Just Friends: Difference between revisions

* [[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]: Kazuki Takahashi claims that this is what Joey/Jonouchi and Mai are. [[Relationship Writing Fumble|Yeah, sure.]]

* For most of ''[[Ranma ½]]'', Ryoga Hibiki greatly desires for Akane Tendo to know of and reciprocate his romantic feelings towards her. Unfortunately for him, [[Oblivious to Love|she is completely oblivious]]. Not only that, but she sees him as nothing more than her friend and treats him as such.

'''Akane:''' I really do, Ryoga. You're a good friend. Let's be friends forever! }}

** In the same vein, Ranma considers Akane a good friend.

*** Well, in the [[Belligerent Sexual Tension]] sense. Their closeness is a tool for providing more backbone for the [[Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other]] status their relationship has.

** In the manga, Akane says this when Ranma's mirror clone tells Akane that Ranma likes her.

* ''[[5 Centimeters Per Second]]'': Takaki and Akari start as friends at a younger age, share their [[First Kiss]] at age 13, and go back to [[Just Friends]] because of distance. {{spoiler|At least, Akari does. Takaki stays in love with Akari for another 15 years.}}

** The 2nd part has Kanae end up with this by default, due to [[Cannot Spit It Out]] by her to Takaki as well as {{spoiler|Takaki's ongoing feelings for Akari closing his heart to anyone but Akari.}}

== Fan Fiction ==

* The unnamed protagonist of [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]] fanfic ''Twi and Me'' discusses this in the narration.

'''Narrator:''' A friend! }}

 

* ''[[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:

* ''[[Clerks II]]'' has Dante trying to tell himself that Becky and him and this. So not.

* 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."

* The ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "Let's Kill Hitler" shows that Rory and Amy had known each other since primary school, and that Amy was the only girl Rory had ever shown an interest for the entire 10 years they knew each other. Amy has an extreme case of [[Oblivious to Love]] because she thought [[Mistaken for Gay|he was gay]] due to the fact he hadn't shown any interest in girls the entire time they'd known each other.

** A DVD exclusive scene set after "Flesh & Stone" has the Doctor describing his previous companions this way. Unfortunately Amy tricks him into making the TARDIS computer display their images, and notes how many are young sexually-attractive females.

** And in "The Impossible Astronaut"

'''River:''' Don't worry, I'm [[The Immodest Orgasm|quite the screamer]]. Now ''there's'' a spoiler for you.<br />

'''Canton:''' OK what's going on here?<br />

* ''[[Stargate Universe]]'': Eli and Chloe. Poor Eli...

** Kinda sucks for him considering the guy on other side of the triangle is pretty much his best friend on the ship (they have something of a [[Stargate Atlantis|Shep and McKay]] vibe at times). And the three of them got marooned together after missing the ship.

** As of the season finale ''Incursion'', it's made perfectly clear that she isn't [[Oblivious to Love]] at all. She also drops some major friend zone bombs on Eli, and in a way tells him off for acting like her friendship is "second prize".

*** And poor Volker. It's like the scientists on the ship can't catch a break, with all the hot soldiers taking the chicks.

* ''[[The X-Files]]'': Mulder and Scully are constantly trying to explain to people that they're [[Just Partners]]. Including two ghosts in a haunted house. And the series [[Big Bad]]. And random people off the street. [[Everyone Can See It|It never works]].

* ''[[Zoey 101]]'': Zoey and Chase.

'''Lola:''' Thanks for playing. }}

* Depending on who you listen to, [[Law and Order Special Victims Unit|Benson and Stabler]] may count.

** Also, Buffy pulls this with Angel (and later {{spoiler|Spike}}) after their respective breakups. Nobody buys it.

** Spike sums up this trope most famously in "Lover's Walk", when referring to the Bangel relationship.

* [[Inspector Lynley]] and [[The Not Love Interest|his partner]] Sergeant Havers are this. Really. Even though they've both called each other their reason to get up in the morning. And even though he turned up at her flat at midnight to tell her that he wasn't sure {{spoiler|he had ''ever really loved his wife''}}, something he'd never talked to ''anyone'' about before. Swear to God, [[Blatant Lies|they're just friends]]!

* [[Noah and Saskia]] have this going on big time. Saskia decides she's in love with Max (aka Noah), but Noah's getting hassled at school about his [[She Is Not My Girlfriend|internet girlfriend]], so to prove to himself he's not ''that'' much of a geek, he has a chat with Indy (aka Saskia) about how he's just figured out the point of the comic-in-progress, that is, that guys and girls can just be friends. Like they are. You know, 'buddies'. As the tie-in novel puts it: "what's about to happen is that two people who are friends are going to decide they're friends and that's kind of going to ruin their friendship".

* Barney and Robin's slow-building romantic relationship starts as this during season 3 of ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]''.

'''Robin:''' Oh no! No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No! [[He Is Not My Boyfriend|Barney and I are not together.]]<br />

'''Barney:''' Really? Sixteen 'no's? }}

== Radio ==

* ''[[I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again|I'm Sorry Ill Read That Again]]'' once made a pantomime special edition called ''Black Cinderella 2 Goes East'', which subverted this trope with Cinderella and Buttons. At first, it seemed like Cinderella didn't know that Buttons was in love with her, but thought they were just friends...and then it turns out she knows, but just doesn't like him. It could have stopped there, fairly graciously, but then she gets a ''song'' about it.

But mainly because you get right up my nose'' }}

 

* 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]]'':

* [[Resident Evil|Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield.]]

* In the backstory of ''[[Xenogears]]'', Sophia only ever saw Krelian as a friend. Krelian accepted this state of affairs and managed to be friendly with her true love Lacan despite his hidden jealousy.

* ''[[Kim Possible]]'': Kim and Ron. Quite an unusual example, as their relationship is only really explored in Season 3, although they are hints and [[Ship Tease]] taking place in earlier seasons. They get a [[Last-Minute Hookup]]. The results of the [[Relationship Upgrade]] are then explored, as the show was brought back for a 4th season.

** [[Relationship Upgrade]] as a [[Grand Finale]] is ridiculed by ''[[Kim Possible]]'' and her platonic pal Ron in the show's third season, in a bit of [[Lampshade Hanging]] that foreshadows the end to the then series-capping TV movie. The two watch a weepy teen drama called ''[[Soap Within a Show|Agony County]]'':

'''Kim:''' Like that's ever gonna happen! It would end the series. }}

* In ''[[Justice League]]'', [[Batman]] insists that he and [[Wonder Woman]] are just friends. No one really buys it, including Wonder Woman herself, since she wants a [[Relationship Upgrade]].

*** Of course, nothing is seen or heard of Wonder Woman in the entire Batman Beyond series.

* Speaking of ''[[Batman Beyond]]'', Howard has the nerve to say this to a super-strong gynoid girlfriend he bought when said gynoid has been actively trying to kill people for most of the episode. It does not end well. Terry even lampshades it:

'''Batman:''' Is it EVER the right thing to say?! }}

** Terry and Max are poster children for this trope. They're best friends, she's his only confidant (other than Bruce), they spend more time together than Terry and his ''actual'' girlfriend, they're both pretty attractive...and there is never any indication that either of them wants anything but friendship.