Gundam/Ho Yay

Ho Yay seems to be par for the course for Sunrise-produced mecha anime...especially its flagship franchise.

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• Gundam Wing managed to attain a massive Periphery Demographic of Yaoi Fangirls due to the chemistry between its five (young, male) leads. To exposit on the details would be madness.
  • Although most of the pairings fangirls come up with have little to no basis in the anime, there's a definite argument toward 3x4. For one thing, while each pilot has their female counterpart, Trowa's is his possible sister and Quatre's is Dorothy, whom he only meets once and upon that meeting is stabbed. For another, the whole character arc between the two starting when Quatre goes crazy after his father died is proof enough.
• For less sheer madness, however, there's Mobile Suit Gundam 00, where we have the relationship between Lockon Stratos (Neil Dylandy, the original) and Tieria Erde... who are both "totally" straight as arrows! They even have private meetings where they discuss each other's feelings to prove their platonic nature. When Lockon dies, Tieria actually shows emotion due to his sheer straightness and platonic love for him. His last lines from the first season show just how much he loves girls.

Tieria:Now I can go to where you are... Lockon...

• • And that's not even mentioning the Foe Yay between Tieria and Ribbons.
  • Or the Ho Yay between Tieria and his twin Regene Regetta (if it even qualifies as such), the Ho Yay between Tieria and Lyle Dylandy, the Ho Yay between Tieria and Setsuna...in Subtext as well as fanon, it seems, T-chan is everyone's little black pink/purple dress TRAP.
    • • The Tieria/Lockon Ship Tease is all but declared canon by episode 8 of season two, wherein Ribbons accuses Tieira of letting Lockon get "too deep into his heart." Tieria's uncharacteristic outburst against both Ribbons and shortly thereafter Ali Al-Saachez just take this subtext Up to Eleven. The fact that Tieria's sexual identity is also brought into question - both physically and emotionally - in episode 8 is surely pure coincidence.
      • Given the symbolism behind his first Gundam's secondary form, fans have long speculated that all of this may be intentional on the writers'/director's part.
    • Marina Ismail and Shirin Bakhtair have their fair share of Les Yay, as well.
  • These scenes from the new compilation makes the hinted Alejandro x Ribbons almost canon.
  • How about Heterosexual Life Partners Billy Katagiri and Graham Aker? The fangirls see it, too.
  • No mention of Setsuna F. Seiei and Saji Crossroad? I mean, Saji's 0-Raiser (which looks like a jet) and Setsuna's 00 Gundam can combine by having the 0-Raiser dock at 00 Gundam's back. Not to mention both appearing naked everytime the Trans-Am system activates. Setsuna also puts special effort on reuniting Saji with his long-distanced girlfriend Louise. Shipper on Deck via I Want My Beloved to Be Happy anyone?
• Gundam Seed: You know what...let's just say Kira and Athrun are really upset about having to fight each other...
  • Dearka and Yzak too.
    • The anime seems to support this pairing. In episode 44, Dearka and Yzak see each other again for the first time in a while and Yzak's reaction to seeing Dearka with the Strike makes it sound like they were cheating on each other. Additionally, in opening sequences Kira appears on screen with Lacus and Athrun appears on screen with Cagali. Dearka and Yzak almost always appear on screen together in the openings.
• Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory features an episode where Federation pilot Kou Uraki helps former Zeon pilot Kelly Layzner fix a mobile armor in a display of soldierly bonding and camaraderie. Complete with a romantic ballad playing in the background.
• For more old school Ho Yay, Mobile Suit Gundam provides more than enough subtext between Char Aznable and Garma Zabi that kept fans happy for more than thirty years. One includes a shower scene with a bit of coy banter; Char putting his hand on Garma while Garma's eyes glaze over, which is very similar to the look Lalah gives Char later on as he does the same thing to her; and Char killing Kycilia so she could keep Garma company in heaven, after stating to Sayla sometime before that he wasn't after revenge on the Zabis anymore. This isn't even touching on Gundam Origins, which has Ho Yay scenes between the two such as Char putting a blanket on Garma in the middle of the night when he's fast asleep on his desk. Or climbing all the way down a muddy path in the rain to pitch a tent for him until he was able to move. Do I even need to mention the scene where Char grabs a hold of Garma's hands to calm him down before they go into battle, following by an intense stare between them and sweat collecting on Garma's face?