Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Moderators, Rollbackers
29,188
edits
Just Friends: Difference between revisions
m
no edit summary
m (clean up) |
mNo edit summary |
||
| (4 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
[[File:getfriend 4238.png|link=Not Another Teen Movie|frame|[[The Chew Toy|Ricky]] [[Lampshade Hanging|reading up on how to]] get that elusive [[Relationship Upgrade]]. [[It Got Worse]].
{{quote|'''[[Girl Next Door|Carly]]:''' ''I thought we talked about this. We can be buds, but you gotta get over this crush thing.''
'''[[Dogged Nice Guy|Freddie]]:''' ''I am over it! Seriously! I'm in love with you, you just want to be friends, and I'm totally cool living with that constant pain!''
|''[[iCarly]]'', "i[[Pilot]]"}}
[[Ship Tease|Teasing]] at a [[Unresolved Sexual Tension|romantic relationship]] between two platonic friends. The central driving force of many whole series, or an undercurrent to a main plot. The force with which the two deny any feelings is always inversely proportional to the truth. '''Just Friends''' is in essence, a relationship, a potential relationship or teased relationship between people who are simply '''Just Friends''', in a normal, and regular manner. When a character uses the line "We're Just Friends" but no-one seems to believe them, this is likely to be the trope involved.
Line 36 ⟶ 37:
'''This is a [[Love Tropes]] and entries may spoil the [[Ending Tropes|endings]] of relationships and works as a whole. You have been warned.'''
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Anime & Manga ==
* In the first episode of the anime [[D.N.Angel]], Daisuki is looking forward to finally confessing his feelings to his longtime crush Risa. Only for just right before he can say anything, she thanks Daisuke for being such a good '''friend''' to her, heavily emphasizing the word friend. The look on Daisuke's face made it look like it would of hurt less if he was just kicked between the legs.
* ''[[Helios Eclipse]]'': Helios and Mineko.
* ''[[Kämpfer]]'': Natsuru (in male form) and his childhood friend Kaede Sakura. He doesn't want to outright ask her out and potentially get shot down so he decides to stay friends with her. However, when he changes into a girl, Natsuru quickly gets a [[Relationship Upgrade]] with her even though she doesn't seem to realize that the two Natsurus are the same person.
* ''[[Kaichou wa Maid-sama]]'': Poor Hinata. He tries so hard to be more than Just Friends with Misaki, but she's already deep in the throes of [[Belligerent Sexual Tension]] with Usui before Hinata even makes the scene.
* ''[[Sugar Sugar Rune]]'': Chocolat and her male school friend, Mimura.
Line 72:
* ''[[X-Force]]'': Cable and Domino have a long history, during which they've been everything from genuinely just friends to teammates to [[Friends with Benefits]] to lovers.
* ''[[Yoko Tsuno]]'': Yoko and Vic, after being Just Friends for years, began developing romantic feelings for one another.
* The ''[[Static (comics)|Static]]'' series has the title character, Virgil Hawkins, and Frieda having this type of relationship throughout the run. Although admittedly, Virgil was initially attracted to Frieda, but she wanted to keep their relationship at this level.
* An issue of the ''[[Gargoyles]]'' comics produced by SLG had Lexington ask a pair of gargoyles named Coco and Staghart if they're a mated pair. They both laughingly deny it, but assure him they're very good friends. This has been taken as a hint that Staghart might be "like a nine bob note" as they say in London. Many fans speculate that if the comic had shown more of Lexington's adventures in London, Staghart would've at least been his [[Closet Key]], perhaps someday a permanent mate.
* Played as a [[Running Gag]] in ''[[Quantum and Woody]]'', as Woody regularly informs everyone within earshot that he and Quantum are "not a couple."
Line 86:
* ''[[Not Another Teen Movie]]'': The trope as a whole is mercilessly lampshaded. Ricky is madly in love with Janey, who completely ignores every word he says. She falls for Jake, the [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]]. Ricky ends up having a [[Race For Your Love]], but he gets hit by cars. Whilst the drivers call out things like "You'll never be more than a friend", "She's not attracted to you" and "She'll never love you."
* ''[[Just Friends (film)|Just Friends]]'': [[Ryan Reynolds]] as the fat, nerdy teenager in love with his best friend, Amy Smart, who loves him "as a brother". He runs away and 10 years later is rich, cool, and good-looking. He comes back into town where she immediately is struck by his new appearance.
* ''[[Kal Ho Naa Ho]]'': Rohit and Naina, until the Relationship Upgrade.
* ''[[13 Going on 30|Thirteen Going On Thirty]]'': Matt appeared to be like this towards Jenna at the start of the movie when they are both 13.
* ''[[Zack and Miri Make a Porno]]'': Zack and Miri start the movie as [[Platonic Life Partners]]. And then the titular porno comes along...
* ''[[500 Days of Summer|Five Hundred Days of Summer]]'' has Tom falling for Summer, as she starts a [[Friends with Benefits]] relationship but continues to lead him on with the potential of them becoming more. It culminates in Summer calling him 'her best friend' as he walks away when she breaks their relationship, and his heart.
* Very narrowly averted in ''Are We There Yet?'' when [[Ice Cube]]'s character is about to get stuck permanently in the "Friends Zone". he can practically hear the warning:
{{quote|"This is a Friends Zone only. I repeat, this is a Friends Zone only. Please dump your friend and move on with your life."}}
Line 95:
* In ''On a Clear Day You Can See Forever'', Tad Pringle (played by [[Jack Nicholson]]) is utterly in love with Daisy Gamble (played by [[Barbra Streisand]]) and even declares outright that he'd be better for her than any of the men she's been seeing; unfortunately for him, she considers him her best friend, and only her best friend. The fact that he's ''technically'' also her step-brother (their parents married after both Tad and Daisy were adults) doesn't help his case much, despite his pointing out that "We're only related through marriage."
* Isabel told Donald Morton that she wants to be this in ''Mozart and the Whale''. Soon after Donald in his social clumsiness does something that provokes such trauma in Isabel that she attempts suicide. He asks her to marry him. When she has recovered from this she [[Single Woman Seeks Good Man|actually does marry Donald]].
* In ''[[Friends with Benefits (film)|Friends With Benefits]]'', Dylan and Jamie veer between this and [[Friends with Benefits]].
* In the Finnish film ''Lights in the Dusk'' (''Laitakaupungin Valot''), the only person Koistinen can depend on is the local hot-dog stand owner Aila ("Grillija"), who clearly wants them to be more than just friends. Koistinen blows her off the first chance he can get a lady, but persists in returning to poor heartsick Grillija whenever he needs help.
== Literature ==
Line 108:
** At the end of "Changes", the possibility at becoming more is hinted at rather strongly {{spoiler|until Harry's apparent death}}
* ''My Most Excellent Year'' by Steve Kluger plays with this. The protagonist, TC, spends most of the book in a mutually flirtatious not-quite-relationship with his classmate Alé. At one point, he tries suggesting that they just remain friends... as a gambit to trigger a [[Relationship Upgrade]]. It doesn't work.
* In the early books of the [[Anne of Green Gables]] series, Anne is constantly telling people that she and her childhood-enemy-turned-friend Gilbert Blythe, are just friends. She's not in love with him, does not harbor any type of feelings for him other than friendship, etc. etc. etc. Anne really does have feelings for him, she is just unaware of them. This question is never posed to Gilbert, since the entire town already knows he's madly in love with Anne.
* Tre and Allie of ''[[Stuck]]''. The two of them are best friends, yes, but they both agree that they're better off that way.
* Lampshaded and averted in ''[[The War Against the Chtorr]]'' when the protagonist Jim McCarthy and his [[Colonel Badass]] girlfriend Liz Tirelli have a very loud breakup. When things quiet down, Liz half-heartedly suggests that maybe they could just be...whereupon Jim interrupts saying—forget it, they can definitely not be Just Friends. {{spoiler|They end up getting married instead.}}
Line 115:
== Live Action TV ==
* As written in the intro, this type of pairing often [[Ship Sinking|'loses']] to [[Belligerent Sexual Tension]] pairings. [[Nickelodeon/Analysis]] discusses why this is so especially in [[Kid Com]] shows.
* ''[[
** Same show, different pairing: [[Shotacon|Paisley and Fletcher]]. Paisley likes him in a "Adorable kid" way. Neither is returning the feelings.
* ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'': Leonard and Penny. They eventually got a [[Relationship Upgrade]] that lasted almost a full season before they broke up.
Line 175:
'''Ginny:''' ''(as though it were the most obvious answer in the world)'' Chase.
'''Lola:''' Thanks for playing. }}
* Depending on who you listen to, [[Law and Order Special Victims Unit|Benson and Stabler]] may count.
** Let the fun begin. They are portrayed as [[Platonic Life Partners]], but that subtlety is often lost, by the writers as much as by the fans. In the early and late seasons, when Elliot is married, it is upheld well, but there are some fairly [[Ship Tease]] moments in the middle, and it's understandable - they are, after all, very close. It doesn't help that Olivia often acts as if she were hopelessly in love with Elliot, which is obviously problematic and only adds to her [[Iron Woobie]] status, or that she has no family but him. On the whole, the fandom are split between thinking that they are an intense barrel of [[UST]] waiting to explode, or that they really ''are'' just friends, but of such an unusual sort that it is often mistaken for sexual tension. [[Your Mileage May Vary|Your Mileage Is Guaranteed To Vary]].
* [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|Xander and Willow]] flirted with this, starting the show as [[Platonic Life Partners]]; however Willow was very much the [[Unlucky Childhood Friend]] who was secretly in love with Xander. Then they started developing feelings for each other [[Your Cheating Heart|while they were involved with other people]], before they finally decided they were [[Better as Friends]]. Then Willow {{spoiler|[[Suddenly Sexuality|realized she was gay]] }}, which [[Ship Sinking|slammed the door]] on the question of her relationship with Xander for good.
** Also, Buffy pulls this with Angel (and later {{spoiler|Spike}}) after their respective breakups. Nobody buys it.
Line 192:
== Music ==
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* "Friends" by Marshmello & Anne-Marie.
== Radio ==
Line 218:
== Video Games ==
* ''[[Mass Effect]]'': The romances between Male Shepard and Tali, and the romance between a Female Shepard and Garrus are much like this, as they were not romance options in the first game. Tali herself says she wants to be "more than just friends", whilst the romance arc with Garrus is about overcoming his initial doubts, and hoping to make their strong friendship into something more.
** In ''[[Mass Effect 2|ME 2]]'', [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_9ZjTltAHE&feature=related there is] a turian male that the fandom has [[Fan Nickname|nicknamed]] the "[[Memetic Mutation|Friend-Zoned Turian]]". A quarian female (herself [[Fan Nickname|called]] "[[Valley Girl|Quarian Valley Girl]]") and the turian male are talking to one another at a bar. If you listen in to their conversations, the quarian is complaining about breaking up with her human boyfriend. It becomes clear over the series of conversations that the turian is clearly infatuated with her. At one point, he asks if she wants to watch a movie which "won awards for portraying turian and quarian relationships". The quarian is [[Oblivious to Love|completely oblivious to his advances]].
** In [[Mass Effect 3]] a female Shepard can hit on Joker, who declines, saying he never really thought of it. He then declines because of the 'chain of command' and because of his crush on EDI.
* Averted by [[Crusader Kings]]. The game assumes that any two characters of the opposite sex who are friends are actually lovers.
* This apparently cheeses off a [[Mad Scientist]] in the intro to ''[[Sam and Max Hit The Road]]'':
{{quote|'''Scientist:''' Friends? ''Friends?!'' We've only gone out together three times, and already you're telling me you just want to be friends?!}}
Line 265:
* ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' towards Sandy.
* ''[[The Simpsons]]'': Towards the end of "Lisa's Date with Density", after finding out that he lied to her, Lisa and Nelson eventually broke up and simply became friends. The friendship is sustained later in the end of "Loan-a-Lisa" in which Lisa and Nelson skate with each other.
* This is how [[
* In an episode of ''[[
* [[Futurama]] with Fry and Leela. It's implied they will eventually end up together.
* In the ''[[The Legend of Korra]]'' episode "The Spirit of Competition," the [[Sibling Triangle]] of Bolin, Mako and Korra articulate their feelings towards each other in various ways. After resulting interpersonal tensions nearly cost them their place in the finals, the three settle back into a mutually friendly dynamic, with the larger underlying [[Love Dodecahedron]] unresolved.
Line 278:
[[Category:Unrequited Love Tropes]]
[[Category:Just Friends]]
| |||