The world of anime is ripe with fascinating relationships, from friendships and fierce rivalries to passionate lovers and mortal enemies. A good old-fashioned friendship can bring out the best in both characters, and deepen both of them substantially as the story goes on. But just as in real life, not all friendships in anime had an ideal start.
Some characters start off as allies but become enemies, and in other cases, good friends might meet as enemies or bitter rivals. Perhaps the two characters simply got a poor first impression of each other, or one party annoyed and antagonized the other unnecessarily. Sometimes, even violence might be involved.
10 Josuke Higashikata & Okuyasu Nijimura (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)
Early in the Diamond is Unbreakable story arc, Josuke Higashikata went up against the Nijimura brothers, both of whom had Stands of their own. Josuke went up against the younger one, Okuyasu, and narrowly defeated him with his Crazy Diamond Stand.
Only moments later, Josuke healed Okuyasu a bit, and Okuyasu became a neutral third party as Josuke defeated Keicho Nijimura. Mere days after that, Okuyasu was all smiles as he visited the Higashikata home as a friend. Josuke could hardly believe it, but he soon accepted Okuyasu as a JoBro and ally.
9 Tanjiro Kamado & Inosuke Hashibira (Demon Slayer)
When Tanjiro Kamado and Zenitsu Agatsuma fought Kyogai the demon in his house, they also ran into Inosuke Hashibira, a real wild card. Inosuke had a boar helmet and two jagged swords, and he soon challenged the two demon slayers to mortal combat.
Inosuke wasn’t a villain, but rather, a ruffian who wasn’t used to company. He soon joined Tanjiro as an ally, and while he does respect Tanjiro and vice versa, their rough first meeting set the tone for their entire relationship. A lot of annoyed yelling defines this wild friendship.
8 Naofumi Iwatani & Raphtalia (The Rising Of The Shield Hero)
In this gritty isekai series, the shield hero Naofumi Iwatani was all alone and desperate. He crossed some lines to make progress in his quest, including his questionable decision to purchase a slave girl named Raphtalia and treat her as such. More than anything, Naofumi needed Raphtalia as a fighter for his party.
Naofumi treated Raphtalia rather roughly at first, but Raphtalia grew up fast, and Naofumi’s stance on her softened. Before long, Naofumi valued Raphtalia as a friend and fellow fighter, though his initial treatment of her isn’t easy to forget.
7 Rimuru Tempest & Benimaru (That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime)
Hero Rimuru Tempest started off many of his friendships on the wrong foot. He often clashed with a warrior or army, only to impress them with his power and win them over to his side. That’s how it went when a squad of ogres attacked Rimuru one sunny afternoon.
The ogres had lost their village to the orcs and their masked leader, and Benimaru and his fellows mistook Rimuru for their mortal enemy. So, they attacked, but Rimuru bloodlessly defeated them and earned their friendship once the air was cleared. Benimaru soon became one of Rimuru’s most loyal guards and allies.
6 Ken Kaneki & Touka Kirishima (Tokyo Ghoul)
The relationship between Ken Kaneki and Touka Kirishima is a complex one, with them being fellow Anteiku employees, friends, ideological rivals, and later, lovers. During the original Tokyo Ghoul story, their relationship could be more or less called a friendship, and it started off awkwardly.
Ken was still confused and terrified while coming to grips with his newfound ghoul nature when he met Touka, and she thought rather poorly of him, being a timid half-blood. Ken was afraid of her until they finally got a chance to get to know each other for real in the following weeks.
5 Ichigo Kurosaki & Uryu Ishida (Bleach)
Being a substitute Soul Reaper, Ichigo Kurosaki was bound to make some new friends or rivals sooner or later. Sure enough, his classmate Uryu Ishida revealed himself as a Quincy, a spiritually aware archer who hunts Hollows. However, the nearly-extinct Quincy were the bitter rivals of the Soul Reapers.
Uryu took that grudge seriously, and the mocked Ichigo while competing with him to see who could slay Hollows faster. Ichigo couldn’t stand Uryu, until both boys teamed up against a towering Menos Grande. They soon became proper friends and trusting allies later on, though they still butted heads sometimes.
4 Natsu Dragneel & Gajeel Redfox (Fairy Tail)
It might be fairer to say that these two Fairy Tail wizards are friendly rivals, but in this guild, everyone is a friend, and that can inspire Natsu Dragneel and Gajeel Redfox to incredible heights during battle. They certainly bonded a bit during the Grand Magic Games in Crocus, at least.
Natsu and Gajeel met on the battlefield when the Phantom Lord guild attacked the Fairy Tail guild, and Gajeel was the final boss battle as the iron dragon slayer. Gajeel wasn’t evil, though, and when he repented, he was invited to join Fairy Tail. Natsu, Lucy and the others soon learned to accept him as a friend.
3 Izuku Midoriya & All Might/Toshinori Yagi (My Hero Academia)
The relationship between Izuku Midoriy and All Might is a rather complex one, and it started off strictly as coach and student until Izuku earned the right to One For All. Soon, though, Izuku began to learn from Gran Torino and Mirio Togata, and All Might’s role as Izuku’s coach was diminished.
Still, the two of them are good friends and trust each other greatly with their secrets, emotional vulnerabilities and more, despite their significant age difference. The relationship started off awkwardly, though, when Izuku finally met his great idol, only to learn the heart-breaking truth about All Might’s skinny form and injury. Izuku’s image of a perfect, invincible All Might was soon shattered.
2 Naruto Uzumaki & Sakura Haruno (Naruto)
Naruto once had a crush on Sakura Haruno as a boy, but he soon realized that his heart belonged to Hinata Hyuga, and Sakura’s belonged to Sasuke Uchiha. Still, Naruto and Sakura learned to become good friends and teammates, and they trusted each other greatly during the Shippuden part of the franchise. They always have each other’s backs.
At first, though, they got along poorly. Sakura despised Naruto as an obnoxious brat and Naruto was bewildered that Sakura liked Sasuke instead of him. They really got on each other’s nerves in early episodes, but they both soon grew out of it.
1 Kazuma Saito & Megumin (Konosuba)
Kazuma Saito, an isekai anti-hero, tends to make a bad first impression with his sleazy personality and minimal skills and power. Aqua the goddess only joined him out of need, and then Megumin of the Crimson Demons showed up, intending to join the party as an offensive wizard.
Megumin kept trying to act flashy and cool, only for Kazuma to give her blank stares or half-hearted comments in return. He even teased her, and used the steal spell on her to obtain her undergarments. Later on, though, the two of them became real friends, and really counted on each other. After all, Kazuma was more than willing to carry Megumin back to town after each use of the Explosion spell.
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