History WithFriendsLikeThese / AnimeAndManga

** [[ImmortalImmaturity China]] is friends with [[TheHero America]], [[PsychopathicManchild Russia]], [[AnythingThatMoves France]] and England (making up the Allied Forces). However, he is easily the woobie of the group, getting hell from the others, from being forced to make lunch for them to assembling airplanes for them.

* ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia2017'': An interesting case between Akko/Lotte and Sucy. Despite Sucy considering meeting Akko as one of her most precious memories, she has no qualms using her as an unwilling guinea pig for her potentially dangerous experiments, and the world built in her subconscious shows her regularly laughing at Akko's misfortunes (stylized in the form of old cartoons). She'll also throw blunt insults Akko's way at any chance she gets, even if Akko did little to nothing to deserve it. In the first episode she was even willing to trick Akko and Lotte into making themselves bait for a giant monster, all just so she could swipe a rare feather from it for her poison experiments. She even leaves them for dead after obtaining said feather, and never apologizes for the entire situation. It's amazing that Akko and Lotte still consider her a friend after that.

* ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia'': An interesting case between Akko/Lotte and Sucy. Despite Sucy considering meeting Akko as one of her most precious memories, she has no qualms using her as an unwilling guinea pig for her potentially dangerous experiments, and the world built in her subconscious shows her regularly laughing at Akko's misfortunes (stylized in the form of old cartoons). She'll also throw blunt insults Akko's way at any chance she gets, even if Akko did little to nothing to deserve it. In the first episode she was even willing to trick Akko and Lotte into making themselves bait for a giant monster, all just so she could swipe a rare feather from it for her poison experiments. She even leaves them for dead after obtaining said feather, and never apologizes for the entire situation. It's amazing that Akko and Lotte still consider her a friend after that.

* ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}}'': Sanzo and Gojyo bicker hilariously in one arc when they have to work together without [[TheChick Hakkai]] to mediate, while Gojyo and Goku constantly toss insults back and forth, to Sanzo's eternal frustration (it's no wonder he goes from smoking few cigarettes occasionally to full-blown chain smoker).

%%* ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'': Nyamo and Yukari ''define'' this trope. Tomo and Yomi are a very good example too.
* ''Anime/BakaAndTestSummonTheBeasts'': Out of all of [[ButtMonkey Akihisa Yoshii's]] friends, the only one to treat him with any kind of dignity or respect would be [[DudeLooksLikeALady Hideyoshi]]. The rest just generally treat him like crap, and in [[{{Tsundere}} Minami's]] case, [[DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale beat the ever-loving shit out of him]]. [[EvenTheGuysWantHim Is it any wonder Akihisa finds Hideyoshi attractive?]]

* ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'': Viola, a KnowledgeBroker with ChronicBackstabbingDisorder, and Carol, a FemmeFatale ActionGirl, are supposed to be best friends. Each of them tell some of the other's prospective business partners/victims about the other's disreputable nature. Carol also gives Viola AnOfferYouCantRefuse for her information sometimes, and her work as Viola’s bodyguard is quite questionable when it comes to people Carol likes such as Akira and Sheryl (which eventually leads to Viola getting a new bodyguard).

* ''{{Manga/Doraemon}}'': [[FailureHero Nobita's]] closest friends are Gian and Suneo, who are ''also'' {{The Bull|y}}ies that pick on him almost every day. Even his nicer friends [[RobotBuddy Doraemon]] and [[NiceGirl Shizuka]] sometimes laugh at or overlook his misfortunes.

** [[ImmortalImmaturity China]] is friends with [[TheHero America]], [[PsychopathicManchild Russia]], [[AnythingThatMoves France]] and [[TheMeanBrit England]] (making up the Allied Forces). However, he is easily the woobie of the group, getting hell from the others, from being forced to make lunch for them to assembling airplanes for them.

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': Naruto considers his rival Sasuke his best friend, even ''after'' Sasuke's FaceHeelTurn (and increasing slide down the slippery slope that makes it look even more one-sided on Naruto's part. By the final arcs, everybody else has given up on the Uchiha and think he's better off dead so he won't conquer or destroy Konoha in his single-minded quest for revenge and Naruto just won't hear it. However, it turns out [[spoiler: Naruto was entirely right. In his final battle with Sasuke, Sasuke begins breaking down and by the end, openly admits that Naruto is his best friend. While he did admit in their clash pre-timeskip, it turns out it remained like this no matter how much he denied or suppressed it. As adults, their friendship is a lot healthier]].

* ''Anime/SailorMoon'': Usagi (Sailor Moon) and Rei (Sailor Mars). They constantly argue and pick on each other, but they actually do share a very sister-like bond and care quite a bit about each other. Much more apparent in TheNineties English dub, where the other girls constantly pick on Serena.

* ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'': The main trio’s relationship is initially like this, while Tanjiro is mostly nice with them, Inosuke often assaults Zenitsu and repeatedly tries to challenge Tanjiro into fights, while Zenitsu gives both Tanjiro and Inosuke nothing but grief when he believes they are being traitorous in some way on another.

* Kouji and Boss from ''Anime/MazingerZ'' are real good friends. You would not guess it from watching how they treat each other, though. Kouji is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold constantly picks on Boss, and Boss is a SmallNameBigEgo with [[TheBully bullish]] tendencies gets angry at Kouji when he taunts him or just shows him off.
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' considers his rival Sasuke his best friend, even ''after'' Sasuke's FaceHeelTurn (and increasing slide down the slippery slope that makes it look even more one-sided on Naruto's part. By the final arcs, everybody else has given up on the Uchiha and think he's better off dead so he won't conquer or destroy Konoha in his single-minded quest for revenge and Naruto just won't hear it. However, it turns out [[spoiler: Naruto was entirely right. In his final battle with Sasuke, Sasuke begins breaking down and by the end, openly admits that Naruto is his best friend. While he did admit in their clash pre-timeskip, it turns out it remained like this no matter how much he denied or suppressed it. As adults, their friendship is a lot healthier]].
%%* Nyamo and Yukari from ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'' ''define'' this trope. Tomo and Yomi are a very good example too.
* Watanuki and Doumeki from ''Anime/XxxHolic''. Watanuki loathes Domumeki entirely because he thinks Doumeki is a rival for Himawari's affection, and Doumeki is just the type to give Wananuki crap just because the guy is easy to wind up. Despite this, they save each other's lives quite often. It used to be even ''worse''. As of now they just snark at each other; according to Doumeki, Watanuki tried to ''drop kick him'' when they first met.
* ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}}''. Sanzo and Gojyo bicker hilariously in one arc when they have to work together without [[TheChick Hakkai]] to mediate, while Gojyo and Goku constantly toss insults back and forth, to Sanzo's eternal frustration (it's no wonder he goes from smoking few cigarettes occasionally to full-blown chain smoker).
* ''Manga/DGrayMan'' Kanda is like this with the few people who can put up with him. Lavi seems to enjoy his company, having fun teasing him while Kanda keeps insulting and threatening him. He is a bit softer with Lenalee but often makes very crude comments to her. Then there is a very odd case with Allen with whom they are TrueCompanions while ''genuinely hating '' each other.
* In ''Manga/DeathNote'' L considers Light Yagami his only friend, but Light only cares about getting rid of him and kills him. {{Subverted|Trope}} as WordOfGod says L never thought of Light as a friend.
* In ''Manga/ShamanKing'' Ren Tao seems to demonstrate this towards everyone. Especially Chocolove and Horohoro.
* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', the main trio’s relationship is initially like this, while Tanjiro is mostly nice with them, Inosuke often assaults Zenitsu and repeatedly tries to challenge Tanjiro into fights, while Zenitsu gives both Tanjiro and Inosuke nothing but grief when he believes they are being traitorous in some way on another.
* ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'':
** [[ImmortalImmaturity China]] is friends with [[TheHero America]], [[PsychopathicManchild Russia]], [[AnythingThatMoves France]] and [[TheMeanBrit England]] (making up the Allied Forces). However, he is easily the woobie of the group, getting hell from the others, from being forced to make lunch for them to assembling airplanes for them.
*** Shown in the strip where Russia, England, and France are helping China get his land back after being defeated by Japan in the first Sino-Japanese war, but they soon start demanding things from their comrade, causing him to panic.
** [[NiceGuy Lithuania]] often feels dragged around and abandoned by his [[ManChild selfish and eccentric]] [[HeterosexualLifePartners best friend Poland]], though in recent years Poland has become [[CharacterDevelopment much more considerate]] to Lithuania's feelings.
* [[{{Ojou}} Ayaka Yukihiro]] and [[MysteriousWaif Asuna Kagurazaka]] of ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' literally have this as the defining point of their relationship, to the point where their fellow classmates start to worry when they ''don't'' fight with each other. [[FreudianExcuse There's a reason for it, though.]]
* In the ''Anime/GalaxyAngel'' anime, Forte and Ranpha are constantly bickering with each other. In later seasons, the {{Ojou}} Mint starts to join in thanks to {{Flanderization}} of her [[TheTrickster Trickster]] personality.
** And of course, it's done all over again in ''Anime/GalaxyAngelRune'', where {{Space Pirate|s}} Anise Azeat (who happens to be in debt to Mint) and LadyOfWar Lily C. Shebert (taught by Forte) are much more quick to resort to violence upon each other than their predecessors.

* Good God, Squalo's relationship with Xanxus from ''Manga/Reborn2004''. How Squalo manages to put up with all the projectiles Xanxus throws at him (including a ''chair'') and still remain so loyal is beyond comprehension. Though [[YaoiFangirl many people]] seem to [[HoYay have their theories]]...
* Usagi (Sailor Moon) and Rei (Sailor Mars) in ''Anime/SailorMoon''. They constantly argue and pick on each other, but they actually do share a very sister-like bond and care quite a bit about each other. Much more apparent in TheNineties English dub, where the other girls constantly pick on Serena.
* Sanji and Zoro from ''Manga/OnePiece''. [[VolleyingInsults So, so much.]] But like the above ''Sailor Moon'' example, they're like brothers who fight for the role of dominant male.

* Mio and Ritsu from ''Manga/KOn''. Ritsu often scares and bullies Mio while Mio is quick to retaliate with a CranialEruption, yet they're still best friends.
* Revy and Eda from ''Manga/BlackLagoon''. Somehow, the two are best friends despite over half of their dialogue consisting of the two insulting each other, and they even pull guns at each other several times.
* In ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', Ritsuko and Misato are presented like close friends since they were college students. However, the former constantly mocks the later's bad traits, such as her being lazy, a slob, or an awful cook, or taunts her about her and Kaji's relationship. On the other hand, Misato actively ignores her taunts or complaints. However, during the course of the series, she starts treating Ritsuko more coldly due to her growing suspicions about Nerv's real mission.

* Gudelhian and Heinel from ''Anime/FutureGPXCyberFormula''. They often get into fistfights, but they work together in order to pursue their dreams.
* A couple of OneSceneWonder characters from ''Manga/HighschoolOfTheDead'' demonstrate this. When her so called Best Friend Forever gets dragged down on a staircase by zombies, what does the other girl do? She kicks her in the face to get free. She only gets about half a step before the zombies get her as well.
* In ''Manga/TokyoMewMew'', Retasu hangs out with a few other girls from her school who treat her terribly before joining the Mew Mews. She believes they have a certain problem in their lives, and she, by being around them, can help them get over it.
* Earlier chapters and episodes of ''Manga/SoulEater'' show that this is the nature of the relationship between Soul and Maka, with Soul constantly teasing Maka for being flat, having fat ankles, being violent, having no sex appeal - you get the point - and Maka often chiding Soul for one thing or another, hitting him over the head with books, making all the decisions without his input, and talking about how horribly sexist men are. That being said, Soul goes [[BerserkButton absolutely hysterical]] whenever something happens to Maka, no matter how small. Maka herself becomes brokenhearted when Soul is hurt and blames herself, deeming herself to be an unworthy meister. They also have several moments that [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther show how much they really do care about one another]], even [[ShipTease holding hands, hugging, and blushing around one another]].

* In ''AudioPlay/SaintBeast'', initially Pandora and Cassandra get along, but their rivalry for Zeus's attention turns friendliness into more of a necessary pretense.
* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'':
** Initially in the Kanto era, Ash and Misty's bickering brought this question to mind, though it balanced when Brock joined. It subsided over time with CharacterDevelopment as Ash became a better trainer and Misty got a chance to grow out of the shadow of her sisters.
** Quoted almost verbatim by Brock in episode 9 when the PowerTrio learns what a young Pokemon Tech student has been put through for his entire time there. A later episode has the saying turned on its face by James in a dub-exclusive ActorAllusion:
--->'''James''': With enemies like that, who needs friends?
** Chespin and Pancham in the XY series. They bicker nearly every time they're seen on screen together, most of the time this being Chespin's fault. When they work together, though, they generally work well.
* ''Anime/BakuganBattleBrawlers'': A lot of the first season sees Dan getting into disagreements with his friends, particularly Drago, Runo, and Shun. But he soon [[TookALevelInKindness realises his flaws and becomes more friendly with them]].
* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'':
** In the original ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' we're repeatedly told that Hayato was friends with Amuro when they lived in Side 7. [[TheResenter It doesn't show]], with Hayato going so far as to desert when Amuro isn't executed for, wait for it, [[InsaneTrollLogic desertion]]. Amuro, for his part, seems to barely be aware that Hayato is alive.
** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ'', we are constantly told that Beecher and Mondo were really good friends with Judau and Elle (in fact, we're told that Beecher has a thing for Elle). It's never demonstrated, with Beecher's whole personality boiling down to "I'm not Judau's cheering section" and endangering the entire crew to try and maximize his profits. He eventually betrays the ''Argama'' to their enemies, and drags Mondo along for the ride; even after this, the show insists on telling us what great friends they are.
** Kira and Athrun are definite examples in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED''. They are childhood best friends, who for a time hesitated in fights trying to find a way out of having to kill each other. That is until they both kill friends of the other. Then the gloves came off. And even after burying the hatchet and joining forces, they admit to not fully being over it, and even wanting to kill each other still.
* Played with in ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'', Dio Brando antagonizes [[TheHero Jonathan Joestar]] from the very first day he invades the later's house. Seven years later, they seem to get along fine enough for the neighbors to call them buddies, but Jonathan senses there's no real friendship between them, especially since Dio plans to kill Mr. Joestar and inherits his fortune. After the messes Dio causes in the ''Phantom Blood'' arc, Jonathan [[EasilyForgiven sympathizes]] with Dio then concludes their relationship, in his word, a bizarre friendship.
** Played straight in the ''Diamond is Unbreakable'' arc with Josuke and Rohan's relationship -- they're certainly allies when it comes to stopping the serial killer hiding in Morioh, but other than that the two can't stand each other and don't even bother hiding it. This especially comes into play during the Highway Star arc, where they work together to defeat the MonsterOfTheWeek Stand despite clashing with each other ''while fighting it''.
* In ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', Maki claims to view Kashiwagi as a precious friend, yet openly states her contempt for her for "stealing" the boy she has a crush on (and deliberately tried to sabotage their relationship on at least one occasion). Kaguya has a similar relationship with Fujiwara, viewing her as her best friend one second and mentally declaring her eternal contempt the next ([[RunningGag only to instantly flop back to friendship when Fujiwara unknowingly wins her favor again]]). [[spoiler:[[ItRunsInTheFamily Rather appropriately, Kaguya and Maki are second cousins twice removed]].]]
* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': This very much describes the relationship between Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo. While Bakugo is a very talented, driven, and intelligent individual with a powerful Quirk, he's also a colossal asshole with a massive InferioritySuperiorityComplex and HairTriggerTemper to boot. Especially since he was TheBully to Izuku for their childhood (at least after Bakugo developed his Quirk and Izuku didn't). No one is sure why Izuku sticks up for or remains friends with him, even still referring to Bakugo with a childhood nickname of "Kacchan" (though interestingly enough, Bakugo never tells him to quit calling him that.) While Bakugo is revealed to have [[HiddenHeartOfGold some moral center and caring]] and gains some camaraderie with his classmates, his relationship with Izuku still stands out as exceptionally fiery from his end.
** An extra chapter has Uraraka note their childhood friendship and coming to the conclusion that Bakugo is ''afraid'' of Izuku, which is why he tries to keep him a distance. The panel prior has a discussion that says that Bakugo ''fears'' Izuku's [[{{Determinator}} spirit]] in the same way Izuku envied Bakugo for his strength. The implications are that because of Bakugo's InferioritySuperiorityComplex, he projects his insecurities onto Izuku (thinking his compassion is pity or looking down on him) and that despite his own talent and Quirk, it's Izuku, the Quirkless child looked down upon by society, that is more worthy of being a hero than him. And to someone who holds themselves in high esteem and afraid of showing weakness, it ''unsettles'' him.
* In ''Manga/MyMonsterSecret'', near the end of Part 1, there's a serious NotWhatItLooksLike moment where Asahi and Aizawa have an AccidentalKiss right as Youko enters the scene, breaking her heart and leaving Asahi a wreck. Asahi's friends respond to the situation by defending Aizawa's honor...which they do by spreading the rumor that he's entirely to blame since he's a shameless womanizing playboy. Homeroom teacher Akari intervenes, [[WhatTheHellHero chewing out half the cast]] for destroying Asahi's reputation for the sake of a quick laugh when he needed emotional support more than ever. The characters concede the point (except for [[{{Jerkass}} Shimada]] and [[{{Troll}} Akane]]), and intervene to help smooth things over.
* In ''Manga/YuriIsMyJob'', the vast majority of Hime's friends from elementary school are not exactly good people, since they care more about her cute façade than her as a person. All of said "friends" dislike Mitsuki, and when Hime starts practicing to do a piano duet for the recital alongside Mitsuki, they spread rumors that Mitsuki is bullying Hime. When Hime is forced to back out of the recital, thus causing Mitsuki to believe that Hime betrayed her and expose her as a liar, Hime's friends quickly abandon her. As a result, Hime doesn't really care for said friends and seems more upset about Mitsuki's betrayal than losing her friends.
* Albeit she's a nuisance for most people that meet her, Tanaka of ''Manga/WastefulDaysOfHighSchoolGirls'' [[TheCorrupter is a particularly deficient friend]] towards [[TheIngenue Loli]], as the former regularly convinces the latter of outrageous stuff that her classmates have to correct later. She doesn't proceed out of malice, however, as [[ChaoticStupid she's not intelligent enough to do something like that out of her own volition]]. She's just ignorant and neglectful.
* In ''Manga/FailedPrincesses'', both the main characters suffer from this trope. When Fujishiro starts trying to befriend Kurokawa, some of her friends, like Miki, take it badly when Fujishiro sticks up for Kurokawa, straining their relationship. Miki, who'd previously looked up to Fujishiro, is especially harsh with her, although Izumi tries to play peacemaker. As for Kurokawa, her group of "friends" suddenly kick her out when they notice her associating with Fujishiro.
* ''Anime/BakaAndTestSummonTheBeasts'': Out of all of [[ButtMonkey Akihisa Yoshii's]] friends, the only one to treat him with any kind of dignity or respect would be [[DudeLooksLikeALady Hideyoshi]]. The rest just generally treat him like crap, and in [[{{Tsundere}} Minami's]] case, [[DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale beat the ever-loving shit out of him]]. [[EvenTheGuysWantHim Is it any wonder Akihisa finds Hideyoshi attractive?]]
* In ''My Two Mommies'', Himari, the protagonist, is initially friends with two other girls, who come off as rather shallow. After she starts taking care of a kitten together with her classmate Kanda, the others criticize her for spending so much time with someone she used to dislike, and wonder why she's so concerned about some kitten (not realizing that Himari feels responsible). Himari then chooses to go home with Kanda rather than go out to karaoke with her friends, acknowledging that her friendship with the other two is probably over, and not seeming all that bothered by it.
* In ''Who Decided That Blues Had To Be Cool?!'' Minami claims to be Azusa's OnlyFriend, but she isn't above needling Azusa for her more embarrassing personality traits, including reminding Azusa that she made a less than stellar first impression on her schoolmates and ended up with no other friends. As for Azusa, she doesn't particularly enjoy hanging out with Minami, finding her rather annoying even if she occasionally enjoys her company.