History Foil / AnimeAndManga

--> '''Sakakibe:''' '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!'

*** Also, although both of them see love as merely a mental illness, while Haruhi is attracted to both guys and girls, Sasaki claims to have [[{UseefulNotes/{Asexuality}} never felt anything of that sort]].

** Lelouch and Suzaku are the major foils to one another, their rivalry and opposition to one another being a major driving force in the series. Lelouch is a WellIntentionedExtremist who believes the ends justify the means, and is willing to use any tactic to achieve his goals; while Suzaku is firmly in the MachiavelliWasWrong camp, believing change should be inacted through fair and just means rather than brute force. Their contrasts also extend to their physical capabilities: Suzaku is an AcePilot whose is an absolutely force of nature in his SuperPrototype Knightmare Frame, Lancelot, and who is highly athletic and physicially fit outside of mecha combat. Lelouch, on the other hand, has practically no physical stamina, and is a middling pilot at best, his strengths leaning more towards leadership and strategy. The few times Lelouch is able to fight well in a Knightmare Frame are in unusual prototype machines with unorthodox equipment, such as the Shinkiro, which is outfitted with a barrier system that plays into his strengths as a quick-witted tactician. Going along with the series's ChessMotifs, Lelouch is likened to the Black King, the most important piece on the board, whose defeat would cause his entire army to collapse, but who is not well-suited to combat; whereas Suzaku is a White Knight, an unique combatant whose unorthodox movements make it a force to be reckoned with.

* While most obviously, Lelouch and Suzaku from ''Anime/CodeGeass'' are foils of each other, an argument could be made that Diethard is also a foil to Lelouch, being a Britannain aristocrat who at the beginning of the series expresses a similar dissatisfaction with Britannian society. However, whereas Lelouch is very active in enforcing change (for good or ill), Diethard is more of a cheerleader for change and pretty much joins LaResistance because it seems interesting and midway through ''R2'' [[spoiler:betrays Lelouch when Prince Schneizel seems to be a more captivating leader. In episode 24 of the series right before he is killed, he is shown enthusiastically supporting Schneizel's plan to nuke cities around the world in order to bring "peace"]].

* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' has this as well. [[TheHero Satoshi/Ash]] is impulsive and governs with his heart, while [[TheRival Shinji/Paul]] is always more in control and strongly favors cold logic. This was pretty much the basis of their rivalry, mainly with them disagreeing on how it was appropriate to train Pokémon.

** To Minoru Tanaka. The fact that [[spoiler:both are killed by Ryuk]] certainly cements this status. In terms of sheer intellect, Minoru lacks TheAce aspects of Light, being unable to translate his intelligence into his academics while Light excelled at everything he put his mind to. However, in many ways, the entire purpose of his character seems to be an answer to everything Light aspired to be throughout the course of the series: careful, meticulous, cunning, successful, and altruistic. Ironically, in his short period, he achieved what Light could never archieve: [[spoiler:defeat Near and being praised for thousands of people in his country]]. Another purpose of his character seems to be an answer to all the praise that Light has received by fans for more than ten years and to everything his [[DeconstructedCharacterArchetype archetype]] represents, letting Minoru himself to carry out much more cunning and altruistic plans for his country. All these attributes show that, by the end of the day, Minoru is a far better person than Light, which is cruelly ironic considering that Minoru [[spoiler:did not seek to be praised and ended up being much more praised and loved than Light himself. One wonders what Light himself would think if he saw that another Kira managed to be much more loved than he ever tried to be...]]

*** [[Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly Post-canonization]], Broly continues to serve as Goku's foil, both being powerful Saiyans who ran afoul of family and traditional Saiyan culture, quickly finding themsleves living far outside the Frieza Force[=/=]Saiyan Army motif and structure, and both being based on Sun Wukong. In addition, both grew up far from any civilization and are [[WildChild Wild Children]], the key difference being Goku grew up on Earth, raised by the kindly Grandpa Gohan, and spent his youth among friends; whereas Broly was raised by his vengeful father Paragus on a DeathWorld in total isolation until adulthood. He still shares his lack of restraint in battle, having never received proper training in how to harness his godlike strength and [[HeroicRROD endangering his own life when pushed to, and beyond, his limits]], in contrast to Goku's many years of training and experience. Lastly, in contrast to his original counterpart, the canonized Broly is [[AdaptationalNiceGuy far kinder outside of battle]], easily making friends with Cheelai and Lemo and becoming a friendly rival to Goku instead of a bitter nemesis.

** ''Anime/DigimonDataSquad'' takes this a step further with Marcus and Thomas, who not only have the brazen / respectful dichotomy, but also a IdiotHero / SmartGuy one and a slack-off / dutiful one, too.

** [[AttentionWhore Touka]] and [[ShrinkingViolet Momo]]. The former is obsessed with standing out as much as possible. The latter has grown up while being unnoticed by most people, and has accepted that, but wants to be acknowledged and appreciated most by her [[RomanticTwoGirlFriendship friend]] and [[SenpaiKohai senpai]], Yumi.

*** In a non-villain example, Goku to his son Gohan. They are both [[TheGift extremely gifted warriors]] who represent the peak of their groups. Goku is the strongest pure-blooded Saiyan, while Gohan is the most powerful of all the hybrids. They are both also [[IncorruptiblePurePureness pure-hearted]], fun-loving, [[AllLovingHero have a love for animals and people]], and are somewhat naive about the outside world. However, Goku loves to fight and challenged himself, while Gohan hates fighting and hurting people, and won't train unless there is an immediate danger. Goku is BookDumb and doesn't work to support his family, while Gohan is very well education and has a steady job by the end of the series.

*** Also, although both of them see love as merely a mental illness, while Haruhi is attracted to both guys and girls, Sasaki claims to have [[{{Asexuality}} never felt anything of that sort]].

** Luffy and Buggy. The former is a happy-go-lucky adventurer, while the latter is a greedy and ruthless pirate. Luffy idolizes Shanks, while Buggy can't stand him. Both accidentally ate Devil Fruits (in fact, Buggy was the first Devil Fruit user apart from Luffy), but while Luffy doesn't mind, Buggy is furious, since he'd planned on selling his. Said Devil Fruits are opposites in some ways, since Luffy's Gum Gum Fruit protects him against blunt attacks but is vulnerable to bladed weapons, while Buggy's Chop Chop Fruit is especially useful against enemies who might try to cut him.

** ''Anime/DigimonSavers'' takes this a step further with Marcus and Thomas, who not only have the brazen / respectful dichotomy, but also a IdiotHero / SmartGuy one and a slack-off / dutiful one, too.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' has this as well. [[TheHero Satoshi/Ash]] is impulsive and governs with his heart, while [[TheRival Shinji/Paul]] is always more in control and strongly favors cold logic. This was pretty much the basis of their rivalry, mainly with them disagreeing on how it was appropriate to train Pokémon.

** Shin Hyuga Shaing in the Akito the Exiled [=OVAs=] serves as a foil to both Lelouch and Suzaku. [[spoiler: 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.]]

* Katou and Watanabe from ''Manga/DadTheBeardGorillaAndI''. The pair is introduced as the "normie representatives" among their quirky workplace, and are characterized by their ''lack'' of hobbies and interest. However, while Watanabe is a NiceGuy whose lack of attachment to any particular dreams or activities drives him to support and help others who do, Katou is a lazy and obnoxious snob who resents other people's success despite never putting the effort to achieve those success. It's rather telling that most of their colleagues would avoid hanging out with Katou at all costs, while they would willingly invite Watanabe to fill in the space when going out as a pair is too awkward.

* Katou and Watanabe from ''Manga/DadTheBeardGorillaAndI''. The pair is introduced as ThoseTwoGuys characterized by their ''lack'' of hobbies and interest, and being the "normie representatives" among their quirky workplace. However, while Watanabe is a NiceGuy whose lack of attachment to any particular dreams or activities drives him to support and help others who do, Katou is a lazy and obnoxious snob who resents other people's success despite never putting the effort to achieve those success. It's rather telling that most of their colleagues would avoid hanging out with Katou at all costs, while they would willingly invite Watanabe to fill in the space when going out as a pair is too awkward.

** Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo. They are rivals both of whom dream of becoming the number-one hero in the world, but beyond that, they contrast against one another greatly. In a world where EveryoneIsASuper, Midoriya was born powerless but still dreamed big, eventually being taken under the wing of All Might and inheriting the power of One For All. Bakugo, on the other hand, was blessed and cursed with a great combat quirk and became a SmugSuper who bullied Midoriya but once he got to high school he realized he isn't the strongest as he always assumed. Midoriya, despite his lack of powers, has always been heroic and willing to save people which made Bakugo feel threatened. On the other hand, ever since childhood Bakugo has been determined to win and courageous to stand up against anyone which made Midoriya admire him and follow him around. While they both looked up to All Might, Midoriya admired the way he saved everyone while Bakugo admired the way that he was always victorious against villains. Personality-wise, Midoriya is friendly and affable, while Bakugou has a HairTriggerTemper and is prone to making death threats at the drop of a hat. In battle, Midoriya uses a combination of his immense physical strength and [[GuileHero quick-thinking]], while Bakugou usually prefers AttackAttackAttack.

** Endeavor and Hawks as the StraightManAndWiseGuy duo. Endeavor is the stoic and aloof (and widely unpopular) number one hero to beloved, quippy, casual, sarcastic, eccentric and playful Hawks. Their combat styles also reflect this with Endeavor's quirk being raw power over anything and Hawks' relying on ingenuity to be useful.

** Endeavor and Hawks as the StraightManAndTheWiseGuy duo. Endeavor is the stoic and aloof (and widely unpopular) number one hero to beloved, quippy, casual, sarcastic, eccentric and playful Hawks. Their combat styles also reflect this with Endeavor's quirk being raw power over anything and Hawks' relying on ingenuity to be useful.

* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' has Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugou. Both are rivals who dream of becoming the number-one hero in the world, but beyond that, they contrast against one another greatly. In a world where EveryoneIsASuper, Midoriya was born a powerless muggle who still dreamed big, eventually being taken under the wing of All Might and inheriting the power of One For All. Bakugou, on the other hand, was a SmugSuper who bullied Midoriya relentlessly. Personality-wise, Midoriya is friendly and affable, while Bakugou has a HairTriggerTemper and is prone to making death threats at the drop of a hat. In battle, Midoriya uses a combination of his immense physical strength and [[GuileHero quick-thinking]], while Bakugou prefers to AttackAttackAttack.

*** An important example of this can be seen with their rival Aoba Johsai. At the beginning of the series, Karasuno is a bunch of talented individuals who has to desperately hone their skills of working together, whereas Aoba Johsai is known for their perfect teamwork. Their setters reflect this, with Kageyama being bad at communicating on the court and not knowing how to set specifically for each of his spikers and Oikawa being known for his talents as a setter who knows how to get the best out of everyone on his team. This contrast between Kageyama and Oikawa gets explored more later, with the showcase of their backstory together where [spoiler:Oikawa got threatened by Kageyama's natural talent and as to overcome his lack of prodigal talent, he trained hard to be better as a player and better as a teammate/captain].
*** Another example is with Karasuno's friendly rivals Nekoma - and between Hinata and Nekoma's frontman Kenma. Karasuno as a team is very strong in offense and has several impressive players such as Kageyama, Nishinoya, Asahi, and Hinata. Whereas Nekoma is a team known for their efficient play due to their perfect defense even though they lack "genius" players. As a team, Nekoma functions to keep the ball in the game, perfectly connecting the ball to their "brain and heart of the team" setter, Kenma. Kenma is a very analytical player who does not like to exert much energy and instead plays smart. He is not necessarily athletic and plays volleyball "just because". He is a foil to Hinata who is unlimited stamina and athleticism, jumping and running from one place to another, and does not necessarily play smart but plays passionately. Their personalities are also stark contrasts with Kenma being a quiet introvert who is not good at making friends to Hinata's loud, friendly, extroverted persoanlity.

* Katou and Watanabe from ''Manga/DadTheBeardGorillaAndI''. The pair are introduced as ThoseTwoGuys characterized by their ''lack'' of hobbies and interest, and being the "normie representatives" among their quirky workplace. However, while Watanabe is a NiceGuy whose lack of attachment to any particular dreams or activities drives him to support and help others who do, Katou is a lazy and obnoxious snob who resents other people's success despite never putting the effort to achieve those success. It's rather telling that most of their colleagues would avoid hanging out with Katou at all costs, while they would willingly invite Watanabe to fill in the space when going out as a pair is too awkward.