History Foil / AnimeAndManga

** Iba and Ikkaku. Ikkaku is a BloodKnight who refuses to reveal the fact that he knows bankai to anyone else to avoid having to leave the like-minded 11th Company, even if it means losing a fight or dying. By contrast, Iba chose to improve his kido and leave the 11th Company to become a Lieutenant to please his mother, and is willing to run away or use [[CombatPragmatism underhanded tactics]] to carry out his duties. Iba uses this very contrast to try and make Ikkaku understand why not using his Bankai in battle is wrong.

** [[TheEmperor Yhwach]] and [[TheMedic Ryuuken]]. Yhwach is the black-themed First Quincy, while Ryuuken is the white-themed Last Quincy. For all that he claims to hate violence, Yhwach is aggressive, abusive, and surrounds himself with subordinates he cruelly mistreats. For all his protestations of detachment, Ryuuken is gentle and caring, and distances himself from those he loves for their own protection. Yhwach thrives on wholesale slaughter; Ryuuken has devoted his life to medicine and healing. Between them, they hold the secrets - and fate - of the Quincies in their hands.

** Touma Kamijou was born with the power in his right hand, Imagine Breaker, the power to change things back to normal, [[ThinkNothingOfIt sees saving and helping people as something anyone would do]], and is [[ObliviousToLove oblivious]] to all the girls in love with him. Kakeru Kamisato was an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent who one day gained a power in his right hand, World Rejector, the power to create [[LotusEaterMachine new worlds to tempt and trap people in]] (specifically stated to be Imagine Breaker's opposite), [[IJustWantToBeNormal sees his power and role as a hero to be a burden]], and notices he has an UnwantedHarem and hates having one. Kakeru comes into conflict with Touma when Touma doesn't agree with his views on their powers. Kakeru believed Touma didn't like having powers and tried to get him to join him on his quest to get revenge on the beings he believed responsible for granting them.

* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDxD'':

* The two main characters of ''Manga/KurokoNoBasuke'' serve as foils for each other: Kuroko, a short, physically weak specialist player and a [[TheStoic stoic]] DeadpanSnarker; and Kagami, a tall, naturally talented power player and a HotBlooded IdiotHero.

* In ''FruitsBasket'', the Honda family (Tohru, Kyoko, and Katsuya) serve as foils to the head of the Sohma family (Akito, Ren, and Akira). When Kyoko learned that she was pregnant, she considered aborting it because she would rather not have a baby than have a baby and give it a miserable life by being a bad mother. Katsuya talks it over with her, and they eventually reach an agreement that she'll have the baby and they'll work together to be good parents and treat the child like a person. After Tohru is born, the three are a close-knit family. After Katsuya dies, Kyoko works hard to be a loving, supportive mother for Tohru. Because of all of this, Tohru grows up to be a kind, understanding person, who doesn't try to force her will on others and tries to make her way through the world. When Ren found out she was pregnant, she uses the threat of an abortion to emotionally manipulate her husband into [[spoiler:agreeing to raise their daughter as a boy]]. When Akito was born, the family began to drift apart, as Ren became jealous of the attention her husband was showing to their kid. After Akira died, Ren became insanely emotionally abusive towards Akito. As a result, Akito grew up being clingy and frightened of the world, which was hidden underneath a controlling and dominating attitude.

** The reason Choujirou became Yamamoto's NumberTwo is because he made a conscious decision to become Yamamoto's foil.
--> '''Choujirou:''' 'As a member of your school, I would only be able to imitate you. The role of a right-hand man should be to compensate for those areas which you cannot address!'

** [[TheHero Ichigo]] and [[AloofAlly Uryuu]], and [[GenerationXerox their fathers]] [[RetiredBadass Isshin]] and [[HeroicNeutral Ryuuken]]. Both pairs embody the shinigami/Quincy contrast and have parallel plotlines. Lampshaded when Isshin and Ryuuken agree they're both lousy fathers, but that Isshin's worse.

** The main characters and [[TheRival Eiji Nizuma]] form a TechnicianAndPerformer duo, and the pros and cons of each are detailed at length. The main characters carefully calculate whatever they do, whereas Eiji draws whatever comes to mind, making them best suited to cult and mainstream hits, respectively. Eventually, [[spoiler:when launching their fourth and second series, respectively]], they begin implementing elements of the other type of series, with Eiji going cult and the main characters going mainstream.
** As couples, Mashiro and Azuki are this to Takagi and Miyoshi. Mashiro and Azuki get engaged in the first chapter, but decide not to see each other again until they fulfill their dreams, at which point they'll get engaged (they end up seeing each other a few times, but they ultimately keep to the promise until they finally succeed). By contrast, Takagi and Miyoshi get married less than halfway through the series, and frequently comment on Mashiro and Azuki's romanticism.

* Kafuka (the ultimate optimist) to Itoshiki (the ultimate pessimist) in SayonaraZetsubouSensei.[[spoiler: Highlighted even further by Kafuka being ThePollyanna to Itoshiki's AttentionWhore tendencies where he does not actually want to commit suicide and she has a fairly troubled past.]]
* In ''{{Manga/Saki}}''

* ''Manga/FairyTail'' loves this trope. Pairings include [[HotBlooded Natsu]] and [[AnIcePerson Gray]], [[ActionGirl Erza]] and [[TheHeart Lucy]], [[TheBigGuy Erza]] and [[BewareTheNiceOnes Mirajane]], [[InnocentFanserviceGirl Lucy]] and [[TheTease Cana]], [[PsychoElectro Laxus]] and [[TheStoic Mystogan]] or [[MyMasterRightOrWrong Fried]] [[spoiler: (at least before Laxus takes a round trip through the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor)]], and those are just the obvious ones.
** The Tartaros Arc seems to reinforce this relationship between Natsu and Gray. The former is directly tied to the dragons of the series, while the latter is tied more to demons. Gray even [[spoiler: gets his own slayer type magic to parallel Natsu's Dragon Slayer magic, Demon Slayer magic which he inherited from his undead father.]] By the end of the arc, Natsu resolves to [[spoiler: kill Acnologia, the dragon responsible for killing his own father, as well as the other Dragon Slayer's dragon parents.]] While Gray [[spoiler: resolves to kill E.N.D., the strongest demon from Zeref's book, the same place where the demon that killed his parents and teacher originated from (who, unknown to him, [[TomatoInTheMirror is Natsu]]).]]

** While Issei and Vali are set up as rivals, a less obvious example would be Issei and Raiser Phenex. Both characters lust after Rias, but where Issei is (or used to be) an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent, Raiser is a high-class devil from a wealthy family; where Issei wants a harem, Raiser already has one; and where Issei is a weakling who needs multiple doses of TrainingFromHell to take advantage of his MagikarpPower, Raiser was born with innate talents and a boatload of power but hardly ever trains. It wouldn't be inaccurate to say that Raiser is everything Issei wants to be... except that he's also a huge {{Jerkass}} with an entitlement complex ''specifically because'' of that.

*** Frieza serves as this to Goku. Frieza is born extremely powerful, didn't need to train a day in his life, and is the prince of a galactic empire, while Goku is born a low class, is the son of a lower class warrior and pacifist mother, and had to work for his power. Frieza is very polite and well educated, while Goku is somewhat rude and BookDumb. [[HopeCrusher Frieza thrives on spreading despair]] and [[TheCorrupter corrupting others with his influence]]. [[HopeBringer Goku inspires hope and tends to bring out the better angels within people]].

*** Broly, his fellow Saiyan outlier. Both are powerful Saiyans who ran afoul of the royal family and traditional Saiyan culture, they were kept in the same chamber room after they were born, escaped Frieza's genocide of their planet and people apart from the other Saiyans, they very quickly found themselves dressing and living far outside the Frieza Force[=/=]Saiyan Army motif and structure, both are messianic characters, both are recognized as the "legendary Super Saiyan" and both are based on the original [[Literature/JourneyToTheWest Monkey King Sun Wukong]]. But where Goku lucked into his own self-restraint, became well-adjusted if a bit naive, was born with a ferocious spirit that would eventually earn him the strength to become the first naturally-achieved Super Saiyan in millennia through training, feats, and adversities, looked and lived the part of a common man, became king of his own destiny, and cherishes many loved ones as well as life itself, Broly was born with an uncanny power level and a disconcertingly meek personality causing him to be frightened to tears when subject to continuous loud noises, utterly lost his mind at the first sign of life-or-death trauma as a result, and had to be dressed in attire resembling a regal or holy being that at the same time was used to virtually lobotomize him, and was used as his father's puppet of destruction until his mutant Super Saiyan power burst through and was unleashed in the form of an incredible hulking demon out to kill everything including said father, not even stopping to feel pain unless fatally pierced or torn into.
*** Turles, his death-skinned {{doppelganger}}. Both were born low-level Saiyans who looked exactly alike, led a group of allies, escaped and survived Frieza's genocide pretty much on their own, and became stronger than they were supposed to be as time went on. Whereas Goku became a peace-loving defender of the Earth through a head injury and [[WordOfGod his mother's influence on Planet Vegeta]], typically works for his strength and only siphons power from others by asking for it to take out true threats with the occasional Spirit Bomb, Turles is a calculating, cold-hearted marauder with ambitions of conquering the universe, who achieves most if not all of his gains in power by planting a life-sucking tree into planets that it then proceeds to rot to death, then eating from its forbidden fruit.
** After character development, Vegeta becomes this to Frieza. Unlike his former boss, Vegeta learns to care about others and being able to set his pride aside for the benefit of others and his own sanity. By letting go of the past, Vegeta becomes a happier person. Frieza, on the other hand, never learns from his experiences and remains an uncaring fiend even after he is given a second chance at life. He allows his hatred and anger towards Goku to drive him insane, and it's his inability to let go of his pride and the past that drives him to his death, ''twice''.

** Spike and Andy. Both are destructive, stubborn, glory-hogging, self-aggrandizing braggarts who are nonetheless extremely competent bounty hunters and they get completely at each other's nerves. Spike has a CoolShip, Andy has a CoolHorse. Spike prefers semi-autos and dresses like a ''Anime/LupinTheThird'' cosplayer while Andy dresses like an actual cowboy. Andy, however, lacks Spike's DarkAndTroubledPast and therefore comes across as TheFool compared to the nuances of Spike's blasé attitude.

** Shin Hyuga Shaing in the Akito the Exiled OVAs serves as a foil to both Lelouch and Suzaku. [[While both Lelouch and Suzaku struggle with a certain darkness, and both at least try to resist giving into it (though they both have plenty of "what have I done?" moments), Shin jumps in and embraces ruthlessness. In episode 3, after seeing how far Lelouch has fallen due to his love for his sister, Shin geasses his adoptive sister and mother, whom he loves, to die. Before that, he gives Suzaku a nice NotSoDifferent speech, where, as always, the telling element is what's different even with all of those similarities.]]

** The Tartaros Arc seems to reinforce this relationship between Natsu and Gray. The former is directly tied to the dragons of the series, while the latter is tied more to demons. Gray even [[spoiler: gets his own slayer type magic to parallel Natsu's Dragon Slayer magic, Demon Slayer magic which he inherited from his undead father.]] By the end of the arc, Natsu resolves to [[spoiler: kill Acknowlogia, the dragon responsible for killing his own father, as well as the other Dragon Slayer's dragon parents.]] While Gray [[spoiler: resolves to kill E.N.D., the strongest demon from Zeref's book, the same place where the demon that killed his parents and teacher originated from.]]

** Goku have ''a lot'' of foils, which some times overlap with ShadowArchetype and EvilCounterpart.
*** When Krillin first appeared, he was an exact foil to Goku. Whereas Goku was an [[IncorruptiblePurePureness impossibly pure-hearted child]] who [[SkilledButNaive takes his incredibly strength for granted]], and [[SmugSuper has a lot of confidence in his power]], while Krillin was a devious BrattyHalfPint with a blatant inferiority complex. By the time of the series first TournamentArc he's largely grows most of this thanks to his training and Goku's influence giving him genuine self-confidence.

* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDxD'': Issei Hyoudou and Vali Lucifer. Issei's Boosted Gear doubles his strength every ten seconds while Vali's Divine Dividing halves his opponent's strength every ten seconds (meaning in a direct confrontation, these abilities sort of cancel each other out). Issei is a LovableSexManiac and HaremSeeker and only seeks to become stronger so he can win over girls and protect them (part of his philosophy is that if he is strong enough, he can end conflicts so he can spend more time with girls). Vali is almost completely uninterested in sex (except for a mild fetish for women's butts) and seeks people strong enough to be a WorthyOpponent to him as he is a supreme BloodKnight (he hates peacetime and constantly wishes for war and competition). Issei was born to ordinary human parents and earned his strength through training. Vali was [[PrivilegedRival born to noble devil lineage (as a descendant of the original Lucifer himself)]] and thus [[BornWinner inherited vast powers]].

* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'': Spike and Vicious. Spike prefers guns, explosives, and martial arts to outwit his opponents; Vicious prefers to just use his sword. Spike wishes to leave the Syndicate and let time take it's toll, Vicious wishes to return the Syndicate to what he knew.

* In ''MaiHime'', Shizuru and Haruka contrast with one another. Shizuru is a calm, polite {{Ojou}} who is highly popular in the school and in love with her best friend Natsuki, but believes her feelings are improper. Haruka has a HairTriggerTemper, her family is NouveauRiche, she only got ''twelve'' votes in the election, and is the subject of possible unrequited love by her best friend Yukino, but implies she finds homosexuality disgusting.

** Gohan to his young brother Goku. They both have many similarities to their father like their [[IncorruptiblePurePureness pure-hearts]], love of animals, and their innocents and fun-loving nature. Goten inherited his father's carefree personality, while Gohan is serious and down to Earth. Goten is quite hyper, while Gohan is very reserved. Goten is allowed to be a child and Gohan was forced to grow up fast because of the constant danger the Earth was exposed to.

*** Broly, his fellow Saiyan outlier. Both are powerful Saiyans who ran afoul of the royal family and traditional Saiyan culture, they were kept in the same chamber room after they were born, escaped Frieza's genocide of their planet and people apart from the other Saiyans, they very quickly found themselves dressing and living far outside the Frieza Force[=/=]Saiyan Army motif and structure, both are messianic characters, both are recognized as the "legendary Super Saiyan" and both are based on the original [[Literature/JourneyToTheWest Monkey King Sun Wukong]]. But where Goku lucked into his own self-restraint, became well-adjusted if a bit stupid, was born with a ferocious spirit that would eventually earn him the strength to become the first naturally-achieved Super Saiyan in millennia through training, feats, and adversities, looked and lived the part of a common man, became king of his own destiny, and cherishes many loved ones as well as life itself, Broly was born with an uncanny power level and a disconcertingly meek personality causing him to be frightened to tears when subject to continuous loud noises, utterly lost his mind at the first sign of life-or-death trauma as a result, and had to be dressed in attire resembling a regal or holy being that at the same time was used to virtually lobotomize him, and was used as his father's puppet of destruction until his mutant Super Saiyan power burst through and was unleashed in the form of an incredible hulking demon out to kill everything including said father, not even stopping to feel pain unless fatally pierced or torn into.

*** Goku's older brother, Raditz. Both Saiyans born on the low end of the power scale and dismissed as weaklings by their fellow Saiyan. While Goku embraced the gentle heart given to him by his mother and works his entire life to break the limits of his birth, like his father, Radtiz chose to hide behind others stronger than him while embracing the ruthlessness of being a Saiyan, rejecting his mother's kind influence.

*** Majin Buu. While both are extreme powerful [[ManChild man children]] who loves to eat and fight, Buu's childish nature is what allows him to do so many evil things. In Fat Buu's case, he is so innocent [[ObliviouslyEvil that he doesn't know right from wrong]] and needs Mr. Satan to act as his MoralityChain. Super Buu is a child because he [[ItsAllAboutMe doesn't care about anything or anyone else except his own needs and desires]]. Kid Buu is as [[PureIsNotGood pure]] like a child because like Fat Buu he has no concept of right or wrong, he just wants to kill and destroy everything. He can even hold the Spirit Bomb because he is evil in its purest form. In comparison, Goku's childish nature [[IncorruptiblePurePureness highlights his innocent and purity]]. Goku also works to achieve his power while Buu was not only born extremely strong, but can steal other people's work by absorbing them.

* ''Anime/YuGiOhZexal'' has Gauche and Droite ([[MeaningfulName whose names contrast]], being "Left" and "Right" [[BilingualBonus in French]]). Gauche is very HotBlooded and his dueling style is aggressive and relies on brute force. Droite is an IceQueen and her dueling style is passive and relies on weakening and manipulating her opponent. Despite their differences, they care about each other very much and are a nearly unstoppable tag-team.

%% * ''GundamSeedDestiny's'' protagonist Shinn Asuka could be considered a foil to both main protagonists of GundamSeed, Kira Yamato and Athrun Zala, who are themselves foils to one another.

** While Kaworu can immediately be identified as on to Rei due to the two of them being[[spoiler: Adam and Lilith vessels]], he was explicitly designed to be one to Shinji. This gets further emphasized in RebuildOfEvangelion, due to an increased emphasis on their roles as [[spoiler: unique Impact triggers]], the physical contrast (hair, eyes, reversed plug colors, body language, Kaworu's love for change and Shinji's fear of change, Kaworu's blind trust vs Shinji's mistrust) which are placed in similar circumstances, including [[spoiler: rebellion against their manipulative guardians: SEELE and Gendo]].

* Tsugawa and Kudo in ''JapanInc''. Tsugawa is your typical ruthless manager, Kudo is the social guy who thinks about the employees.

* VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry has Mion (tomboy with a hidden girly side) and Shion (girly exterior with hidden sadist within). Brought up most in Wataganashi-hen and Meakashi-hen.

** [[TheEmperor Yhwach]] and [[TheMedic Ryuken]]. Yhwach is the black-themed First Quincy, while Ryuken is the white-themed Last Quincy. For all that he claims to hate violence, Yhwach is aggressive, abusive, and surrounds himself with subordinates he cruelly mistreats. For all his protestations of detachment, Ryuken is gentle and caring, and distances himself from those he loves for their own protection. Yhwach thrives on wholesale slaughter; Ryuuken has devoted his life to medicine and healing. Between them, they hold the secrets - and fate - of the Quincies in their hands.

** Iba and Ikkaku. Ikkaku is a BloodKnight who refuses to reveal the fact that he knows bankai to anyone else to avoid having to leave the like-minded 11th Company, even if it means losing a fight or dying. By contrast, Iba chose to improve his kido and leave the 11th Company to become a Lieutenant to please his mother, and is willing to run away or use [[CombatPragmatism underhanded tactics]] to carry out his duties.

** [[TheEmperor Yhwach]] and [[TheMedic Ryuken]]. Yhwach is the black-themed First Quincy, while Ryuken is the white-themed Last Quincy. For all that he claims to hate violence, Yhwach is aggressive, abusive, and surrounds himself with subordinates he cruelly mistreats. For all his protestations of detachment, Ryuken is gentle and caring, and distances himself from those he loves for their own protection. Yhwach thrives on wholesale slaughter; Ryuuken has devoted his life to medicine and healing.
** Byakuya and Kenpachi. The former is an aloof nobleman, fights eloquently in multiple forms of combat with strategy, obeys the law to the letter, (though he gets better). The latter is a savage BloodKnight who came from the poorest of Soul Society's districts, fights with no regard for technique, and does whatever the hell he wants.

* VisualNovel/HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi has Mion (tomboy with a hidden girly side) and Shion (girly exterior with hidden sadist within). Brought up most in Wataganashi-hen and Meakashi-hen.

* Given that they're both AcePilot Newtypes and technical designers with {{Ambiguous Disorder}}s, poor social skills, and immense PsychicPowers it isn't hard to see ''ZetaGundam'''s BigBad Paptimus Scirocco as an older, more jaded, and cynical version of protagonist Kamille Bidan. The difference is in how they deal with their issues--Kamille slowly gets over his problems and learns how to deal with other people, while Scirocco simply develops his MindRape skills to the point where he doesn't have to be good at interacting with others.