Token Yuri Girls

Yuri-style lesbian relationships between secondary characters, outside of Yuri Genre works, to appeal to the Yuri Fan base.

Yuri is very popular in Japan, and has a dedicated fanbase. And there are lots of people who think Girl-On-Girl Is Hot. So even a work that isn't officially Yuri may throw in some girl/girl side couples for Fan Service / fan bait. This may involve anything from cannon couple-dom to one-sided crushes.

Distaff Counterpart to Yaoi Guys. Also see Homoerotic Subtext, for when the creators want plausible deniability, and Les Yay, for when the fans have their Shipping Goggles on.

Couples from acknowledged Yuri series go on the Yuri Genre page, please.

No real life examples, please; All The Tropes is not a gossip site

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Examples of Token Yuri Girls include:

This is an East Asian trope; no Western examples please.

Anime and Manga

• Bleach: Chizuru's very open infatuation with Orihime. Unfortunately for the Shonen audience, her advances are invariably thwarted by the protective Tatsuki, who Chizuru has commented she would also find quite attractive if not for her boyish persona. Regardless of her primary crush, Chizuru has also ogled other female members of her circle of friends, namely Moe Moe Mahana and Tall, Dark and Bishoujo Kunieda. She was literally drooling over Rukia at the start of the Bount arc. The closest she's ever gotten with Orihime is grabbing her... considerable assets. This was changed in the anime to hugging Orihime around the lower chest, with her forearms pushing Orihime's breasts up. She also once had a throwaway line in the manga where she declares that Orihime's cuteness is "Giving her an erection." Whereupon she's promptly pervert-stomped by Tatsuki. A doujinshi of Chizuru having a relevant daydream in class soon began circulating the internet.
• Akane Kasuga from Kimagure Orange Road.
• B-ko Daitokuji in Project A-ko: Possibly unintentional; the director admitted in an interview for the US DVD re-release of the film that he didn't think about how the scene featuring B-ko in a giant bath, thinking about C-ko, could be interpreted. Which is kind of confusing, because it looks to all the world like B-ko is touching herself while thinking about C-ko. Based on the differences between the dubbed and subtitled versions, if it was unintentional it can only be because it's so common in the genre that it got put in without being thought about. The dub takes this aspect of the complicated relationship between A-ko, B-ko, and C-ko out, and makes C-ko seem a bit weird and creepy as a result. Alternately, it isn't so much unintentional as it is a leftover from when the film was supposed to be part of the Cream Lemon series of erotic films, where indeed B-ko was infatuated with C-ko.
• Lain and Arisu from Serial Experiments Lain seem to be really, really, really fond of each other... sometimes to romantic levels.
• Kirika and Mireille from Noir are not shown being physically intimate, but they share a bed and by the end of the series are emotionally dependent on each other. Also, Chloe exhibits a rather warped (and mostly frustrated) desire for Kirika.
• Steel Angel Kurumi features Saki, a female android who because of the circumstances of her activation has a romantic fixation on the titular character, another female android. The sequel series Steel Angel Kurumi 2, tops that with what is either an oversized Love Triangle or a small Love Dodecahedron: Kurumi Mk. II is fixated upon young cellist Nako, who activated her. Nako's friend Uruka also has a crush on her, and out of jealousy activates Saki Mk. II in order to battle Kurumi; Saki, however, ends up pining for both Kurumi and Uruka. Eventually, Nako comes to return Kurumi's feelings.
• Futaba in Puni Puni Poemi is both an extreme parody of this character type and a parody of Tomoyo from Cardcaptor Sakura, which is an example of this trope herself (see below).
• Chanohata Tamami in Mahoraba admits to Shiratori Ryuushi that she is in love with Aoba Kozue (who is completely oblivious), explaining her mean-spirited attitude.
• In Azumanga Daioh, Kaorin has an immediately obvious crush on Sakaki that seems one-sided; however, considering Sakaki's addiction to cute things, it's possible that it would be reciprocated (or at least not minded) if she wasn't entirely oblivious. According to the newest manga, Kaorin is either in denial or in denial and in the closet. As if we didn't get the hints.
• Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch has the Black Beauty Sisters...
• Soukou no Strain:
  • Lavinia and Jessie. They never do get together in the end, or at least it's left open-ended, despite having a very close encounter due to a misunderstanding. Which is rather strange, since Jessie seemed very responsive, yet she never brings up the incident again afterward.
  • Also contains some mindbreaking hints at a possible relationship between Sara and her doll Emily. Things get worse when we discover that the "doll" actually contains the living brain of an alien girl. Whose race shares a common hive mind. So by acting nice to her, Sara acts nice to a whole goddamn One-Gender Race. Is this someone's weirdest yuri harem fantasy or what?
• In Mahou Sensei Negima, Setsuna serves as Konoka's protector, and admits it precludes hooking up with anyone else. Naturally, other characters assume this is a complicated way of saying that they are a romantic couple, or will be. Konoka certainly has no problem being her (kissing-activated) partner in their magical contract. It's pretty much just Setsuna who isn't aware of this. Naturally, when Setsuna proved to be a popular character, the overtones became a lot more obvious in the Negima?! remake, with a more knowingly teasing Konoka and a more flusterable Setsuna, to the point of Setsuna stuck between embarrassment and ogling at Konoka in a swimsuit. Considering that in the early manga the way Setsuna acts around Konoka is exactly the same as someone with a really strong crush (complete with blushing and a loss of the ability to speak whenever she's around) makes the subtext already quite strong.
• My-HiME:
  • Shizuru and her obsessive love for one of the main characters, Natsuki. Fandom has rewarded this with a series of doujinshi, the tamest of which explore Shizuru's more publishable fantasies. The more extreme, well... let's just say that Shizuru is a very imaginative individual. One of the artbooks states that they "find happiness" at Natsuki's graduation. Shizuru's popularity in this series likely led to her Mai-Otome incarnation actually hooking up with that universe's Natsuki.
  • Speaking of Mai-Otome, there appear to be quite a few of them there, too, since most of the story takes place in the all-girls' Garderobe Academy. Chie, in particular, appears to have out-Chizuru'd Bleach's Chizuru in the "openly flirty" department. Furthermore, the Schizo-Tech that gives the girls their super powers is destroyed by sperm, and neither condoms nor vasectomies exist.
• Parodied in an episode of Tenchi Muyo. After being cast into a High School AU, Magical Girl Sasami shoots the bickering Ayeka and Ryoko with a "beam of friendship". The sequence just gets more suggestive as two begin gazing into each other's eyes, proclaiming their mutual love and admiration, and almost kissing before being cut off by the end of the episode.
• Anna towards Izumi in He Is My Master, to the point of Stalker with a Crush. Izumi doesn't exactly reciprocate the feelings, but the cast (including Izumi, with promises) do use Anna's obsession to their advantage on occasion.
• Lucky Star:
  • Hiyori is a Yuri Fangirl / artist, though it's apparently nonsexual for her.
  • Some people assume that Konata and Kagami, despite the personality clash, may secretly be these. Konata playfully flirting with Kagami and Tsukasa after a Marimite session doesn't exactly help her case. Don't forget Kagami's Freudian Slip in the OVA. Word of God says either Konata or Kagami has an unrequited crush on the other, without specifying whom. Konata has said she's not a lesbian, which implies that she might simply be bisexual.
  • Yutaka and Minami are even more blatant, even after you remove all the parts of the show that were viewed through Hiyori's Yuri Goggles. Konata remarked on this a couple times, though it's not entirely clear if she's joking or serious.
• Kitagawa from Doki Doki School Hours has a thing for petite women, which just happens to apply to her teacher - and she is not at all shy about showing her affections.
• Yamada and Satou from Koi Koi 7 like to cheerfully show their affection for each other.
• Rosalie from Rose of Versailles has a huge crush on Lady Oscar.
• Sakura from PenguinMusumeHeart often shows extreme interest in intimate interactions with some of her female classmates. Sure, she is absolutely bonkers, but it happens a bit too often to be coincidental. Not to mention that she tries to force Kujira into marrying her in an alternate time line.
• Nina Einstein from Code Geass fits this trope pretty well. After Princess Euphemia stands up for her in a hostage situation, Nina has a huge obsession with her, and even goes as far as to masturbate against a table with a picture of Euphemia. Later, when Euphemia dies, Nina goes insane and threatens to set off a bomb killing herself, Zero, and many innocent bystanders. This is promptly used by Schneizel, Euphemia's half-brother, who takes the still insane Nina in so she builds an even bigger bomb for him...
• In Ikki Tousen there's the Ryoufu Hosen (Lu Bu) and her best friend Chinkyuu Koudai (Chon Gong). Ryoufu is seductive and even brutal, bordering on Depraved Bisexual, but shows a more human side when around the devoted Chinkyuu. In the manga, they die together when Chinkyuu is raped and both she and Ryoufu rebel against their evil leader, Toutaku (Dong Zhuo). In the anime, Chinkyuu is not only raped but beaten to death; Ryoufu dies trying to kill Toutaku and herself. Later, Kan'u Unchou (Guan Yu) is shown to be one of this for her leader and friend, Ryuubi Gentoku (Liu Bei).
• Nene, the Class Representative from Hyakko, claims to be bisexual—but she is mostly shown drooling over girls.
• Sakuya from Candy Boy has a major crush on Kanade and has no qualms about letting everybody know about it. Alas, she has lost by definition to Kanade's twin sister, Yukino.
• A Certain Magical Index: Kuroko, who gets concerned at how much fun Mikoto seems to be having in her rivalry with Touma. Clingy Jealous Girl, too. She's even worse in A Certain Scientific Railgun.
• Makina in Shikabane Hime once found herself being stalked by a large-breasted lesbian schoolgirl who was attracted to death.
• Hidamari Sketch. Natsume is painfully Tsundere for Sae but can't catch a break, being the losing corner of a Love Triangle. Played up to the hilt in episode 12 of x365 when Sae joins Natsume for lunch, with the latter first getting combative before quieting down. We even get a few Male Gaze shots in that episode; when Natsume watches Sae enter the cafeteria (focusing on her hips), watching her eat (focusing on her lips), and again as Sae walks away... The flowers the spring out of her hair and the Luminescent Blush seem to put it straight into Schoolgirl Lesbians territory. The very last episode has her praying at a shrine to become more honest with her feelings. And guess who wrote that passionate fan letter that Sae got?
• Possibly hinted at in the ending credits of SHUFFLE! episode 24, where Lisianthus and Kaede share an "accidental" kiss.
• Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito is about one of these searching time and space for her best friend/adoptive older sister Hatsumi who turns out to be Eve...yes, that Eve. Who returns her feelings, but can only exist in a given world for 16 years at a time. Hatsumi herself is at least bisexual, as a series of very direct love letters shows.
• Yurika Kochikaze in Akikan! is blatantly lesbian for Najimi.
• Shinobu of Ninin ga Shinobuden assuming it isn't just being played for parody.
• Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha:
  • Rainbows are straighter than Subaru Nakajima.
  • Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's has Nanoha and Fate, seemly regular grader students who have an awkward relationship at the beginning of the show. if it's not for all those blushing they do, nobody would find their relationship any more suggestive than being bestfriends.
• Nodoka of Saki, especially in the animated version which took her subtextual crush towards Saki in the manga then jacked it up to bleedingly obvious. Hell, most of the girls have the same thing going on. Saki very obviously returns Nodoka's feelings, all of the Kazekoshi girls want their "kyaputen" who may be in a Romantic Two-Girl Friendship with Kana and certainly has a big crush on Hisa. Hisa and Mako have rather obvious crushes on each other. Touka is almost Psycho Lesbian for Nodoka, not to mention Ryuumonbuchi's Hajime/Touka/Ayumu/Jun Love Dodecahedron. And then there's the Ensemble Darkhorse couple of Momoko and Yumi. All of the relationships are subtextual, but are still very obvious.
• Yume and Yuuki in Kanamemo are established as being very lesbian for each other right out the gate. Even if Yume puts too much sugar in her cooking, Yuuki will still eat it. Considering that Yume gave up her sleeping bag to newbie Kana in the first episode, this led to her sharing Yuuki's room, which she had no problem with. Then there's whatever went on in the porta-potty.
• In the Affectionate Parody fighting series Airmaster, Mina, a Shrinking Violet with Gag Boobs who often finds herself kidnapped or otherwise in trouble, is hopelessly in love with stoic Huge Schoolgirl protagonist Maki and is teased rather often about it. Maki doesn't quite know how to react, but she doesn't seem to mind Mina holding onto her arm when they're walking around the city with their friends.
• Tomoyo Daidouji in Cardcaptor Sakura, though it was toned down a bit in the anime. The manga actually had her telling Sakura that she loves her in that way, though it went right over the heroine's head.
• To LOVE-Ru has Risa and Mio, who both shamelessly love groping girls (and sometimes, molest them outright), but kinda subverted with both. Risa swings between Bi the Way and Depraved Bisexual (mostly the former), but her daily interaction with Rito and Haruna is especially unhealthy. Mio is rather Ambiguously Gay due to her lack of Risa's expression when doing these. And she has a Fetish for Meido Cosplay with Lolicon/ Moe appeal...in a men-oriented cafe.
• Hanaukyo Maid Tai La Verite. Yashima Sanae's feelings for her boss Konoe Tsurugi.
• Margot Knight and Malga Naruze in Horizon in The Middle of Nowhere. Their official character profiles even list them as 'Lovers'.
• Alielle and Princess Fatora from El Hazard. Not only they are lovers but they are also two Lovable Sex Maniac who sexually harass the others girls for fanservice.

Video Games

• Persona 3:
  • Natsuki's friendship toward Fuuka occasionally took on dangerous levels of obsession, resulting in the SEES group having to keep her isolated for her own good. Of course, the 'dangerous levels of obsession' was from a Shadow giving her impulses so that she'd be a prime victim, which is why she was isolated. After that incident, the two became extremely close to the point that Natsuki moving out of town was the catalyst for Fuuka's Persona to power up.
  • Played completely straight though with an NPC just outside the classroom who has a very obvious (and at times disturbing) crush on Mitsuru Kirijo.
• Grim Grimoire: Amoretta and Lillet? Yup. It's canon. The hints were there from the beginning, though.
• From Valkyria Chronicles, there's Dallas Wyatt, who grew up in a relatively man-free environment until the conscription. She has "Man Hater" and "Fancies Women" as traits and she is very obviously crushing on main character Alicia Melchiott.
• In the Harvest Moon spinoff series Rune Factory, this happens. In Rune Factory 2, two twin girls can be courted and fake proposed to and "married". However, the priest says something about how girls can't get married. This, oddly enough, was left in the English version of the game. However, it had some... unusual changes.
• Some of the plot of Rule of Rose centers around this, although much less than the reputation would indicate. There's one distinctly romantic friendship in the game, and one unrequited crush, but neither are distinctly sexual in nature; most of the characters aren't even in their teens yet, after all.
• In Gensokyo, where almost the entire cast (read: all but one) is made up of girls that look between high-schoolers and downright lolis (depending on who draws them), is this way in fanon. Even if almost all of them are youkai that are much older than they look.
• Seiko Shinohara of Corpse Party hides behind her feelings for her best friend Naomi behind a "Just Joking" Justification, since she knows that Naomi doesn't return her feelings. After Seiko's death, it can be invoked if you correctly meet the requirements for a scene in which Seiko appears in Naomi's dream, where she apologizes for their fight and explains that she wants to make up with Naomi before she leaves this world. She has just one request: a kiss. The game gives you the option (Because you're totally going to say no to Seiko's final wish) to have Naomi grant her request.
• Vanille and Fang from Final Fantasy XIII. It helps that Fang was originally written as a male character in a relationship with Vanille, but gender-flipped half way through the production when her storyline was set.