Ho Yay / Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS

The beginning of the series was marked by a notable lack of this, until the latter half of season 1 when it came back with a vengeance...

Yusaku/Ai

The staple spirit (Artificial Intelligence in this case) partner relationship.

• When he's not goofing off, Ai does hold genuine affection for Yusaku despite their rocky start, risking himself to save Yusaku on multiple occasions.
• Despite still calling Ai his hostage and denying any regard for him in season 2, Yusaku comes to care for him in a more subtle way, calling Ai his partner on several occasions (to Ai's delight and sometimes disbelief) and becoming distraught by Ai's Heroic Sacrifice against Bohman.
• Ai initially objects to the name Yusaku gave him and the lack of thought he put into it. Despite this, he quickly becomes attached to his name, demanding that it be used whenever he's called anything else, and often makes puns (Ai/I) on it. Even after he becomes the final antagonist and claims to have abandoned his old self, he still goes by 'Ai' and makes puns on his name, to the point of creating a whole new spell/trap archetype themed around it.
  • One of his cards is called 'Ai Love Fusion' ('Ai Love Yuugou' in the Japanese version), making a pun on 'I love you' and possibly foreshadowing Ai's proposal to fuse with Yusaku. To make the symbolism even more blatant, the card art shares a main colour scheme with Yusaku's hair.
  • Another one of his cards is referencing an old love song. The card is called 'Ai no Sanka' or 'Ai's Hymn' and references a French ballad from the mid 1900's called 'Hymne à l'amour'. There was also a popular Japanese version, actually called 'Ai no Sanka' - 'Hymn of Love'. Both songs vary a lot but fit together with the actual happenings and are very romantic when translated.
• The third opening features a rather soap opera-esque scene of Yusaku standing forlornly in the rain and turning to look skywards, cutting to Ai standing in the rain facing upwards before looking down—a classic technique implying they're thinking about each other while apart. A later scene of them dueling shows their reflections in each other's eyes.
• Yusaku is visibly hurt by Ai's defection, and wants to apprehend him not to punish him for his crimes but to understand his motives and talk him around, while Ryoken observes that Yusaku shouldn't be the one to confront Ai because he's likely to let Ai escape.
  • When he finally confronts Ai, Yusaku does try to talk him around, but instead of asking him to turn himself in he wants Ai to flee and hide himself in the network. Looks like Ryoken was right.
• During Ai's duel with Pandor in episode 109, she senses a deep hurt and sadness in him, and he tells her to stop because he only wants to open up to one particular person. Come his duel with Yusaku in episode 117, Ai confirms that Yusaku is the one person capable of understanding his feelings and the only one he wants to share them with.
• Both before and during their duel, Yusaku makes multiple attempts to reason with Ai, being extremely unwilling to fight him and insisting that Ai is worthy of and should have redemption. It doesn't work, but Ai admits that knowing Yusaku still believes in him and wants to save him makes him happy when he himself thinks he's long crossed the Moral Event Horizon.
• Episode 118 has Ai reveal his plan to force Yusaku to choose how he dies: if Yusaku wins, Ai restores the allies he erased and is erased himself; if Ai wins, Yusaku is erased and Ai's consciousness is shared among his clone army, erasing him in the process. Ai states that no matter how he goes down, he wants to be with Yusaku to the end.
• Episode 119 (the penultimate episode) has Yusaku finally admitting how much he cares for Ai, telling Ai his heart will break if he loses him.
• Also in episode 119, Ai reveals that he is destined to turn against humanity over the course of his endless existence as an AI, and that he believes only Yusaku can prevent his gradual corruption. He proposes a third option that will allow both of them to live, asking Yusaku to fuse his consciousness with him so that they can be together forever in the virtual world without worrying about the lifespan difference. That the whole offer comes off as a marriage proposal complete with Ai stretching out his hand to Yusaku and saying his name tenderly is not lost on viewers.
• He flashes back to his time with Yusaku and asks if he was a good partner, to which Yusaku replies with emotion that he was the best.
  • Ai reveals that in the simulations that showed him his destiny to end humanity, he saw Yusaku getting shot and killed defending him from the human military. This was what really drove him to his Face–Heel Turn—not just a desire to save humanity, but because he couldn't bear to choose a future that would result in Yusaku's death.
  • When Ai is defeated, Yusaku runs over to him the moment the duel is over and lays Ai's head in his lap, while Ai tells Yusaku he really likes the name Yusaku gave him and asks if it has a meaning. Yusaku tells Ai (with both of them now crying) that it means 'to love people', and Ai agrees, telling Yusaku he loved him before dying in his arms.
  • Back in the real world immediately after Ai's death, Yusaku cradles Ai's lifeless android in his arms and screams his name in despair and grief before the screen fades out. Even after the three-month time skip the epilogue is set after, the last we hear of our protagonist is that he has not returned home nor contacted any of his allies since defeating Ai, and it's implied that he's searching for Ai or for a way to bring him back.

Yusaku/Ryoken

• After realizing Playmaker was one of the victims of the Lost Incident/Hanoi Project—specifically the little boy he helped—Ryoken became obsessed with wanting to find out Playmaker's identity. Once he finally does uncover his identity, however, he chooses to keep it a secret, not even telling his father, who he is very loyal to, when asked.
• Yusaku is incredibly attached to the mysterious person who gave him courage during the Lost Incident/Hanoi Project, wishing to find them for 10 years by now. In episode 43, the mysterious voice is revealed to be an eight-year-old Ryoken. Despite Ryoken being the leader of the organization that had caused him so much pain, the first thing Yusaku did upon realizing this fact was try to reason with him and help him "walk down a new path". This is coming from the same guy who claimed he was an emissary of revenge. It's because Ryoken was the one who encouraged and saved Yusaku that Yusaku wants to save him rather than destroy him. Yusaku resorts to dueling Ryoken once more only because he couldn't be convinced otherwise.
  • In episode 45, despite facing Magnarokket Dragon, five Link -4 monsters with 3000 attack each ^note Topologic Bomber Dragon, Borreload Dragon, Borrelguard Dragon, Borrelsword Dragon, and Topologic Gumblar Dragon, having no hand, being left with only 50 life points, and being heavily injured from Topologic Gumblar Dragon’s Extra Link effect, Yusaku still wants to save Revolver even after Revolver gave him three reasons to despair. When Ai said Yusaku also has friends to protect, the first person who came to Yusaku's mind was Revolver.
    Ai: "You also have friends to protect!"
    Yusaku: looks at Revolver "That must be nice."
  • What Yusaku says to Ryoken in episode 46 sounds like a marriage proposal. The vulnerability and the devotion, especially from someone who trusted very few people and had no other friends, is quite profound.
    First: "I can tell you my true feelings. Even my suffering and my weaknesses!"
    Second: "You live in the same world as me! Back then, you said... 'Three. Think of three things.' You couldn't just stand by, so you crossed the abyss. You're able to save me! And I'm able to save you!"
    Third: "No. You're the same as me. You said we're prisoners of fate. That you had no new path. But I believe there's still a new path!"..."One, my revenge is over. Two, I'll overcome the abyss of destiny in this duel! Three, We'll seize a new future together!" ^note Yusaku says "ore to omae" which translates to "me and you", not "ore-tachi" which means “we”. This makes Yusaku's declaration feel much more personal.

• Yusaku doesn’t reveal Ryoken’s identity or involvement in the Hanoi, not even to Takeru, who doesn’t learn until Ryoken informs him himself in episode 84. Perhaps he kept Ryoken's real name secret to prevent him from being hunted down.
• Episode 58 showed us how Yusaku and Ryoken first met each other: they bumped into each other when they both came out of the corner, which almost looks like a Meet Cute straight out of a Shoujo manga. Yusaku even stated that is the reason Ryoken couldn't stand his wrongdoings and became Yusaku's voice of hope.
  • Specifically, this moment comes up when Bohman tries to convince Yusaku that he is a fake back-up version and that Bohman is the real Yusaku. Yusaku becomes confident that Bohman is wrong when Bohman reveals that he thinks Dr. Kogami was the one who kidnapped him because Yusaku instead remembers running into Ryoken shortly before getting kidnapped. Even after Bohman points out that either of their memories could be faked, Yusaku becomes convinced he is the real one after learning this, all because of his memory of Ryoken.
• In the end of episode 73, Ryoken—alone—visited Café Nagi to see Yusaku and give him a program that would protect him from being attacked like how Bohman had attacked Jin, even calling it a “get-well gift” after Yusaku’s last duel with Bohman ended in a draw. Ryoken respects Yusaku so much, he wants Yusaku to survive the fight against Lightning so he can settle things personally with Yusaku and uses the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" logic to justify giving Yusaku the program. Yusaku then installed the program with zero hesitation after Ryoken explained what it was instead of analyzing or destroying it. Yusaku trusts Ryoken that much.
• In episode 84, after Ryoken revealed his identity to Takeru, Yusaku stands up for Ryoken, revealing that Ryoken was only eight during the Lost Incident and that he in fact saved them.
  • This bit of dialogue before the Tower of Hanoi was reactivated is quite interesting, hinting that Ryoken may be considering Yusaku’s offer from episode 46 after all.
    Yusaku: ”We believe in different futures. But by working together on this plan, we may find a new future.”
    Ryoken: “I’ll remember that.”
• The ending has Ryoken confident that Yusaku will come back someday from his journey stronger than ever. This is a Call-Back to Episode 46, where Yusaku is confident that Ryoken will come back after their fight.

Yusaku/Takeru

So, Yusaku finally met his Johan...

• Takeru Homura seems just a little too friendly with Yusaku with how he glomps Yusaku in the second opening, how he ate hot dogs with Yusaku and Shoichi in the van, how well they seem to work together in Link VRAINS, and how they stood with arms touching at the end of the second ending. Hell, just the Opening 2 and Ending 3 alone have a lot of Ho Yay moments between the two.
• Takeru quickly became Yusaku's first close friend in general, something he hadn't had thanks to being unable to connect with anyone^note  Yusaku comments Kusanagi as his acquaintance many times and it took him a long time to warm up to Ai. .
• Episode 50: Takeru revealed himself to Yusaku while they were at school. Then they went to a Ferris Wheel of all places to discuss the recent incidents that happened even if it's Flame choosing the location. The two became First-Name Basis by Ai's suggestion with Kusanagi quickly warming up to him after being surprised that Yusaku gained a friend.
• The fact that Takeru transferred to Den City High School just to be closer to Playmaker is quite telling, seeing as he himself admitted that technology isn't his expertise.
• When Soulburner was captured by Blood Shepherd after pushing Playmaker out of the way, Playmaker refused to log out and leave him for dry. Even when two bounty hunters arrive, Playmaker's response is to draw their attention towards him while Kusanagi works on decrypting Blood Shepherd's program.
  • Playmaker's duel against Kenmochi and Yoroizaka is completely one-sided towards Playmaker's favor. Playmaker without losing Life Points, taking them down in his first turn, and for a first in the series, he did not use Storm Access in either of these duels. While Kenmochi and Yoroizaka may appear weak in comparison, Playmaker is just that determined to save Soulburner, as the Gouki decks they used gave him a hard time at the beginning of the series.
• After the Blood Shepherd incident, Yusaku seems to be a bit more protective of Takeru seeing how Yusaku was willing to go in first to look for Ai instead of going in together like they normally do.
• Episode 83 has Yusaku and Takeru under the stars with their Ignis. Takeru reassuring Yusaku about Go's change makes Yusaku smile. Yusaku rarely smiles to anyone else in the series, so seeing him soften up at Takeru's presence shows how important he is to him.
• Episode 93 and 94 had Soulburner so upset over Lightning's Sadistic Choice that caused Playmaker to collapse in emotional exhaustion he challenges anyone to fight him in order to avenge Playmaker. He then tells Bohman how much Playmaker means to him and how he was able to move on with his life after hearing about Playmaker's actions.
• Playmaker shows a very upset face after seeing Soulburner lose to Bohman. It's almost on par with the expression he makes after defeating Kusanagi.
• Episode 100: When Playmaker talks about bonds and the montage of his allies show up, the first person he thinks of is Soulburner.
• Episode 103: Playmaker calls out to Soulburner after he is revived after the duel with Bohman. After an unmentioned Time Skip, Takeru visits Yusaku during his work hours and the two chat while having free coffee. Yusaku is constantly smiling at Takeru's presence.
• Episode 105: Takeru was shyly stammering in front of Yusaku, unsure how to break the news that he will go back to his hometown but acting like he Can't Spit It Out. Later, Soulburner has confidence that Playmaker will show up against the first battle with Ai, and was smiling when Playmaker did arrive at the last minute.
• Playmaker is noticably worried when Soulburner is dueling Revolver, who he challenged in order to let Playmaker have the letter containing Ai's location. And later he is proud when Soulburner manages overcome his trial and defeat Revolver.
• At the end, he says the Playmaker is someone cooler than him to his Childhood Friend Kiku.
• Official Art really likes to show the two really close whenever they're featured together. Just like the 15th DvD cover◊ or the V-JUMP June 2018 cover◊

Other

Other characters sporadically offer some examples of this.

• Go's strong friendship with Makoto is what drove him to risk everything fighting Dr. Genome.
• In full force with Spectre, who has Undying Loyalty towards Revolver and doesn't mind getting destroyed for his sake. Heck, even think about the fact that Revolver provided Spectre a place to belong, something that he had only ever felt at his mother's side.
  • Don't forget their meet cute! Ryoken finding Spectre outside where the Lost Incident took place, taking him home thereafter and giving him a place to belong.
  • Revolver also glowed with pride when Spectre managed to utilise the Full Mode Extra Link, something even Revolver couldn't do.
  • Revolver did the same fist to palm gesture that Spectre commonly does before his duel with Lightning.
  • Revolver also yelled Spectre's name with much anguish when Spectre lost to Lightning.
• Miyu and Aoi, as they maintain a strong connection despite their fleeting time together. It's revealed that the desire to see Aoi again was what motivated Miyu to keep going during her imprisonment, and avenging and saving Miyu becomes Aoi's main reason for joining Playmaker's faction.
• Takeru and Flame are foils to Yusaku and Ai, but no less close for it. Flame is shown to be the one who helped Takeru through his trauma shortly after their first meeting, and while Yusaku takes seasons to warm up to Ai, Takeru and Flame quickly grow comfortable enough with each other to bicker Like an Old Married Couple by the time of their introduction in season 2.
• Ryoken and Takeru get quite a bit of this as well. To wit:
  • Their first moment is in their meeting in episode 84. It starts off more hostile, with Takeru refusing to work with the Hanoi when they offer a team-up to combat Lightning due to his past with them, leading to him angrily challenging Ryoken to a duel. However, when it gets to his turn, Ryoken passes in order to allow Takeru to vent his anger out at him and apologize in his own way, even telling him his true identity afterwards. Flame later points out that considering Ryoken only really needed a skilled hacker (which Takeru is definitely not), he likely invited Takeru in the first place with the express purpose of making amends.
  • The two get even more during their rematch in episodes 115 and 116, which leads to them finally coming to an understanding with each other and realizing that they're not that different. Ryoken even admits he went through with the duel not to win the answer to Ai's location as it initially seemed, but to allow the two of them to finally find closure over their respective traumas.
  • When Ryoken is about to leave to turn himself and the rest of the Hanoi into the authorities after Takeru has won, Takeru stops him, wanting him to instead atone by watching over the network he originally tried to destroy so he can never forget his crimes, which Ryoken immediately agrees to. The two then smile softly at each other, asserting that they’re happy to have met.
• Yusaku and Spectre are Foils to each other so surely there's enough homoeroticism in that to suffice.
  • Spectre also rewatched Playmaker and Revolver's duel atop the Tower of Hanoi countless times so perhaps something beyond the beauty of the Extra Link kept him so enraptured.