History OneSteveLimit / AnimeAndManga

* Symbolic example in ''Anime/MichikoToHatchin:'' after the title characters are separated, Hatchin winds up in the care of another woman also named Michiko, and chooses to stay with her, because she seems a lot nicer. Until she tries to sell Hatchin and a bunch of other children as {{Sex Slave}}s, of course.

* ''Anime/MaiOtome'' has two recurring characters named Mikoto, one an {{Expy}} of the ''Anime/MaiHime'' character of the same name, the other is Queen Mashiro's pet cat. [[spoiler:There actually is a connection between them.]]

* In ''Anime/TokyoGodfather,'' three homeless people find an abandon baby and name her "Kiyoko." During their subsequent adventures, they encounter two more Kiyokos, one a bride and one a nurse [[spoiler:who is also Gin's estranged daughter]]. This ties into the general theme of {{Contrived Coincidence}}s that [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane hint at divine guidance]].

* ''Manga/NaruTaru'' has the major character [[ShrinkingViolet Akira]] [[CherryBlossomGirl Sakura]], and minor characters [[SexySecretary Aki Sato]] and [[AlphaBitch Aki Honda]]. None of them are ever mixed up with one another, and it's really just as well - especially given Aki Honda's nature.

* ''Manga/AliceAcademy'' has two characters with the same name: Misaki, a teacher and Misaki Harada, a middle school student, both of which are major characters.

* ''Anime/DennouCoil'' has two characters with same-sounding given names, Okonogi Yuko and Amasawa Yuko. They get different nicknames (Yasako and Isako) quickly.

** The final episode of ''Anime/LupinIIIRedJacket'' prominently features a young GadgeteerGenius named Maki Oyamada, who is manipulated into using her technology prowess to help some criminals. Decades later, the special ''Anime/LupinIIIBloodSealEternalMermaid'' would feature a feisty TagalongKid named Maki, who wants Lupin to make her his criminal apprentice. Additionally, a chapter of [[Manga/{{Lupin III}} the manga]] had an occult expert named Professor Maki [[spoiler: who wound up being Lupin himself [[DisguisedInDrag in disguise]]]].
** ''[[WesternAnimation/LupinIIITheItalianAdventure The fourth anime series]] co-stars a blonde female thief named Rebecca Rossellini, not to be confused with the blonde female thief Rebecca "Becky" Lumbert from ''Anime/LupinIIIStolenLupin''.

** With ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', there is now a second character named "Black". Although "Goku Black" is an InSeriesNickname given by the good guys, Adjutant Black's name is either a CodeName or his real name.

* The titular characters, ''plural'', of ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'' are this trope distilled. Each one of the eight parts stars a different character named Jojo. Somewhat zig-zagged in that every Jojo after the second are typically referred to by their full names rather than their nickname, but Jojos #7 and #8 were named after their predecessors Jonathan Joestar (#1 and #7) and Josuke Higashikata (#4 and #8). Jojo #7 goes by 'Johnny', and the Japanese spelling of Josuke-8 (also known in the west by the FanNickname 'Gappy') is different than that of 4.

* ''Manga/SevenSeeds'' has Hana first think it's being [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] as she reads the name "Takashi" in Mark's ApocalypticLog and thinks it's just a coincidence, since it's also her father's name. It's later played straight, as the Takashi mentioned really is her father.

** The Italian dub is very confusing. For some reason, it features ''three'' people named Satan. First, the Ox King gets mysteriously named "Al Satan" during his first appearance, a name which is never mentioned again for him. It is mentioned however when Demon King Piccolo appears, as ''he'' gets called "Al Satan" too. Because why not. Then of course in DBZ we have Mr. Satan, the character known in the English speaking world as Hercule.

** Also, Vegeta's father was King Vegeta, and it was also the name of the Saiyan race home planet. Not an issue, however, as King Vegeta and planet Vegeta were ended by Freezer a long time ago and so they're only referenced, or appearing in flashbacks.

* In ''Anime/DevilMayCryTheAnimatedSeries'', there are two characters named Patty Lowell. One is an orphan girl temporarily raised by Dante, the another is a grown up and heiress to a fortune. In the first episode, the orphan was mistaken for the heiress when the rich man's will stated his fortune would go to his illegitimate daughter, Patty Lowell. The heiress later comments that Lowell is one of those last names that go to a lot of families.

* ''Manga/{{Nana}}'''s two main characters are Nana Komatsu and Nana Osaki. "Nana" as in "Seven", that is. One promptly nicknames the other "Hachi" (which can mean Eight, and is also based on the famous dog Hachiko due to her clingy personality.)

* ''Manga/{{Nana}}'''s two main characters are Nana Komatsu and Nana Osaki. "Nana" as in "Seven", that is. One promptly nicknames the other "Hachi" (Which can mean Eight, and is also based on the famous dog Hachiko due to her clingy personality.)

* In ''Anime/ArabianNightsAdventuresOfSinbad'', There are 2 characters named Ali Baba: Sinbad's friend and a former desert raider, and the leader of the forthy thieves. The two are frequently confused with each other.

* In ''Anime/DevilmanCrybaby'', there are two characters named Miki: Miki Makimura (who existed in the original ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'') and Miki Kuroda, who are friends and both members of the track team. The latter is nicknamed "Miko" to avoid confusion with the former. The nickname turns out to be the source of Miko's insecurities since it serves as a reminder that she's AlwaysSecondBest to Miki, who wishes to beat in at least one track event. In Japanese it's played with, since while their names sound the same they're written differently (Miki's name is written in kanji while Miko's name is in katakana).

* In ''Anime/DevilmanCrybaby'', there are two characters named Miki: Miki Makimura (who existed in the original ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'') and Miki Kuroda, who are friends and both members of the track team. The latter is nicknamed "Miko" to avoid confusion with the former, which is the source of Miko's insecurities since she secretly envies Miki and wishes to beat her in at least one track event. In Japanese it's played with, since while their names sound the same they're written differently (Miki's name is written in kanji while Miko's name is in katakana).

* The GirlsLove manga ''Manga/LonelyWolfLonelySheep'' revolves around two woman named Kakimoto Imari developing a bond after they meet at a clinic. Their name is written the same way, they were born in the same year, and their birthdays are one day apart.

* The two protagonists of ''Manga/KoeNoKatachi'' have very similar names. A boy named Shouya and a girl named Shouko.

* In ''Manga/IllBoyIllGirl'', it's revealed that there are two characters named "Shou Yamai". While the last names are written the same way in kanji, the "Shou" in the first's means "death", while the second's means "life". [[spoiler: As this pair happened to be the Boy and Girl, eventually the namesake of the rare disease they were afflicted with (now known as "Yamai Disease") was forgotten to time. This also extends to the newly-christened disease itself, which is pronounced "Yamai-shou" in Japanese.]]

* In ''Manga/IllBoyIllGirl'', it's revealed that there are two characters named "Shou Yamai". While the last names are written the same way in kanji, the "Shou" in the first's means "death", while the second's means "life". [[spoiler: As this pair happened to be the Boy and Girl, eventually the namesake of the rare disease they were afflicted with (Now known as "Yamai Disease" was forgotten to time. This also extends to the newly-christened disease itself, which is pronounced "Yamai-shou" in Japanese.]]

* ''Anime/Danganronpa3'', like ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' above, has a Kyouko(Kirigiri, from [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc the first game]]) and a Kyousuke(Munakata, who debuts in the anime).