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It can be tough to find a strong, well-written female character in any realm of entertainment, including anime. It’s even harder to find an independent female character who has a well-written relationship with another female character that doesn’t involve fighting over a man or something trivial. Most anime rarely pass the Bechtel test because their female characters are either completely reliant on a male character or never talk to another female. That being said, there are still quite a few examples, and hopefully, by highlighting these best pals, we can both appreciate them and continue advocating for more of these female friendships.
10. Maka Albarn + Tsubaki Nakatsukasa, Soul Easter
These two girls help each other throughout the show by challenging each other to improve their moves or just by talking to each other. We don’t get very much material or screentime with them, but it’s nevertheless sweet to see whenever they’re together.
9. Gou Matsuoka + Miho Amakata, Free!
This relationship is very reminiscent of that special relationship you have with your English teacher, who is basically like your therapist. Gou and Miho’s relationship isn’t super well-developed, but it is adorable to see flourish. Miho looks after Gou and makes sure the Iwatobi boys aren’t too tough on her.
Even better, they conspire against the boys together, seen when they book a hotel together when they go to an island training camp while leaving the boys to sleep in the sand in tents. We don’t see too much of them together between the shots of water and muscled men, but from what we do see, they are very sweet to each other.
8. Haruhi Fujioka + Renge Houshakuji, Ouran High School Host Club
Being some of the only girls in the cast, they commiserate over the boys’ crazy antics and find time to poke fun at each other while not tearing each other down. In some of the first moments Renge meets the Host Club, she identifies Haruhi as an intelligent student (albeit one easily targeted for bullying). They’re both strong girls who can stand up for themselves, are self-assured, and are confident (even with their insecurities), leading to two very close gal pals.
7. Erina Nakiri + Megumi Tadokoro, Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma
Between the mouthwatering shots of food and dramatics among the other characters, these two don’t get too much screen time, but what we see shows that these two forge a cute friendship among the stress in the kitchen. Even though they start on the wrong foot, they eventually grow to be terrific friends that push each other to do their best. They compliment each other on their strong suits and accomplishments, such as when Erina praises Megumi’s drive to earn a perfect score instead of playing it safe.
6. Shouko Nishimiya + Miyoko Sahara, A Silent Voice
This relationship is one of the more realistic ones on this list. Friendships sometimes have a falling out and have rough spots, which happened between Shouko and Miyoko. Miyoko took it upon herself to learn sign language when nobody else was doing the same to communicate with Shouko. When the social pressure became too much, however, Miyoko bent to it and left Shouko behind. These situations happen in friendships, and the only thing that matters is that they got back together and picked up right where they left off. It’s very heartwarming to see, and they are two of the most changed girls by the end of the movie.
5. Mikasa Ackerman + Sasha Braus, Attack On Titan
As dark of a show as Attack on Titan is, there are still some light and sweet moments peppered throughout the story. Mikasa and Sasha’s friendship takes up most of these moments since their relationship is natural and realistic. Sasha is one of Mikasa’s closest gal pals, and when the two get together, they bring a certain calmness in the chaos that is Attack on Titan.
They even have their comedic moments, most notably when Mikasa used Sasha as a cover for a clamor by saying she farted. Not only are they supportive friends in such a hostile and dangerous environment, but they find time to joke around when they can.
4. Kyoka Jirou + Momo Yaoyorozu, My Hero Academia
These two are some of the more mature characters in Class 1-A, so perhaps that’s why they’re so drawn to each other. They play off each other’s energy so well, with both of them supporting each other, more specifically when Momo helped Kyoka study for her exams.
They’re both powerful and at the top of their class and are some of the closest friends among the others in the class. They go shopping together, fight well together, and are defensive when other students insult the other girl. They’re ride or die, which is a great friendship to see for two powerful gal pals.
3. Tohru Honda + Saki Hanajima, Fruits Basket
This friendship is so saccharine; it’s hard not to smile whenever these two interact. Tohru is lucky she has so many supportive friends around her, and Saki is no exception. Saki protects her from Prince Yuki Fanclub’s craziness by looking intimidating, but Tohru sees past her scary tactics and sees her true nature.
She was the first one in school to accept Saki’s psychic abilities and treat her normally, and Saki thanks her for that every day by protecting her from those she deems not worthy of Tohru’s attention. They’re kind to each other, understanding each other’s insecurities, constantly uplifting each other, and always there if the other needs to talk.
2. Hitoka Yachi + Kiyoko Shimizu, Haikyu!!
These two girls have a very mentor-mentee relationship, but they also have a regular friendship where they spend all the time they don’t have to with the boys. Yachi practically idolizes Kiyoko, and while this is a list of gal pals, I can’t discount the fact that Yachi very well may have a crush on Kiyoko.
Other than that, they have no competition between them caused by boys or some other trivial matter, constantly teach each other new things, and entrust each other with their insecurities and secrets. Compared to some other sports animes with weird rivalries between the female managers or other female characters, this is a refreshing take.
1. Ochako Uraraka + Tsuyu Asui, My Hero Academia
This relationship is the most stellar example of what a healthy female friendship is like. These relationships in anime are few and far between, but when we finally see one like this, it’s a breath of fresh air. Tsu and Ochako enjoy each other’s company (which is the bare minimum qualifier of a good relationship) and push each other to do their best, especially at their internship with Ryuko Tatsuma.
They play off each other’s strengths really well in combat, have great communication skills, and are otherwise great at talking to each other as gal pals. They’re truly adorable!
To The Best Pals And Friendships!
This is a ranked list, but all of these friendships have something unique about their dynamic that the others don’t. All of them share a strong bond between two strong, intelligent girls/women. All of them deserve recognition to get more portrayals of adorable, healthy, and realistic female friendships in the future. P.S. If you didn’t see your favorite girls or women, it’s probably because there could be romantic subtext between them, therefore, it would be a disservice to label them as just best pals.