Can a Boy-Girl Friendship Survive? is a Japanese light novel series written by Nana Nanana and illustrated by Parum. It was published in twelve volumes from January 2021 to November 2025 under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko imprint. A manga adaptation illustrated by Kamelie has been serialized in ASCII Media Works' shōnen manga magazine Dengeki Daioh since August 2021, with its chapters collected into six tankōbon volumes as of April 2026. An anime television series adaptation produced by J.C.Staff aired from April to June 2025.
Contents
Plot
Yu Natsume and Himari Inuzuka, two middle school best friends, felt close but promised to stay as friends, both knowing of Yu's feelings for their friend Rion Enomoto. Years after their promise, the two find themselves as members of the Gardening Club in high school, with them finding their feelings for each other becoming more complicated. Their friendship is tested when they are reunited with Rion in high school, with Himari now having to confront her growing feelings for Yu, while Yu is torn between his past and present.
Characters
Yu Natsume (夏目 悠宇, Natsume Yū)
Voiced by: Kōichi Kamiki (voice drama), Kikunosuke Toya (anime)
A member of the gardening club, he is good friends with Himari. He has an interest in gardening and hopes to become a flower accessory maker and open his own shop. Over the course of the series, he realises he has feelings for Himari but hesitates to confess due to a promise they made to each other in middle school to remain as best friends. Initially, he was in love with Rion, but following their reunion, he starts to believe he has no feelings for her anymore and desperately wants to distance himself from her in hopes for starting an official relationship with Himari, but Rion's constant advances towards him leave him more frustrated and confused, despite him constantly rejecting her.
Himari Inuzuka (犬塚 日葵, Inuzuka Himari)
Voiced by: Tomomi Mineuchi (voice drama), Sayumi Suzushiro (anime)
A fellow member of the gardening club, she has been Yu's best friend since middle school and always helps promote his flower accessories on social media. As time passes, she realises her feelings for Yu but has trouble expressing them. The only person she seems to fear is her older brother, Hibari. She also becomes Rion's rival as they both compete for Yu's affections. A running gag in the series is her laughing and exclaiming "Bwa-ha!" out loud whenever Yu takes her jokes seriously. Later in the story, she and Yu start dating, but they break up after a short time.
Rion Enomoto (榎本 凛音, Enomoto Rion)
Voiced by: Yuka Nukui
Yu's childhood friend and first crush. She is also childhood friends with Shinji and Himari. Her older sister Kureha is a model who helped promote Yu's accessories back in middle school leading to Rion getting a bracelet, which she realized Yu had made when she reunited with him and after seeing Himari's posts. Though initially oblivious to Yu's feelings, she realizes she fully reciprocates them after their reunion, but is frustrated when Yu continuously rejects her and tells her he wants to move on from her. Because of this, she and Himari become heated rivals for Yu's affections, leaving him baffled. She and Yu later become a couple after he breaks up with Himari.
Media
Light novel
Written by Nana Nanana and illustrated by Parum, Can a Boy-Girl Friendship Survive? began its publication on January 9, 2021, under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko imprint. Twelve volumes were released from January 2021 to November 2025.
Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Kamelie began serialization in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Daioh magazine on August 27, 2021. The first volume was released on May 9, 2022. It has been compiled in six tankōbon volumes as of April 10, 2026.
Anime
In August 2022, it was announced that the series would be receiving an anime adaptation. It was later revealed to be a television series that is produced by J.C.Staff and directed by Yōhei Suzuki, with series composition and episode screenplays by Nozu Yaemori, characters designed by Natsuki Ōyama, and music composed by Jun Ichikawa. The series aired from April 4 to June 20, 2025, on Tokyo MX, AT-X, and other networks. The opening theme song is "Shitsumon, Koitte Nandeshō ka?" (質問、恋って何でしょうか?; Question: What is Love?), performed by HoneyWorks feat. HaKoniwalily, and the ending theme song is "Dear My Soleil", performed by Hina Tachibana. Crunchyroll is streaming the series. Plus Media Networks Asia licensed the series in Southeast Asia and broadcasts it on Aniplus Asia.
Reception
By November 2025, the series had over 550,000 copies in circulation.