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5[[quoteright:349:[[VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tales_of_abyss_swords_3.png]]]]
6[[caption-width-right:349:A man and his [[MemeticMutation REPLICAAAAAAAA!]]\
7[-[[https://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=16929260 Fan-art by miho]]-]]]
8
9There are clues a creator can apply to a pair of characters to indicate that that they are opposites in some way. One of those is to give the characters opposite handedness, making them more than just metaphorically mirror images.
10
11Expect to see tropes like EvilCounterpart, EvilKnockoff, CainAndAbel, PolarOppositeTwins, TheLancer, or TheRival and RivalTurnedEvil. Also expect to see a lot of parallels in their respective characters and stories - they are as much alike as they are opposites. Commonly, they will represent what the other could have become, had they made different choices or had slightly different luck.
12
13Most often, the character with the left hand will be the [[ASinisterClue evil one]], or at least less of a hero than the right-handed character.
14
15See SouthpawAdvantage for when being left-handed is advantageous. Often overlaps with ASinisterClue, in which left-handedness is visual shorthand for being evil.
16
17Compare HairContrastDuo, where another physical characteristic is used to symbolize the contrast between characters. Not to be confused with AmbidextrousSprite or MirrorCharacter.
18
19----
20!!Examples:
21[[foldercontrol]]
22
23[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
24* ''Manga/BlackButler'': Agni to Sebastian. Agni is right-handed, while Sebastian is a lefty. Sebastian has pale skin and dark hair, while Agni is the opposite. Agni's approach to the household servants is to build them up, while Sebastian's is to shut them down. Both are competent butlers and evenly matched in fighting prowess.
25* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Ichigo and Uryuu are designed to be opposites of each other. Ichigo's battle uniform is Japanese clothing, black on white. Uryuu's clothing is European, white on black. Ichigo fights close up with a sword, Uryuu fights at a distance with archery. Ichigo is impulsive in battle and fights on instinct while Uryuu is a thinker and a strategist in battle. Ichigo's powers are Shinigami-dominant and Uryuu is a Quincy. The Quincies and Shinigami are mirror opposites of each other, even their souls are aligned as opposites, and the two sides have been at war for a thousand years. Kubo has stated in interviews that Uryuu is left-handed to complete the mirroring of Ichigo, and characters have [[NotSoDifferentRemark observed in-universe that the pair aren't so different]] due to their mirrored personalities and abilities complementing each other perfectly.
26* In ''Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess2016'', Dark Link is shown as right-handed to contrast Link's left-handedness.
27* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'':
28** Fate Testarossa from ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' is this on two levels: firstly, she is a right-handed DarkMagicalGirl to the left-handed title character. Secondly, she is [[spoiler:an [[ReplacementGoldfish imperfect clone of her creator's late left-handed daughter]]; in fact, Fate's handedness was one of the things that made Presea realize that she is not Alicia and reject her]].
29** In ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'', Subaru Nakajima and her left-handed older sister, Ginga, have each one of the two [[PowerFist Revolver Knuckles]] from their late mother, Quint. Additionally, a Revolver Knuckle can change its color to fit the color scheme of the holder, resulting that Subaru's right Revolver Knuckle is black while Ginga's left Revolver Knuckle is white.
30* ''Manga/OnePiece'': This ends up being one of the side effects of the Mira Mira no Mi (Mirror-Mirror Fruit), used in-story by Charlotte Brûlée of the Big Mom Pirates. The Fruit allows her to both create and control mirrors to use shields to deflect enemy attacks and trap them in the PocketDimension she controls, the Miro-World, as well as utilize physical mirrors in the same vein. When she uses her ability to copy the appearance of a person looking into her mirror, it does ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin and mirrors them (e.g. Luffy's facial scar is on the opposite side) including their attack patterns, i.e. if her opponent throws a right-hand punch, her mirrored puppet throws a left-hand punch.
31* Stocking in ''Anime/PantyAndStockingWithGarterbelt'' is shown to be left-handed, in a way making her the left-handed mirror to her (opposite in personality) older sister, Panty.
32* The Nancy Makuhari clones in ''Anime/ReadOrDie'' are mirrored, and in the climax of the OVA [[MirrorMatch face off against each other.]] It's not clear which Nancy survived the fight until [[spoiler:she kills the BigBad with a fist phased through the heart]]. She then [[{{Pun}} off-handedly]] comments that she switched her gun to her non-dominant hand to throw everyone's attention. Inverts ASinisterClue, too; the "good" Nancy is left-handed.
33* ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'' has a variation in Hokuto Kaneshiro, acting as a sort of mirror to main character Tsukune Aono. Both are humans come to this school for monsters by sheer luck (or lack thereof; neither is really sure), both are given monster blood to survive, and both [[spoiler:end up with out-of-control monstrous powers]]. Tsukune Aono's monster blood is sealed by a Holy Lock on the wrist of his right hand, and he has an honest determination to make alliances between humans and monsters. Hokuto Kaneshiro's mosnter blood is sealed by a Holy Lock on the wrist of his left hand, and [[spoiler:he goes absolutely monstrel-shit crazy and tries to send monsters and humans into an utter and complete bloodfest]].
34* In ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'', Ken Kaneki and [[spoiler: Eto/Sen Takatsuki]], the One-Eyed Owl. Both are HalfHumanHybrids, and their similarities are even pointed out by the Owl during an encounter between them. Kaneki is right-handed with a left [[BlackEyesOfEvil kakugan]], while the Owl is left-handed with a right kakugan.
35* In ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', Z-One acts as one for Yusei. Z-One is left-handed and even modified his body to look like Yusei. He once had the same idolism as Yusei, but due to him coming from a BadFuture, his dreams has been crushed and his vision changed drastically, so he sees as destroying the past to prevent the BadFuture from happening as his last option, while Yusei has still hope that the future can be saved.
36* The brothers Hikage and Tsukikage from ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV''. Hikage is right-handed, has a red costume and uses an offensive strategy, while his younger brother Tsukikage is left-handed, has a blue costume and uses a defensive strategy.
37[[/folder]]
38
39[[folder:Comic Books]]
40* ''ComicBook/TheSmurfs'': Literal example with the Vanity Smurf's reflection in [[Recap/TheSmurfsBook4Story3TheHundredthSmurf The Hundredth Smurf]], since he remains talking and acting in reverse even after they lose their synchronism. At least, that is the case until the reflection becomes a real Smurf, the titular Hundredth Smurf.
41[[/folder]]
42
43[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
44* Played with in Franchise/StarWars.
45** Luke Skywalker (TheHero) is left-handed, while Princess Leia Organa (his sister) and Darth Vader (the villain and his father) are right-handed.
46** Used again in the new trilogy with [[spoiler: Rey (the lefty)]] and Kylo Ren (the righty).
47[[/folder]]
48
49[[folder:Literature]]
50* Another literal example in ''Literature/CallahansCrosstimeSaloon'', where one character has a handedness opposite his mirror self -- ''literally'' his mirror self. It transpires that moving from the mirror world to ours causes any terrible booze to taste wondrous, and vice versa. Though it also swaps handedness -- and dollar bills are also reversed...
51* In "Literature/LetsGetInvisible" from ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'', Lefty's counterpart in the mirror world is right-handed and [[spoiler: he switches places permanently with Lefty]].
52* ''Literature/TheReynardCycle'': Reynard and Isengrim's RedOniBlueOni relationship with each other evokes this trope in the names of their weapons: Isengrim's sword is called Right-Hand, while Reynard's BladeBelowTheShoulder is called Left-Hand.
53* Arya and Sansa Stark of ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. Left-handedhanded Arya is a {{Tomboy}} and a {{Deconstruction}} of the RebelliousPrincess archetype, while her right-handed sister Sansa is the [[TomboyAndGirlyGirl girly-girl]] and a {{Deconstruction}} of PrincessClassic.
54* In Creator/JamesBlish's ''Literature/SpockMustDie'', a duplicate of Spock is left-handed. He has to fake right-handedness to maintain his cover.
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56
57[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
58* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': Sauron is left-handed and is presented as being the right-handed Galadriel's EvilCounterpart in everything. He is represented by fire and darkness, while Galadriel is associated with light and water, reasons why they are such good {{Mirror Character}}s to each other.
59* In ''Series/OrphanBlack'', Helena, the only left-handed clone, is a serial killer brainwashed into thinking she's the original. The "mirror" part comes into play when we learn that [[spoiler:she's Sarah's twin.]]
60* Played with in ''Series/ThePrisoner1967'' episode "[[Recap/ThePrisonerE5TheSchizoidMan The Schizoid Man]]". Number 2 creates an exact double of Number Six and uses him to confuse Number Six into thinking that he's the double. The Villagers use aversion therapy on Number Six to turn him from right-handed to left-handed (while on drugs so he won't remember it). The double is right handed, which he uses to claim that he's the real Number Six. [[spoiler:If falls apart when Six notices a clue of how much time has really passed, causing him to remember the aversion therapy.]]
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63[[folder:Music]]
64* ''Music/{{Vocaloid}}'' brings this out with Len and Rin Kagamine, opposite-gender mirrors of each other or HalfIdenticalTwins (depending on who you ask). Their genderswaps even look a lot similar to the twin. This trope is most evident in {{Fanon}} works involving these two, as their official characterizations are virtually nonexistent.
65[[/folder]]
66
67[[folder:Myth, Legend, and Oral Tradition]]
68* An Iroquois legend states that the world was created by a pair of twins. The right-handed twin made the landscapes, plants, and animals. The left-handed twin created snakes, thorns, and storms.
69[[/folder]]
70
71[[folder:Theatre]]
72* ''Theatre/PeterPan'': Traditionally, Captain Hook has his hook on his right hand, so he wields his sword with his left hand against the right-handed Peter Pan.
73[[/folder]]
74
75[[folder:Video Games]]
76* Angelo in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'' is a lefty, and a smarmy, hedonistic womanizer who shirks from his templar duties. His half-brother Marcello is right-handed, stone-faced, and deadly serious about his templar duties.
77* The ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series is quite fond of this trope:
78** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'': Leon, a guest member during the first unbeatable fight who later found to be brainwashed and working for TheEmpire as a dark knight, is left-handed, in contrary with his best friend Frion, The right-handed [[TheHero hero]] with a overall theme of being a warrior of light.
79** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'':
80*** Kain, who is in many ways a "what could have been" for right-handed hero Cecil. Both share a very similar backstory, and both vow to fight against Baron, but Kain ends up BrainwashedAndCrazy and fighting for Golbez, while Cecil narrowly avoids that fate and becomes a Paladin.
81*** Cecil's unknown brother Golbez from the same game is left-handed, and only through luck did Cecil not end up in Golbez's villainous role.
82*** Twins Palom and Porom, who are PolarOppositeTwins in both personality and powers, with one being a BlackMagicianGirl and the other being a WhiteMagicianGirl. Palom is the left-handed twin, and far less nice than Porom, although he is by no means a villain.
83** Similarly, in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', Sephiroth is left-handed while both Cloud and Zack are right-handed. They are in many, many ways warped mirror images of each other.
84** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyDimensions'', Nacht and Sol are both orphans chosen by the Crystal. Right-handed Sol is the leader of the Warriors of the Light, and is an IdiotHero GenkiBoy, with blond hair, and a [[MeaningfulName name that means sun]]. Left-handed Nacht is the leader of the Warriors of the Dark (although DarkIsNotEvil in this game), and is TheStoic, with dark teal hair, and [[MeaningfulName a name that means night]].
85* ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia]]'' uses this trope to show how its protagonists are two halves of a whole rather than in any kind of opposition. Lefty Alm and right-handed Celica have plenty of {{Foil}}-ish traits, from their [[SwordAndSorcerer fighting styles]] and [[MenUseViolenceWomenUseCommunication peacemaking methods]] to the hands that bear their BirthmarkOfDestiny, and overall, Alm is more roguish-heroic than the noble, pacifistic Celica. Then it's revealed that [[spoiler:Celica is the [[KingIncognito hidden princess]] of the protagonist nation Zofia, and is TheChosenOne of its goddess, while Alm is [[IAmWho long-lost prince]] of Rigel, the very kingdom he was fighting against, and was himself chosen by Rigel's own, harsher god, ''and'' they're each the last living members of their royal bloodline.]] That said, neither is truly more heroic than the other, [[spoiler:and they're both destined to unite the two kingdoms anyway,]] but in a twist, when comes to the [[spoiler:BigBad, Celica is the one he possesses to kill Alm, and Alm is the one who is chosen by the only sword that can kill him]]. [[note]]This whole thing is averted in the original ''Gaiden'', where they're both right-handed and many of these details weren't present.[[/note]]
86* Happens logically in ''VideoGame/{{Glover}}'', where the protagonist is an enchanted [[WhiteGloves magician's glove]]. The bad guy, naturally, is the other glove.
87* An interesting variation occurs in the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series. Protagonists Terra and Riku have many, many parallels, including sharing the same role in a TwoGuysAndAGirl trio, complete with same ThemeNaming. They both are destined keyblade wielders, both are misled and manipulated by Maleficent and Xehanort, and both succumb to the Darkness in their hearts. But while Terra [[spoiler: is lost to his inner Darkness and becomes a Xehanort host]], Riku [[spoiler:conquers his inner Darkness and uses it to defend the Light, thus escaping Terra's fate]]. The variation occurs in that both characters are actually right-handed, but nearly all Terra's powers of Darkness manifest through his left hand, while Riku's manifest through his right.
88* ''Franchise/TheKingOfFighters'': Minor antagonist K9999 wears his PowerLimiter on his right hand. His MovesetClone / SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Nameless, on the other hand, wears his on his left. This is one of the few occasions in which it's the right-handed person who's eviler - while K9999 treats everyone, including his own teammates, with contempt, Nameless is capable of showing compassion towards those he cares about, such as [[TheLostLenore Isolde]].
89* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'', Crow uses his double-bladed saber on his left hand in opposition to [[TheHero Rean]] using his right hand to hold his tachi. Although played with in that Crow is ambidextrous since he does also use two handguns [[spoiler:and can switch between the two of them in ''Cold Steel IV'' when he rejoins Class VII.]]
90* A prime example is the original ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' games. A bit twisted around though because Link is the left-handed hero and Ganondorf is the right-handed villain.
91** [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] in a rather literal sense in the earlier 2D games, and in [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Wii]] [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword games]], where [[AmbidextrousSprite Link is right-handed when facing west]], or where his dominant hand needs to match the majority of players. In the case of ''Twilight Princess'', the ''entire game'' was mirror-inverted in the Wii version compared to the [=GameCube=] version. However, as of ''Breath of the Wild'' on Wii U and Nintendo Switch, motion control is no longer the reason for Link being right-handed.
92* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'': Shadow the Hedgehog is left-handed in [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog his own game]], possibly to invoke this trope to oppose him to Sonic, who is right-handed.
93* Siegfried Schtauffen and his SuperpoweredEvilSide, Nightmare, from the ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'' are ambidextrous. While Siegfried prefers to wield his sword in his right hand, Nightmare prefers to wield it in his left hand.
94* ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'':
95** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', Asch wields his sword with his right arm and Luke wields his with his left. In a twist, however, Luke is the Left-Handed Mirror to Asch rather than the other way around. In another twist, Asch is actually also left-handed - he just taught himself to fight right-handed to differentiate himself from Luke, [[BerserkButton whom he despises]].
96** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', Yuri wields left-handed by default (though he can and does occasionally switch to his right), while [[TheRival Flynn]] is right-handed. Fittingly, Yuri is much more of an AntiHero than Flynn is, and has a more creative combat style. ''Vesperia'' also gives us twin assassins Gauche and Droite, whose names literally mean 'left' and 'right' in French.
97* Luciana and Aegiana of ''VideoGame/YggdraUnion'' who, despite being identical twins, have opposite handedness. RedOniBlueOni is in full effect for these two.
98[[/folder]]
99
100[[folder:Visual Novels]]
101* Ren from ''VisualNovel/DiesIrae'' is right handed while his [[WithFriendsLikeThese best/worst]] friend Shirou is left handed and fittingly, they couldn't be more different from each other. Ren is a CreatureOfHabit who only wants to preserve his everyday life whereas Shirou is AllergicToRoutine and a ThrillSeeker something fierce. As a result, despite being friends they often comes to blows with one of the later CG's making their difference in handedness clear. [[spoiler:Then it is revealed that Shirou is an [[ShadowArchetype Apoptosis]] born from Ren's self destructive desires as well as that the [[VillainousFriendship main villainous duo]] of the story are in a similar situation as a dark mirror to these two]].
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103
104[[folder:Western Animation]]
105* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', Batman fights a doppelganger of himself that was created by Mirror Master. While analyzing the footage of his fight with it, he realizes that the other Batman was left-handed from the way that he threw his punches.
106[[/folder]]

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