Akito and Toya throughout the three full concerts:
  • While not as dramatic as An is with Kohane, the pair doesn't seem to be very concerned with the concept of personal space and spend a decent portion of the concert invading each others. There were also a few instances in which Akito would rush to the other side of the stage to stand beside Toya, or call him over to his side, and they would be very close to one another every time. For example◊.
  • Even outside of the live performance for "Cinema", they spend a good portion of the concert staring into each other's eyes. They would also call out each other's names during various breaks in the performances.
  • Toya joins in on teasing Akito about his love of pancakes when An starts it, much to Akito's embarrassment.
• The Animated videos for "Gunjou Sanka" and "Journey", which recap the main story and event stories leading up to the first and second anniversary respectively (save for a few recent events like Walk on and on), pile on the past subtext between the two:
  • From "Gunjou Sanka", which recaps the main story:
    • Toya and Akito's break-up is animated, and Toya's Bad Liar trait is well-translated despite him being portrayed as The Stoic, as he half-heartedly avoids eye contact with Akito and turns his head the entire time Akito's shaking and shouting at him.
    • On Akito's end during their fight, most fan art portrayed Akito as grabbing Toya by his arm or shoulder as he walks away from him, which would explain why Toya was prompted to say "Let go of me". In the animated trailer, however, it's shown that Akito wasn't afraid to get up close and personal with Toya, as instead of doing as described he grabs him by his shirt with both hands and is only a few centimeters from his face◊ as he shouts at him and shakes him with distance only widening when Toya half-heartedly leans and looks away from him.
    • The scene where Akito makes a desperate dash to WEEKEND GARAGE◊ after hearing Toya give his reasoning for leaving him over Ken's phone is also animated, as was their reconciliation◊.
  • From "Journey", which recaps Vivid BAD SQUAD unit event stories up to The Power Of Unity:
    • This was Akito's reaction to hearing Toya sing uninhibited for the first time in Nocturne Interlude◊.
    • And then there's Akito and Toya singing together as Toya looks over at Akito with a rainbow lighting effect over him◊.
• Akito's "The Loud Cheering Full of Excitement" side story implies that Ena learned about Toya's food preferences from him. Toya's 2022 birthday card side story confirms this.
  Akito: (referencing Ena treating Toya to cookies after he helped her) By the way, you're always using me for stuff. If you do something for Toya, why don't you do something for me?
  Ena: Eh, what? Do you want something? Hmm, then shall I buy something for you? Look, that okonomiyaki looks delicious, doesn't it?
  Akito: That's not what I meant... Well, it's okay so (...) I'll get what I can get.
  Ena: I see. So choose quickly. Pork balls? Squid balls? — Oh, Toya-kun doesn't like squid, does he? (asking for confirmation)
  Akito: Yeah... with pork.
  • Toya's 2022 birthday card side story confirms this, as Mizuki tells Akito that Ena learned about Toya's love for cookies through him.
• In the 2nd Anniversary Connect Live, the invasion of personal space and staring at each other continues. Toya even makes Akito embarrassed when he praises him.
  • In the second verse of Machi, Depending on the performance (as there were two different ones), Akito guides Toya up to the center of the stage with his hand extended. In the other, Toya waits for Akito to come to the center with him.
  • Akito looks at and holds out his hand directly to Toya as he says "karakara ni kawaku nodo no oku tsuyogari o kainarashita". ^note "In the back of my parched-up throat, I tamed my desire to appear strong."
  • And then after Toya's verse, the group breaks up and they run off together to greet the crowd.
• The end of "DAYBREAK FRONTLINE"'s 3DMV has Akito and Toya bring back their "gay pointing".
• In the event story Scream!? Welcome to the Wolf Forest, Akito and Toya mysteriously disappear from the event after chapter 4 as the chase sequence to search for An, who was accidentally scared off by Kohane in a wolf mask, begins. They don't show up again until chapter 7, with no explanation for where they were or what they were doing until Kohane's "I Will Protect You" side story. As it turns out, Akito and Toya briefly stopped searching for An and Kohane to visit Airi and Shizuku's classroom, where they tried the curious sweets the class offered, such as gyoza-shaped cookies and sushi-shaped chocolates, and the pair happily recounted the experience. After that, they continued their search for An and Kohane but were able to enjoy the atmosphere of the cultural festival while wandering from classroom to classroom. When An is annoyed that she and Kohane apologized so profusely for their antics despite Akito and Toya still being able to enjoy the cultural festival, Toya almost smugly reassures her that that was why they told them not to worry about it.
• About a week after An and Kohane got the Another Vocals to "Awake Now", a song about their relationship and the issues they faced, Akito and Toya got the Another Vocals to "Gekkou", which is in part about someone feeling like they're being left behind by another person.
  Your back is moving away from my hand again
  Without paying attention to my red eyes
  You, stood next to me, were so far away
  I hadn't been able to see even dull dreams anymore
  But still, I kept on chasing your back
• In Akito's Birthday 2022 side story, Vivid BAD SQUAD and the Virtual Singers got together to get a present for Akito's birthday, and decided on track shoes after remembering Akito saying he wanted a pair. In the end, they had a hard time deciding which pair he would like the most, and it was Toya who instinctively guessed (or as he said "had a gut feeling about") the exact pair that Akito wanted and chose it for them.
  • Toya was the one who gave Wonderlands x Showtime all the information they needed for their "Lord of Vivid BAD SQUAD" play for Akito's birthday, starting from his and Akito's first meeting right down to the formation of Vivid BAD SQUAD.
  • On another note, after An gives the final SEKAI birthday congratulations, Toya is the only one who is shown smiling at Akito, while the other characters are in groups of two (An and Kohane) and three (Miku, Rin, Len, and Meiko, Luka, Kaito).
  • Akito's 2022 Birthday Gift that players can order has two Willow-Leaved sunflowers in the bouquet◊. These are called "Yanagiba Himawari" in Japan, with Yanagi being the alternate reading of the second Kanji in Toya's last name "Aoyagi" and both translate to "Willow". In the flower language, one of the meanings of the flower is "I'll be by your side", along with meaning "shining future", and "yearning".
• One of Akito's default poses in official art is leaning on Toya with one arm. For two◊ examples◊.
• In Chapter 7 of THE POWER OF UNITY, KAITO makes an observation about Arata Tono, who he had watched from Akito's pocket earlier, saying that while Arata has a different vibe from Akito and Toya, they are very similar in that they love their partners ^note He uses "Daisuki" here and want to surpass RAD WEEKEND.
• According to Kohane's "Pretty Bridesmaid" side story, Akito is less than enthused about the idea of helping out An and Kohane at the wedding chapel if something were to go wrong with the shooting, despite Toya's innocent insistence that it would be a just in case scenario. Mind you, this is after they knew that An would be posing as a bride, so Akito knew what he would potentially be in for if he went and wasn't interested in it. Humorously, An outright says she doesn't want it to happen either.
• Toya's "The Aoyagi Household's Christmas Party" trained illustration appears to cram in as many references to Akito as possible without physically putting him in the card.
  • There's a primarily orange cat nuzzling comfortably in his lap. The cat bears a striking resemblance to a cat that had shown up in Toya's "Relaxing Cafe Break" 3☆ card◊, which also appeared to stand in for Akito in his absence. Another hint that the cat is meant to represent Akito is that both it◊ and Akito◊ have similar content expressions.
  • A closer look at Toya's trained illustration reveals that there's an overlay of the area that Akito is in on his card.
• Akito and Toya picked out both MEIKO and KAITO's 2022 birthday gifts together. KAITO's gift was a pair of shoes, while they picked out a spice rack for MEIKO. Sounds a lot like couples shopping...
• In the Akito-centric unit song "Kashika":
  • Akito and Toya have yet another dedicated moment where they stop dancing to point at each other in the 3DMV. The camera even fixes itself at a far away position so it can be seen.
  • Toya has the second most sung lines after Akito himself, continuing the trend of singing a lot in each other's songs.
  • Ryo Haruka's (the song's producer) PV for Kashika adds an extra meaning to both the song and the gacha set that goes with the event. The PV shows two people that need each other to be complete and live, forming an anatomically correct heart in the process. Akito and Toya's shirts in the gacha set are red and blue, the same colors as arteries and veins respectively. With Akito holding his heart, and the cord to his microphone resembling a blood vessel. Drawing a direct comparison between Akito and Toya, and the two characters in Ryo Haruka's PV.
• Toya's birthday in 2023 brought plenty of ship tease for the pair:
  • In the side story for Toya's card, Akito reassures that Toya will always be his best partner. An even calls him out on being embarrassed, but Akito blames it on her adding a weird preface to his message.
    An: Happy birthday! Here's a word from your partner! Go, Akito!
    Akito: Hah? Ah, well... i guess we don’t need to do anything special right now. Toya, happy birthday. You are and always will be my best partner.
  • The Virtual Live was brimming with subtext:
    • For starters, the song performed was Fragile.
    • After the performance, Toya thanks Akito for choosing him as a partner.
    • He then concludes that the feeling he has when he sings with Akito is a feeling of gratitude towards the other.
    Toya: What I feel when we sing together is surely a feeling of gratitude towards you.
    Akito: No... well, that might be true...
    Toya: It's not a "might be", that's what it is. That's why— thank you, really, Akito. Let's keep singing together.
    Akito: You... how can you always...
    • Vivids and Miku enter the stage after this, and the latter teases Akito about him being embarrassed. Akito acts as if he doesn't know what she's talking about, until Toya tries repeat what he said, when he quickly tries to shut him up. Miku then asks the audience if they heard it, so Akito turns to the audience and tells them that they didn't hear anything.
  • Akito's menu voiceline wasn't light on the Ship Tease either:
    Akito: Toya, here. Your birthday gift. It's nothing much, but... Well, I'll be in your care from now on too.
• In part one of the “A Way Out Can’t be Seen Anymore” side story, Akito is alone on the rooftop with worrying thoughts. Despite them not agreeing on having lunch together, Toya seeks out Akito and shares onigiri with him. Toya told An in an area conversation that he normally eats bread for lunch, but sometimes he’ll bring onigiri as a surprise to Akito.
• In Akito's Colorful Festival card story, he gets amnesia upon entering his Fragment SEKAI. His memories return when Len tells him that he doesn't have to struggle alone, the exact same thing Toya said to him in chapter 6 of STRAY BAD DOG. In fact, Toya's words are quite literally the first thing that he fully remembers, followed by the speech Toya gave him chapter 7 of the aforementioned event.
• Akito and Toya end up in different classes as second years, but while Akito complains that it will be difficult to pick Toya up for lunch, Toya sees the bright side, saying that if they were in the same class, he would just talk to him all the time while smiling.
• In another story, Toya arrives to pick up Akito for lunch, and the two leave together as Nene and An look on. Nene muses on how the two are the same as always and wonders if they ever run out of things to talk about because they are always together, to which An responds that they will not.
• In Akito's Brand New Style story, Akito goes to Toya's classroom to pick him up for lunch, to which Mizuki remarks that the two are as close as ever (for Akito having come for Toya) and explains that they were having a friendly conversation. When Akito asks if Mizuki has eaten yet, Mizuki responds that they don't want to interrupt Akito and Toya's fun (as in them eating together as they always do), to which Akito responds bluntly, "then go eat by yourself."
• Both of Toya’s “A Fleeting Rest” side stories center around Akito. The part two side story features a flashback of when Toya first performed with Akito and the heat he felt singing alongside him. In the present, Toya thinks about how Akito lit a fire inside him and how he was able to continue singing because Akito was right next to him.

  Toya: My role is to make the fire Akito lit even bigger.

• In an area conversation, Akito notices that Toya overslept because his hair is out of place and suggests fixing it for him.
• In ''Journey to Bloom: RESOLVE'', we get to see Akito and Toya's reunion animated, and it once again shows how close Akito is willing to get to Toya, grabbing his jacket and pulling Toya closer to him to the point they're almost within kissing distance of each other.
• Toya’s "feat. Pochacco" untrained card◊ shows Akito and Toya both carrying plushies from crane games, giving the impression they’re on a date.
• The "Beyond the way" 3DMV has Akito and Toya gesturing to each other a few times. The biggest moment is near the end of the song where they stand back-to-back and then turn to gesture each other while Toya sings “As we run, our backs together are growing hot.” This choreography is likely a nod to a section of choreo from Fragile.
• In the final VBS Archive wherein Toya and An cover Yoake to Hotaru, Toya talks about how he relates to the song, mentioning how his life changed after meeting Akito.
  Toya: There was a time where I used to feel suffocated. However, after meeting Akito, I started singing and was able to find a dream I wanted to pursue and teammates I could pursue it with. When I thought about this, I was able to convey my feelings [in the song] clearly.
• Toya agrees to be Kohane's model for the photography contest in the Take the Best Shot! Valentine's-themed event, with his only condition being that they split the prize so he can give some of the chocolates to Akito.

An and Kohane

An and Kohane are perhaps the most prominent example of this trope. They become extremely close during the main story and are incredibly affectionate with each other, with the game still continuing to pile on the subtext of their relationship.

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• In the unit story, An remembers Kohane's face after she initially shows up at WEEKEND GARAGE, singling her out as a "cute girl" since the cafe doesn't often get customers like her.
• An is always openly affectionate with Kohane, which Kohane seems to enjoy despite being embarrassed by it. As well, their partnership has been integral to An's character development from the main story onwards.
• An and Kohane have quite a few pieces of official art that feature them holding hands.
• Chapter 8 of Singing in Sync has a confrontation between An and Kohane that plays out similarly to a love confession scene, right down to An and Kohane blushing at each other, An saying she wants to be with Kohane forever, and Kohane accepting An's feeling of wanting to continue being partners. They also hug by the end of it.
• Vivid's had gotten a few love-themed SEKAI cover songs for their side of the Vivid BAD SQUAD unit.
  • "Just be Friends", a song about two people who still love each other deeply but break up because they realize that their relationship is going nowhere, leading to its end. They sing it alongside the original Virtual Singer used for the song, Luka Megurine.
  • "Drop Pop Candy", a song about unrequited love. It's sung alongside Rin and Luka, the original Virtual Singers used for the song.
  • "Asu No Yozora Shoukaihan", while not confirmed to be a love song, reads like a boy (or girls in this case) singing about the strong relationship they have with another individual. An and Kohane covered this song in VBS Archives. Some of the lyrics in their duet can come off as quite shippy:
    "Daydreaming about flying with or without you, or even just taking a walk alone, I can't do either of those things"
    "I want to be together with you in the future, however, short our time may be"
• In Petit SEKAI, when An tosses Kohane a microphone to remind her of her dream, the only member of Vivid BAD SQUAD that appears in Kohane's memory is An.
• Buddy・Funny・Spend Time ♪ has the two go on a double date with Haruka and Minori, which serves up some more lovey dovey moments for the two, such as An and Kohane finding a hidden Fenney-kun and deciding to keep it a secret to themselves. As well, Kohane seemingly experiences jealous feelings concerning An for the first time as she sees how close An and Haruka are. She bonds with Minori over these feelings, as Minori feels the same way toward Haruka.
  • An's Buddy・Funny・Spend Time ♪ side story seems to suggest that Everyone Can See It, as no one seems surprised that An's date is with Kohane. The street musicians and Akito even bluntly say that they can't see it being with anyone else. She finds their reactions boring.
  • It's revealed in Kohane's "A secret between us" side story that Kohane compiled and specially edited a digital album of photos from her amusement park double date with An, Minori, and Haruka for her own and An's personal use, separate from the group album Haruka and Minori made. An even refers to it as a "dedicated album" and affectionately praises Kohane for it.
  • In chapter 2 of the event, Kohane gets very flustered by Haruka using her first name. When Minori mentions that her heart was pouding the first time Haruka did that to her, An assumes that Kohane must be experiencing the same thing and says that her singing should be the only thing that makes Kohane's heart pound.
• The unit event song "Awake Now", which is an An and Kohane-dominated song connected the event Bout for Beside You where An is worried about being surpassed and left behind by Kohane. The lyrics are from An's perspective concerning Kohane, and they are pretty shippy.

  "If we could just spend the night together, forever"

  "Don't forget I'm right by your side"

  "I'll never stop longing for you"

  "Just be honest

  Moving my chair closer,

  I stepped out to tie our fingers together

  I didn't even notice the difference in our strides"

  • An and Kohane also get the sole another vocals for "Awake Now", further solidifying that the song is about their feelings toward each other and their partnership.
• An and Kohane had a Love at First Note scenario in the main story, as An knew immediately that she wanted Kohane to be her partner after first hearing her sing.
• An's third-tier Kizuna Rank titles with Akito. For most paired characters, the third tier of the titles is usually something concerning their relationship, what they have in common, or dynamic with each other. Instead of being about their relationship, their third-tier Kizuna Rank title says "My partner is the best!", concerning Kohane for An and Touya for Akito respectively. You could say they have loving their partners in common.
• An's second and third Kizuna Rank titles with Kohane are also shippy, saying "The Best Partners" and "Making Each Other Better". An also has a Kizuna Rank title with Len that references Kohane (and Rin, from Len's side) that says "Partner Feelings", though the line could also translate to "Affection for One's Partner". ^note "相棒想い"
• Vivid BAD SQUAD 1st Connect Live Crash has a few moments between the two of them, as An spends a good portion of the live praising and cuddling up to an embarrassed Kohane. Kohane also cuddles up to An to comfort her when Akito points out her teary eyes.
• According to a fan-created count on BilliBilli, An and Kohane have said each other's names the most of any pair of characters in the entire game, at over 1000 mentions combined.
  • One instance happens through Akito, as his response to An saying she'll lead Kohane through the event if anything happens is him casually wondering aloud if An and Kohane are "like that", dismissing it before An can offer a response.
• An's Birthday Card story reveals that she got a Kohane-shaped doll with Kohane voice lines designed by Mizuki and created by Rui and Tsukasa as a present. Clearly they can see it too.
• There's this exchange between An and Kohane in Toya's "An Honest Stomach" side story:

  An: There are times when my father asks me to go shopping, and I agree, but then I forget to ask him what I need to buy and end up leaving the store.

  Akito: That's just clumsy.

  Kohane: Hehe. You're always so solid. You're kind of cute like that, An.

  An: Ko~ha~ne! Only Kohane would say that! *glomp*

• There are several AnHane moments in Wishing to the Blue Sky for Your Happiness!
  • Kohane blushes in excitement at the idea of seeing An dressed up in her wedding outfit. Kohane is stunned silent when she first sees An in her wedding dress and An's "Wrapped in Pure White" untrained card is set from her POV ◊.
  • Airi and An devise a plan to act close and overly affectionate to make Kohane worked up enough to drop her stiff expression. It works, and Kohane tackles and hugs An, making An blush in embarrassment.
  • In Chapter 8, Kohane points out that she wants to be spoiled by older sister figures, explaining that it's why An felt "cuter" when she was with Shizuku. Toya bluntly says that "Shiraishi has that sort of desire", completely unphased by the implication, while Akito looks on amused. An embarrassedly clarifies that she doesn't want to be spoiled but instead wants to be more like Shizuku and MEIKO, as they are reliable and mature.
  • Later, in that same chapter after An declares she wants to be someone that Kohane and the others can be proud of, Kohane thinks to herself that she's happy to have such a cute and cool partner.
  • The "Graceful Wedding" Gacha logo◊ itself supplies a subtle bit for An and Kohane; the banner imagery imitates a stained glass window with colored roses on it, with one rose in the top center representing An's character color, one representing Akito's, one representing Toya's, and two representing Kohane's colors. Kohane's roses are also the largest on the banner, being even bigger than An's.
• The event story Walk on and on offers some more fuel for An and Kohane, as Kohane decides to make a track that reflects how she felt when she first heard An sing as a thank you to her for introducing her to the world of street music.
• While the connection between their trained illustrations isn't immediately apparent, a frozen flower resembling the flowers An is offering to the sky in her 3*◊ is seen in the chain of Kohane's swing◊.
  • Much like with Akito and Toya, Kohane and An's outfits also give each other a complete pair of wings alluding to the hiyoku bird legend again.
  • During the bridge of the event song "Utsuro wo Aogu", the individual members of VBS start singing lyrics that reference the names of their partners.
  Kohane: If we keep thinking about our dreams ("Shirakezu yume wo anji aeba") - Shiraishi An
  An: The wings on the back that I entrusted to you ("azukaru senaka no sono hane ga") - Azusawa Kohane.
  • Kohane mutters An's name in her sleep in her "Midnight Making" second side story.
  Kohane: More ... cool ... (An)-chan ...
• The Animated videos for "Gunjou Sanka" and "Journey", which recap the main story and event stories leading up to the first and second anniversary respectively (save for a few recent events like Walk on and on), pile on the past subtext between the two:
  • This was Kohane's reaction to seeing An sing for the first time◊.
  • An hugging Kohane◊ at the end of Singing in Sync.
  • Kohane singing confidently for the first time◊ in Awakening Beat transitions into An tasting defeat for the first time at Kohane's hands◊, as well as symbolizing the onset of feeling like she would eventually be left behind by Kohane, which is later shown in her pained expression from the Bout for Beside You event recap scene◊.
• In the 2nd-Anniversary Connect Live, An's habit of cuddling up to Kohane returns, and she unabashedly does so in front of the crowd.
  • In the second half of the machi performance, the group breaks up to greet the crowd and she runs off with Kohane and Rin.
• For Halloween 2022, Kohane is given a home screen line in which she finds a Witch costume and wonders if An will try it on if she asks. An's home screen line is after she tries on the costume, and Kohane pulls out her camera to take pictures of her.
• The event story Scream!? Welcome to the Wolf Forest! teases more between the two.
  • In Chapter 1 after Kohane mentions the cultural festival she's participating in at school, An meekly suggests that Kohane should invite her. Later in that chapter after the reveal that Kohane's classroom is going to do a haunted house, something An is weak to due to the ghosts, Kohane says An doesn't have to force herself to go, as she is perfectly fine just going around the cultural festival with her.
  • In Rin's side story, when Akito makes the suggestion that An just shouldn't go to the Cultural Festival if she's afraid, An says she would risk her life to go because Kohane asked her. Of course, in this case, it's an exaggeration, but knowing An she probably meant it.
  • Similarly to Toya and Akito's memories of each other, every time Kohane flashes back to a sentimental memory with Vivid BAD SQUAD, such as when she remembers the events of Same Dream, Same Colors, she always remembers An first and alone before she remembers Akito and Toya, who are together.
  • When it's time for the group to experience 1-A's haunted house, Kohane reassures An that she will unconditionally protect her when she's afraid, much to An's surprise and joy. Later in the chapter she actually makes good on that promise, as when An is too afraid to shoot the wolf away, Kohane takes the gun and blocks the wolf's path to An◊, shooting it away and giving the group a chance to escape. Kohane's card name is also "I Will Protect You", referencing back to that scene with An.
  • In Shiho's first side story, she reassures An that Kohane wants An to enjoy the cultural festival and that she would be disappointed in herself more than anyone if An wasn't able to enjoy it. This is what calms An down and gives her the bravery to enter the haunted house with Kohane and the group, despite initially being so afraid that she needed to be chased around the school.
• The "Buddy・Funny・Spend Time ♪" 4koma speaks for itself◊.
• An's 2022 Winter line:

  "(in a low voice) Kohane, your nose is red. Oh, don't hide it! It's cute and I love it!"

• There's also a bit of ship tease in their side stories from Find A Way Out.
  • In Kohane's first "Countdown to Christmas!" side story, when the group reaches An's house and she goes home, she tells Kotaro and Toya to take care of Kohane for her, much to Kohane's embarrassment.
  • In Kohane's "Countdown to Christmas!" second side story, Kohane hand-feeds An honey waffles because An's hands were full.
  • In Akito's "The Reason Behind the Words I Was Told" first side story, An cuddles Kohane and tells her to take extra care going home because she's cute, much to Kohane's embarrassment.
• An and Kohane's relationship diagram has evolved the most of anyone in the unit, as revealed in the official fanbook.
  • At the start of the game, An's line to Kohane read "The best partner! I really like her!", while Kohane's to An was "A precious friend who gave me an opportunity".
  • By Definitely the best summer ever!, An to Kohane became "You could sing a song like this...!" referencing Kohane's rapid development in Awakening Beat, while Kohane's became "I want to be a better partner".
  • By The Vivid Old Tale, An to Kohane became "I want to be your partner forever" while Kohane's is still "I want to be a better partner".
• In an Area Conversation that takes place after Find A Way Out, An and Kohane show Akito the matching keyholders they had gotten and ask Akito if he and Toya have matching things too. Akito points out how triumphant An looks about having matching things with Kohane.
• Chapter four of Kick it up a notch is called "Uniform Date" and features An and Kohane going out together before practice with Akito and Toya. One of the things they do is go to a clothing store and pick out outfits that they think the other would look good in.
  • Later on in this chapter, Kohane falls asleep on An's shoulder. This scene was illustrated in one of the 3rd anniversary countdown artworks.
    An: Ah, she's leaning on me....There, there. Good work, Kohane...Just kidding, hehe.
• In one of An's Spring menu voicelines, she says that she can tell that Kohane was born in Spring because of how soft, fluffy, and cute she is.
• Kohane's Fragment SEKAI is born from her wondering if she could be more like An. When she enters her Fragment SEKAI, it appears as if she's just in Vivid Street, until it becomes apparent that everyone sees her as An. Throughout the story, she pretends to be An, until the version of Akito in her SEKAI notices that she isn't acting like "An". Kohane admits that she isn't An even if she looks like her, and sings as herself, deciding that although she wishes that she could be like An, she doesn't want to be An. She comes to the conclusion that she has to be herself so she can be the best partner for An - Kohane Azusawa.
  • Kohane's hairstyle that came with the card also resembles An's usual hair, albeit much shorter, reflecting how she looks up to An, but has to be herself to be the best partner.
• In the 3rd anniversary connect live, An once again demonstrated how affectionate she can be with Kohane, cuddling up to her a few times.
• One of the new 1komas added in the 3rd anniversary update reveals that An has an image folder on her phone entitled "Kohane", which she uses to keep pictures of hamsters. It was later revealed in a Q&A that she has about 100 images in this folder, but to many fans, the most important detail given was that An also has a separate folder for images of her and Kohane together.
• The Kohane-centric Take the Best Shot! event involved Kohane entering a photography contest in order to win Valentine's chocolates for An. Whilst she could have just bought some, she knew An wanted a specific limited edition selection, and the only way to get it was to enter the contest since it was sold out from all stores.
• Kohane's White Day voiceline in 2024:
  Kohane: I was on the phone with An-chan earlier and she said "Look forward to White Day"... Hehe, I'm looking forward to it now.

Minori and Haruka

Haruka and Minori are another pairing with heavy homoerotic subtext, especially from Minori’s side. Since the start of the game it has been heavily implied that Minori has a crush on Haruka, while later stories start to develop their relationship from Haruka’s side.

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• Minori's feelings towards Haruka are heavily implied if not outright stated to be romantic, with a standout example of this coming from the main story:

  Minori: And when you gave me my first taste of fan service at the concert, I was so happy and overwhelmed, I ended up crying...

  Minori: The happiness of falling in love with someone, it was the first time I felt something like that.

• In Minori's self-introduction, she flubs one of her lines, but Haruka says that they should keep it in because "it's so Minori".
• Minori thinks Haruka looks just like how she did on TV when recording her self-introduction, and starts thanking Haruka's parents for giving birth to her. Haruka then thanks Minori's parents, for letting her meet her. This causes Minori to become extremely flustered.

  Haruka: Minori? I looked just like the Haruka you saw on TV? Hehe, I'm glad you're happy. Wait... why are you thanking my parents?

  Haruka: For giving birth to me? Haha, that's too much. I should be the one thanking your parents, really. For letting me meet someone like you.

  Haruka: Wha... Minori? Hehe, I can't understand a word you're saying. I get it, it's fine, just try to calm down, okay?

• In Haruka's first birthday 4koma, Minori makes signs thanking Mr and Mrs. Kiritani for bringing Haruka into the world. Minori's special menu voice lines also have her congratulating Haruka's parents.
• In the part 2 side story for MORE MORE JUMP! Miku's initial 2* card, Minori and Haruka watch Miku put on a show for them in the SEKAI, in which Miku blows a kiss to the audience, flustering Minori...who then goes on to imagine Haruka doing the same thing.

  Minori: (Ugh... My heart's still racing! I can't believe Miku blew me a kiss from the stage!)

  Minori: (I wonder what it'd be like if Haruka did that for me one day...)

  Minori: *blushing* Nnngh!

  Haruka: Minori, are you okay?

  Minori: Y-Yeah, I-I'm fine!

  Minori: (Just imagining it nearly gave me a heart attack!)

  Miku: Your face is all red...

• The pair had connected Valentine's Day and White Day menu voicelines in 2021:
  • In her Valentine's Day voiceline, Minori became extremely flustered over finally having the opportunity to give Haruka chocolate. Haruka comments that Minori getting all red in the face will make her embarrassed too. Even Airi comments on Minori's bold decision to give Haruka chocolates.
    Minori: I never thought that the day for me to directly hand a chocolate to Haruka-chan would come! M-my heart is racing...
    Haruka: Minori... If you go all red like that, I'd get embarrassed too. Just receive the chocolate for me as a friend, okay?
    Airi: Wait up, Minori! You don't even know what "waterbath" is and you still have the guts to declare that you're giving a chocolate to Haruka, huh!?
  • In their White Day voicelines, it's revealed that Haruka gave Minori a return gift for the Valentine's chocolate.
    Minori: A return gift from Haruka-chan!? Thank you! I'll make sure to treasure it forever... Huh, I should eat it quickly?
    Haruka: The return gift I gave to Minori... I know she said she'll treasure it forever, but I wonder if she actually ate it...
• You then have Haruka affectionately looking at Minori in her "You Deserve It" untrained card◊.
• In Hear Me! Hopeful Show♪, Nanamin mentions that Haruka told her all about Minori and concludes that Minori must mean a lot to Haruka, which embarrasses Haruka.
  • An says the same thing later on in Scramble Fan Festival!.
• In Minori's 2021 birthday 4koma, she faints after becoming so overwhelmed by Haruka wishing her a happy birthday during a special birthday performance. It's made apparent that Haruka was pretty insistent on doing the concert, as Airi mentions that she told Haruka that Minori would faint.
• In Airi's Unyielding Indomitable Spirit 4* story, it is revealed that while Airi and Shizuku went to the picnic with Ena and Mizuki, Minori and Haruka went to Phoenix Wonderland together. Minori became incredibly flustered when Haruka asked her to go.
• Minori's "Passionate Call!" untrained card has her cheering for Haruka during karaoke, all while completely flustered with hearts in her eyes◊.
• Minori has a solo cover of "Ai no Material", which could be interpreted as her telling Haruka that she will always support her.
• This sketch artwork that was posted to the official Colorful Palette account, depicting Minori looking at Haruka with heart eyes again, surrounded by hearts and blushing hard.
• From Haruka's Colorful Festival card:
  • The first side story begins with MORE MORE JUMP! finishing off a stream in which they played a "No Blushing - Smiling Staring Contest!". We get this exchange about the contest:
    Airi: Although, a certain someone kept giggling from the start and didn't even last a second.
    Minori: B-Because I can't stare right at Haruka like that and keep a straight face...
  • Then, there's Minori talking about Haruka's smile:
    Minori: Haruka's smile has the power to make anybody's heart race!
  • Then you have Haruka's internal monologue about Minori in the second side story:
    Haruka: I knew for sure that I had when I met Minori. I was so happy... Truly, genuinely happy!
    Haruka: She's the reason I was able to get back on my feet. She gave me the courage to do so...!
  • Haruka's Fragment SEKAI was created by her reminiscing about the idol that inspired her when she was a child. Although this is the person who she thinks she was chasing through the SEKAI, it is heavily implied that Haruka's idol is actually Minori. In the story, memories of Minori giving her hope are part of what motivates her to try and locate her childhood idol even after she got lost, because she wanted to tell her idol how a she inspired her. She eventually gets led to her idol by a white bird^*Minori's first gacha was angel themed, and Minori is sometimes asociated with angels and white feathers that gave her a clover^*MORE MORE JUMP!'s symbol of hope, that was also Minori's idea. Haruka's idol also heavily resembles Minori, although we only see her from the back.
• Time to Hang Out♪ has several moments for the pair:
  • In Chapter 1 of the event story, An says that Haruka likes ("Suki") Minori and that Minori really likes ("Daisuki") Haruka.
  • In the event, Minori and Haruka go on a double date with An and Kohane.
  • When Kohane gets embarrassed by Haruka using her first name, Minori says that she understands how she feels because Haruka is "really cool and cute". She also adds on that her heart was pounding the first time Haruka called her by her first name.
  • At one point on the date, the girls go to a street-style clothing store, and Minori tries on some clothes outside her comfort zone. She isn't sure she can pull off the look at first... until Haruka says it suits her and she decides that she'll keep the clothes forever.
  • During the event, Minori realises that she doesn't know much about the real Haruka, and confesses this to Haruka at the end of the event. Haruka is happy that Minori is trying to get to know her better, and she tells Minori that she doesn't need to change herself to get closer to her, because she likes Minori just the way she is.
  • Haruka's trained illustration has her linking arms with an embarrassed Minori◊.
  • Minori becomes jealous upon seeing how close An and Haruka are as Childhood Friends.
  • The event 4koma speaks for itself◊.
  • In Haruka's second card story, she and Minori go through Kohane's digital photo album. Haruka realises how relaxed and happy she was at Phoenix Wonderland, and thanks Minori for giving her the opportunity to feel that way. Minori follows up by saying that she's really happy that she got to know more about Haruka, and that she'll never forget those stories as both a fan and a friend. Haruka then tells Minori that she is the reason she can feel this way, and that Minori is her dear friend.
    Haruka: I suppose that means you're the reason I was able to have so much fun...
    Minori: Huh?
    Haruka: Because you're my dear friend too, Minori.
  • At the end of that card story, Minori says that she'll follow Haruka everywhere to learn everything about her. Haruka internally voices that Minori saying this makes her heart tingle and she couldn't be happier about it.
    Minori: Y-Yes, I'm gonna do everything I can! I'll follow you wherever and learn absolutely everything about you!
    Haruka: (Every time she says that... It makes my heart tickle... And I couldn't be happier...)
    Haruka: I can't thank you enough, Minori.
• The pair received an Another Vocal for the song Heart Forecast, which is explicitly a love song.
• In the 4koma for the Legend Still Vivid event, Kohane tries to imagine what RAD WEEKEND felt like, although she can't get a clear explanation from An and Akito. Minori says that she can understand why An and Akito find it hard to put their feelings about RAD WEEKEND into words, explaining "emotions swirling inside of her" while she thinks of Haruka. Even Shiho remarks that what Minori is feeling is not the same as what An and Akito felt at the event.
• Minori's Enthusiastic Talk! untrained◊, which has her draw a sketch of a new outfit for Haruka... surrounded by pink hearts.
  • In chapter 8 of Cast A Spell on You, the event this card is from, Minori explains that the angel theming of the outfit is because she wants Haruka to look like an angel.
• In the first chapter of Cast A Spell On You, MORE MORE JUMP! does a contest on their stream seeing who can pick the best outfit for Haruka. Minori wins again having won in a previous stream, and Shizuku says that this must be because Minori understands Haruka so well. Minori then states that she actually just chooses the clothes she wants to see Haruka wear.
• Minori's 2022 White Day menu voiceline reveals that Haruka gave her chocolate for the holiday, causing Minori to get extremely flustered yet again.

  Minori: A-a chocolate... made by Haruka-chan for me...! Uuuuh~! I have to eat it...!

• The event Dear Me, As I Was Back Then provides more content for the pair:
  • First off, Minori's "Beyond the Spotlight" untrained card art◊ has Haruka watching Minori as she takes center stage at MORE MORE JUMP!'s live concert.
  • Minori's reaction to her first ASRUN concert had her quite literally shouting out her love for Haruka.
    Minori: This feeling... The feeling that I love Haruka-chan, I want it to reach her!
    Minori: HARUKA-CHAN I LOVE YOUUUUUU!!!
  • Haruka's "Even Your Heart, Connect with Them◊" untrained card, staged during a past ASRUN concert wherein she is reaching out to an audience member, is actually set from Minori's POV.
    Minori: Huh... Haruka-chan is so close!
    Minori: Is she looking at me...?
    Minori: Am I... The one reflected in her shining eyes?
• Haruka's 2022 birthday card◊ has Minori's training shirt on it, albeit this version of the shirt features a penguin alongside the otter on the original.
• You also have Minori's menu voice line for Haruka's birthday in 2022:

  Minori: Thank you for being born, Haruka-chan! Today is a very, very important day to me~!!

• The two also get some ship tease briefly during the Scream!? Welcome to the Wolf Forest! event:
  • Minori's reaction to Haruka's cat costume◊ is a sight to behold.
    • Then you have the scene that card illustrates:
    Haruka: Oh, Minori, you came. Welcome!
    Minori: Ah, Haruka-cha—
    Minori: Haruka-chan's cat ears!?!?
    Minori: Aah... The cat... the cat with Haruka-chan's ears...
    Shiho: Isn't it the other way around?
    Haruka: How is it? Does it suit me?
    Minori: I can't look at you because it suits you so well, but part of me wants to see you so badly that I feel like my head's going to be torn off!
• Minori's 2023 Valentine's Day menu voiceline reveals that Haruka gave her Valentine's chocolates, rather than the other way around. Although Minori wants to eat it, she isn't sure if she wants to sacrifice the gift:

  Minori: I really want to eat the chocolate Haruka-chan gave me, but if I eat it, it will disappear! I have to make the ultimate choice!

• For White Day in 2023, Minori and Haruka had voicelines directed at each other, based off of Minori's Valentine's Day voiceline:

  Minori: Haruka-chan, I've prepared this return gift for you! I even made sure it's three times as much as the gift I received from you! Please accept it!

  Haruka: Minori, thank you for all the sweets, but I think these are a bit too much for me. I can't possibly eat them all, so why don't we eat them together instead?

• The pair had connected cards in the second rotation of birthday limited cards. In Haruka's card◊, you can see a handwritten letter, with an opening line that reads "I lo-lo-lo-looove you, Haruka-chan". Minori's card◊ features a letter from Haruka in return, as well as some ASRUN photographs.
• During MORE MORE JUMP!'s first live, Haruka tells Minori she loves^*daisuki her as part of an MC, which causes Minori to nearly faint. Not to mention that Ai no Material, a love song, was playing in the background of this MC as well.

  Haruka: Thank you. I love you, Minori.

  Airi: Woah! Knock-out!

• Minori keeps a collection of Haruka merchandise in her room.
• The pair also has connected menu voicelines for Spring:

  Minori: Haruka-chan looks so divine with this beautiful spring light shining down upon her...! Good morn- Achoo!

  Haruka: Are you alright, Minori? It still gets pretty chilly in the morning, so we still need to be careful not to catch a cold or anything.^note Referring to Minori sneezing during her voiceline

• In the Over Here! Over There! Zookeeper Experience! event, Minori spots Haruka from across the zoo, and when Shiho questions how she's sure about it, Minori says that she recognised Haruka's "sleek style and beautiful posture".
• The animated MV for ''NEO'' builds more on the similarities between Haruka's childhood idol and Minori. A short sequence in the first chorus shows a flashback to Haruka's childhood idol making her smile properly, something she rarely did as a child, then jumps forward in time to Haruka reaching out to Minori at an ASRUN concert, before jumping forward to present day and showing Minori in exactly in the same position as Haruka's childhood idol, making a child smile. Haruka views Minori in the same lens as she does her childhood idol, since both of them were able to give Haruka hope and make her smile at different points in her life.
• At the end of the ''Akuyaku ni Kiss Scene wo'' 3DMV, Minori and Haruka turn towards each other and move slightly closer. Whilst not hugely significant on its own, it's worth noting that in the original MV for the song, this is where Miku's character kisses the love interest.
• The official Valentine's Day artwork for 2024 featured the two of them alongside Miku. Notably, whilst Miku and Haruka are holding chocolates out towards the camera, Minori is trying to give chocolates to Haruka.
• Once again, they had connected voicelines for Valentine's Day. Minori was getting nervous about wanting to give Haruka chocolates, and Haruka noticed Minori staring at her... but didn't seem to realise why.
• When MORE MORE JUMP! is house hunting in the The Scars Left Behind, with Time event, Minori starts to imagine an incredibly domestic life with Haruka, involving the other girl cooking her dinner and drying her hair for her after a bath. Haruka is surrounded by Bishie Sparkle in Minori's imagination, even moreso than usual. See for yourself.
• In the voice drama accompanying the February Broadcast Station episode, Rui talks about making Hinamatsuri dolls voiced by the members of MORE MORE JUMP!, and Minori immediately gets excited by the concept of a doll talking with Haruka's voice. Nene seems a bit surprised, but Rui just seems a bit amused and tells her she can call him for help anytime.
• In her 2024 Hinamatsuri line, Minori thinks to herself that Haruka would look pretty in a ceremonial kimono.

Airi and Shizuku

Shizuku and Airi have some heavy ship tease between them, due to their close friendship and support for each other as idols.

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• One of the loading screen 1-komas◊ has a blushing Airi saying that Shizuku doesn't need to be a part of the beautification committee, because she's already beautiful.
• The main story really piles it on at some points
  • There's this interaction when Shizuku announces that she's quitting Cheerful*Days
    Airi: You're so good that anybody would be jealous! You're beautiful and you have an aura about you that makes people turn your way just by standing there!
    Shizuku: Why do you have to say that?!
    Airi: ...What?
    Shizuku: You were the one who taught me that having heart was the most important thing. That an idol is someone who gives hope to their fans.
  • Following the news Airi runs off to the Cheerful*Days studio to confront the members about how they treated Shizuku. It's implied that Airi was about to fight with the members of Cheerful*Days before Minori stopped her.
  • And the aftermath of this has this incredibly heartfelt interaction:
    Shizuku: It's okay. What you said just now made me really happy. Probably the happiest I've been since becoming an idol. You really are my idol, Airi.
    Airi: Shizuku...
  • After Airi gave her hope again, Shizuku decides to return the favour to Airi.
    Shizuku: I want you to be an idol again.
    Airi: What?!
    Shizuku: What you said back there made me really happy. I realized there really was someone who actually saw me as I was. With just a few words, you managed to fill me with hope.
    Airi: But-
    Shizuku: Airi, you are and always were an idol. The one who told me what I needed to hear to make it through the tough times. The one who showed me the dream of becoming a true idol. That was all you, Airi. [...] I want to see that Airi again.
  • The icing on the cake is when the pair decides to become idols together.
    Airi: You're going to join me, though!
    Shizuku: Huh?
    Airi: You did say I'm the one who showed you the dream of becoming a true idol, didn't you? If that's your dream, then you can't give up!
    Shizuku: !!
    Airi: I may be your idol, but you're mine as well! It's frustrating never measuring up to you, but I still want to see you standing up on stage! [...]
    Shizuku: All right. We'll do this together then, Airi. I'd always hoped we could be idols together someday. We may have given up our dream once, but I feel like we can make it this time so long as we're together.
• In Airi's MORE MORE JUMP! 2* card story, she accidentally lets slip that she "trawled all the bookstores" to find all the magazines that Shizuku was featured in when she was in Cheerful*Days. Shizuku asks Airi if she did all that to support her, but Airi gets embarrassed and tries to claim that it was just for research about up-and-coming groups in the industry. Shizuku is reminded of when she tried to quit in the industry and Airi told her that she has an "aura" about her and that she couldn't bear for Shizuku to step down, but this just makes Airi more embarrassed.
• In one area conversation, Shizuku is reading a magazine she found in the school library because it featured both her and Airi.
• In the My Color! event story, Shizuku struggles with how to present herself of stream, debating whether to uphold her perfect idol persona or be more true to herself. She confides in Airi, who tells Shizuku that she likes her just the way she is, and likens her to a swan - beautiful and graceful to the eye, but hardworking underneath.

  Airi: I know you might think your everyday self lacks appeal, but personally, I like you just the way you are, Shizuku.

• Shizuku's Valentine's Day voiceline from 2021

  Shizuku: It's been a while since I last got chocolates from friends. I wanted to give some to Airi, but I wasn't able to...

  • And then her voiceline for Airi's birthday
    Shizuku: Happy birthday, Airi! I promise to become an idol that you can be proud of!
• There's also the now-iconic "Ne, watashi to ikitekureru?" line in Romeo and Cinderella, in which the pair share an exceedingly intimate gesture with each other (while Miku humorously steps aside). And thanks to the magic of video games, you can put any pairing you want in there!
• Shizuku's card from the Time to Hang Out event is called A Night Date at PXL. That date was with none other than Airi.
• The pair received an Another Vocal for the song Heart Forecast, which is explicitly a love song.
• Not to mention that the pair◊ has a tendency◊ to cameo◊ in each other's◊ cards◊.
  • Sometimes in other character's cards as well◊.
  • One particularly notable card is Airi’s Don’t Overdo It untrained◊. The art shows her tugging on Shizuku’s sleeve, a common trope in romance anime.
• In Wishing to the Blue Sky for Your Happiness!, Airi blushes at the thought of seeing Shizuku in a wedding dress, and then gets flustered upon seeing her dressed in a suit.
  • In Airi's card story for this event set before the story, she tells Luka that she can't wait for the photoshoot because Shizuku will look amazing in a wedding dress. Shizuku then chimes in and says that she would like to see Airi in a wedding dress as well.
• One of the MC games from MORE MORE JUMP!'s first live involved the unit splitting into pairs and coming up with poses. Shizuku and Minori did finger gun poses, and then Shizuku does the gesture towards Airi's heart.
• Shizuku's Out-of-Season Light Snowfall untrained card◊ is set from Airi's POV. It's worth noting that the art for this card is more detailed than usual and puts an emphasis on Shizuku's appearance, which addmittedly linked to the story, but nonetheless shines a light on how Shizuku looks to Airi.
• Airi and Tsukasa's Cheerful Carnival team name for the A Once-In-A-Lifetime Pandemonium!? event was "Swayed by their partners", with Airi's partner being Shizuku.
• At the end of the ''Akuyaku ni Kiss Scene wo'' 3DMV, Airi turns away from Shizuku, who reaches out to the former and steps closer, causing Airi to turn around. It's also worth noting that in the original MV for the song, this part of the song is where Miku's character reaches to grab the sleve of her love interest and kiss him.
• In MORE MORE JUMP!'s 4koma for the Sanrio collab, Airi, who was paired with My Melody for the collab, talks about the character and describes her as someone who goes at her own pace, has a cute side, and is a bit airheaded. This description instantly makes Minori and Haruka think of Shizuku, who's shown blushing and surrounded by small flowers whilst Airi talks.

Emu and Nene

Emu and Nene have gradually become a more prominent example, with a lot of their development coming from event stories.

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• Emu and Nene are the centers of the cover song Sweet Magic, which describes baking cakes with the secret ingredient of "true love".
• Emu's trained initial card shows her holding hands with Nene◊. This is one of the only trained initial cards to have a cameo, with the others being An, Kohane, and MEIKO's cards, and the only one of the 4 cards to show the characters directly interacting.
• In Nene's Backstage Operator card story, she messages Rui to tell him to take his time arriving to the Wonder Stage so that she can spend more time talking with Emu.
  Nene: I hope I can talk to Emu for a just a bit longer
• In Nene's "Wonder Wand" card story, Rui comments on how Nene is enjoying spending time with Emu and she seems to have found a good friend in her. He also mentions that Emu is the only person that Nene diligently responds to texts from.
  • There's also an early area conversation between Emu, Rui, and Nene, in which Rui comments on how Emu brings out a "previously unknown side" of Nene.
• Their Kizuna Rank titles also provide some ship tease with their first title reading "Dear Friend" and their second title being "Let's Eat Lunch Together".
• Emu sometimes breaks into Kamiyama High School to have lunch with Nene, which is referenced in their second Kizuna Rank title. According to Emu, it's because Nene is her "dear friend", which is referenced in their first Kizuna title.
• In the Smile of Dreamer event, Nene wants to see Emu smile again and be more honest with the troupe, saying she wants to become Emu's strength.
  • At the end of the Once Upon A Dream 2DMV, Emu's expression changes to show her smiling, and Nene's expression also changes to show her looking over at Emu.
• Although Emu is affectionate with everyone, she does seem particularly close with Nene, even nuzzling up to her on one occasion.

  Nene: Wah! Wait, Emu! This is really embarrassing..!

  Emu: No! Your cheeks are so soft and full of love ♪

• In the full version of Hoshizora no Melody, Emu and Nene sing one part together that could be seen as Ship Tease.

  Nene: On a starless night,

  Emu & Nene: We cuddle in the dark

• Together they cover the song "Alien Alien" alongside Miku, which is a love song that uses alien metaphors.

  Emu & Miku: Alien, I’m your alien, if you touch it, that wound will never disappear

  Nene: The downpour of meteors too can’t reach my throbbing heart!

  • Emu went on to receive a solo version of this song, which could easily be interpreted as either her singing it to Nene, or singing about how Nene makes her feel.
• The special menu voice lines for Nene's birthday in 2022 have Emu being very affectionate toward Nene, which Rui also comments on.

  Emu: Ne~ne~chan! Have this happy birthday hug~♪ Wait, huh!? Why are you running away!?

  Nene: Huff, huff…. Emu, why are you hugging me like that!? I’m happy but this is embarrassing!

  Rui: Oya? Seems that Emu-kun and Nene are playing tag. Fufu, looks like they’re having a lot of fun.

• This artwork posted by the official Twitter account, that almost looks like Emu and Nene are on a date.
  • And then there's this official sketch artwork of Emu sleeping next to Nene as she plays video games.
• Emu's "Your Eyes Are Sparkly☆" untrained card◊ has her and Nene at a photobooth together, complete with her leaning towards Nene.
• In Close Game/OFFLINE, Emu and Nene play a PVP shooter game as part of the gaming contest they are competing in. At one point during the game, Emu gets spotted by someone on an opposing team, and they attempt to eliminate her. Nene, having a lot more experience in the game, defeats the opposition to save Emu, so she declares she will stay with Nene forever.

  Emu: That's amazing!! I'm gonna follow you forever and ever, Captain Nene!

  Nene: Hehe, oh you.

• In Emu's 2022 birthday card story, Nene plans a surprise party for Emu. After finding out it was Nene's idea, Emu throws herself at Nene (to the point of nearly knocking them both over) and gives her a hug.
• At the end of A Sorrowful Farewell at the Curtain Call, they fall asleep cuddled together on the train.
• A standout example of how much their relationship has started to develop more into Ship Tease comes from the Amidst a Dream, Towards the Shining Stars event. While trying to think of a way to cheer Emu up, Len asks what Emu’s favourite things are, to which Rin and Miku answer with things related to Nene, causing her to get embarrassed.

  Len: What are Emu’s favorite things to do?

  Nene: …Exploring the neighbourhood and going to taiyaki shops…?

  Rin: Oh! She said she also enjoys playing games with Nene-chan♪

  Miku: She said she went shopping with Nene-chan after school the other day and she was all smiley ☆

  Luka: …Fufu. Emu-chan loves^*”daisuki” Nene-chan, doesn’t she?

  Nene: Th-those are just normal things…

• In one area conversation, Nene decides she wants to buy matching souvenirs with Emu after she gets matching keyrrings with Ichika. When Nene mentions this to Ichika, the latter says that they should go and buy something after practice, to which Nene comments that it would be hard to gift something to Emu without there being an occasion.
• In another area conversation, Emu asks Nene to share a parfait with her at a restaurant. Emu hugs Nene while asking, which causes the latter to blush hard.
• In the 4koma for the Canary Sings In A Quagmire event, Emu is shown blushing while watching Nene perform. She then jumps to hug Nene in the next panel.
• Some of the lines Emu and Nene sing in the Wonderlands x Showtime cover of Taiyoukei Disco could be read as ship tease:
  Nene: No matter what first magnitude star merges into a constellation,
  Emu: The constellations' light would never be enough to replace you
• Wonderlands x Showtime's first connect live provided a few moments for the pair:
  • During one of the MC segments, the group try doing different types of Wonderhoys. Nene does a "Nyandahoy", after which Emu tells her that she was cute.
  • At one point in the performance of Sekai wa Mada Hajimatte sura Inai, Emu gets up close to Nene and puts her hand on her back, getting Nene to wave at the audience with her.
• Emu cameos in both the untrained and trained illustrations of Nene's All of My Sadness card. The untrained◊ is specifically notable, since it illustrates the scene from Our Happy Ending where Nene was the first person to cry with Emu, and even held her hands as they cried together.
• The two also had a couple of moments in the 3rd anniversary connect live:
  • During one MC, Emu hugs Nene from behind and cuddles up to her.
  • At the end of the Kirapipi Kirapika performance, Emu and Nene face each other and hold hands, imitating Nene's All of My Sadness untrained card. Humorously, MEIKO was positioned behind them for this part of the choreography, and some fans compared the scene to a wedding, with MEIKO officiating.
• The pair can be seen in the background of one panel of Wonderlands x Showtime's Sanrio collab 4koma, with Nene looking softly at a happy Emu.
• On MEIKO's Anniversary in 2023, Emu sees MEIKO dancing and asks Nene to dance with her.
  Emu: Meiko-Onee-san is dancing! It looks so fun! I should invite Nene-chan to dance together too~
  Nene: Ah, Emu, do you know where Meiko-san is? Huh? Dance? What do you mean? Wah- hold on a second!
• In her New Years Eve voiceline in 2023, Nene thanks Emu for the year she's had, only to be interrupted by Emu asking her to go to a countdown show.
  Nene: Emu, thank you for this yea- Oh, you want to go and see a show? That's fine by me... Wait, don't leave me behind!
• In their White Day 2024 voicelines, they go on another parfait outing.

Rui and Tsukasa

While far less than Akito and Toya, there is some subtext for the other two male main characters in the game.

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• At the end of It's On! Wonder Halloween!, Tsukasa asks Rui if he's able to get hold of so many gadgets because lives in some sort of warehouse, and Rui invites him over to his house in a way that reads a bit like flirting, moreso when you consider that Rui was blushing.

  Tsukasa: And do you live in some warehouse filled with these insane things?!

  Rui: Why not come over and see for yourself...?

• The main conflict of the aforementioned event was a fight between the two of them. While this isn't notable on it's own, the ''Journey'' MV animated the scene where they reconcile, and the look Rui gives Tsukasa definitely toes the line between Ho Yay and Homoerotic Subtext.
• They cameo in KAITO's "Secret Guidance" untrained card◊, wherein Rui offers to help Tsukasa rehearse for his Romeo and Juliet performance at the school festival. This is probably the most notable subtext for the pair, considering they rehearse the scene where Romeo proposes to Juliet.
  • The background music that plays during this scene is called True Love Theme, and was listed as track 12 on the second official soundtrack. This was most likely an intentional nod to the two being known as Oddball 1-2, especially since the song is not listed chronologically while most other event specific songs were.
• The two are also the only singers with solo lines aside from Len in "Oki ni Mesu mama", and some of the lines could come off as ship tease:

  Tsukasa: Waiting for the "1, 2..." signal, holding hands with you is an act of courage for me

• One of the songs they have covered together is KING, which definitely falls into Homoerotic Subtext when the lyrics are translated. Also notable that this cover does not feature a Virtual Singer.

  Tsukasa: You're the darling, darling that I've been wishing and hoping for

  Tsukasa: When you laugh admirably, all of my pain disappears

  Rui: and I'm able to die clumsily, my bitter feelings fading too

  Rui: Lo-lo-love, ra-ta-ta

• In one 4-koma, Rui is shown taking a picture of Tsukasa posing, and can be seen looking at the picture on his phone in the next panel.
• In the After Live for The Climax! Kamiyama Cheer Squad!, Tsukasa declares that Rui is "the only person who can make him shine".
• In the first rotation of birthday cards, Rui and Tsukasa had complimentary outfits:
  • Tsukasa's outfit bears resemblance to Rui's troupe outfit, having similar lapels on his blazer and a yellow ribbon. He is also wearing a waistcoat, which is also a part of Rui's troupe outfit.
  • On the other hand, Rui's outfit bears resemblance to Tsukasa's troupe outfit, again with matching lapels on the blazer and the addition of a cravat. Rui still has a waistcoat like he normally does, and it's inverted from the colors of Tsukasa's.
  • Much like with Toya's birthday card, the Japanese fanbase was quick to point out that many of the flowers on both of their cards have meanings related to love.^note Tsukasa's bouquet contains tulips, which in general represent perfect love. His bouquet contains 3 flowers, which usually means "I love you". Another 3 tulips are visible in the background of his card. Meanwhile, Rui's card features astrantias, the name of which is derived from the greek word for star. The flower itself represents intelligence, thirst for love and wishing on a star. He also wears a single 5-petal yellow flower on his lapel, which just looks like a star.
• The lyrics of "Hoshizora no Melody" allude to each member of Wonderlands x Showtime's experience in the troupe. Rui's section of the song could easily be interpreted as ship tease, which is enhanced by the fact he looks directly at Tsukasa while singing his part in the 3DMV.

  Rui: Loneliness melts away with the touch of passion, embracing the never-ending sparkle in our hearts

• During the Towards the Phoenix at the Sky's Edge event, Tsukasa struggles with getting into character for an upcoming audition and doesn't think he has enough time to improve his acting before the audition day arrives, so Rui comes up with a solution to help him practice in his "Secret Weapon! Phoenix Robot" card story, leading to this scene:

  Tsukasa (flashback): ...I'm not sure if I'll have enough time to develop a role in that way...

  Rui: Honestly it will be difficult to create a performance comparable to Seiryuin-kun's in the few days remaining...

  Rui: But-

  Rui: Fufu... I can't help but respond when you look at me like that

• From the same event, Rui's reaction to Tsukasa's audition:

  Rui: Fufu, our star is so dazzling... it brings tears to my eyes

• From Tsukasa's 2023 Birthday card story:

  Rui: The curtain may come down once Tsukasa-kun becomes a star. If I could, I'd like to witness that moment with my own eyes.

• The Rui-centric A Once-In-A-Lifetime Pandemonium!? event provided a lot of content for the pair.
  • In chapter 2 of the event, Tsukasa goes to Rui's room because one of his teachers asked him if "his partner was doing anything suspicious".
  • After losing a card game, Tsukasa gets dared by one of Rui's classmates to go and buy something from the vending machine outside the hostel, even though it is after lights out. Rui immediately offers to go with him, because he thinks Tsukasa is funny. Even though Tsukasa wants to go alone, because he's less likely to get caught that way, Rui ends up chasing him around and they get caught by a teacher because of the ruckus.
    Miyake^*Rui's classmate: Heheh. When Kamishiro-kun and Tenma-kun are together, it's really lively.
  • Tsukasa invites Rui to go sightseeing with just the two of them on the free day of the trip.
  • Later on in the event, Shizuku brings up a childhood memory where Tsukasa stopped her friend group from having an argument, and she explains that this made her realise that Tsukasa is someone who cares about his friends a lot. She continues to compliment him after that, making him embarrassed, so Rui takes the opportunity to tease him, casuing Tsukasa to annoyedly ask what kind of person Rui thinks he is. Rui agrees with Shizuku that Tsukasa cares a lot about his friends, remembering when Tsukasa was looking out for him previously, but he doesn't get an opportunity to vocalise this.
    Rui: But... someone who really loves his friends, huh? That really is the case, isn't it?
    Rui: It's not like me making friends in my class is going to benefit Tsukasa-kun in any way...
    Rui: ... No. Maybe that's not the way to think about it. For Tsukasa-kun, his friends' happiness is his happiness.
  • On the 2nd night of the trip, at the end of the event, the two get in trouble for having a pillow fight and are left in the teacher's room alone to reflect on their behaviour. The two have a heart-to-heart talk while alone.
    • Rui admits that he enjoyed spending time with Tsukasa and their friends, outright stating that the reason he was able to enjoy himself was entirely because of Tsukasa.
    • Rui then explains that his classmate, Miyake, said to him earlier that evening that the reason he never approached Rui before is because although Rui had fun tinkering in class alone, he often looked bored, and Miyake wasn't sure how to talk to him. However, since Rui started spending time with Tsukasa, he began to laugh more, and Miyake found him to be more approachable. Rui himself realises that he has changed a lot, and again says that Tsukasa is fully responsible for this.
    Rui: I always thought that I couldn't properly understand the people around me, but... When I started doing shows at Wonder Stage with everyone, my way of thinking and feeling started to change...
    Rui: Now I feel that I can understand people without doing a show, and I want to laugh with them.
    Rui: So, Tsukasa-kun. Thank you for giving me the chance to change.
    • Tsukasa, on the other hand, believes that Rui is responsible for his growth, even if he gave him the opportunity.
    Tsukasa: ...I see. In that case, I'll start by saying you're welcome!
    Tsukasa: But... it's not just thanks to me, is it?
    Tsukasa: Think about it. No matter how many opportunities I gave you, if you had refused to change yourself, things would never have changed, would they? You tried to enjoy being part of the group, and as a result, you could have fun.
    Tsukasa: So ... it's not about me, it's about your own choices, and that's why you're here now!
    • Rui then invites Tsukasa to get up early with him and walk to the Kamo river the next morning, since they still have one more day on the trip. In real life, this is a very popular date spot for couples, which adds to the subtext.
    • A teacher walks in just after this, and excuses Rui since he had already finished writing his reflection, while Tsukasa hadn't even started. Once he's alone, Rui thinks this to himself:
    Rui: Fufu. I'm sorry Tsukasa-kun, but ...... this is also going to be a fun memory for me!
    Rui: You really make me smile a lot, Tsukasa-kun!
    Rui: And with those smiles, I will make new friends and new relationships.
  • Tsukasa and Airi's Cheerful Carnival team name for the event was "Swayed by their partners", with Tsukasa's partner being Rui, as mentioned by a teacher during the story.
  • The costume unlocked with Rui's event card has a star emblem on the blazer, and the default accessory is a star-shaped earring.
• Wonderlands x Showtime's first connect live provided even more content:
  • The performance of KING, was practically dripping with subtext, possibly surpassing the likes of Romeo and Cinderella and Fragile.
    • In the first pre-chorus, Rui sweeps his hand up the side of Tsukasa's leg whilst they look into each other's eyes.
    • Just after this, Tsukasa flicks Rui's chin up with his finger, before caressing his cheek with his other hand (or, at least, as close as the 3D models could get to that).
    • Before the final chorus, Tsukasa brushes his hand past Rui's cheek for a second time.
    • The gesture that's used at the end of the Fragile and Romeo and Cinderella 3DMVs was used at another point in the choreography.
    • At the end of the song, they reach out to each other across the stage.
  • At one point in the performance of 88☆彡, Rui reaches out to Tsukasa across the stage using a similar choreography to Kanade and Mafuyu have in Samsa.
    • During the bridge of the song, Rui watches Tsukasa as the latter sings his solo part, while Emu, Nene and KAITO have their eyes closed.
  • At the end of the connect live, they have a conversation that almost mirrors their talk from A Once-In-A-Lifetime Pandemonium!?, in which Tsukasa thanks Rui for being WxS' director.
    Tsukasa: After all, we've got the best director here by our side.
    Tsukasa: Rui, allow me to take this opportunity to express my gratitude. Thank you for giving us the chance to stand on stage like this.
    Rui: Honestly... expressing your feelings in a situation like this where I'm cornered... Nevertheless, thank you. I'm really happy.
    Tsukasa: If that's the case, then I'm happy as well.
• At the end of the ''Fixer'' 2DMV, the pair's image colors swap for a few seconds. In addition, the text lyrics that were yellow at the start of the MV become almost entirely purple by the end. Many fans pointed out that this could be representing the influence they have had on each other since the start of the story.
  • The MV was released on September 21st. The numbers 1 and 2 are often associated with the pair due to their in-universe nickname, Oddball 1-2.
• The Journey to Bloom: HAPPINESS animation that recaps the Wonderlands x Showtime main story revealed that when Tsukasa asked Rui to rejoin the troupe, he got down on one knee and offered his hand out to him, making it like he was proposing.

Kanade and Mafuyu

Kanade and Mafuyu have a fair share of Ship Tease between them, sparked by Kanade's determination to save Mafuyu from her depression and make a song that will make her smile.

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• They have held hands three times in the story so far: Chapter 18 of the main story (as animated in the Gunjou Sanka MV), Chapter 5 of Mirage of Lights, and Chapter 8 of ''Guiding a Lost Child to What Lies Beyond''.◊
• Their first kizuna rank title is "The Sky Lights Up With You". This comes from the song Kanade Tomosu Sora, which means "Melody-lit Sky" in English. In Japanese, their first kizuna rank title is written as "Kimi to Tomosu Sora", meaning the "Kimi to" ("With you") is from Mafuyu's perspective, and makes the title of the song if you replace that with Kanade's name.
• In Mirage of Lights, Kanade finds Mafuyu collapsed after she overworked herself, so she takes Mafuyu home and takes care of her.
• From the same event, when Mafuyu wakes up, she tells Kanade to stay with her. Kanade promises not to leave and offers to hold her hand.

  Mafuyu: Don't... Please... Don't go... Don't leave me... Alone

  Kanade: Mafuyu... Okay...

  Kanade: Don't worry. I'll stay right here.

  Kanade: Here, hold my hand. I won't let you be all alone.

  Mafuyu: Thank... You...

  Kanade: I won't go anywhere...

  • This scene was briefly animated in the ''Journey'' MV.
• As mentioned above, Kanade holds Mafuyu's hand in the Guiding a Lost Child to What Lies Beyond event, which she does on instinct because she though Mafuyu was about to fall over. That leads to this exchange:

  Mafuyu: Kanade, your hand...

  Kanade: Oh, I'm sorry...

  Kanade: I thought you were about to fall, so I reacted by grabbing yours...

  Mafuyu: I don't mind that...

• Kanade meeting with Mafuyu's mother in Immiscible Discord, with Mafuyu's mother asking Kanade to leave her daughter's life while Kanade declared that she'd never leave Mafuyu's side no matter what, can remind you of a parent not approving of her daughter's choice for a girlfriend.
  • A similar instance happens in Saying Goodbye to my Masked Self, where one of the things Mafuyu's mother exclaims when she's angry is that Kanade doesn't love Mafuyu as much as she does, which in a different context could easily read like a parent struggling to let their child grow up and leave the nest.
• Near the end of the ''Samsa'' 3DMV, Kanade and Mafuyu reach out to each other while the stage and the other members fade into darkness.

  Kanade: So don't say that you've given up on reality, Samsa! Okay?

• At the end of the ''Enegki'' 3DMV, the spotlights once again go dark on every member of N25 except for Kanade and Mafuyu, who walk to meet each other in the middle of the stage. Even Mafuyu's voice actress was surprised by this scene when she watched the MV during the event After Talk stream, and commented that she liked it.
• Kanade's trained Embracing Your Trembling Back with Kindness card◊ shows Kanade gently embracing a heart-shaped gemstone close to her chest. An interview with the artists heavily suggests that this gemstone represents Mafuyu.
• At the end of Saying Goodbye to the Masked Me, Mafuyu ran away from home to Kanade's place, with the two hugging in the rain◊. As everyone moves up a year with the 3rd Anniversary, a new 1-koma shows that Mafuyu had been living with Kanade ever since, with the two even having identical chairs and headphones.
• The two of them and Len cover Kokoronashi, a song with lyrics that connect very well with their story. Some of this could even border on ship tease.

  Kanade, Mafuyu & Len: You still hold me tight, you won't let go,

  Kanade: So it's okay.

• In Kanade's chapter of Searching for a Reflection Beneath the Water, she has a dream in which she helps a child in the Empty SEKAI who has lost her toy. When she wakes up, it's revealed that Mafuyu had an eerily similar dream about losing something in an unfamiliar place. Given that the dream was possibly created by the SEKAI, it could mean that Mafuyu's feelings have somehow linked their dreams.
  • In Kanade's card story, she wants to give Mafuyu her key because she wants Mafuyu to feel at home, and thus doesn't have to wait for Kanade to open the door for her like a guest would; after some back-and-forth, they ended up deciding to make a duplicate instead so they both can have a key each.
• In an area conversation, Miku notices that the atmosphere between Kanade and Mafuyu has softened up since they started living together.

Honami and Kanade

Outside of the apparent dynamic between Kanade and Mafuyu, there's also a bit of tease between Kanade and Honami.

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• Honami is Kanade's housekeeper but also behaves like a housewife when she visits her, keeping her fed and bringing her flowers and snacks. Kanade also enjoys Honami's company, taking rare breaks to spend time with her.
• In one 4koma, Mizuki says that their relationship sounds more like that of a couple that's been married for years than a 2 year friendship.
• The 2023 June bride event, "Standing Next to the Kind and Gentle You", was mainly centered around the pair.
  • In the event story, Honami becomes worried that Kanade is overworking herself, and invites her to a bridal festival that she has tickets for so that she can take a break.
  • Honami's untrained "Under the Bells of Gratitude and Blessings" banner card◊ depicts the two in wedding dresses together.
  • In chapter 6 of the story, Honami outright admits that she thinks Kanade looks good in her wedding outfit.
  • As part of the festival, Kanade and Honami have to read wedding vows to each other. They end up getting interrupted by Emu before they can finish, though.
    Staff: Then, both brides, speak your vows.
    Kanade: That's the "in sickness and in health", right?
    Honami: Yes. So this is included as well, huh.
    Staff: To both brides, do you promise to care and support each other with all your heart, in sickness or in health?
    Honami: ..Um, well—
    (both start blushing)
  • Kanade's untrained "A Person Who Gives Warmth" card◊ really plays up their apparent "married couple" dynamic, depicting the two in a rather domestic scenario cooking together. Honami and Kanade aren't even the focus of the card, being in the background with the main focus being the wedding bouquet Kanade made for Honami at the bridal festival.
    • The first side story for this card shows Kanade making the bouquet with Mizuki and Emu. She picked out several flowers with meanings related to love, including white dahlias^note meaning gratitude and abundant love and bluestars^note meaning mutual trust and happy love. Mizuki comments that the flower meanings are a good fit since Honami and Kanade said their vows earlier.
  • At the end of the event, after Kanade has given Honami the bouquet, Kanade also gives her this very heartfelt message:
    Kanade: At home, sometimes when I start creating music, I get lost in my head. But when that happens, you call out to me.
    Kanade: And not only that, but the food you cook, the scent of the laundry you do for me, those little unnoticeable things. They make me feel safe.
    Kanade: I think it's because you've always been here that I've been able to keep creating music.
    Kanade: That's why... thank you, for everything.
  • The 4koma for the event shows Honami going to Rin for advice on how to ask Kanade to go to the bridal festa. Rin suggests that Honami should kabedon Kanade and be more forward with her, which is taken from a scene in one of Saki's romance mangas. Imagining the scene with herself and Kanade causes Honami to become very flustered.

Other

• Of all the characters in the game, a pretty strong case can be made for An being a lesbian:
  • Her unsubtle attachment and affection for Kohane, as well as her fear of being left behind by Kohane, is treated completely seriously in her unit focus events, rather than being Played for Laughs or fanservice. Her relationship with Kohane is also important to her character development.
  • She's shown to be attracted to Shizuku during Wishing to the Blue Sky For Your Happiness!, becoming uncharacteristically flustered when she falls into her arms due to being so close to her beauty. Kohane also theorizes that An likes to be coddled by older sister figures, something which was also brought up in MEIKO’s 1* card story, which makes An blush in embarrassment and makes an unconvincing attempt to deny it.
  • She's generally more affectionate toward female characters than male ones, treating even her male teammates with more distance despite them all having grown close by Same Dreams, Same Colors. She even invades Ena's personal space due to her excitement to meet her in What lies behind, What lies ahead, much to Ena's discomfort. She's also perfectly fine with being cuddly with Airi.
  • In her "Peak Excitement!" side story, her own father doesn't appear to see her male team members as dating options for her, with his mind immediately going to Kohane when she tells him she's going on a date. When disappointed by him knowing who it was without her telling him, he tells An it's because he knows his daughter.
  • According to Kohane's "Pretty Bridesmaid" side story, An is less than enthused about the idea of Akito and Toya coming to help them at the wedding chapel if something were to go wrong during the shooting despite Toya's innocent insistence that it would be a just in case scenario, but she was perfectly willing to pose as a bride to Shizuku's groom in the photos, only being insecure about not matching the beautiful and mature image of a bride well. Humorously, Akito is similarly disinterested in the idea.
  • Haruka, An's Childhood Friend, implies that Kohane may have been An's Closet Key, as she points out An was never this clingy before meeting Kohane, and seemingly supports their relationship.
  • An is very excited to have Nene as her 2A classmate and doesn’t hold back affection. She’s holding hands with Nene by the end of “The Best Picture Wrap!” event. By contrast, An says she doesn’t care about she and Akito being classmates.
• You can make a strong case for Kohane being a lesbian as well:
  • In Buddy・Funny・Spend Time ♪, she gets flustered around Haruka during their first interactions and blushes when Haruka says she's allowed to call her by her name, which Haruka picks up on and teases her about, making An jealous. As well, their second Kizuna Rank title is "That Smile Makes Me Embarrassed", referencing this event.
  • Later on in Wishing to the Blue Sky for Your Happiness!, she blushes slightly when Shizuku shows off her outfit for the photoshoot, with Shizuku surrounded by sparkles as well. Mind you, the blushing and Love Bubbles increase significantly when A comes out and shows off her dress.
• Haruka and Shizuku are both considered to be very attractive and often attract the attention of other girls (and Mizuki). To varying degrees, it has been heavily implied, if not outright stated, that Minori is attracted to Haruka, and that Airi, An, Ena, Mizuki, and Saki are attracted to Shizuku. Kohane has been shown to be attracted to both of them.
• Miku and Luka in the School Sekai get a moment at one point, in which Luka asks Miku if she needs her and wants to be with her forever, much to Miku's surprise.
• Airi and Minori duet "Ren'ai Saiban", a love song about a guy trying to win back the love of his partner after an unnamed action. The full MV reveals that the two were likely placed in jail by Miku because of their relationship with their companions Shizuku and Haruka, who they are reunited with towards the end of the song.
• Leo/need's School SEKAI and MORE MORE JUMPS! Stage SEKAI are so far the only SEKAI in which KAITO doesn't act like a Cool Big Bro or any sort of other guiding figure to Len, despite the two still appearing to be close, which gives them more opportunities for Ship Tease interactions. For example, there's this interaction between Len and KAITO in Stage SEKAI.
  Len: KAITO-kun. I've been thinking about the live show we're going to do together, and I've been thinking about directing it too. Just like you always do, I also want to make you shine as bright as possible.
  KAITO: Thank you, Len-kun! I'm very happy.
  • In the second official fanbook, the relationship diagrams have been updated to include the latest VIRTUAL SINGERS that appeared in SEKAI. MORE MORE JUMP! KAITO appears in the latest one for Stage SEKAI, and his relationship line to Len is "A refreshingly handsome idol that I want to support".
• KAITO and Len are often given Another Vocals together, with the song they first covered being "Fragile" by Nulut featuring Gumi. The song was originally covered by Akito and Toya, with a 3DMV, but unlike other Another Vocals, this is treated as a secondary VIRTUAL SINGER version of the song. The pair performed their version of the song during an early game Virtual Lives using the same motions from the Akito and Toya 3DMV. Yes, the "gay pointing" from that MV stayed.
  • KAITO and Len were also given an Another Vocal for VFlowers's song "Charles", which is about the end of a romantic relationship and was originally covered by Ena and Mizuki. The first Virtual Live in which it was performed, which was in celebration of KAITO's 16th anniversary, had the two wearing wedding tuxedos from the A Song of Vows for You, Dressed in Pure White! event once again using the same motion as the original 3DMV.
• Wishing to the Blue Sky for Your Happiness! is filled to the brim with homoerotic subtext:
  • An poses as a bride for a photoshoot while Shizuku dresses up to be her "groom". Airi and Kohane accompany them as bridesmaids and openly say they look good together.
  • The outfit previews for their gacha cards has An and Shizuku dancing to "Romeo and Cinderella", the song with the famous les yay moment in the 3DMV.
  • Airi blushes in excitement at the idea of seeing Shizuku dressed up in her wedding tuxedo.
  • Airi and An devise a plan to act close and overly affectionate to make Kohane worked up enough to drop her stiff expression. It works, and Kohane tackles and hugs An, making An blush in embarrassment. Doubles as Lesyay for An/Kohane and An/Airi.
    • Airi apparently carries on teasing Kohane about flirting with An in their cut-line in in which Airi says she'll take the seat next to An, to which Kohane jealously exclaims "That's not allowed!"
  • There's a moment where An trips and falls over her dress, right into Shizuku's arm. She's so taken aback by the encounter and being so close to Shizuku's beauty that she stutters shyly. Kohane comments that they look like a prince and princess out of a fairytale.
  • The reason Shizuku ends up wearing a tuxedo and posing as a "groom" to An is that the organizer, Ms. Kawasaki, said that the gender of those getting married doesn't matter as long as they truly care for one another. Mind you, the event was released for June Bride month but coincided with Pride month as well.
• In Guiding a Lost Child to What Lies Beyond, Kanade holds Mafuyu's hand to guide her, which Mafuyu describes as feeling "warm". Ena also holds Mafuyu's hand in her connected "Getting the Best Angle" side story.
• Ichika really likes Miku, to the point where in some events it seems as though she has a crush on her. This gets ramped up when she develops a friendship with her SEKAI's Miku, which evolves into a Pseudo-Romantic Friendship from there. They even have a moment in the ''the WALL'' 3DMV, where they turn to look at each other for several seconds while the lighting changes to pink. To top it off, Ichika is shown blushing during this sequence.
• KAITO gets some of this with Akito and Touya in the second half of Ifuudoudou's choreography, such as seductively lifting Toya by his chin with his finger.
• In A Sorrowful Farewell at the Curtain Call, it gives a bit to Tsukasa and a newly introduced NPC named Asahi.
  • Asahi is a huge unabashed fan of Tsukasa and Wonderlands x Showtime, and lets him know on their first meeting. After their initial interactions (and a few time skips) the two develop a mutual respect and admiration for each other, becoming closely bonded.
  • The events banner itself features two silhouettes holding hands. These silhouettes are of the two male androids from the play "Two Androids", who are portrayed by Tsukasa and Asahi.
  • The play ends with the two androids (Tsukasa and Asahi) talking about watching the new scenery together while pink petals fall across the screen.
  • There's also this line he says to Tsukasa after watching him perform.
  Asahi: After all, I fell in love with Miles^note The name of the character Tsukasa played, he's super cool!

  • In that example, he uses the word horeta (惚れる), meaning love. Unlike the more commonly used suki or daisuki, horeta is almost exclusively used with romantic intent.
• There is some subtext between Haruka and Shizuku, although it's mostly dwarfed by the amount of ship tease they receive with Minori and Airi respectively.
  • The commissioned song "Ai no Material", a song about the singer wanting to support someone they love, is listed as a Haruka/Shizuku center on the EN server.
  • They also cover Shoujorei, a song about a girl who bullies another girl, that she seemingly was in love with, to the point of suicide.
  • There's also a moment in the Kimagure Mercy 3DMV where Shizuku offers her hand out to Haruka ballroom dance-style while singing the line "Shall we dance?".
• "Shinpakusuu#0822" is a love song covered by Ichika and Honami.
  • Ichika and Honami also received a duet Another Vocal for "from Y to Y", a song about the end of a marriage.
• Ena and Mizuki also get some Ship Tease together:
  • Ena and Mizuki were the first to cover "Charles" , a song about the end of a romantic relationship. The choreography plays into this as well, as toward the end of the 3DMV the players are treated to a shot of Ena smiling fondly at Mizuki.
  • They are also the singers for the commissioned song Cellphone Love Story, another song about a breakup.
  • The What's On Your Mind? Exciting Picnic event was largely focused on the two. At the end of the event, Ena decides that she wants to see Mizuki smile more like they did at the campsite◊, and admits to herself that despite their bickering, Mizuki is someone she really cares about.
    Ena: I want Mizuki to smile like that more...
    Ena: I get that I might start being a nuisance... But I can't ignore this anymore.
    Ena: Because Mizuki's my friend... because Mizuki's someone I really care about.
• During the connect live performance of bug, Mizuki makes half a heart shape with their arms, and gets Mafuyu to complete the other half.
• Leo/need as a whole receive some ship tease with each other:
  • In Ichika's self introduction, she explains that her parents met each other because they liked the same song, hence her name being Ichika.^note Literal translation: One song She also notes that her father hopes that she'll be able to meet someone special through music the same way he and her mother did, and she attributes this to the other members of Leo/need.
    Ichika: My father hopes that I'll meet someone special through music one day too.
    Ichika: (I guess that would be Saki, Honami and Shiho for me?)
  • In Honami's self-introduction, she gives a message to her friends saying she's glad that they are in a band together. This causes Ichika, Saki and Shiho to blush, with them telling Honami it sounded like a secret confession.
    Honami: Um, how about this: I'd like to say something to all my bandmates. Here goes... I know a lot of things happened between us before we finally formed the band. But I'm really happy that we're in this band together now, Saki, Ichika, and Shiho. I'll perform my best to live up to everyone's expectations. My name is Honami Mochizuki from Leo/need. Thank you everyone!
    Honami: What do you think? Um, s-so was that okay?
    Honami: Huh? That last part felt like a secret confession? But I was just being honest about my feelings. Wh-Why's everyone blushing? You're making me feel so awkward about this now...
  • In Connected by Our Stellar Song, Miku says that the members of Leo/need really love each other, using the word "daisuki".
• The sparkle and Love Bubbles effect often used to indicate when other characters are attracted to Shizuku or Haruka is used in the Standing Next to the Kind and Gentle You event when Honami and Kanade first walk out in their wedding dresses. Notably, this effect is used from Mizuki's POV, suggesting they might find the two attractive.
• Shizuku and Mafuyu share an umbrella while it snows in Draw Your Bow In This White World, which is a common romance trope in Japan.
• In the Weaving Precious Memories With You event, Saki blushes whilst watching Shizuku perform, and says that she "can't help but admire her".
• Kotaro gets a bit in BURN MY SOUL when he talks about how Akito has inspired him.
  Kotaro: Before I even knew it, I started to love his singing.
• Kanade and Ena covered the song Cute na Kanojo^note Lit. Cute Girlfriend alongside Luka. The song was added to the game on Good Couples Day in Japan.
• In Leo/need's SEKAI Game Day video, Saki insists on her and Shiho's Miis sharing a room in Miitopia.
• The Wonderland SEKAI versions of MEIKO and Luka get quite a bit of ship tease together. Luka often uses MEIKO as a lap pillow, and in one area conversation even asks Rui to make a pillow of MEIKO'S lap for her to use when napping.
• The descriptions for Pure Heart Class^note Ichika, Shizuku, Toya, Emu and Kanade and Solid Heart Class^note Shiho, Airi, Akito, Nene and Ena from the 2023 April Fools Day event provide ship tease between the students of the two classes.
  Pure Heart Class description: Does another class worry about them because they don't have a tsukkomi?
  Solid Heart Class description: They seem to care about the students in Pure Heart Class for some reason...
• Even after she grew closer to Akito, An's apathy toward men and preference for girls persists into the game's third anniversary, as when the two are revealed to be in the same class, she flatly states that she doesn't care about being in the same class as him and is happier to be in the same class as Nene.

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