With so many anime series focused on the relationships between all-male or mostly-all-male ensembles, fans just can't help seeing them through the lens of Boys Love shipping. There are just some characters that have such undeniable chemistry together that viewers can't help but ship them as a couple.
Even though the following five pairings are not canonical, it doesn't take that much imagination to see how these could easily be true love.
Saitama and Genos (One-Punch Man)
Although their chemistry is played for laughs in both the manga and anime, Genos' devotion to Saitama is true. There's nothing fake about his determination to follow and serve his master in many ways. He even dons a pink apron when cleaning up Saitama's place, resembling a dutiful wife. The fact that they live together and spend most of their time together, with little interest in women, further fans the flames of this particular ship.
Hiei and Yoko Kurama (Yu Yu Hakusho)
These bishonen drove many young fangirls wild back in the day, and it's not only because of their good looks. Both characters were famous for being cool and experts in their fields. After a while, it became clear that they were also experts when it came to each other. Their knowledge may be due to their shared background of living in Makai since they were demons, but their intense belief in each other's strengths was impossible to miss.
Light Yagami and L (Death Note)
Light and L are one of the great duos in all of anime history, and the chemistry between them was undeniable and mesmerizing. Viewers were thrilled every time these two worked together or went against each other. Not even Misa could evoke the same reaction when sharing the screen with Light. Even though they had opposing roles and beliefs, Light and L shared an intellectual connection, no other characters could match. It's very easy to see why certain fanfic and doujinshi writers extrapolated that connection into something more.
Gintoki Sakata and Toushirou Hijikata (Gintama)
Gintoki and Hijikata always seem to find themselves at odds, yet they always end up stuck together, either by fate or coincidence. Even though they constantly fight and squabble, their situations bring them to a closer understanding of one another. It's not just the fans who see this as potential romantic chemistry -- even the other characters in the series take note of these situations and tease them about it. The anime itself takes jabs at their shippability by featuring them on BL manga covers in Episodes 92 and 145.
Haruka Nanase and Makoto Tachibana (Free!)
There's no closer relationship in Free! than the one between Haruka and Makoto. These two spend almost all their time together, with Makoto taking care of Haruka like a girlfriend or a wife. Not only do they act like an old couple by making decisions together, but they also rely on each for support and comfort. The entire series is full of scenes between the two intentionally designed to set fujoshi hearts aflame with giddiness.
