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These friendships are formed between siblings, friends, classmates, and even with rivals. The characters in such friendships push each other to their limits, and ultimately end up making each other better. With that in mind, here are some of the most iconic best friends in anime.
Updated on January 25, 2022, by Suzail Ahmad: Friendships between characters are not just limited to the shonen genre. There are other genres, which showcase the friendship between characters at the same level. In some cases, the friendships between characters from other genres are more impressive than the ones from the shonen genre. With a good deal of new anime being released, there is no lack of anime duos. So, we have added more entries to the list of iconic anime duos.
14 Johnny Joestar And Gyro Zeppeli From Steel Ball Run
Johnny Joestar is the main protagonist of Steel Ball Run and Gyro Zeppeli is his main aide. The two met at the very beginning of the series and within a few chapters, the two became a duo. However, this was just the beginning of their friendship. The two of them inspired each other in ways that no one else could.
In particular, Johnny was deeply influenced by Gyro and his ideologies. Johnny became more confident in his abilities and finally understood the importance of friendship. Johnny adored his friend to the point that he was willing to trust Funny Valentine to bring him back to life.
13 Caiman And Nikaido From Dorohedoro
Caiman and Nikaido are two of the main characters from Dorohedoro. The two live in the Hole where Nikaido has her own shop. Caiman is a man of mystery as he does not know anything about his past. Due to an unfortunate incident, Caiman’s head was turned into that of a lizard.
The two have great fighting synergy as they have managed to take down numerous magicians. Together, Caiman and Nikaido killed many magic users to find more clues about the former’s condition. They care about each other in their own special ways.
12 Saichi Sugimoto And Asirpa From Golden Kamuy
The two of them are the main characters of Golden Kamuy. After finding out that there is a treasure hidden, Sugimoto decided to search for it, and he nearly died, but luckily Asirpa managed to rescue him from the clutches of death.
Once Asirpa came to know about the hidden gold, she decides to help Sugimoto find it. The two of them come across many dangers, but they always have each other’s back. As the story progresses, the bond between the two only continues to improve.
11 Ei Sei And Xin From Kingdom
Ei Sei was next in line to be crowned the King of Qin, but due to a clever plot from the enemies, Ei Sei had to wait for several years. He met Xin after his body double was murdered inside the castle.
The two of them did not have the best of starts to their friendship, but as time went on, both of them helped each other to grow and become better humans. Ei Sei’s trust in Xin reached new heights as the former entrusted him with the most important tasks. Eventually, Xin became Ei Sei’s most loyal and trusted companion.
10 Gon And Killua From Hunter x Hunter
Not many friendships compare to the companionship of Gon and Killua from Hunter x Hunter. The two met during the Hunter Exams and immediately became good friends. Since then, the two have reached the status of pro-hunters and faced my ordeals together.
The two complement each other perfectly. Gon likes to charge headfirst in any situation, while Killua carefully analyzes the situation before taking action. Their difference in approaches has saved their lives on countless occasions.
9 Naruto And Sasuke From Naruto
Naruto is a shonen series that focuses heavily on the friendship between two people. There are other things to concentrate on within the plot, but the central point of the series is the friendship between Naruto and Sasuke, two very different yet similar individuals.
Sasuke left the village as he wanted to increase his power, and all the villagers gave up on him, everyone except Naruto. Naruto promised that he’d bring back Sasuke from the depths of darkness — and he did. Naruto taught Sasuke the importance of friendship and made him realize that there was more to life than he thought.
8 The Straw Hats From One Piece
They’re not a duo, but they can’t be left out when talking about anime friendships. The Straw Hat Pirates are like one big family. The crew has been together for a long time, traveling together to different islands as they try to accomplish their dreams. One Piece lays a lot of importance on friendship, and in several instances, the crew has shown that they are willing to go to any lengths to save one of their own.
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The crew is diverse, and they balance each other perfectly. Despite the different personalities in the crew, they have a strong sense of harmony.
7 L. And Light From Death Note
Death Note’s L. and Light might not be the best of friends, but they are definitely an iconic duo. Originally, they started out as arch enemies. After Light got his hands on the Death Note, he became a ruthless serial killer, and L was assigned to catch him.
However, following an unforeseen chain of events, Light ended up without his memories and teamed up with L. to catch Kira. The two intellectuals combined their intelligence on multiple occasions, and it was easy to figure that they developed a special bond in a short time.
6 Gintoki And Katsura From Gintama
The duo from Gintama has been responsible for plenty of sidesplitting acts. Gintoki and Katsura were trained by the same teacher, but they ended up walking down different paths.
However, they have one thing in common, which is their deep admiration for each other. The two have popped up on various occasions throughout the series to save each other from possible danger.
5 Meliodas And Ban From Seven Deadly Sins
The Seven Deadly Sins manga came to an end in March 2020, but the anime is still ongoing. The series has produced many outstanding partnerships, but none of them are as brilliant as the companionship between Ban and Meliodas.
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Meliodas shares a special bond with Ban, the latter reciprocates the feeling. The two of them understand each other perfectly, and most of the time they are on the same wavelength. They have demonstrated their strength as a duo against some of the strongest characters in the series.
4 Puck And Guts From Berserk
As a victim of a horrid past, Berserk’s Guts was never interested in making friends; he only cared about getting stronger. After Gambino’s betrayal, Guts never trusted anyone else, and it only changed when he met the Band of Hawk.
His happiness was cut short by Griffith’s betrayal, which resulted in the death of almost the entire mercenary group. Guts met Puck in a pub, where he unknowingly saved the fairy’s life. Despite Guts’ rude behavior, Puck decided to stick with the swordsman, and together they traveled to many different places. In a way, Puck helped Guts to recover from his trauma.
3 Joseph And Caesar From JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
Almost every JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure part has an iconic duo, but none more so than the duo of Joseph Joestar and Caesar Zeppeli. The first meeting the two didn’t go as planned, as the two ended up having a brief tussle and initially started on less-than-friendly terms.
As the story progressed, the two became very good friends. Eventually, Caesar even forfeited his own life to get the antidote for Joseph, demonstrating the depths of their friendship.
2 Edward And Alphonse Elric From Fullmetal Alchemist
Edward and Alphonse Elric of Fullmetal Alchemist are a very rare case in anime of siblings being the best of friends. Often, anime displays friendships beginning with strangers who bump into each other in one way or another, however; the same does not apply to Edward and Alphonse Elric.
These siblings have been through a lot together, and their unwavering love for each other has helped them pull through it all. The brothers shared both pain and joy together, which made their bond even stronger.
1 Ash And Pikachu From Pokemon
Not many characters can boast of having a bigger fanbase than Pikachu and Ash. The two have stuck with each through thick and thin. Despite a shocking start, Pikachu and Ash have become the best of friends over the years they’ve traveled together.
On their journeys together, Pikachu and Ash have collectively won countless battles and lost a few as well. To this day, fans hope that the duo will remain together for the foreseeable future.
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