In shonen anime, friendships are a key part of the story. The types of friendships usually depicted are between the male characters or the characters who cause more action-based or intense scenes to attract the male youth. Notable shonen friendships include Hinata and Kageyama from Haikyuu!! and Denji and Power from Chainsaw Man.
These friendships push the story forward, as the idea of a common struggle toward a similar goal is ideal and relatable in a situation that wouldn’t usually be relatable. However, some friendships are overlooked in shonen series, as they either get overshadowed by the show’s plot or are taken for granted, especially girl-girl friendships.
10 Levy & Lucy (Fairy Tail)
When Lucy first joined the Fairy Tail guild, one of the first friends she made was with one of the guild’s literature enthusiasts, Levy. Beyond the first few seasons, there isn’t much visual growth concerning their friendship beyond their love of literature and a few battles.
Despite the few scenes between Levy and Lucy, it is evident how close the two girls are, as Levy was the first person Lucy let read her book. There is also the support they give each other during their other endeavors, battles, and struggles throughout Fairy Tail.
9 Anya & Becky (Spy X Family)
Anya and Becky became close friends in Spy x Family soon after they started at Eden Academy, though the friendship was a little strained at first. With Anya being extremely impulsive and childlike and Becky trying to be more mature and guiding, it seemed that the friendship would be more one-sided — that is, until Anya decided to stand up to her own bully.
Becky still becomes a social guide for Anya, but the two girls end up spending as much time together as they can, even outside of school, such as when the girls learn self-defense from Yor. The support the two girls give each other helps them both through their stressful life at school.
8 Sango & Kagome (Inuyasha)
Like most of the relationships in Inuyasha, the friendship between Kagome and Sango didn’t start passively, but rather with Songo trying to kill Inuyasha. Upon joining the team, Sango connected with Kagome before the others, which, after the many journeys they had, led to Kagome stating that Sango was her best friend.
Kagome and Songo also would constantly speak up for each other, especially when it came to their future husbands, Inuyasha and Miroku. It also helped their friendship that they had a few similarities, such as both being the eldest to a younger brother, both having a cat, and views on the behaviors of the boys in their group.
7 Kohaku & Suika (Dr. Stone)
Though they look like sisters, Kohaku and Suika from Dr. Stone are actually more sisters in a friend way instead of blood. No one knows when they became friends, but it is assumed that they were friends long before Senku came to Ishigami village due to their treatment of each other throughout the series.
Making up for each other’s weaknesses, Kohaku and Suika are each other’s best support system and are constantly in a state of worry about the other in tense situations. While they feel concern for others, it’s not as intense as for each other.
6 Ochaco & Tsuyu (My Hero Academia)
Though it is unknown exactly when Ochaco and Tsuyu became close friends in My Hero Academia, it is safe to say they became good friends at the start of their school year at U.A. High. Even before their first fight against Toga at the training camp, they were a bit more than acquaintances since they to how to aid each other.
After the mission to rescue Katsuki, Tsuyu confided in Ochaco about how she felt sorry about standing against the rescue and frustrated with herself for being scared and calling her classmates villains. With Ochaco’s help, she was able not only to apologize to the others but also to work on being a better hero.
5 Sakura & Ino (Naruto)
While they weren’t friends throughout the entirety of Naruto, there is no doubt that Sakura and Ino are close. Despite an argument that lasted years because both of the girls liked the same boy, they eventually made up and became close friends once again.
Together, Sakura and Ino inspired each other to train and fight in new ways as well as help each other get with their respective husbands. While they were against each other for a while, they were able to make up, and the relatable feeling that friendships can have ups and downs that can last longer than a few days was shown to anime viewers worldwide.
4 Kiyomi & Ika (The Squid Girl)
While Ika from The Squid Girl met many people when she finally came to the land to claim it in the name of the sea, the first person she considered to be a friend was Kiyomi, who came into her life much later than the others. It makes it even better that they became friends after a prank that didn’t go as Ika had planned.
After becoming friends, Kiyomi helps Ika at the beach to clean the waters, and the two girls end up spending days together having fun. While not much is known about their relationship beyond the joy they give each other, it is evident that they are people that they don’t want to lose.
3 Kyouko & Yuki (Horimiya)
Having been friends since before the start of Horimiya, Hori and Yuki are the type of friends that don’t need to know everything about each other to be friends. They have no assumptions that they do know everything; they just help each other as needed.
Even though Yuki doesn’t know about Hori’s life outside of school, she will still ask Hori to hang out with her, and Hori will still confide in Yuki about other concerns outside of her home life. Working together, they have their own support system to help as they can.
2 Nami & Robin (One Piece)
As the only women on the Straw Hat Pirates crew in One Piece, Nami and Robin share a close relationship, almost similar to that of Nami and her adopted older sister, Nojiko. Together, Nami and Robin stand as the more intelligent of the crew, Nami as the navigator, and Robin as an archeologist, and both try to advise the rest of the crew in battle.
Despite being the more aggressive of the two, Nami is more level-headed than Robin, while Robin is calmer in going along with the antics of the boys as she finds the results entertaining. Either way, Robin and Nami make up for each other’s weaknesses and try to stay together, especially after the two-year gap apart.
1 Mayuko & Yuri (High Rise Invasion)
Though their relationship started tensely, Mayuko and Yuri’s journey to friendship was quick in High Rise Invasion. As Mayuko wasn’t a fan of Yuri’s behavior in a world where it was dog-eat-dog, she quickly grew to not only respect but even admire Yuri in her conviction to fight and protect the people she cared for.
After Yuri saves Mayuko from a masked killer, Mayuko’s admiration only continues to grow as Yurio constantly puts herself in difficult situations to save Yuri and other complete strangers. Even after Mayuko was cleared from her duties of having to be a Mask, she still wanted to stay by Yuri’s side and help her survive.
