History StockShonenRival / AnimeAndManga

* Sabnock Sabro from Manga/WelcomeToDemonSchoolIrumaKun is a subversion: he openly declares himself protagonist Iruma's rival, yet he has a lot more traits in common with a StockShonenHero than Iruma does. Sabnock is hot-blooded and reckless, and he has made it his life's goal to become Demon King because of how it cool it would be. He's entirely focused on achieving that and goes to extreme lengths to climb the ranks, such as beating up a teacher on the first day of school or taking a shortcut through a dangerous valley his class was explicitly told not to go through. Both situations have SurprisinglyRealisticOutcomes: picking a fight with a teacher landed him in the Misfit Class for the school troublemakers, and taking the shortcut almost got him 'killed'. However, his mistakes also gave him the chance to meet and bond with Iruma, leading Sabnock to see him as a WorthyOpponent and declare himself his rival in the quest to become Demon King.

** Vegeta is one of the {{Trope Codifier}}s. He started as an ArcVillain in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', and after he was defeated by Goku and co., he would then make it his life purpose to surpass Goku; and in a later [[HazyFeelTurn gives into evil]] in an attempt to defeat Goku, but he would later regret his actions and pull a true HeelFaceTurn. He's a privileged rival -both as the Prince of all Saiyans on their homeworld-, and later marries Bulma Briefs and becomes one of the richest men on Earth. For a long time, he played the arrogant bully archetype, constantly deriding Goku for being a lowclass soldier. Prominently during the Android Arc, he was determined to work alone and not rely on help from the other Z Fighters, but started to mellow out after spending more time with his own son Trunks, and having his rival's son Gohan surpass him as well. Several years later, he and Goku finally settle into being {{Friendly Rival}}s as they train under Beerus and Whis. As the only other Saiyan as dedicated to training as Goku, he's the only one who can still match him SuperMode for new SuperMode. Mostly.
** Despite being the TropeCodifier, Vegeta is something of an UnbuiltTrope. Unlike most anime rivals, it's repeatedly made a point how ''Goku'' is always one step ahead of ''him'', and his aloof behavior isn't because he had some traumatic upbringing, but simply because he was (initially) a horrible person who had no qualms with killing innocent people who got in his way. The rivalry between him and Goku and his inability to match him was what ultimately led him into performing a FaceHeelTurn to finally get one over on Goku... which turned out to be pointless, as Goku had ''already'' [[NextTierPowerUp achieved a new tier of power]] that made the power boost he got from turning evil again useless from the start. If taken today, Vegeta would sound like a cautionary tale ''against'' forming a rival-type dynamic with another person, as it can be quite self-destructive in the long run, if it weren't for the fact that he's largely responsible for TheRival archetype in anime/manga.

* Tsukasa from ''Manga/DrStone''. He's tall, strong, brooding, dark-haired (in contrast with Senku's light-hair), charismatic and an intellectual match for Senku when it comes to strategy and leadership. He's superior to Senku in sheer physical prowess, and he manages to amass a small army of similarly fit, skilled and talented people his age by stealing and hoarding the substance needed to depetrify people. He has a utilitarian view on life and his peers as a result of his DarkAndTroubledPast, believing that MightMakesRight and only the young should restart civilization, because adults are weak and authoritarian. He only experiences a HeelFaceTurn after one of his comrades turns out to be even worse than him, allying with Senku and realizing the error of his ways.

* Tsukasa from ''Manga/DrStone''. He's tall, strong, brooding, dark-haired (in contrast with Senku's light-hair), charismatic and an intellectual match for Senku when it comes to strategy and leadership. He's superior to Senku in sheer physical prowess, and he manages to amass a small army of similarly fit, skilled and talented people his age by stealing and hoarding the cave the substance needed to depetrify people. He has a utilitarian view on life and his peers as a result of his DarkAndTroubledPast, believing that MightMakesRight and only the young should restart civilization, because adults are weak and authoritarian. He only experiences a HeelFaceTurn after one of his comrades turns out to be even worse than him, allying with Senku and realizing the error of his ways.

* ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'': Soga Ninokuru is a subversion. He's aloof, abrasive, ruthless, and all-around a visually and behaviorally more hard-edged counterpart to the protagonist Matsuri. He's also introduced as an antagonist furious that Matsuri would spare Shirogane. However, before and after that, their relationship is only even a FriendlyRivalry on Soga's side, while Matsuri openly admires his [[SenpaiKohai older colleague]]. Not only that, but the FoeRomanceSubtext common in these sorts of relationships is neither for a 'foe' nor is it 'subtext' - now that his old rival has been [[GenderBender transformed into a beautiful young woman]], he's wrestling with a gigantic crush on him/her.

* Aki Hayakawa from ''Manga/ChainsawMan'' is a [[DeconstructedCharacterArchetype deconstruction of this kind of character]]. He has the majority of the traits of the archetype, being a secondary lead with a much more serious disposition, having a tragic backstory and desiring revenge. However, their different views of working as Public Safety Devil Hunters doesn't cause any real conflict past their initial meeting, nor does their mutual affection for Makima. There's also an age gap and seniority that makes Aki more of a surrogate aloof big brother than a traditional stock rival. In fact, Aki is one of the closest things Denji has to a friend, and they don't get into a physical fight until [[spoiler: Aki is turned into the Gun Fiend against his will]], and the ensuing fight is completely unwanted on both sides [[spoiler: with Aki unaware that he's even fighting Denji even as Denji is forced to kill him]].

* Aki Hayakawa from ''Manga/ChainsawMan'' is a [[DeconstructedCharacterArchetype deconstruction of this kind of character]]. He has the majority of the traits of the archetype, being a secondary lead with a much more serious disposition, having a tragic backstory and desiring revenge. However, all of Aki's desire for revenge amounts to his attempts to deal with his guilt over the death of his little brother, and his actions are shown as incredibly damaging and harmful to basically everyone he cares about while giving him often less than nothing in return. He's also a young adult while Denji is a teenager, and the subsequent age and maturity gap widens the gulf between them. [[spoiler:Likewise, he and Denji do end up fighting, but the circumstances behind it end up making it a horrific tragedy.]]

* ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'': Soga Ninokuru is a subversion. He's aloof, abrasive, ruthless, and all-around a visually and behaviorally more hard-edged counterpart to the protagonist Matsuri. He's also introduced as an antagonist furious that Matsuri would spare Shirogane. However, before and after that, their relationship is only even a FriendlyRivalry on Soga's side, while Matsuri openly admires his [[SenpaiKohai older colleague]].

* Aki Hayakawa from ''Manga/ChainsawMan'' is a [[DeconstrucedCharacterArchetype deconstruction of this kind of character]]. He has the majority of the traits of the archetype, being a secondary lead with a much more serious disposition, having a tragic backstory and desiring revenge. However, all of Aki's desire for revenge amounts to his attempts to deal with his guilt over the death of his little brother, and his actions are shown as incredibly damaging and harmful to basically everyone he cares about while giving him often less than nothing in return. He's also a young adult while Denji is a teenager, and the subsequent age and maturity gap widens the gulf between them. [[spoiler:Likewise, he and Denji do end up fighting, but the circumstances behind it end up making it a horrific tragedy.]]

* Aki Hayakawa from ''Manga/ChainsawMan'' is a {{Deconstruction}}. He has the majority of the traits of the archetype, being a secondary lead with a much more serious disposition, having a tragic backstory and desiring revenge. However, all of Aki's desire for revenge amounts to his attempts to deal with his guilt over the death of his little brother, and his actions are shown as incredibly damaging and harmful to basically everyone he cares about while giving him often less than nothing in return. He's also a young adult while Denji is a teenager, and the subsequent age and maturity gap widens the gulf between them. [[spoiler:Likewise, he and Denji do end up fighting, but the circumstances behind it end up making it a horrific tragedy.]]

* Aki Hayakawa from ''Manga/ChainsawMan'' is a {{Deconstruction}}. He has the majority of the traits of the archetype, being a secondary lead with a much more serious disposition, having a tragic backstory and desiring revenge. However, all of Aki's desire for revenge amounts to his attempts to deal with his guilt over the death of his little brother, and his actions are shown as incredibly damaging and harmful to basically everyone he cares about while giving him often less than nothing in return. [[spoiler:Likewise, he and Denji do end up fighting, but the circumstances behind it end up making it a horrific tragedy.]]

** Shoto Todoroki is a straighter example than Bakugo, but he plays with the trope as well. He's the son of one of the second-best hero in Japan and is pressured to follow in his father's footsteps, has a DarkAndTroubledPast, possesses tremendous power that Midoriya can barely match, and has a broody, loner personality to contrast Midoriya's friendlier one. Midoriya acts as his WarriorTherapist during their fight, and Todoroki starts to work towards amending his familial issues and becoming more social. However, he eventually becomes much friendlier towards Midoriya than Bakugo ever does, becoming more of a FriendlyRivalry than a typical example of this trope.

** Shun Kazami from ''Anime/{{Bakugan}}''. Shun is one of the calmest and quietest characters in the franchise. He is also a loner who wishes to become a ninja. He trains with his grandfather. Along with Dan, he created the rules of Bakugan and thus is one of the best players out there. Unlike most, Shun uses [[BlowYouAway wind attributes]]. Shun has long, black hair and dresses in either purple or green depending on the season. Shun has a troubled past due to having an IllGirl mother. In the Japanese version, she dies but the English dub censored it and had her fall into a coma instead.

** Vegeta is one of the {{Trope Codifier}}s. He started as an ArcVillain in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', and after he was defeated by Goku and co., he would then make it his life purpose to surpass Goku; and in a later [[HazyFeelTurn gives into evil]] in an attempt to defeat Goku, but he would later regret his actions and pull a true HeelFaceTurn. He's a privileged rival -both as the Prince of all Saiyans on their homeworld-, and later marries Bulma Briefs and becomes one of the richest men on Earth. For a long time, he played the arrogant bully archetype, constantly deriding Goku for being a lowclass soldier. Prominently D+during the Android Arc, he was determined to work alone and not rely on help from the other Z Fighters, but started to mellow out after spending more time with his own son Trunks, and having his rival's son Gohan surpass him as well. Several years later, he and Goku finally settle into being {{Friendly Rival}}s as they train under Beerus and Whis. As the only other Saiyan as dedicated to training as Goku, he's the only one who can still match him SuperMode for new SuperMode. Mostly.

* While he's older than the usual example of this trope, Superintendent Akechi from ''Manga/TheKindaichiCaseFiles'' certainly qualifies. Handsome, classy and [[TheAce a genius in multiple fields]], he is everything the BookDumb IdiotHero Kindaichi is ''not''. He's first introduced as a high-ranking member of the police force with supreme confidence of his own intellect, and initially dismisses Kindachi as a SnoopingLittleKid play-acting as a detective, despite having heard of Kindaichi's exemplerary deductive capabilities from [[FriendOnTheForce Kenmochi]] (whom he outranks). He mellows down a lot after Kindaichi manages to solve the case they were working on before he does, even acting as Kindaichi's FriendOnTheForce in place of Kenmochi to grant him access to the crime scenes in other prefectures, but continues to act condescending towards Kindaichi when they meet in person, even if he's far less malicious about it.

* ''Manga/CodeGeass'' has a notable role flipped example in which the protagonist Lelouch is much more of a StockShonenRival. Being dark, calculating, cynical and motivated by revenge while his rival Suzaku fits the idealistic StockShonenHero trope better.

* CodeGeass has a notable role flipped example in which the protagonist Lelouch is much more of a StockShonenRival. Being dark, calculating, cynical and motivated by revenge while his rival Suzaku is idealistic.

* ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'': Soga Ninokuru is a subversion. He's aloof, abrasive, ruthless, and all-around a visually and behaviorally more hard-edged counterpart to the protagonist Matsuri. He's also introduced as an antagonist furious that Matsuri would spare Shirogane. However, before and after that, their relationship is only even a FriendlyRivalry on Soga's side, while Matsuri openly admires his [[SempaiKohai older colleague]].

* Franchise/{{Digimon}}:

** Meanwhile, Tenshinhan }was arguably the UrExample in ''Dragon Ball'', created to be Goku's foil during the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament. The star pupil of the [[RivalDojos rival martial arts dojo]], the Crane School, a prodigy similar to Goku who could learn techniques through observation and had multiple techniques at his disposal, and was introduced as being rather ruthless with an obsession with becoming a deadly assassin. Unlike Piccolo and Vegeta, Tenshinhan more or less experiences his full character arc, including his HeelFaceTurn in his introductory arc, which is likely the reason he ultimately got phased out of being the rival in favor of Piccolo and later Vegeta.

* ''Manga/{{Haikyuu}}'': Subverted with Kageyama. Compared to friendly, energetic, inexperienced Hinata, Kageyama is an acknowledged prodigy who thought himself better than his teammates, has an antisocial personality, and a terrible temper. He decimates Hinata's team in the prologue and Hinata swears revenge upon him. However, when they end up on the same team (rendering their rivalry pretty much moot), he defrosts and learns ThePowerOfFriendship alongside Hinata, eventually becoming less of rivals and more of close friends with him. Their hair colors and names even contrast.
* Subverted with Killua Zoldyck from ''Manga/HunterXHunter''. Killua has elements of an ArrogantKungFuGuy and is very much a BloodKnight who enjoys fighting. He was raised to be a ProfessionalKiller but wants to quit and have a more normal life. Killua used to be a SociopathicHero and was a {{Tykebomb}} but since meeting Gon he has learned to [[DefusingTheTykebomb be less violent]]. He fits most of the criteria, but is actually Gon's best friend rather than a rival.

* ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'': Speed-o'-Sound Sonic is probably the closest Saitama get to one, though he also has deconstructed traits due to the [[DeconstructiveParody parodic nature of the series]]. Like most rivals, Sonic views Saitama as a WorthyOpponent and is obsessed with defeating him, while also being a SmugSuper in his own right. Unlike most rivals, he's for the most an UnknownRival to Saitama who doesn't even consider him worth his time. In addition, the power gap between him and Saitama (like most characters) is phenomenal and Sonic never comes remotely close to closing the gap, though Saitama does keep letting him go in the hopes that Sonic can grow stronger and one day finally pose a challenge to him.

** Paul is an {{expy}} of the below-mentioned Silver of ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'', and it shows. He is an overconfident trainer who [[ArrogantKungFuGuy openly boasts about]] how superior a trainer he is compared to others. He [[IneffectualLoner doesn't care]] for socializing or making friends, just training. Paul has [[TrainingFromHell very harsh training methods]] but most of his Pokémon are loyal to him and he treats them well enough. Chimchar was the exception. He verbally abused it and forced it past its limits in order to harness the Blaze ability. [[spoiler:This spurred Chimchar to defect to Ash after Paul released it for [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness disappointing him]].]]

** Blue was originally more like his game counterpart but after a few chapters [[CharacterizationMarchesOn changed]] into a more serious and stoic character. He and Red originally didn't get along well but later became friends. Blue's clothes have changed from mainly purple, to mainly black, to mainly brown but they're always darker than Red's bright red attire. Blue's starter is a Charmander, which is a fire type.
** Silver has shades of this but in a different way from his game counterpart due to AdaptationalHeroism. Silver is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold instead of just a JerkAss like in the games. Similarly to Blue, he's rather stoic and can play TheComicallySerious. He has a DarkAndTroubledPast of [[spoiler:being kidnapped as a very young child]]. Silver has a darker color palette than Gold's but downplays RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver thanks to his softened up personality compared to the games. Silver's first Pokémon was [[AnIcePerson an ice-type Sneasel]], but his SignatureMon starter is actually a water-type Totodile which he stole from Professor Elm's lab.

* ''Manga/BlackClover''.
** Subverted with Yuno, Asta's first rival. He's introduced as this type of character (tall, handsome, cool-headed, aloof, smart, very talented) but it quickly turns out that he just became very reserved and stoic in an attempt to leave behind his weak crybaby past, and not only does he care deeply (and, by genre standards, pretty openly) about his rival and childhood friend Asta, he's also one of the few people who actually believe in his ability to make it big and views him as his main motivation.

** Grimmjow, despite his limited appearances. He always had a desire to defeat Ichigo at his strongest after getting scarred by his Getsuga Tenshou and briefly fought for the good guys in order to fight him one more time. He is a {{Foil}} of Ichigo, as Grimmjow is a BloodKnight who only cares about getting stronger and reigning Hueco Mundo as King, while Ichigo is a BloodKnight in denial over how much he enjoys fights and seeks to protect his friends. Grimmjow is also the only member of Aizen's army who points out that [[JerkassHasAPoint it would be more practical to just kill Ichigo now before he can become strong enough to pose a threat]], but Aizen (who has bigger plans for Ichigo), shoots this idea down and when Grimmjow decides to do so anyway he is punished by Tousen for disobeying orders by hacking off Grimmjow's arm.
** Renji was introduced as this, as he was the first antagonistic Shinigami Ichigo met and one who had a personal investment in taking Rukia back to Soul Society, but Ichigo outclasses Renji fairly early on and Renji becomes something close to Ichigo's best friend as the series went on, outpacing Chad and Ishida in that department as he had more screen time.
** Ishida was the de facto first example of this during the beginning of the series, being the typical cool, analytical loner that opposed Ichigo only to befriend him later on. This role was eventually taken over by Byakuya Kuchiki, Rukia's incredibly strict older brother, who looked down on Ichigo's defiant attitude towards Shinigami law.
* Syaoran Li of ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'' starts off as this to Sakura, though as time passes [[NotSoStoic more dents in his stoic antisocial attitude start to appear]]. Midway through the series he actually starts to gain a schoolboy crush on Sakura, with his rivalry towards her slowly fading in favor of him becoming a DoggedNiceGuy.
* Aki Hayakawa from ''Manga/ChainsawMan'' is a {{Deconstruction}}. He has the majority of the traits of the archetype, being a secondary lead with a much more serious disposition, having a tragic backstory and desiring revenge. However, all Aki's desire for revenge amounts to is attempts to deal with his guilt over the death of his little brother, and his actions are shown as incredibly damaging and harmful to basically everyone he cares about while giving him often less than nothing in return. [[spoiler:Likewise, he and Denji do end up fighting, but the circumstances behind it end up making it a horrific tragedy.]]

** Matt from ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' is a deconstruction of this trope. He at first appears to be a cool aloof loner that constantly argues with StockShonenHero Tai. Later it's revealed that he's actually overly caring and too concerned with the safety of the other teammates, particularly his younger brother TK. This is what allows him to awaken the Crest of Friendship to unlock more power down the road. However even afterwards he suffers AesopAmnesia and challenges Tai to a duel in front of the others, mostly out of his own insecurity, and because he's jealous that Tai sometimes seems to have a healthier relationship with TK than he does. His Digimon are icy wolf types that materialize into a cannon, in contrast to Tai's firey dinosaurs that materialize into a sword.
** TK himself was a downplayed example to new goggle head StockShonenHero Davis, acknowledged InUniverse to be a sort of reprise of Matt and Tai's relationship, but the true rival figure was Ken. Ken was a genius compared to BookDumb Davis, and had respect, stardom, and fans, but lacked any true friends. He saw Digimon as pawns for his amusement, rather than the BondCreatures they are. After he [[HeelFaceTurn reformed from being the evil Digimon Emperor]], he still preferred to work alone until Davis finally got through to him and they did a FusionDance. Afterwhich Davis and the team went to great lengths to visit him in the real world, as well as on missions in the digital world to let him know they all saw him as a teammate and true friend.
** Rika from ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' is a RareFemaleExample of this to Takato, starting off as a stoic loner who only sees her partner Renamon as a tool to level up akin to a video game while Takato literally created his partner Guilmon to be a cool pet and friend. [[DefrostingIceQueen She does get better eventually,]] though she still remains a snarky tomboy. Like [[Anime/YuGiOh Seto Kaiba]] below, she also happens to be a card game champion.
** Koji in ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'' is a sort of direct reprise of Matt from Adventures, but played straight without the deconstruction. He was the second to awaken his spirit, and spent most of the first arc travelling alone, only sometimes crossing paths with the main group. When he finally does join full time, he constantly butts heads with Takuya, the new goggleheaded protagonist. They also FusionDance and have wolves/guns vs dinosaurs/swords dynamic in their evolutions. Koji's elemental power is Light instead of Ice however.
** Touma yet another straight iteration of this in ''Anime/DigimonDataSquad''. He's a child prodigy, technical genius, and high ranking member of DATS while the hotblooded Masaru is streetwise punk who likes to punch things. They get placed on the same team. Like previous examples, he has a dog based partner to the hero's dinosaur/dragon. Even the way their partners address them highlight their differences in work styles and friendship. Gaomon addresses Touma with a firm "Yes, Master" or "Sir, yes Sir" while Agumon addresses Masaru with the colloquial "Aniki" or "Bro."

* ''Manga/DoctorSlump'': Subverted with Obotchaman. He was presented as a rival for the heroine Arale, because Dr. Mashirito built him to destroy her and was destined to be an EvilCounterpart of her. However he turns out to be an extremely kind and polite boy that even ends up falling in love with the protagonist, but later episodes Dr. Mashirito washes his brain to turn it into a purely evil version, so he played this role briefly.

** Vegeta is one of the {{Trope Codifier}}s. He started as a ArcVillain in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', and after he was defeated by Goku and co., he would then make it his life purpose to surpass Goku and later [[HazyFeelTurn gives into evil]] in an attempt to defeat Goku. He would later regret his actions and pull a true HeelFaceTurn. He's a privileged rival both as the Prince of all Saiyans on their homeworld, and after marrying Bulma Briefs and becoming one of the richest men on Earth. For a long time he played the arrogant bully archetype, constantly deriding Goku for being a lowclass soldier. Especially during the Android Arc he was determined to work alone and not rely on help from the other Z Fighters, but started to mellow out after spending more time with his own son Trunks, and having his rival's son Gohan surpass him as well. Several years later, he and Goku finally settle into being {{Friendly Rival}}s as they train under Beerus and Whis. As the only other Saiyan as dedicated to training as Goku, he's the only one who can still match him SuperMode for new SuperMode. Mostly.
** Despite being the TropeCodifier, Vegeta is something of an UnbuiltTrope. Unlike most anime rivals, it's repeatedly made a point how ''Goku'' is always one step ahead of ''him'', and his aloof behavior isn't because he had some traumatic upbringing, but simply because he was (initially) a horrible person who had no qualms with killing innocent people who got in his way. The rivalry between him and Goku and his inability to match him was what ultimately led him into performing a FaceHeelTurn to finally get one over on Goku... Which turned out to be pointless, as Goku had ''already'' [[NextTierPowerUp achieved a new tier of power]] that made the power boost he got from turning evil again useless from the start. If taken today, Vegeta would sound like a cautionary tale ''against'' forming a rival dynamic with another person, as it can be quite self-destructive in the long run, if it weren't for the fact that he's largely responsible for TheRival archetype in anime/manga.
** Piccolo could qualify as well. At one point in ''Manga/DragonBall'', he is Goku's ArchNemesis where he treated Goku as a WorthyRival. However, he comes to pull HeelFaceTurn where he remains very [[TheStoic stoic]], serious and calculating to contrast Goku's BookDumb and impulsiveness. While Piccolo quickly fell behind in power, he got used to working as a team much faster than Vegeta ever did. In Goku's abscence he's usually NumberTwo leading the squad or raising their children, and is still Goku's confidante when he needs advice or a new strategy to win the day.
** Tenshinhan meanwhile was arguably the UrExample in Dragon Ball, created to be Goku's foil during the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament. The star pupil of the [[RivalDojos rival martial arts dojo]], the Crane School, a prodigy similar to Goku who could learn techniques through observation and hat multiple techniques at his disposal and was introduced as being rather ruthless with an obsession with becoming a deadly assassin. Unlike Piccolo and Vegeta, Tenshinhan more or less experiences his full character arc, including his HeelFaceTurn in his introductory arc, which is likely the reason he ultimately got phased out of being the rival in favor of Piccolo and later Vegeta.
* ''Manga/FairyTail'' has some of those:

** Takumi Aldini, despite on the page image, is a [[ThisImageIsNotAnExample subversion]]. He is the first among Soma's year-mates to be shown as being on equal grounds with Soma, being equally experienced in the kitchen from helping out in their families' respective diners since childhood, but possessing more technical knowledge due to being in Tootsuki longer than Soma. But despite declaring himself as Soma's rival, Takumi proves to neither be as priviledged or skilled as he was built up as, and his [[EndearinglyDorky personality]] is far less dignified than the typical examples of this trope.

** Touma yet another straight iteration of this in ''Anime/DigimonSavers''. He's a child prodigy, technical genius, and high ranking member of DATS while the hotblooded Masaru is streetwise punk who likes to punch things. They get placed on the same team. Like previous examples, he has a dog based partner to the hero's dinosaur/dragon. Even the way their partners address them highlight their differences in work styles and friendship. Gaomon addresses Touma with a firm "Yes, Master" or "Sir, yes Sir" while Agumon addresses Masaru with the colloquial "Aniki" or "Bro."

* While he's older than the usual example of this trope, Superintendent Akechi from ''Manga/TheKindaichiCaseFiles'' certainly qualifies. Handsome, classy and [[TheAce a genius in multiple fields]], he is everything the BookDumb IdiotHero Kindaichi is ''not''. He's first introduced as a high-ranking member of the police force with supreme confidence of his own intellect, and initially dismisses Kindachi as just a SnoopingLittleKid play-acting as a detective, despite having heard of Kindaichi's exemplerary deductive capabilities from [[FriendOnTheForce Kenmochi]] (whom he outranks). He mellows down a lot after Kindaichi manages to solve the case they were working on before he does, even acting as Kindaichi's FriendOnTheForce in place of Kenmochi to grant him access to the crime scenes in other prefectures, but continues to act condescending towards Kindaichi when they meet in person, even if he's far less malicious about it.

** Along with Sasuke, Neji shares many of the traits, being a "lesser" family member from one of Konoha's most prominent clans. In order to ScrewDestiny and rise above his birthright, he trains religiously and snubs everyone else in his life, which has made him jaded and condescending. Unlike with Sasuke, Naruto manages to break through to him and [[BreakTheHaughty bring him down a few pegs]], making him more sociable and less cold by the time they're in their mid-teens.
** Sasuke is another notable example and the TropeCodifier of the Stock Shonen Rival in modern manga, much like Naruto is for the StockShonenHero. As a PrivilegedRival, he unconsciously feels superior to Naruto until he slowly closes the gap. His true target being more interested in his rival, while dismissing him as nothing, leads to Sasuke's FaceHeelTurn. After his journey as a villain and a final fight with Naruto, he goes back to being a [[HeelFaceTurn good guy]]. Sasuke has black hair in contrast to Naruto's blond, his clothes are usually black or blue, and he's known for using fire and lightning.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':