Everyone loves a good romance, but nothing beats platonic love and support. Positive female friendships are the oft-unsung hero of a good story. Shonen anime particularly has many examples of amazing friendships between guys, but shonen and shojo have supportive relationships between girls and women that last through maturity and life changes.
Bonus points are definitely awarded if the female friendship passes the Bechdel test: at least two women talk to each other and discuss something other than a man. Best friends are one of the closest consistent relationships a person can have in their life, and they make for great deuteragonists or well-crafted side characters in anime.
10 Mari, Shirase, Hinata, & Yuzuki (A Place Further Than The Universe)
Each of the girls in A Place Further Than the Universe each have a different goal in mind for their expedition to the Antarctic. The girls all experience growing pains both in their personal lives, and with each other.
There's room for friends to disagree and work through misunderstandings. Once, Yuzuki gets upset when she feels left out, but the other girls come through for her, and celebrate her birthday with bells on. Yuzuki processes her feeling and apologizes as she grows and learns from the experience.
9 Nana Komatsu & Nana Osaki (NANA)
The deuteragonists of NANA may share the same name, but they couldn't have more disparate personalities. Nana Komatsu is sheltered, and she longs for an epic, lifelong romance, while Nana Osaki has endured more slings and arrows, and wants to be a successful artist.
The Nanas start out as roommates, but they end up being there for each other as they experience dramatic ups and downs both socially and professionally. When Hachi's boyfriend cheats, her good friend wants to wreak vengeance, but it's even better that they end up finding solace with each other. They both end up with battered hearts, but at the end of the day, they have each other's backs.
8 Sucy, Akko, & Lotte (Little Witch Academia)
There's something about friendship trios that works well in magic school stories, from The Worst Witch to Harry Potter to Little Witch Academia. Sucy is good friends with her roommate, Lotte, so the two spend a lot of time together.
Sucy's best friend Akko goes on a lot of adventures (as is expected for the protagonist of a magical girl anime), and often Lotte comes along for the ride. Sucy often acts as a mature mediator for the two other girls when there is an issue between them, which is a really important skill.
7 Anne & Diana (Anne Of Green Gables)
Anne of Green Gables has one of the most iconic best friendships. Anne always wanted a bosom friend since she was little, and she finally gets a bosom friend in the form of her neighbor Diana Barry when she moves to Green Gables.
Diana loves how different Anne is from her, and the two girls enrich each other's lives. Anne admires Diana's kindness and grace, and Diana loves Anne for her eccentricities and imagination. Their friendship lasts all their lives as they encourage what's best for each other from gradeschool to the complex twists and turns of adulthood.
6 Maron & Miyako (Phantom Thief Jeanne)
Miyako and Maron have known each other since preschool in Phantom Thief Jeanne, when Maron defended Miyako from school bullies. That dynamic continues as their friendship grows. Though Maron always defends Miyako, Miyako protects Maron when she needs it, too.
As they get older, they live together and participate (and sometimes coach one another) in the same retroauriculars, like gymnastics. Not even a love triangle can destroy their friendship. Though Chiaki and Maron have a strong romance in Phantom Thief Jeanne, it's still a subplot compared to her friendship with Miyaki. Miyaki is the most important person in her life.
5 Hakumei & Mikochi (Hakumei To Mikochi)
Hakumei to Mikochi details the cottagecore friendship between a fairy-sized carpenter and a seamstress. There's nothing cozier than watching two friends work together keeping their little home and creating things for their fellow forest creature friends.
Hakumei to Mikochi feels like visiting with a favorite neighbor and sharing a pot of tea over a long conversation. Both forest ladies have different skills and personality types that enrich the others' life. Mikochi does a lot of the homey tasks like cooking and laundry, while Hakumei makes repairs and builds useful things.
4 Tohru, Arisa, & Saki (Fruits Basket)
Tohru, Arisa, and Saki don't always fit in with their other classmates in Fruits Basket, but they fit in with each other. Saki is quiet, otherworldly, and possesses strange psychic talents; Arisa is strong-willed and tough, and Tohru is the beating heart of the group.
None of the girls can stomach seeing the others hurt or maligned in the slightest, and they will stick up for one another in their own different ways. They are familiar with each other's hardships and understand the context of their friends' feelings, aspirations, and motivations.
3 Rin, Nadeshiko, Chiaki, & Aoi (Laid-Back Camp)
Rin is hesitant to make friends in Laid-Back Camp, but Nadeshiko and the rest of the Outdoor Activities Circle don't really give her the choice about being their friend. And it's a good thing that they don't, because they all benefit from spending time together at school and in their camping adventures.
They share secrets, stare up at the stars, or cook each other ramen, and Rin learns that being solitary isn't always the best way to experience the world. There are few better foundations for a lifelong friendship.
2 Naru, Usagi, & The Inner Senshi (Sailor Moon)
Usagi's best friend in her reincarnated life on modern day Earth is Naru in Sailor Moon, but she's quickly joined by friends from a past life on the moon. Sailor Moon isn't just the Inner Senshi's princess who they've sworn to protect, she is their leader and closest friend.
Even though the girls squabble from time to time, they always have each other's best interests at heart. Rei butted heads with Usagi plenty in the '90s anime, but beneath their disagreements is a true affection and respect. When times are dire, Rei shows Usagi how much she loves and believes in her as her Moon Princess, and as a friend.
1 Kagome & Sango (InuYasha)
Kagome and Sango travel and battle together in InuYasha, but they are eventually more like sisters than mere allies. Kagome had friends in her normal world before she fell into the well, and she does go back to them sometimes, but it's not quite the same as Sango who knows exactly what her life means, now.
Sango watches out for Kagome when she's injured, and Kagome is right there to comfort Sango when she needs it. Sango understands Kagome like no other friend, and Kagome has a soft kindness that even a fierce and responsible warrior like Sango needs to be around.
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