Commonality Connections in Anime and Manga.
- The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You:
- Some of the girls share an Odd Friendship due to having unexpected things in common. Iku is a masochist who loves a good spot of Training from Hell, while Mei will gladly push herself to her utmost limits in the name of better serving her master, Hahari. As such they share a Strange Minds Think Alike moment when, in a game of hide and seek, both independently choose to hide by holding themselves up near the ceiling in part because of how strenuous it is. From then on, the two are often paired together either directly as the focus of a chapter, or indirectly as part of a Funny Background Event.
- On the surface, Naddy and Yaku couldn't be more different. Naddy is obsessed with the United States, while Yaku has trouble with anything that isn't classically Japanese. However, Naddy was raised to be a Yamato Nadeshiko, while Yaku actually is one. As such, they often have things in common such as both having been the only girlfriends to have practiced kendo prior to Kishika joining, both had similar types of toys and dolls growing up, and both are well practiced in classical Japanese styles of dance.
- Rentarou bonds with Suu thanks to seeing how her love for numbers, and how her attitude shifts when thinking about the numbers she loves, correlates with how he feels about his own girlfriends. He empathizes with her inability to single out any one number to love most, and when she talks about how numbers in different forms (kanji, roman numerals, arabic numerals) is like seeing them in differnet outfits and hairstyles, Rentarou imagines his own girlfriends in the same manner and understands completely. This allows him to win over Suu because he can take her love of numbers completely seriously.
- Call of the Night: Kabura is initially hostile to Haruka even after learning they're both the offspring of Haru Nanakusa, but after a few beers they quickly bond over Haru's annoying, yet cute quirks.
- Jeremy and Cass of A Cruel God Reigns. At the beginning of the series, Jeremy actively dislikes Cass because the latter is rumored to do drugs and prostitute himself. However, when Jeremy returns to Boston after the deaths of his mother and stepfather, is kicked out of his aunt's house, and begins taking drugs and selling himself, Jeremy at some point meets up with Cass and the two live and work together. They bond over their Dark and Troubled Past, Cass having admitted to Jeremy early on that he left home because his parents were abusive alcoholics and Cass being the only person aware of what Jeremy's stepfather did to him, as well as their shared statuses as Functional Addicts and teenaged prostitutes wishing for a better life.
- The Dangers in My Heart: While the two are a case of Opposites Attract, both Ichikawa and Yamada find similarities in each other as they spend time together.
- Yamada loans Ichikawa three volumes of her beloved manga (and the only one that she reads), Kimi Iro Octave, after a field trip to Akita Publishing. Ichikawa actually likes it and becomes a regular reader. To their surprise, they both have the same favorite scene.
- In a more humorous case, Ichikawa notes that they both have big foreheads in an extra chapter in Volume 3. Mostly to makeup for openly noting how wide her forehead was while it was windy (He actually meant it as a compliment). As a result, Yamada happily clips both of their bangs up for the rest of the day and takes a selfie of them both.
- In an overall sense, both of them are insecure teenagers who feel deeply inadequate as a result of past failures and often compare themselves to other people they deem to be better than themselves to their own detriment. The two appreciate one-another for confiding these feelings to each-other, and more-so for both of them still having it in them to still keep trying what they want.
- Fullmetal Alchemist has Major Armstrong and Sig Curtis form "a friendship forged entirely by muscle."
- Arslan in The Heroic Legend of Arslan feels a connection to Jaswant despite being from different countries because both of them respect and want to please their adoptive parents and are uncertain with their place in the world.
- Haikyuu!!:
- The main characters Hinata and Kageyama clash a lot but their shared passion for volleyball keeps them close to the point that they're often referred to as the "freak duo". After their temporary falling out in season 2, Hinata is particularly upset because Kageyama was the first person he genuinely considered a "partner".
- Yaku and Kuroo from Nekoma High. In their first year of high school, they disagreed on pretty much everything (including trivial things such as summer activities, volleyball brands, and even types of toilets). However, when asked about their goals and aspirations, they both answered that they want to "dominate nationals". This declaration helps them to put aside their differences and work together as teammates.
- Tanaka from Karasuno High and Yamamoto from Nekoma High don't get along at first and constantly try to intimidate each other at their first meeting but eventually bond over their crush on Karasuno's manager Kiyoko.
- Jigoku no Gouka de Yakare Tsuzuketa Shounen, Flare quickly strikes up a friendship with Bella over their shared pasts as Happily Adopted orphans and their love for bread. He even says that like her, he's one of the "lucky ones" for having his dream choose him rather than having to search for a meaning or purpose.
- Kaguya-sama: Love Is War: Kaguya was incredibly wary of Moeha for a long time (with good reason), but the two of them end up bonding very quickly when she discovers that both of them have a crush on Shirogane.The joy that comes from sharing things you like about your first love is a miracle that eclipses all contempt for one's rival in love.
- The titular Nozaki of Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun was quite wary of Ken when they first met but warms up to him after their shared exasperation towards Maeno. When Ken proves to be a much better editor than Maeno, Nozaki all but worships him.
- In My-HiME, Natsuki stops Shizuru from killing Nao (and this is after she kills Nao's CHILD) by first standing between the two, then pointing out how she would've ended up just as bitter and broken as Nao, had it not been for Shizuru herself and the other HiMe.
- Katarina from My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! ends up befriending both Mary and Sophia when she discovers that they share her interests (gardening for the former and reading romance novels for the latter).
- Naruto: Naruto and Sakura's shared bond with Sasuke is one of the main reasons she and Naruto develop a strong friendship over the course of the series.
- Phantom Seer: Both Iori and Riku have specific ideas of what life they want to live that are at odds with their abilities. Iori wants to be a normal high schooler, but his strong shamanic powers and shaman family have roped him into fighting Phantoms. Riku wants to help people like her police officer father and nurse mother, but her ability as a "Beckoning Hand" draws Phantoms to her, making it likely that she'll endanger the very people she’s trying to help.
- Strangely averted and weirdly played straight in Pokémon Journeys: The Series. Second lead Goh just couldn't connect with people because, to him, they couldn't understand his love for Pokémon (even though everyone and their grandmas perfectly did). Since he was a little child, he would seclude himself from other children, preferring to be in the company of Pokémon. When he actually did connect with someone (Horace) while he was younger, the relationship fell apart because Horace failed to show up to play with him, making Goh think that he was ditched (except what really happened was that Horace got sick and had no way to contact Goh other than going back to where they met) and not even bother with making human friends anymore, preferring to become a shut-in. Flashforward to the present, and Goh remained with a Friendless Background (barely considering Chloe - someone who barely cared about Pokémon - a friend) until he happened to meet Ash during a Lugia raid. Despite Ash being the loudest Pokémon-loving kid on the planet, Goh got endeared by him rather quickly by their apparently "rare" commonality, and the rest is history.
- Rebuild World:
- While Carol makes a horrible first impression on Sheryl by trying to seduce Akira in front of her, seeing that they share admiration and respect for Akira helps the two get along. With the way Sheryl's personality is warped around Akira as well as the Fair-Weather Friend filled environment of the slums, that's enough for Sheryl. While Carol liked Sheryl from the get go as someone she can tease.
- Despite Akira initially thinking Nelia is crazy, they eventually have some Badass Minds Think Alike moments working in perfect sync, helped along by them both have a Consummate Professional mindset valuing I Gave My Word above all else.
- Despite being extremely suspicious of Inabe at first, Akira bonds with him over their mutual dislike of Viola, who’s crossed both of them before.
- While Akira is generally distant with most people due to being The Paranoiac, he gets especially close with Carol due to the connection of them both being Differently Powered Individuals known as Old World Connectors and their fears surrounding that.
- The Secret Garden: When Ben Weatherstaff explains to Mary Lennox that the little robin has lost its mother, Mary understands and says that she's alone too because she also lost her mother, and befriends it.
- A Silent Voice: Awful ex-husbands are in the past of the mothers of both Ishida and Nishimiya. It allows their mothers to finally move past the awkward issues that have been between the two for years.
- SPY×FAMILY:
- After Loid rescued Anya from Edgar (in disguise), he's surprised to learn she's still waiting for Loid as her papa and wants to go home with him. He realizes that she's been returned to the orphanage after being adopted four times already, always changing her name and trying to find a place to belong. This gives him parallels to his spy work and own past.
- While Loid and Yor aren't aware of the other's double-life as a spy and assassin, respectively, they both share a strong mindset of doing things for the greater good, even if this meant getting their hands dirty. With Loid's speech about how her self-sacrifice to ensure her younger brother has a good upbringing making Yor realize that he might be the only man that would accept her for the way she is, odd as it might be, she suggests to extend their one-off deal into a full-blown Marriage of Convenience.
- Urusei Yatsura: Ryuunosuke Fujinami is shown visibly warming up to her unwanted parentally-chosen spouse Nagisa Shiowatari after he first defeats her in battle and then pointedly asks if she would like to hurt a girl she was in love with. This is a tenet of masculine honor/pride that Ryuunosuke can understand, since she was Raised as the Opposite Gender and shares a similar aversion to fighting girls. She does express said warmth in a tsundere fashion, inviting him to continue living with her by saying she won't let him "run off" until she can beat him in a rematch.
- Voltes V: Daijirou and the puppy. encounters the it while fishing as it is nuzzling the corpse of its mother. He then remarks that the puppy lost its mother, just like he lost his. He then pets the dog and tells it not to worry, as he will bury its mother.
- Yu-Gi-Oh!: Towards the end of Battle City, Ishizu tries to convince Seto Kaiba to give Yugi a card that will help him defeat Marik and save the world, but Kaiba repeatedly brushes her off and mocks her. He only changes his mind when he realizes that Ishizu entered Battle City to protect her brother Marik, and is willing to allow herself to die if her brother can't be saved. This reminds him of the time during Duelist Kingdom where he gambled with his own life in order to save Mokuba, and it convinces him to give Yugi the card he needs to win.
