| 1 | [[quoteright:250:[[Series/TheOddCouple1970 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_odd_couple.jpg]]]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:250:[[{{Tagline}} Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?]]]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | ->''"What's wrong with policemen on television these days? They're always complete opposites. One's of them fat and poor, the other one's thin and posh. One of them's a woman, the other one's a Martian. One of them has four heads, one of them's ''allergic'' to heads."'' |
| 5 | -->-- '''Inspector Fowler''', ''Series/TheThinBlueLine'' |
| 6 | |
| 7 | Mr. Neat/Tidy/Law-Abiding/By-The-Book forced to work/live with Mr. Messy/Slob/Zany/Risk-Taker/Plays-By-His-Own-Rules. Despite the name, they're usually not a romantic couple (though this depends on the show in question). |
| 8 | |
| 9 | The couple [[BuddyCopShow might be cops]]. One might be a "loose cannon" CowboyCop, while the other is a [[ObstructiveBureaucrat cautious rule-follower]] who wants to follow procedures. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | The original [[TropeNamers Odd Couple]] were, in fact, ''Theatre/TheOddCouple,'' a play that became a movie that became a TV series. It featured two divorcees, NeatFreak Felix Unger and his [[TrashOfTheTitans sloppy]] friend Oscar Madison, having to live together. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | If the pair lives in a HighFantasy realm, a Hidden World of Awesome, or an Absurdist World of Awesome, you may be watching a PsychedelicComedyBromance. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | See also: SiblingYinYang, PolarOppositeTwins, TomboyAndGirlyGirl, SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan, RedOniBlueOni, OppositesAttract, TwoGamersOnACouch, BadassAndChildDuo, MonsterAndTheMaiden and GleefulAndGrumpyPairing. Compare HeterosexualLifePartners. May be part of a WunzaPlot. A movie centered on their relationship is often a BuddyPicture. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | If it's not the two main characters, it's an OddFriendship. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | ---- |
| 20 | !!Examples |
| 21 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 22 | |
| 23 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 24 | * Two anime play on the ''Robot Detective'' motif (see Literature): ''Anime/ArmitageIII'' (Armitage is secretly a robot, Sylibus is an Earth transfer with anti-robot leanings) and ''Anime/Metropolis2001'' (robot and human detective, based on the book). |
| 25 | * ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'': |
| 26 | ** The stern, mature, bookworm Yomi and goofy, [[{{Jerkass}} brash,]] [[GenkiGirl hyperactive]] Tomo. |
| 27 | ** The same applies to the sensible, caring Nyamo, and the [[JerkAss playful]], [[ManChild irresponsible]] Yukari. |
| 28 | ** [[ShrinkingViolet Shy, quiet]] cute-obsessed Sakaki and outgoing, impulsive Kagura's growing friendship might also count; particularly later in the season; although it seems a little more one-sided (on Kagura's part) than the other pairings. |
| 29 | * ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' has a whole lot of these. |
| 30 | ** The Shinigami, most notably in the 13 squad divisions with many of its captain and lieutenant sets: |
| 31 | *** 1st Division: Subverted in the case of Captain Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto and Lieutenant Chōjirō Sakisabe. Yamamoto enjoys Japanese culture but dislikes European, and holds Japanese tea sessions for his squad, while Chōjirō is obsessed with European culture and dislikes Japanese to the point of growing his own tea leaves. However, this is the only area in which they differ. They're very well-matched aside from this. |
| 32 | *** 2nd Division: Captain Shaolin "Soifon" Fon (LesYay {{Tsundere}} IceQueen) and Lieutenant Marechiyo Omaeda (DumbMuscle ButtMonkey {{Gonk}}). |
| 33 | *** 3rd Division: SmugSnake TricksterMentor Captain Gin Ichimaru and melancholic WarriorPoet Izuru Kira. [[spoiler:Averted with Rose and Kira who have bonded through their shared artistic natures.]] |
| 34 | *** 6th Division: Subverted with AloofBigBrother Captain Byakuya Kuchiki and HotBlooded Lieutenant Renji Abarai. [[AllThereIntheManual Clarified]] as being an in-universe belief that's not true in reality due to Byakuya being HotBlooded BeneathTheMask making the pair similar. However, a lot of characters don't know this. |
| 35 | *** Possibly an inversion as Renji is actually a lot softer than he appears. Of male shinigami, only Kira is more sensitive. |
| 36 | *** 7th Division: Calm and collected Captain Sajin Komamura and HotBlooded Lieutenant Tetsuzaimon Iba. |
| 37 | *** 8th Division: Captain Shunsui Kyōraku (BrilliantButLazy and TheDandy) and Lieutenant Nanao Ise (stiff and formal with a PrimAndProperBun to show it). |
| 38 | *** 10th Divison: Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya (an extremely serious, focused {{Workaholic}} ChildProdigy) and Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto, who is easy-going, easily distracted, and BrilliantButLazy, not to mention significantly older, taller, and bustier, subverting the usual image of the seasoned captain and the raw lieutenant. |
| 39 | *** 11th Division: Subverted with SociopathicHero Kenpachi Zaraki and RoseHairedSweetie Yachiru Kusajishi. Yachiru is as bloodthirsty as he is. |
| 40 | *** 12th Division: MadScientist Mayuri Kurotsuchi who will fly off the handle very easily and ExtremeDoormat Nemu Kurotsuchi who barely reacts to anything unless ordered to. [[MadScientist Mayuri]] [[ArtificialHuman created her]] [[MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter to be like that.]] |
| 41 | *** 13th Division: Ukitake is a tall, peaceful, calm individual who tries to negotiate conflict between friends and allies with smooth-talking, friendly soothing words. Rukia's short, HotBlooded, and prefers to either beat sense into friends and allies or passionately yell at them. |
| 42 | ** In the "[[WholeEpisodeFlashback Turn Back The Pendulum]]'' arc, we have: |
| 43 | *** Laid-back, easy-going Shinji Hirako and conniving EvilGenius Sousuke Aizen. |
| 44 | *** Kensei Muguruma ([[HairTriggerTemper Temperamental]] JerkWithAHeartOfGold) and Mashiro Kuna (ManChild GeniusDitz). |
| 45 | *** Kisuke Urahara (NiceGuy) and Hiyori Sarugaki (BrattyHalfPint {{Jerkass}}). |
| 46 | ** Even the ex-captain traitor ''trio'' qualifies: Kaname Tōsen is a mostly stoic BlindJustice KnightTemplar, Gin Ichimaru is an AxCrazy FauxAffablyEvil EnigmaticMinion, and Sōsuke Aizen, HeroKiller. Enjoyable TeethClenchedTeamwork ensues. |
| 47 | * ''Anime/CandyBoy'' has Kanade (serious, somewhat {{Tsundere}}) and Yukino (ditzy). As the story progresses, it becomes apparent that the two are more alike than they initially appeared. |
| 48 | * ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'': The two Contractors, November 11 and April have this dynamic, especially in the dub. He is [[AnIcePerson cool]] and kind of fastidious (at least in respect to smoking) and always wears a [[BadassInANiceSuit suit]]. She is a HardDrinkingPartyGirl who dresses the part and has dyed hair. They kill people. |
| 49 | * ''Manga/DeathNote'': Light Yagami is an [[spoiler:occasionally amnesiac]] mass murderer who kills criminals in order to make a 'better world' with himself as God. L is the detective who's trying to catch him. And they were [[ChainedHeat HANDCUFFED TOGETHER]] for several episodes/chapters! Not to mention that Light is [[TheDandy neatly dressed]] and [[MagnificentBastard charismatic]], while L is a sloppy BunnyEarsLawyer with NoSocialSkills. |
| 50 | * ''Manga/DescendantsOfDarkness'': The Guardians of Death always work in pairs; the manga focuses on the goofy, playful, and hyperactive Tsuzuki and the serious, down-to-earth, and short-tempered Hisoka. |
| 51 | * ''Anime/DragonBallZ'': Goku and Vegeta are complete opposites that are repeatedly forced to team up, no matter how much they don't like it. It starts out as a still fairly tense EnemyMine, but by the Buu Saga, we get whole episodes of them bickering and snarking at each other while [[FantasticVoyagePlot wandering Buu's innards]]. |
| 52 | * In ''Anime/{{Endride}}'', the main characters are teenagers close in age but distant in temperaments. Shun is a [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent ordinary]] GenkiGuy TrappedInAnotherWorld and Emilio is a gloomy, TroubledButCute prince on a {{revenge}} quest. Their main coping mechanism for having to constantly put up with each other is VolleyingInsults and the occasional fistfight. Naturally, they make [[BashBrothers a great team]]. |
| 53 | * Detectives Ryo [=Mac=]Lean and Dee Laytner in BuddyCopShow manga ''{{Manga/FAKE}}'', who are partners with almost opposite personalities yet [[OppositesAttract attracted to each other]]. |
| 54 | * Kyou and Makoto from ''Manga/{{Fullmapla}}''. One's a GenkiGirl and the other is a SilentSnarker. |
| 55 | * ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure'': Part of the premise; two unlikely partners are a sports-loving tomboy and a brainy class rep. |
| 56 | * ''Manga/GakuenAlice'' has a [[TheDitz Mikan]], [[EmotionlessGirl Hotaru]], [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Natsume]], and [[FriendToAllLivingThings Luka]]. Any way you mix and match you get an Odd Couple. |
| 57 | * In ''Manga/GirlsLastTour'', Chito and Yuuri couldn't be more different. Chito being a mildly dour bookworm, and Yuu being an off-kilter goofball. |
| 58 | * ''Manga/GoodDayToYouHowAboutAGame'': The series is about an extroverted ClassPrincess, Chise, befriending a friendless introvert, Sae, over the game of mahjong. |
| 59 | * ''Manga/{{Grenadier}}'' has this in the form of the [[TheStraightMan level-headed]], [[DoesNotLikeGuns gun-hating]] {{Samurai}} warrior Yajiro, and the [[TheDitz off-beat]], innocent [[TheGunslinger gun-slinging]] [[GorgeousGaijin busty blonde]] Rushuna. |
| 60 | * ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'': Haruhi and Kyon, He's a down-to-earth, OrdinaryHighschoolStudent, and DeadpanSnarker and she's a hyperactive GenkiGirl, who is also [[PhysicalGod God]]. |
| 61 | * ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'': |
| 62 | ** Germany and Italy. |
| 63 | ** Denmark and Norway, to some extent. |
| 64 | ** Canada and America. |
| 65 | * ''Manga/HidamariSketch'': [[CreatureOfHabit Yuno]] and [[AllergicToRoutine Miyako]] have very different personalities, which doesn't prevent them from being very close. Miyako's often energetic efforts to show her feelings for Yuno are especially endearing at times. |
| 66 | * ''Manga/HunterXHunter'': Gon and Killua probably count, because it's been pointed out that even their Nen types are complete opposites of each other. Gon's a naive, strong-willed boy from the country and Killua is a devious ex-Assassin who also happens to be very, very rich. Kurapika and Leorio probably count, too. |
| 67 | * Subaru and Teana in ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'' [[AudioAdaptation and all related releases]] where they serve as main characters. The former's too [[GenkiGirl energetic for her own good]] while the other tries to keep professional in the face of [[TheGlomp that energy]]. |
| 68 | * ''Manga/MyLoveStory''. Sunakawa is the typical {{Bishonen}} high schooler you hear about and see in all sorts of manga, Takeo is a big, squarely built guy whose appearance would usually be used as {{gonk}} in other manga. And those two have been friends for over 10 years. Their personalities also contrast each other, with Takeo being boisterous but naive and Suna being quiet but more perceptive. |
| 69 | ** The couple-couple of Takeo and Yamato also counts, in the sense that they are a HugeGuyTinyGirl pair, but they aren't all that different on the inside. |
| 70 | * ''Anime/MyOtome'': CountryMouse Arika Yumemiya and strait-laced #1-ranked student Nina Wang. Can also be applied to Arika and [[WellExcuseMePrincess snobby]] RebelliousPrincess Mashiro Blan de Windbloom. |
| 71 | * ''Manga/{{Nana}}'': Nana and Hachi, who is [[SignificantNameOverlap also really named Nana]]. |
| 72 | * ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': Akatsuki offers two examples: |
| 73 | ** Hidan (dedicated priest who despises the greedy) and Kakuzu (bounty hunter who covets money and despises religions). The only reason they haven't killed each other yet is they're both immortal. |
| 74 | ** Sasori (strict artist who values the ageless quality of his puppets) and Deidara (relaxed artist who values the transient beauty of his explosions). Despite their constant arguing about art, they respect one another and work well together. |
| 75 | ** Arguably, 'Odd Couple' applies to virtually everyone in the entire show. Naruto is a loud, hot-blooded idiot that depends on sheer determination to be great vs Sasuke who is a quiet genius that can become great through sheer intelligence -- now how well does that description fit Lee/Neji, Kiba/Shino, Kakashi/Gai, Orochimaru/Jiraiya, and much more? Even side characters have examples with Tsunade being an alcoholic gambler who just happens to be an incredibly talented ninja vs Shizune who is a strait-laced type but nowhere near as good of a ninja. |
| 76 | * ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': It's implied that before Shinji Ikari's arrival in his class at school, Kensuke Aida (nerd) and Touji Suzuhara (jock) were this. |
| 77 | * Niea and Mayuko from ''Anime/NieaUnder7'', the latter being a serious cram-school student in contrast with the boisterous, freeloading, and food-stealing alien girl who lives in her closet. Still, their relationship shows signs of a sisterly bond, which gets especially prevalent when [[spoiler:Niea goes missing]]. |
| 78 | * ''Manga/NodameCantabile'': Chiaki is a perfectionistic neat freak who prefers good manners, yet he spends much of his time with Nodame, who is eccentric, ill-mannered, chaotic, and an immense slob. |
| 79 | * A central theme in ''Anime/{{Noir}}''; Kirika and Mirielle's curious relationship is key to the plot. |
| 80 | ** Not just ''Noir'', but all the GirlsWithGuns anime from Koichi Mashimo and Creator/BeeTrain feature this Odd Couple relationship with at least one of the protagonists. If it isn't Kirika and Mirielle, it's Anime/{{Madlax}} and Margaret...or [[Anime/ElCazadorDeLaBruja Nadie and Ellis]]. |
| 81 | * ''Manga/{{Ojojojo}}'': Bystanders frequently comment on how strange it is for elegant, wealthy Haru to be friends with weird, quiet Kawayanagi. [[spoiler: Becomes a case of OppositesAttract when they start going out with each other.]] |
| 82 | * ''Manga/PingPong'': The friendship of Peco and Smile. The gap of differences between the two has only grown with time. |
| 83 | * ''Manga/PrincessJellyfish'': The main two characters are [[NoSocialSkills socially awkward]] jellyfish {{Otaku}} Tsukimi and the gorgeous, [[WholesomeCrossdresser crossdressing]] [[TheFashionista fashionista]] son of a rich family, Kuranosuke. Also a case of OppositesAttract at least from Kuranosuke's point of view. |
| 84 | * ''Literature/ScrappedPrincess'': The "Beast Princess" Seness Giat and YamatoNadeshiko Eirote Borchard. |
| 85 | * In ''Manga/TheSecretAgreement'', Yuuichi is down to earth and realistic while Iori is impractical, otherworldly, and has very scattered attachments to actual things. On top of this, there is a large wealth and class gap between them. They aren't quite a case of OppositesAttract, but in-story Yuuichi remarks to himself how they are an unlikely couple. |
| 86 | * ''Manga/SeishunKouryakuhon'' has [[NiceGuy Isezaki]] and [[DeadpanSnarker Kurata]]. Their classmates are, at first, surprised that Isezaki can even get along with the latter. |
| 87 | * In ''Anime/SK8TheInfinity'', the protagonist Reki is energetic and expressive and leaps headfirst into conflict, while his best friend Langa is reserved and stoic and mainly responds to others' challenges. |
| 88 | * ''Manga/SoulEater'': |
| 89 | ** [[{{Tsundere}} Maka]] and [[NotSoStoic Soul]] are a pretty good example of this trope. |
| 90 | ** [[YamatoNadeshiko Tsubaki]] and [[SmallNameBigEgo Black]] [[IdiotHero Star]] are even stronger examples. |
| 91 | ** Then you have Death the Kid and the Thompson Sisters forming an Odd Trio. Kid's the aristocrat (being the "son" of Shinigami—it's complicated) with [[ObsessivelyOrganized an obsession for symmetry]] that both helps and hurts him (for one thing, it's why he has two partners: one for each hand). Patty is TheDitz but as a result doesn't get scared and tends to see things the others may overlook, while Liz is the [[OnlySaneMan sanity of the trio]] despite being a scaredy-cat. |
| 92 | ** The groups are put together with this in mind. Opposites can [[OppositesAttract resonate their souls better.]] |
| 93 | ** The meister/Weapon groups such as Harvar and Ox. Shinigami has a contrasting group in his named area heads, but he and scythe [[ChivalrousPervert Spirit]] are not actually ''that'' dissimilar. Though it depends on how far Shinigami's obfuscating stupidity. |
| 94 | *** That being noted, Shinigami is Spirit's third partner. His first was [[MadScientist Franken Stein]], and his second Maka's mother, who has, as of writing, yet to be shown, but said to be much like her daughter. |
| 95 | * ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'': The space-cop pair "Miho-Kiyo" -- BornLucky BrainlessBeauty Mihoshi and CosmicPlaything ByTheBookCop Kiyone. They're the same in whatever series they appear (though Kiyone does not appear in the first OVA series). |
| 96 | * The title characters of ''Anime/TigerAndBunny''. Kotetsu (Wild Tiger) is impulsive, emotional, compassionate, and prone to poking his nose into other people's business. His partner Barnaby ([[EmbarrassingNickname "Bunny"]]) is asocial, aloof, relentlessly formal, and generally unconcerned about anything other than [[spoiler:avenging his parents' deaths.]] |
| 97 | * ''Literature/{{Toradora}}'': Ryuuji and Taiga. He's tall, gentle, is an expert at housekeeping, likes to cook, and generally does his best to avoid conflict--unfortunately, the hereditary angry glare he got from his father makes everyone think Ryuuji's going to kill them, or worse. She's [[TheNapoleon short, brutish]], never bothers cleaning up after herself, burns salads, and has the temperament of a raging tiger--unfortunately, her pretty face and delicate figure make strangers think she's just a cute little girl. |
| 98 | [[/folder]] |
| 99 | |
| 100 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 101 | * ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'': Gracile hyper-saintly jack-of-all-trades journalist meets chubby choleric, eccentric alcoholic -- who could this possibly be? Tintin and the Captain Haddock, of course. |
| 102 | * ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'': |
| 103 | ** ComicBook/CableAndDeadpool: A muscle-bound, angsty psychic mutant from the future trying to make the world a better place and his buddy: A fourth-wall-breaking motormouth mercenary who is made of cancer and loves pop-culture riffs. |
| 104 | ** ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': There was a two-issue arc in ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski'' where he was forced to team up with Loki to save the world [[spoiler: and Loki's mostly-mortal kid, who the person trying to destroy the world was possessing]]. It involved a lot of wordplay between the two masters of IShallTauntYou and despite being a hero and a villain-just-doing-something-good, it was so well-written that a lot of fans remember and like it (and post it all over the web, particularly the "chili dog scene"). |
| 105 | ** [[ComicBook/LukeCage Power Man]] and ComicBook/IronFist headlined a comic together in the early '80s and this trope was invoked often in the advertising. Iron Fist comes from another world where he has mastered martial arts to an almost superhuman level. His is a life of discipline and dedication. He's also rich, but his lack of experience in the real world leaves him naive at times. Power Man, in contrast, grew up poor on the streets and knows entirely too much about how the world works, and completely lacks training and discipline, but gets by on the virtue of being super strong and nearly indestructible. Together, they're a nightmare for criminals of all sorts. |
| 106 | * ''ComicBook/{{Blacksad}}'' has [[GeniusBruiser intellectual tough guy]] John Blacksad paired with [[ChivalrousPervert precocious pervert]] Weekly. They get along surprisingly well. |
| 107 | * Sehven and Leeka in ''Feather''. Sehv is the last dragon slayer. Leeka is the last full-blooded dragon. You can see where the conflict comes from. |
| 108 | * Lenore and Ragamuffin in ''ComicBook/LenoreTheCuteLittleDeadGirl''. |
| 109 | * ''Franchise/TheDCU'': |
| 110 | ** ComicBook/{{Superman}} and ComicBook/{{Batman}}. Superman is an alien with almost godlike powers, raised under generally modest circumstances, inspired by the strong morals taught to him by his parents, believes in setting a good example for all of mankind, and is also HappilyMarried. Batman is a badass human, a tycoon who was inspired to be a hero by the murder of his parents, believes in creating a nightmare image to scare criminals straight, and he's got relationship issues out the wazoo. They're practically the superhero GoodCopBadCop scenario, and yet they still acknowledge the other as their best friend.\ |
| 111 | Though note that much of this dynamic [[NewerThanTheyThink only really solidified]] during TheEighties, and is still heavily subject to DependingOnTheWriter. Before that, ''both'' of them were fairly [[TheCape clean-cut, upstanding hero-types]]; hell, Batman arguably had a ''healthier'' personal life and a fairly chipper relationship with ComicBook/{{Robin}}, ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}, Alfred, and Commissioner Gordon, while Superman often went to near-psychotic lengths to hide his SecretIdentity from ComicBook/LoisLane and ComicBook/JimmyOlsen. |
| 112 | ** ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} is a spirited, brash borderline PhysicalGod. ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} is a quiet, introvert, cautious BadassBookworm. And yet the two of them have had a sibling-like relationship since TheSixties. It helps that they can bond over being permanently overshadowed by their male counterparts. |
| 113 | ** Supergirls and Batgirls usually compliment each other or are odd couples. |
| 114 | ** In the ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'', Supergirl and Brainiac-5 often team up together. She's a cheerful, impulsive, kind FlyingBrick. He's a somber, reflective, jerkass of a genius. They're not only a very effective team but also a couple. |
| 115 | ** ''ComicBook/GreenLantern:'' The Green Lantern Corps seems to run on this, with nearly every partnership being an odd couple of some kind. For example, the cocky follow-your-guts Hal Jordan is partnered with the methodical and analytical John Stewart, and the BoisterousBruiser Guy Gardner is partnered with either the sensitive artist Kyle Rayner or the ColdSniper John Stewart. Or there's the example of the living planet Mogo, and his partner Bzzd, a wasp. |
| 116 | ** ''ComicBook/BatLash'': Many stories contrast the taciturn Jonah Hex with the significantly friendlier Bat. |
| 117 | ** The ComicBook/{{New 52}} ''All-Star Western'' pairs the ruthless, hard-as-nails, disfigured BountyHunter ComicBook/JonahHex with prissy Easterner Dr. Amadeus Arkham, who is one of the world's first criminal psychologists and a firm believer in the law and order and the humane treatment of criminals. |
| 118 | ** ''ComicBook/{{Robin|1993}}'': Kevin Hudman is the most serious, logically minded, and academically gifted of Tim's friends, and is always with Hudson who is the most impulsive, emotionally driven, hot-headed, and least focused on his studies of Tim's friends. Their relationship is never expounded upon but the two are so joined at the hip that Ives generally introduces them to people as "Hudster" like they're inseparable enough to be introduced as a unit, and they don't contradict him. |
| 119 | * ''ComicBook/QuantumAndWoody'', with Eric (Quantum) as the by-the-books superhero and Woody as the slapdash slob. Though Woody repeatedly insists they're "not a couple." |
| 120 | * ''ComicBook/SinCity'' has Dwight and Miho. Dwight is a down-to-Earth guy who tries to use his head while Miho is the AxCrazy assassin who never says a word. They get into conflicts a lot but Miho usually listens to him. |
| 121 | [[/folder]] |
| 122 | |
| 123 | [[folder:Comic Strips]] |
| 124 | * Fritz and Bixby from ''ComicStrip/InkPen'' function as the heads of the titular temp agency to employ the various cartoon characters. Fritz is a workaholic obsessive compulsive neat freak of a dog, and Bixby is a rude and lazy rat who spends a lot of time sitting in the trash can. |
| 125 | * ''ComicStrip/{{Nemi}}'': Cyan and Nemi seem to be this, with Nemi as a dark, brooding goth and Cyan as a perky, cheerful NiceGirl. However, it's stated that their differences are the reason they work so well together; they both effectively pull the brakes on the other when their respective negative traits start to spiral out of control. |
| 126 | [[/folder]] |
| 127 | |
| 128 | [[folder: Comedy]] |
| 129 | * Creator/LaurelAndHardy: A dimwitted ManChild and a domineering arrogant man who always belittles the other one, despite not being much wiser. |
| 130 | [[/folder]] |
| 131 | |
| 132 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 133 | * More like odd ''trio'' in ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11886910/1/Gankona-Unnachgiebig-Unità Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità]]''. Germany is tough and harsh, Italy is carefree and energetic, and Japan is cold and calculating. |
| 134 | * Most of the characters in ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries'' fit this one way or another. You've got [[HotBlooded Calvin]] and [[CowardlyLion Hobbes]] themselves, as well as [[OnlySaneMan Andy]] and [[{{Jerkass}} Sherman]]. Even [[StupidEvil Dr. Brainstorm]] and [[SnarkyNonhumanSidekick Jack]] follow this! |
| 135 | * The ever-popular pairing (sometimes romantic, sometimes just friendly) in WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic fanon; Vinyl Scratch and Octavia. One's a partying, disco-pumping DJ that goes by the stage name DJ-[=Pon3=]. The other is a refined and distinguished cellist. They are placed together to do everything from [[FanFic/TheVinylScratchTapes share a radio studio]] to fighting crime. |
| 136 | ** Lyra and Bon Bon get a similar pairing with the former's strange and/or fun-loving personality being a constant foil to the latter's more straight-laced and grumpy persona. They're also portrayed as a romantic couple so often it's considered strange when that [[OneTruePairing isn't the case]], to the point where even the show showed them proposing to each other in one of its final episodes. |
| 137 | * In ''Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy'', crime-fighting pair ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} and Dev-Em. One's a kind-hearted, good-natured hero who refuses to cross determined lines. The other is an obnoxious, brash, rude spy who is willing to do whatever is needed to carry his mission forward. |
| 138 | * In the "Pink Personal Hell" line of ''Fanfic/PinkPersonalHellAndAlteringFate'', we have an odd couple of [[GenkiGirl Pinkie Pie]], and [[ButtMonkey Dominic]]. While they get closer together, it becomes quite obvious that Pinkie moves a ''little'' too fast and is a ''little'' too hyperactive for Dominic. |
| 139 | * ''Fanfic/XMenTheEarlyYears'': A brooding, introvert, misanthropic loner who thinks too much and a high-spirited, extrovert, hot-tempered girl who is a bit too much reckless hooking up? Likelier than you thought. [[ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} Scott Summers]] and ComicBook/JeanGrey reckon they get along because no one else would put up with each other. |
| 140 | -->'''Scott:''' You know, the two of us are really pathetic sometimes.\ |
| 141 | '''Jean:''' Definitely. No one else would put up with us. That's why we ended up best friends. You know what our friendship is like?\ |
| 142 | '''Scott:''' The Titanic hitting the iceberg?\ |
| 143 | '''Jean:''' Sometimes.\ |
| 144 | '''Scott:''' A bad case of sea sickness?\ |
| 145 | '''Jean:''' Nope. Not that.\ |
| 146 | '''Scott:''' Maple, toffee-flavored coffee?\ |
| 147 | '''Jean:''' Yuck! No.\ |
| 148 | '''Scott:''' A no-plot, B-rated action flick?\ |
| 149 | '''Jean:''' Double yuck! No.\ |
| 150 | '''Scott:''' A tricycle designed by Dr Seuss?\ |
| 151 | '''Jean:''' That's it! It works. It putters right along but no one can quite figure out how. |
| 152 | [[/folder]] |
| 153 | |
| 154 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 155 | * ''WesternAnimation/ThePebbleAndThePenguin'': Hubie is the perky sort while Rocko is more grumpy. |
| 156 | * ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'': |
| 157 | ** [[MasculineGirlFeminineBoy Felix and Calhoun.]] They were so [[OppositesAttract different]] in every which way as well as being a justified MayDecemberRomance that it was very hard for the audience to see it coming. |
| 158 | ** Ralph and Vanellope started this way, then developed a brother-sister relationship with each other. |
| 159 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'': Judy Hopps an optimistic female bunny cop bent on breaking the stereotype of rabbits through hard work while Nick Wilde is a cynical male fox conman who argues that you can't escape the social conventions that are assumed of each type of animal. [[spoiler: By the end, they become police partners.]] |
| 160 | [[/folder]] |
| 161 | |
| 162 | [[folder:Films -- Live Action]] |
| 163 | * ''Film/{{Ana}}'': A broke car salesman and a 12-year-old street-smart girl working together to save the former from bankruptcy along with probable death at the hands of a loan shark. |
| 164 | * ''Film/TheAvengers1998''. Mrs. Peel doesn't play by the rules, Steed does. |
| 165 | * ''Film/TheBride'': Viktor, FrankensteinsMonster, is a very large man who initially doesn't say much (as he's not that knowledgeable) and doesn't know much of the world. He pairs up with Rinaldo, a garrulous, worldly little man with dwarfism. They even grow into a double act at the circus in Budapest. |
| 166 | * Creator/RyanReynolds and Creator/JasonBateman's characters in ''Film/TheChangeUp''. |
| 167 | * ''Film/Cherrybomb2009'': Malachy (Creator/RupertGrint) and Luke (Creator/RobertSheehan). Malachy is a steady, dependable straight-A student with a doting middle-class family, and Luke is a loud, flamboyant drug dealer with a taste for vandalism and violence, whose family abuse and neglect him. |
| 168 | * ''Film/TheGreatRace'': The Great Leslie is a charming male chauvinist. Maggie Dubois is a militant female chauvinist. Naturally, they fall in love and get married. |
| 169 | * ''Film/TheHeat'' An FBI agent (Creator/SandraBullock) (not [[Film/MissCongeniality that one]] ([[ActorAllusion probably]])) who teams up with a [[OneHeadTaller short]], [[ShoutOut slobby]], [[TomboyAndGirlyGirl crass]], [[FatAndSkinny overweight]] detective (Creator/MelissaMcCarthy); the only thing they have in common is that ''no one'' in their respective departments wants to work with them. |
| 170 | * Ken and Ray in ''Film/InBruges''. Ken being the [[BigBrotherMentor warmhearted, wiser man]] and Ray being the impertinent, non-PC young one. Ken likes Bruges for the scenery; Ray hates it for being so boring. |
| 171 | * ''Film/InTheHeatOfTheNight'': Virgil Tibbs (black ''and'' big city Northern) and Bill Gillespie (white ''and'' small town redneck). |
| 172 | * The ''Film/LethalWeapon'' franchise. Roger Murtaugh and Martin Riggs. Murtaugh is the family man detective who just wants to remodel his house in peace, while Riggs is the crazy loner cop who tends to have a HeroicBSOD every movie. |
| 173 | * ''Film/{{Mandalay}}'': The former {{sex slave}} who just managed to run away from that life and the drunkard medic who wants to atone for his mistakes. They fall in love. |
| 174 | * [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] in ''Film/PlanesTrainsAndAutomobiles''. [[StraightMan Neal]] has no choice but to cooperate with [[BigFun Del]] because of how resourceful Del is and any time he tries to strike out on his own, things get much, much worse. He also doesn't wait until the third act [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to tell Del what a pain in the ass he can be]], which makes Del more self-conscious of his behavior so he'll go easier on Neal throughout their journey while also telling him point-blank that [[IAmWhatIAm he has no choice but to learn to love him]]. The whole thing makes the TeethClenchedTeamwork more believable. |
| 175 | * ''Film/RedHeat''. Moscow's toughest detective, who happens to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Chicago's craziest cop, Jim Belushi. There's only one thing worse than making them mad. Making them partners. |
| 176 | * ''Film/TheRock'': John Mason is an elderly British covert operative who has spent decades in prison. Stanley Goodspeed is a chemist with no combat experience. Both are sent on a mission to Alcatraz for different reasons (the former because he knows how to get in because he already broke out of the prison, the latter because the place is full of chemical weapons) and are the only survivors when their squad is massacred, leading to a partnership marked by much bickering that ultimately makes them both {{Unlikely Hero}}es. |
| 177 | * ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld''. [[JacobAndEsau Loki]] [[CainAndAbel and Thor]] have put each other through a lot, but they still bicker like an old married couple/the brothers that one of them is always denying they are. At the beginning of the first ''Film/{{Thor}}'' film, Loki is also [[BewareTheQuietOnes much more quiet and thoughtful]] than [[BoisterousBruiser Thor and his friends]]. |
| 178 | * ''Film/TurnerAndHooch'' (1989) with Tom Hanks as the obsessive NeatFreak bachelor cop Scott Turner having to share his pristine apartment with... Hooch, a large slobbering Dogue de Bordeaux he-dog, the only witness in a murder case. |
| 179 | * ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit''. Roger and Jessica Rabbit. Not the least reason is the fact that she's drawn as a human (an overly-sexy woman complete with bangs) and he's a rabbit (a stereotypically-slapstick cartoon rabbit). They're married, and most Toons say ''Jessica'' got the better end of the deal. |
| 180 | * Tallahassee and Columbus in ''Film/{{Zombieland}}''. Columbus is a nervous, twitchy college student who's scared of clowns and addicted to ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''. Tallahassee is a badass who's constantly on the hunt for Twinkies and creative new ways to kill zombies. The two get along surprisingly well. |
| 181 | [[/folder]] |
| 182 | |
| 183 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 184 | * Creator/IsaacAsimov's "Robot Detective" trilogy (''Literature/TheCavesOfSteel'', ''Literature/TheNakedSun'', and ''Literature/TheRobotsOfDawn''), where the couple is an intelligent robot detective and a robot-hating human policeman. |
| 185 | * Conventional, polite nice guy John Watson and eccentric, sarcastic freelancer Literature/SherlockHolmes, who were originally forced to live together because neither of them could afford the Baker Street flat on his own. |
| 186 | * Miron and Joshua from ''Literature/DoraWilkSeries''. One is [[ReallyGetsAround outgoing]], social, rebellious devil who drowns checks from his father in a fish tank as a matter of principle. Another is ShrinkingViolet, compassionate angel who's under constant pressure from his father (ArchangelGabriel) and must live in Miron's house, as he can't afford his own. They met in Garden of Eden when they were seven and kept together ever since. |
| 187 | * Deconstructed in ''Literature/JohnDiesAtTheEnd'', with the relationship between John and Dave. For most of the book, Dave is seen as pretty normal, with John being the weirdo. However, as the book progresses, we discover that John is Dave's ''only'' friend, and the reason Dave still hangs around with him is that he's a codependent sociopath, and John's the 'normal' one. |
| 188 | * Main characters of ''Literature/PresidentsVampire'' are an ambitious, ActionSurvivor White House politician and {{Nigh Invulnerab|ility}}le vampire. One couldn't use a pistol if his life depended on it, the other punches cars into nonexistence with his bare hands. One is a smooth talker, the other is an antisocial loner. Together, they fight the forces of darkness. |
| 189 | * Aziraphale and Crowley from ''Literature/GoodOmens'' are, in theory, about as different as it's possible to get: they met in the Garden of Eden, where Aziraphale was the angel at the eastern gate and Crowley was the ''snake''. (They've both since been demoted.) Having worked opposite each other on Earth for countless centuries, they've realised that they have more in common with each other than they think and become best friends, still nominally working for good and evil but [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil not interfering]] with each other's projects and [[GoKartingWithBowser occasionally having lunch together]]. Aziraphale is the neat, picky one while Crowley is wilder and [[CoolShades always wears]] [[HellishPupils sunglasses]]. |
| 190 | * In ''Literature/TheWestingGame'', the sixteen main characters are paired with each other in order to solve a mystery. Most of the pairs seemingly have nothing in common with each other. |
| 191 | * ''Pettersson & Bendel'': A [[ConMan Con Men]] Odd Couple. [[TheBigGuy Pettersson]] is a dashing but rather naive homeless man whom most people take to straight away; [[TheSmartGuy Bendel]] is a scrawny illegal immigrant and financial genius who must have a [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Charisma score]] of about -10. |
| 192 | * [[Literature/JeevesAndWooster Bertie Wooster and Jeeves]], to an extent. While they do fit the bill of [[UpperClassTwit nutty-goofball]] and [[TheJeeves sophistication-incarnate]], respectively, their living situation is due to a professional, master-servant relationship. |
| 193 | ** Before Bertie and Jeeves, Creator/PGWodehouse gave us Mike Jackson the [[UnfazedEveryman doggedly ordinary]], [[ShrinkingViolet unassuming]] NiceGuy and Literature/{{Psmith}} the AttentionWhore [[HighSchoolHustler who gets away with murder]]. |
| 194 | * ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': Esme Weatherwax (uptight, [[CelibateHero virginal]], constantly testing herself and others), and Gytha Ogg (easy-going, mother of fifteen, gets on well with everyone). |
| 195 | ** Agnes Nitt and Perdita Dream. Bonus points for being the same person. |
| 196 | ** The City Watch books have Fred Colon, a simple, down-to-earth sergeant who's [[KnowNothingKnowItAll not as smart as he thinks he is]] and Nobby Nobbs, a shifty, "certified human" corporal who's [[ObfuscatingStupidity smarter than he looks]] (which, granted, isn't ''hard''). |
| 197 | * ''Literature/{{Shadowleague}}'': Zavahl, former head of the CorruptChurch and a dour man at best, and sunny Ailie in Maggie Furey's books. |
| 198 | * ''Literature/ThePrincessSeries'': Snow White and Talia (Sleeping Beauty) were this back before Danielle (Cinderella) joined the team making it a trio. Snow is intelligent, immature, outgoing, wields magic, and is younger than she looks due to magic. Talia is reserved, stoic, cynical, a high-level warrior, and is older than she looks due to magic. |
| 199 | * In ''Kidnapped'' David Balfour is a respectable(and rather priggish) lowlander and a firm Hanoverian. Alan Breck Stewart is a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy wild Highlander]] and a well-committed Jacobite. |
| 200 | * Nita and Nailer of ''Literature/ShipBreaker''. She's an upper-class RichBitch with a good case of SilkHidingSteel. He's a ship breaker and the son of a [[ArchnemesisDad world-class monster]]. They somehow become FireForgedFriends. |
| 201 | * The Creator/JohnVarley novel ''Mammoth'' featured an antagonist trio of a young far-left militant and a geriatric far-right evangelical and his son. United in their opposition to cloning- the militant because he thinks cloning is a violation of animal rights and the evangelical because he thinks cloning is sacrilegious- they become terrorists. |
| 202 | * Noah Landau and Viktor Borovsky in Greg Rucka's ''[[Literature/QueenAndCountry A Gentleman's Game]]''. Landau is stoical, taciturn, phlegmatic, cynical, world-weary, patient, and polite; his family was almost certainly fifth aliyah or earlier. Borovsky is passionate, mirthful, profane, lustful, playful, optimistic, and earthy; he himself was born in Russia back when it was still the Soviet Union. The two of them work together at the Mossad, and somehow manage to make a very good team, even though Borovsky seems to drive Landau up the wall. |
| 203 | -->'''Borovsky''': I love her, I want to send her flowers....I adore her, and I want to show her my affection....What is her name again? Her real name, not the work name, not that Italian name. |
| 204 | -->'''Landau''': She's head of their special section. I'm sure you have it on file. |
| 205 | -->'''Borovsky''': I looked. Her name is Chace, Tara Chace. |
| 206 | -->'''Landau''': Then why are you asking me? |
| 207 | -->'''Borovsky''': It's more fun this way. There was no picture of her, I think it was removed. Did you remove it? |
| 208 | -->'''Landau''': Yes. |
| 209 | -->'''Borovsky''': Why? |
| 210 | -->'''Landau''': To keep you from drooling over it. |
| 211 | -->'''Borovsky''': Is she beautiful? Is she beautiful, this woman who assassinates Saudi princes? |
| 212 | * Louie, a timid mama's mouse, and Dan, a brash slob, from ''The Porcupine Mouse''. They're brothers. |
| 213 | * In James Patterson's ''NYPD Red'' as the two partners meet, they have AsYouKnow dialog which describes him as the by-the-book straight arrow and her as the loose cannon maverick. Appropriately for a book about investigating murders of movie people, it's virtually a pitch for the movie adaptation. |
| 214 | * A less common version of this can be found in ''Literature/TheVampireChronicles''. Melancholic [[MemeticMutation arsonist]] Louis and adventurous [[DeadpanSnarker snarker]] Lestat. They couldn't be any more different but they still [[spoiler: love each other]]. |
| 215 | * ''Literature/GarrettPI'': title character and his best friend. Garrett muses that Morley stands for everything he hates, but somehow he still likes Morley. |
| 216 | * In ''Literature/ThePillarsOfReality'', Mari and Alain. Even setting aside the fact that each of their respective Guilds consider so much as speaking to members of the other to be treasonous, their personalities are a case of EmotionsVsStoicism. |
| 217 | * The main character and her best friend in ''Literature/EdenGreen'' are a rationalist nerd obsessed with routine and reliability, and an easy-going, gregarious, chaos-loving social chameleon. Together, they fight needle monsters. |
| 218 | * The Literature/NeroWolfe series gives the reader Wolfe himself and his assistant Archie Goodwin, although it's more of an employer/employee relationship than a friendship. Wolfe is [[BrilliantButLazy sedentary]], fastidious, cerebral, epicurean, reclusive, verbose, misogynist, and ComicallySerious, while Archie is an irreverent, witty, playful, and cheerful man of action. It's also often suggested to be invoked since Wolfe recognises that their various personalities and skill sets complement each other nicely, and the points of tension between them can be useful in provoking Wolfe out of laziness and into working when necessary. |
| 219 | [[/folder]] |
| 220 | |
| 221 | [[folder:Live Action TV]] |
| 222 | * ''Series/{{The Odd Couple|1970}}'', the 1970-1975 adaptation starring Creator/JackKlugman as Oscar and Creator/TonyRandall as Felix. |
| 223 | * ''Series/{{The Odd Couple|2015}}'', the 2015 adaptation starring Creator/MatthewPerry and Creator/ThomasLennon. |
| 224 | * ''Series/AustinAndAlly'': Austin and Ally are quite opposites |
| 225 | * ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'': Charlie and Alan. |
| 226 | * ''Series/HawaiiFive0'': [=McGarrett=] and Danno are this trope right from the very beginning. |
| 227 | * ''Series/SimonAndSimon'': Rick and A.J. Simon are brothers so different in temperament that they ''had'' to be brothers for anyone to believe they'd voluntarily work together. |
| 228 | * Michael and Joey from ''Series/MyTwoDads''. |
| 229 | * Larry and Balki from ''Series/PerfectStrangers''. |
| 230 | * Scully and Mulder from ''Series/TheXFiles'' (at least until Scully began to believe). And when that happened, it became Scully and Doggett. |
| 231 | * ''Series/TheProfessionals'': Hot-tempered and caring Doyle and cool Bodie. |
| 232 | * ''Series/{{Bones}}'': Logical, scientific Brennan and intuitive, religious Booth. |
| 233 | * ''Series/FullHouse'' had an Odd ''Trio''. |
| 234 | * ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'': Sherlock and John. The former is an InsufferableGenius JerkWithAHeartOfGold CelibateHero and the latter is a UnfazedEveryman ThrillSeeker ChivalrousPervert. |
| 235 | * ''Series/AlienNation'': Francisco (Newcomer) and Sikes (who doesn't like Newcomers) in both the movie and the television version. |
| 236 | * ''Series/{{House}}'': Gregory House and James Wilson ''define'' this trope. |
| 237 | * ''Series/{{Mythbusters}}'': When the producers of what would eventually become ''Mythbusters'' first approached Jamie Hyneman regarding hosting his own show, he objected on the grounds that he is... not exactly an extrovert ("Do you actually ''have'' moods?" "No."). He suggested importing a much more outgoing colleague, Adam Savage, as co-host. The result has developed into one of the funniest, most charismatic Odd Couple pairings going.\ |
| 238 | \ |
| 239 | They more or less intentionally created a Double Act/ Comedy Duo/ Manzai, which given how often it shows up on this list, is probably a sub-trope. |
| 240 | * ''Series/TopGear'': Jeremy Clarkson (loud, brash, and confident) and James May (quiet, pragmatic, and orderly), whose [[VitriolicBestBuds on-screen bickering]] has frequently been compared to an unhappy marriage. They're good friends, however. And when you add Richard "Hamster" Hammond to Jezza and Captain Slow on the UK version of ''Top Gear'' you have one of the greatest Odd Trios ''...in the world''. |
| 241 | * ''Series/OzAndJames'': James May co-presented with Oz Clarke: May plays the ignorant scruff to Clarke's long-winded pedantry. Early episodes feature May [[HypocriticalHumor complaining about how Clarke would rather talk about alcohol than drink it]]. They eventually came to the point where they enjoyed each other's company, especially once May picked up enough wine knowledge to carry on an informed conversation with Oz. |
| 242 | * ''Series/{{Life On Mars|2006}}'': DI Sam Tyler and DCI Gene Hunt: an uptight, by-the-book, and slightly crazy cop trained in the modern and forensics-heavy methods of policing, and a reckless, bastardly, and semi-alcoholic cop trained in the 1970s CowboyCop method of breaking down doors and having people arrested for cattle-rustling because he needed an excuse to get them off the streets. At one point in the show, they beat each other up in a hospital room and the camera cuts to them sitting down together having a smoke and talking about their job. |
| 243 | * Clark Kent and Lex Luthor from ''Series/{{Smallville}}''. |
| 244 | * ''Series/TheMightyBoosh'' revolves around the relationship between Vince Noir (super-trendy, cheerful, fey social butterfly with big eyes) and Howard Moon (curmudgeonly, misanthropic, mustachioed jazz-aficionado with tiny eyes). Vince is often mistaken for Howard's wife/lady friend, and Howard is often mistaken for Vince's father or geography teacher. The Odd Couple dynamic has an additional level to it, as it both mirrors and contrasts the real-life dynamic between actors Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt. |
| 245 | * ''Series/RedDwarf'': Arnold Rimmer and Dave Lister. Rimmer is the uptight, regulation-following kind of person who will insist that the red-alert bulb be switched on when all of the crew members are in the same small room and are all undoubtedly already alerted and delights in quoting "Space Corps Directives". Lister, on the other hand, is described as "toffed up to the nines" when wearing a t-shirt with only one curry stain on it and pants with a hole in them that he's spray-painted himself to cover up. Though initially antagonistic, their relationship eventually becomes far more friendly. |
| 246 | ** InvokedTrope: ''Red Dwarf'''s AI could only generate one hologram at a time, and thought Rimmer's totally opposite personality would help Lister stay sane due to the arguments and antagonism between the two. |
| 247 | * ''Series/{{Rome}}'': Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, with Vorenus as the uptight, honourable, stoic, by-the-book guy (with occasional cold-blooded murderous rage), and Pullo as the cheerfully hedonistic thug who never thinks beyond the next fight or fuck. Played with in that over the course of the series, Vorenus [[spoiler: gets [[BreakTheCutie broken down]] into a crazed nihilist while Pullo matures into a thoughtful, responsible, father and leader]]. |
| 248 | * ''Series/TrueDetective'': In Season One, Cohle is a misanthropic, nihilistic InsufferableGenius while Hart is a personable GoodOlBoy. They frequently clash over their differing worldviews, personalities, and interpretations of the Dora Lange murder case. |
| 249 | * ''{{Series/Hannibal}}'': The series' main focus is on the intense, both violent and tender relationship between secret cannibal serial killer Hannibal Lecter and his not-patient/friend/arch nemesis/only intellectual peer/[[spoiler: romantic soulmate]] Will Graham. Both are [[BlueAndOrangeMorality morally complicated]] [[ManipulativeBastard Manipulative Bastards]] [[LonelyTogether who lack real human connection without each other]]. The draw between them is so compelling that righteous Will [[spoiler: eventually gives up any semblance of a normal life, leaves his wife and stepson, and kills with Hannibal to be with him instead]]. It's a complicated relationship, to say the very least. |
| 250 | * Sam and Dean Winchester of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''. |
| 251 | * Angel and Spike in the fifth season of ''Series/{{Angel}}''. Earlier seasons had Wes and Gunn in this role. |
| 252 | * ''The Naked Trucker and T-Bones'': |
| 253 | -->'''Trucker:''' ...That's why I do the drivin'--\ |
| 254 | '''T-Bones:''' And I do the drinkin'.\ |
| 255 | '''Trucker:''' You do the talkin'.\ |
| 256 | '''T-Bones:''' You do the thinkin'. |
| 257 | * Vince and Errol from ''Series/FifteenStoreysHigh''. Vince is a mildly eccentric misanthrope (not to the extent of being wacky, but he gets his decorating ideas from pornographic magazines), whereas Errol is naive, trusting, friendly and helpful. |
| 258 | * Mark and Jeremy from ''Series/PeepShow'' are a classic example... at first glance. However, given the show's hook of giving us an insight into their thought processes, it quickly becomes clear that they're both quite equally neurotic, insecure, and introverted, and in many ways, Jeremy is even ''more'' socially uptight than Mark; Jeremy is desperate to be thought of as cool, edgy and sophisticated (often appearing smug, foolish and pretentious in the process) where Mark, whilst ''very'' socially inept, has fewer pretentions or illusions about himself or exactly how cool he is, and rarely bothers to put on airs as a result.\ |
| 259 | \ |
| 260 | Creator/DavidMitchellActor and Creator/RobertWebb generally play an Odd Couple in their various collaborations, and may even be one themselves. |
| 261 | * Averted by ''Series/{{Bottom}}'': Richie and Eddie are forever playing catch with the IdiotBall; there's always one stupid guy and one angry guy, but ''which is which'' is never constant, even within a single episode or a single scene. |
| 262 | * Hardison and Eliot from ''Series/{{Leverage}}''. The snarky, socially awkward genius and the angry, charming badass. |
| 263 | * ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'': Zack and Cody. Maddie and London count as well. |
| 264 | * ''Series/MorkAndMindy''. |
| 265 | * ''[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Star Trek]]'': And Cool, logical Spock and cranky, passionate Bones, with Kirk as intermediary. [[PowerTrio Id, ego, and superego]]... InSpace! |
| 266 | * A game in ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' called Title Sequence takes suggestions from the audience of "two unlikely roommates/coworkers/etc." Thoroughly crowned in one episode where the ([[ExecutiveMeddling unfortunately nixed]]) suggestion was "Creator/BillCosby and Hitler". |
| 267 | * ''Series/TheThinBlueLine'': Ironically, despite Fowler's page quote above, he has his own Odd Couple-style relationship with Grimm, the CID inspector. Fowler is the ByTheBookCop Parody who acts like he's in ''Series/DixonOfDockGreen'', Grimm is the Wannabe CowboyCop who thinks he's in ''Series/TheSweeney''. |
| 268 | * The two lead characters of ''Series/{{Route 66}}'', Tod and Buz. Tod came from a wealthy family and attended Yale, and when drunk he has the tendency to reveal what a toffee-nosed snob he really could be if he weren't so nice. That is, he tells 'hilarious' stories about free tickets to the opera and being on the fencing team, while Buz sits stone-faced because he is an orphan from Hell's Kitchen. |
| 269 | * The two survivalists of Discovery Channel's ''Series/DualSurvival'', an ex-military guy and a hippie being forced to play ''Series/{{Survivorman}}'' together) who also have differing views on nature: the ex-military guy sees it as something to fight with while the hippie tries to live in harmony with it, to the point of always going barefoot even in 10-degree weather (which really freaks his partner out). |
| 270 | * Ray (either one) and Fraser of ''Series/DueSouth''. |
| 271 | * Creator/RogerEbert and Creator/GeneSiskel from ''Series/AtTheMovies''. They hardly even ''knew'' each other before going on TV, aside from working at rival Chicago newspapers, but eventually became close friends. Their review dynamic, with Gene being more intellectual and nitpicky and Roger being more emotional and jokey made them the most popular and respected film critics in the country. |
| 272 | * In ''Series/WhiteCollar'', Peter Burke is an honest, upstanding, serious FBI agent and Neal Caffrey is a charming, romantic, and tricky con artist on work release as a consultant for the FBI. |
| 273 | ** They also clash in tidiness where the serious FBI man is messy and the con artist is the clean freak. |
| 274 | * ''Series/TheGoodGuys'' gives us Jack, the by-the-book cop, and Dan, the ChaoticGood cop. |
| 275 | * ''Series/TheAdventuresOfShirleyHolmes'': Book-smart, logical, no-nonsense, daughter-of-a-diplomat Shirley Holmes, who doesn't mind doing something that might get her in trouble in order to solve a mystery, and street-smart, emotion-driven, former gang member, parents-own-a-fish-market Bo Sawchuck, who is legitimately trying to get his life straight and nonetheless gets dragged into Shirley's adventures solely out of loyalty and friendship. |
| 276 | * ''Series/InspectorLynley'': Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley, the eighth Earl of Asherton, and his partner, cranky, working-class Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers. There's very little they do not clash on at some point. Naturally, there is also [[UndyingLoyalty nothing they would not do for each other]]. |
| 277 | * [[VitriolicBestBuds Murdock and B. A.]] on ''Series/TheATeam''. |
| 278 | ** Face and Murdock also qualify to some extent, although theirs is more of an OddFriendship. They're the handsome con man and the crazy pilot who just happen to be best friends. Together they pull off some of the most improbable scams with ease. |
| 279 | * ''Series/LastOfTheSummerWine'', Compo and whichever [[strike: great long dollop]] third man they have at the time. |
| 280 | * Richard Series/{{Castle|2009}} and Kate Beckett. He's a flippant, playboy ManChild mystery writer, she's a [[ByTheBookCop no-nonsense workaholic]] [[FairCop NYPD homicide detective]] [[BrokenBird with an unhappy past]]. They fight crime and have {{UST}}. Played with, however, in that [[HiddenDepths they're gradually revealed to have a bit more in common than they first let on]], something which only helps with the {{UST}}. |
| 281 | ** On the same show, ThoseTwoGuys Detectives Ryan and Esposito also have a more subtle Odd Couple vibe going; Esposito's a bit of a [[TheCharmer suave, sophisticated]] ladies' man whereas Ryan's more of a clutzy-yet-lovable geek. This is played with in an episode where Ryan has to once again to assume the persona he used when he did undercover work some years ago. He transforms into a suave, charming Irish criminal with nerves of steel who has women swooning over him. Essentially, Ryan is quite capable of acting just like Esposito but chooses not to. |
| 282 | * ''Series/DharmaAndGreg'': The two main characters form an Odd Couple. |
| 283 | * ''Series/{{Trick}}'' gives us the crime-solving duo of Ueda Jiro, physics professor, and Naoko Yamada, stage magician. |
| 284 | * ''Series/{{NUMB3RS}}'' pairs Don, head of a team of FBI investigators with his mathematical prodigy of a brother Charlie. |
| 285 | * In an episode of ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', Tony is [[ChainedHeat handcuffed to the criminal]], White, and also plays a criminal himself, hoping that the suspect will lead the team to his partner. Tony plays the part of a tough, down-to-earth guy who has fallen on hard times. White doesn't like getting his hands dirty, is nervous, and clearly ''not'' the brains of the operation he and his partner are involved in. [[spoiler: On the other hand, though, it turns out that White is also playing a part. He actually is the brains of the operation and is a very dangerous killer. So the fake pairing, a tough guy and a wuss, is much less odd than the real pairing, a federal agent and a psychopathic murderer.]] Despite all of this, though, at the end of the episode, both admit to really coming to like the other, even after learning the other's true identity. |
| 286 | * Parodied on ''Series/{{Community}}'' in the episode [[Recap/CommunityS1E20TheScienceOfIllusion The Science of Illusion]], when Annie and Shirley become temporary campus security guards: She's a seriously cute recovering teen drug addict. She's a newly single, single-mindedly Christian housewife and mother. They fight misdemeanours! Further parodied in that neither of them can agree on which of them gets the GoodCopBadCop role in their little partnership. |
| 287 | * An episode of ''Series/{{Monk}}'' had Stottlemeyer bunk with Monk after an argument with his wife. Hilarity ensues as Monk drives Stottlemeyer crazy with his antics. Considering Monk's various issues he should have seen this coming. In the end, a close-to-a-nervous-breakdown Stottlemeyer declares that he is going to beg his wife on his knees to take him back. |
| 288 | * ''Series/HomeImprovement'': [[SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan Manly Man]] Tim and Sensitive Guy Al. They are united in their fondness for tools and craftsmanship. |
| 289 | * Creator/StephenFry and Creator/AlanDavies effectively function as this on ''Series/{{QI}}''. |
| 290 | * Andrew and Bert on ''How to Be a Gentleman''. |
| 291 | * Lazy, extroverted, manipulative, boho-girl fashionable, borderline-anarchic Alex Russo is best friends with introverted, eccentrically dressed, somewhat nerdy MoralityPet Harper Finkle in ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace''. |
| 292 | * [[Series/SesameStreet Bert and Ernie]], right down to the stripes on their sweaters. |
| 293 | * In ''Series/StarskyAndHutch'', the titular characters are also a good example, though to a lesser extent. They do have different tastes in cars, food, and vacation spots; for example, Hutch is a health nut while Starsky is more into junk food. |
| 294 | * ''{{Series/Deadwood}}'' features nebbishy Jewish businessman Sol Star and the two-fisted ex-lawman Seth Bullock. |
| 295 | * ''{{Series/Psych}}'': Zany, always joking Shawn has been best friends with straight-laced pharmaceutical salesman Gus for pretty much their entire lives. |
| 296 | * Duncan and Methos from ''Series/{{Highlander}}'' eventually come to have a dynamic like this. Duncan is an honor-bound product of his time, who believes in chivalry and protecting the innocent, sometimes at great risk to himself. Methos is an ancient immortal who, in his own words, was 'born long before the age of chivalry', avoids fights with other immortals whenever he can, and [[spoiler: used to be one of [[RetiredMonster the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]]]]. They bicker constantly due to their different worldviews but appear to value each other's friendship nonetheless. |
| 297 | * "Polar Opposites" Jane and Emma from the 6th Season of ''Series/MyKitchenRules''. One is a prim-and-proper NeatFreak corporate lawyer living with a laidback, somewhat messy advertising accountant. |
| 298 | * ''Recap/BlackMirrorSanJunipero'': The brash and groovy HardDrinkingPartyGirl Kelly and the painfully awkward and shy ShrinkingViolet Yorkie become this, TomboyAndGirlyGirl, and RedOniBlueOni all wrapped in one. |
| 299 | * ''Series/SchittsCreek'' has Johnny Rose and Roland Schitt. Prior to moving to town, the suave, intelligent, and hard-working Johnny would never have socialized with the oafish, crude, and clueless Roland but he puts up with him. Roland, on the other hand, considers Johnny his best friend but insults him all the time. |
| 300 | * In ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', fastidious DeadpanSnarker Jerry and cheerfully obnoxious, sloppy-dressing, refrigerator-raiding {{Cloudcuckoolander}} Kramer. While they don't technically live together (Kramer's apartment being directly across from Jerry's in the hallway), [[DropInCharacter you could have fooled anyone]]. |
| 301 | * ''Series/HapAndLeonard''. Hap's a white, heterosexual, liberal, and a former hippie, while Leonard is a black, conservative, ManlyGay Vietnam veteran. The two are also extremely different personality-wise, with hints of a StereotypeFlip; Hap is an affectionate, mellow NiceGuy while Leonard is a snarky, grizzled JerkWithAHeartOfGold. They get along swimmingly and are rarely seen apart. |
| 302 | * ''{{Series/Emergency}}'' has a recurring character example that counts. Craig Brice was known as “the perfect paramedic” and “the walking rule book”. He was extremely neat and obsessive about organization and following the rules. When John is in the hospital, he gets paired with Roy, who, while not particularly a rule breaker, isn’t afraid to incorporate his heart into his thinking when he needs to, and drives Roy nuts with his by-the-book outlook until John is back on the job. In the end, we learn he was paired with Bellingham, whose nickname was “the animal” and was known as the biggest slob in the department. |
| 303 | * The central relationship in ''Series/WhiteHousePlumbers'' is the complicated love-hate one between Watergate masterminds Howard Hunt and Gordon Liddy. Howard is boisterous, methodical, and pragmatic, while Gordon is eccentric, offbeat, and [[TheComicallySerious dead-serious to a comical degree]], and their relationship can go from genuine friendship to hating each other's guts at the drop of a hat. They do, however, share one very important thing in common: [[StupidCrooks they're nowhere near as smart as they think they are]]. |
| 304 | * ''Series/WildCards2024'': Max is an energetic, impulsive, cheerful con artist who gets caught by the police robbing a bank but gets off with a PleaBargain to help catch other criminals. She and Col, who's a disgraced police detective, are forced to work together. Col is a more laidback, staid and dour man who's often annoyed by Max's antics, but increasingly charmed as well. |
| 305 | * ''Series/TwoUpTwoDown'': Stan and Sheila couldn't be any more different from Jimmy and Flo if they tried: Stan is strait-laced and holds on to conventional concepts of property, whereas Jimmy is a free-spirited Anarchist-Leninist who has no problem with squatting or shoplifting; Sheila is content with a typical life in the kitchen, while Flo is more "out there" and makes her own smocks out of "special Third World material, all hand-woven, all organic, all recycled". |
| 306 | [[/folder]] |
| 307 | |
| 308 | [[folder:Manhwa]] |
| 309 | * ''Webcomic/WelcomeToRoom305'': Jung Hyun (a regular college student) ends up living with Hom, an eccentric, slobby, and extremely camp. |
| 310 | [[/folder]] |
| 311 | |
| 312 | [[folder:Podcast]] |
| 313 | * ''Podcast/FatFrenchAndFabulous'': A down-to-earth, sarcastic forensic psychologist and a Cloudcuckoolander translator discuss crime and culture. |
| 314 | * The Odd-Couple dynamic between [[OurGhoulsAreCreepier Riley]] and [[CuteGhostGirl Evelyn]] is the heart of ''Podcast/LessIsMorgue''. Riley is a weird, paranoid, and incredibly cynical ghoul, and Evelyn - who is stuck haunting Riley - is an extremely bubbly, outgoing, and optimistic ghost. |
| 315 | * ''Podcast/{{Marscorp}}'': Buttoned-up, businesslike maverick Hob is given the profoundly laid-back, moderately ditzy, and endlessly affable Jim Lake - a man who wears Hawaiian shirts to work and has a rapport with everyone, including the elevator - as her personal assistant. |
| 316 | [[/folder]] |
| 317 | |
| 318 | [[folder:Professional Wrestling]] |
| 319 | * Odd couple {{tag team}}s are a staple in WWE. |
| 320 | ** Wrestling/TheRock and [[Wrestling/MickFoley Mankind]] |
| 321 | ** Wrestling/SantinoMarella and Wrestling/VladimirKozlov |
| 322 | ** [[Wrestling/TeamHellNo Daniel Bryan and Kane]] |
| 323 | ** Wrestling/HeathSlater and Wrestling/{{Rhyno}} |
| 324 | * Wrestling/BobbyLashley and [[TheThingThatWouldNotLeave the guy who haunts his gym]], Wrestling/{{Boogeyman}}, tag team champions of the Alabama Wrestling Federation. |
| 325 | [[/folder]] |
| 326 | |
| 327 | [[folder:Theater]] |
| 328 | * ''Theatre/TheOddCouple''. |
| 329 | * Nicky and Rod from ''Theatre/AvenueQ''. Their dynamic is very similar to the original Odd Couple...and thus to Series/SesameStreet's Bert & Ernie (mentioned above) on whose personalities they were more directly based. |
| 330 | * OlderThanSteam: ''Theatre/MuchAdoAboutNothing'': Benedick and Beatrice. |
| 331 | * Blatantly used in ''Theatre/AVeryPotterMusical'', in which Professor Quirrel observes that he and Voldemort are "An odd couple". Their dynamic is explained in an ensuing musical number, which is blatantly lampshaded: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3c9K6MKCIs&feature=PlayList&p=C76BE906C9D83A3A&index=4 "We're quite a kooky couple you'll agree!"]]. |
| 332 | --> '''Quirrell:''' Aren't we the odd couple! |
| 333 | [[/folder]] |
| 334 | |
| 335 | [[folder:Radio]] |
| 336 | * Subverted by satirists Radio/BobAndRay, who were almost exact opposites as per this trope (slight, precise, and soft-spoken vs. burly, extroverted, and baritone) but could intuit each other's thoughts to the point where they could turn a chance word or phrase into a full-blown comedy skit without skipping a beat. Their character types did tend to reflect their personalities...except that big burly Ray ended up playing all the females. |
| 337 | * Sid and Tony in ''Radio/HancocksHalfHour''. |
| 338 | * Radio presenter Simon Mayo's [[RedOniBlueOni blue]] to film critic Creator/MarkKermode's [[RedOniBlueOni red]]. Kermode tends to go off into wild rants while Mayo is much more composed and cool-headed; the banter is frequently hilarious. |
| 339 | [[/folder]] |
| 340 | |
| 341 | [[folder:Role Playing Games]] |
| 342 | * The ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' sourcebook ''Shadowbeat'' mentions a trideo show very popular in the CyberPunk world, a remake of ''The Odd Couple'' with a student hermetic magician in the role of Felix Unger and a student shaman in the role of his sloppy flatmate Madison. |
| 343 | [[/folder]] |
| 344 | |
| 345 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 346 | * Carefully set up in ''VisualNovel/{{Snatcher}}'', where Gillian's partner, Metal, is a RobotBuddy specifically ''designed'' to have a contrasting but complimentary personality to him, to help provide a different perspective and help him concentrate on his duties. |
| 347 | * Can occur in many [=RPGs=]. Especially blatant in ones where your character is given a childhood friend, such as evil player character/[[NeutralGood Dawn Star]] in ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire''. |
| 348 | * Quite well-done in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' with overly-serious and very dedicated Jedi Bastila mindlinked to a wisecracking [[spoiler:amnesiac Sith]] with an inability to take anything seriously. |
| 349 | * ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}'': Caim and the dragon. Caim hates all dragons because [[DysfunctionJunction a dragon killed his parents]], and the dragon [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters hates all of humanity.]] |
| 350 | * Rico from ''VideoGame/{{Killzone}}'' is a Helghast-hating jerk and Hakha is a half-Helghast DeadpanSnarker. Much of the fun comes from watching these two talk to each other. |
| 351 | * In ''VideoGame/RivieraThePromisedLand'', Fia and Lina are roommates. Fia is quiet, wise, intelligent, a good homemaker, and cautious. Lina is outgoing, emotional, klutzy, messy, and constantly runs head-first into danger. |
| 352 | * ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'': Shiki and... everyone he meets, really. They're all ''really'' weird, except Satsuki. Don't worry, Roa fixed that. But bonus points for being a vampire killer and dating the strongest noncosmic horror vampire alive, and technically being the head of a demon-killing clan yet having a {{tsundere}} {{ojou}} [[HalfHumanHybrid part demon]] for a sister. |
| 353 | * ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'': |
| 354 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': Serious, stoic Rude partnered up with easygoing, chatty Reno. Not only do they work very well together, but they actually [[HeterosexualLifePartners are good friends]]. |
| 355 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'': The quirky pair of Fujin and Raijin fit this trope. They both have weird speech mannerisms and are highly eccentric. |
| 356 | ** [[TheWoobie Vivi]] and [[LawfulStupid Steiner]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX''. Steiner is a knight captain, and he's very loud, very chivalrous, hilariously misguided, and prone to making an utter fool of himself. Vivi is a black mage, and he's quiet, introspective, under-confident at times, and pretty much universally agreed to be the most adorable thing in the ''series.'' They're insta-bros from the start of the game to its very end, and they have an awesome team-up attack they can only perform when they're both in the party. (Vivi enchants Steiner's sword, basically adding an element and a little extra oomph to Steiner's already devastating physical attacks.) |
| 357 | * ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'': Neku and... well, ''all'' of his partners. But especially Shiki. Neku is an extreme introvert who seems to utterly ''despise'' people, whereas Shiki (at first) is your typical outgoing, fashion-obsessed teenage girl. |
| 358 | * Link and Midna from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess''. He's a helpful, caring ranch hand; she's a scheming, ManipulativeBitch ([[CharacterDevelopment or at least starts out that way]]). They actually work quite well together. |
| 359 | * ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' has a fair share of these, such as laidback and naturally talented Reimu vs. hot-headed, hard-working Marisa, or straight-laced Youmu vs. goofball Yuyuko. |
| 360 | * ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0'': Billy Coen and Rebecca Chambers. He's a cynical, bitter, thuggish escaped convict and ex-Marine in his late twenties. She's a naive eighteen-year-old prodigy on her first day of work as a cop. Forced to team up together to kill zombies, they develop into a highly effective team as the game progresses. |
| 361 | * ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'': Jill Valentine is a cop being targeted by Umbrella [[SheKnowsTooMuch because of her knowledge of their illegal bioweapons research]]. Carlos Oliveira is an oblivious, well-intentioned mercenary who ''works'' for Umbrella. Jill has no choice but to work with Carlos if she wants to make it out of the city in one piece, [[FireForgedFriends but she quickly warms to his company and they save each other's lives on multiple occasions]]. |
| 362 | * ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' canon has the first game's villain team. Saturos is a constantly-smiling cocky trickster with a penchant for LoopholeAbuse; Menardi is more vicious and direct (and not always in on the trickery). They've been partners in combat for more than three years, and are the best warriors in Prox. In canon, they're a platonic Odd Couple, but in fandom, they're [[FanPreferredCouple frequently portrayed as a romantic one]]. |
| 363 | * The first ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWright'' trilogy centers around Maya, an overenthusiastic spirit medium, and Phoenix, a lawyer six years older than her with a flair for justice. They're not that different, as it turns out, but Phoenix still has to apologize for her antics often. |
| 364 | * The ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' series answers the age-old question, "What if a genius British heiress and a Romanian clone soldier teamed up to become ''the best assassins in the world''?" |
| 365 | * The eponymous ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie''. Banjo is a kind-if-simple bear who is very polite to everyone while Kazooie is a loudmouthed, sarcastic hothead "Breegull" who likes to insult and snark at people. Despite that, they still get on pretty well as a team. |
| 366 | * ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'' has Blue Mary (private investigator and friend of Terry,) Billy Kane (right-hand man of crime lord and Terry's archnemesis Geese Howard) and Yamazaki (AxCrazy {{Yakuza}}.) Because their inclusion in the series is the result of a fan poll to determine which pre-existing Creator/{{SNK}} characters would make it into ''[='=]97'', they've since been lumped together in the two {{Dream Match Game}}s ''[='=]98'' and ''2002'' as the "[='97=] Special Team". |
| 367 | ** One of the most long-running teams in the series is the Korea Team[=/=]Korea Justice Team, usually consisting of [[ForGreatJustice agent of justice]] Kim Kaphwan and two criminals - Chang and Choi - that he pressganged into fighting alongside him as part of a special rehabilitation program. Occasionally, fellow justice-obsessed Tae Kwon Do practitioner Jhun Hoon joins the team, and in ''2003'' he replaced Choi in the roster, making ''Chang'' the odd man out. In ''XIII'' Kim forms a special team with former heels Hwa Jai and Raiden who, while no longer villains, are still a lot more sinister and thuggish than the upstanding Kim (in fact, Raiden is specifically fighting as his heel persona instead of his face persona Big Bear.) |
| 368 | ** The Benimaru Team from ''2000'' certainly qualifies, consisting of Benimaru himself ([[AgentPeacock flamboyant]] ally of the former protagonist of the series,) Shingo (a Kyo fanboy and comic relief character,) Lin (a creepy assassin) and Seth (a well-dressed secret agent.) |
| 369 | [[/folder]] |
| 370 | |
| 371 | [[folder:Web Comics]] |
| 372 | * ''[[http://cartoons.sev.com.au/popular.php?catid=2 The Pits]]'' comic strips, by John Cook (artist of Sev Trek and the other Sev cartoons), has NeatFreak Herman suffering from ''two'' annoying sloppy bachelor flatmates: Dumb womanizing Lance and the messy slacker Wayne, a textbook TrashOfTheTitans example. Things get worse when Herman gets a girlfriend. |
| 373 | %% * ''Webcomic/CaseyAndAndy''. |
| 374 | * ''Webcomic/DrFrost'': Although they're not a couple and while the word "friendship" may be pushing it, by the end of season 2, it’s obvious that [[TheWatson Seonga]] has a crush on Frost, and [[SherlockHomage Frost]] at least genuinely cares for her in a way. |
| 375 | * ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': In the form of TrueCompanions. Tedd and Susan are an OddFriendship. |
| 376 | * ''Webcomic/{{Girly}}'': Winter and Otra. |
| 377 | * ''Webcomic/FreakingAwfulPuns'' author GIROG uses an odd couple in his strips of the comic. |
| 378 | * In ''Webcomic/WapsiSquare'', the Bibliothiki is currently looked after by an odd couple of librarians. Nudge is a mythical trickster. Phix is a sphinx, and one of Nudge's former victims. |
| 379 | * The main theme of ''Moon Over June''. Beyond being perverted lesbian nymphomaniacs who would not know monogamy if it bit them, roommates Hatsuki 'Hats' Hasegawa (twenty-something math major[=/=]porn starlet) and Dr. Summer Winters [=Ph.D=] ([=OB/GYN=] in her late thirties) do not have a great deal in common. |
| 380 | %%* ''Webcomic/MoonCrest24'': Dwayne and Daniel. |
| 381 | * ''Webcomic/CestLaVie'': Donna and Mona. One is fastidiously neat and tidy and a non-smoker, the other is French. |
| 382 | * ''Webcomic/JosephAndYusra'': [[SheIsNotMyGirlFriend Alm]][[ShipTease ost]] in the form of OddFriendship. One is a NiceJewishBoy and the other is a Muslim girl. Also, they become friends through [[PsychicLink superpower]], and they are involved in lots of troubles thanks to their power and backgrounds. |
| 383 | * ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' has [[RedOniBlueOni John and Dave]]. One's a goofy, outgoing prankster with a love for bad movies, the other's a narcissistic ironic rapping roof ninja and the epitome of cool [[spoiler: hiding a massive inferiority complex]]. Dave even comments that in any other context, he'd have dismissed John as a total loser, and instead they're best friends. |
| 384 | * ''Webcomic/MKsTheStrangeCaseofDrJekyllAndMrHyde'': Jekyll and Hyde are complete opposites and often argue, but do have an understanding and even develop an OddFriendship like two brothers who annoy each other yet care about each other. |
| 385 | * ''Webcomic/NoHeroes'': The two main protagonists, Katharina and Shara. The first is a mage and a scholar, comes from a rich background, tries to always keep things civil and doesn't like violence. The second was a street criminal from the big city, swears a lot, is quite confrontational and actively dislikes mages. At the start they are openly antagonistic to each other, but over time and after facing many dangers together, they grow quite close, while still being very different personalities. |
| 386 | * ''Webcomic/{{Unreality}}'': Dominic & Sarah, who are 13 & 16 respectively. |
| 387 | * ''Webcomic/PixieAndBrutus'': Pixie is a sweet, naive kitten and Brutus is a gruff, semi-aggressive ex-military dog. Pixie still adores her "big brother" and Brutus protects her and sometimes even plays along with her. |
| 388 | * ''Webcomic/TheGuyUpstairs'': Rozy is tomboyish, paranoid, and not known for being friendly. Hawa is very feminine, rather naive, and incredibly popular. They’re best friends. |
| 389 | [[/folder]] |
| 390 | |
| 391 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 392 | * [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1710 SCP-1710]] of the Website/SCPFoundation: one an EldritchAbomination known as the Serrated Void, a personification of sharpness. The other is a talkative housewife. Each of them has been reincarnated as a talking tree planted close to the other one. |
| 393 | * ''WebVideo/JakeAndAmir'', the long-running Website/{{CollegeHumor}} web series featuring [[StraightMan regular guy]] Jake Hurwitz and [[CloudCuckoolander deranged lunatic]] Amir Blumenfeld as perpetually bickering coworkers seated at opposite desks. Several episodes [[PersonalitySwap flip the script]] by showing Jake's less rational side and making Amir the StraightMan, but either way, you only have to scratch the surface to realize that they're similar. |
| 394 | [[/folder]] |
| 395 | |
| 396 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 397 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': |
| 398 | ** In a spoof of Odd Couple {{Buddy Cop Show}}s [[note]]and the fact that buddy shows often have forced puns as titles[[/note]], Troy [=MacClure=] announced his new show, "Handle with Care" (in which a retired cop "Jack Handle" and a retired criminal live together. He declared "We're the original Odd Couple!" |
| 399 | ** Referenced in "The Boy Who Knew Too Much", where Skinner and Homer are sequestered in a hotel room together. |
| 400 | --->'''Skinner''': You know, we're kind of like the original [[Theatre/TheOddCouple Odd Couple]]. You're the messy one and... |
| 401 | --->'''Homer''': Shut up! |
| 402 | --->'''Skinner''': Oh, yes. Very well. |
| 403 | * ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'': The title sequence says it best. "One is a genius, the other's insane." Nevertheless, despite Brain being easily annoyed by Pinky, they do get along quite well. |
| 404 | * In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', ComicBook/GreenLantern and ComicBook/TheFlash. Lampshaded once when after a fight, John uses his ring to tie up the group of villains and delivers the "Guess that's a wrap" line. After receiving stares from his teammates, he apologizes for the lame pun and states that he's been spending a lot of time with Flash. |
| 405 | * ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'': Boisterous [[MadScientist evil genius]] Jumba and meek, kindly scholar Pleakley. Even better is all the HoYay between them in ''[[WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries The Series]]'', where they pretend to be Lilo and Nani's respective [[HonoraryUncle uncle and]] [[WholesomeCrossdresser aunt]]. |
| 406 | %% * ''WesternAnimation/RenAndStimpy'' |
| 407 | * [[invoked]] This trope was [[EnforcedTrope shoehorned]] into ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM'' for one of the eleven-minute Antoine episodes when Antoine is forced to live with Sonic, who becomes conspicuously more of a {{comedic sociopath|y}}. The episode is actually called "The Odd Couple". |
| 408 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheMrMenShow'': Mr. Persnickety and Mr. Messy. |
| 409 | * ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': |
| 410 | ** Stewie and Brian Griffin. |
| 411 | ** Parodied in the episode "Lethal Weapons" where Chris and Meg are raking leaves and Chris employs this trope to two of the leaves: |
| 412 | --->"That's Randy and that's Fred. Randy's the messy one. Fred's very neat. And when you get them together, whoa! Hold onto your sides!" |
| 413 | ** Parodied in the episode "To Love and Die in Dixie" with the two FBI agents who watch over the Griffins' house while they stay in Bumblescum, Alabama: |
| 414 | --->'''Agent #1:''' We’ll be watching your house together, even though he’s a slovenly liberal and I’m a fastidious conservative. |
| 415 | --->'''Agent #2:''' I smell a sitcom! |
| 416 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheOddballCouple'' with neat cat Spiffy and messy dog Fleabag. |
| 417 | %% * WesternAnimation/ChipAndDale. |
| 418 | * ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' -- while both play TheStraightMan, Phineas is the talkative, [[ZanyScheme scheming]] brother, while Ferb is quiet and calmer. |
| 419 | ** Unlike most other examples of this trope, however, they get along perfectly and ''never'' argue--quite an accomplishment, since they're also brothers. |
| 420 | ** From the movie [[spoiler: [[MadScientist Doof]] and [[EvilOverlord Doof]]! Twice the Evil, Double Doofenschmirtz, coming at you, Fridays!]] |
| 421 | ** ''Ferb TV'' gives us this little sitcom staring [[MinionWithAnFInEvil Norm the Robot]] and [[DeliberatelyCuteChild Little Suzy Johnson]]; |
| 422 | --->''He's a robot from space, she's a little girl''\ |
| 423 | ''They come from totally different worlds''\ |
| 424 | ''You think they're worlds apart, you're misinformed''\ |
| 425 | ''Though it might seem unusual... That's the NORM!''\ |
| 426 | ''That's the NORM!''\ |
| 427 | ''That's the NORM!''\ |
| 428 | ''That's the NORM!''\ |
| 429 | '''Norm:''' That's me! |
| 430 | * ''WesternAnimation/MiloMurphysLaw'' gives us Balthazar Cavendish and Vinnie Dakota. Cavendish is the uptight, stuffy guy that would prefer to stick to the rules, while Dakota is the sleazy, food-obsessed one that would occasionally break the rules to save his friend from death. Occasionally, though, their roles switch depending on the situation: Cavendish would feel daring for his want to feel important, but Dakota would try to play it safe when there's no reassurance that everything will be fine. |
| 431 | ** For a minor, yet romantic example, the titular Milo Murphy, TheJinx born with MurphysLaw and relishes in the occasional unavoidable disaster, develops a crush on ThePerfectionist Amanda Lopez, who tends to freak out at the smallest of imperfections. Amanda later reciprocates Milo's feelings, however, having learned that Milo's always prepared for the most unexpected and that she doesn't necessarily have to worry about everything. |
| 432 | * Cat and Dog in ''WesternAnimation/CatDog''. |
| 433 | * Robot Default and Monster Krumholtz in ''WesternAnimation/RobotAndMonster''. |
| 434 | * Buck Tuddrussell and Larry 3000 of ''WesternAnimation/TimeSquad''. This leads to constant old-married-couple-like bickering. But TheyReallyDoLoveEachOther. Or not. |
| 435 | * The subplot of one ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'' episode was Beezy hiding out in Heloise's house, resulting in this situation. |
| 436 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'' has cool, responsible WesternAnimation/BugsBunny living with scatterbrained egoist WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck. |
| 437 | * On ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' there's a ShowWithinAShow about the parasites living on Spunky. Specifically, [[TheComicallySerious Bloaty the Tick]] and his buddy [[TheDitz Squirmy the Ringworm]]. |
| 438 | * ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': |
| 439 | ** Twilight Sparkle and Spike. The former is a bookworm obsessed with schedules and studying, and the latter is a baby dragon who can range from an innocent kid to a DeadpanSnarker DependingOnTheWriter. They love each other dearly, and Spike's absolute worst fear is that Twilight will stop needing him one day and send him away. |
| 440 | ** A couple of these can be perceived within Twilight's circle of friends, the most popular one being [[{{Tomboy}} Applejack]] and [[TheFashionista Rarity]]. TomboyAndGirlyGirl pairings are popular in the show, with [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold brash, headstrong]], athletic Rainbow Dash and [[ShrinkingViolet shy, quiet]], [[FriendToAllLivingThings animal-lover]] Fluttershy also spending considerable amounts of time together on screen. |
| 441 | ** A common fanfic ship since the early days is Octavia Melody, a classical musician, and Vinyl Scratch (aka [=DJ PON-3=]), an EDM DJ. This was [[AscendedFanon made canon]] in Season 5 episode [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E9SliceOfLife "Slice of Life"]], which shows them sharing a house, the interior of which is split down the middle, each half decorated in the characters' distinctive styles. |
| 442 | * [=SpongeBob=] and Squidward from ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': They work together as Mr. Krabs' only two employees, and while Squidward tries to avoid seeing [=SpongeBob=] outside work, he's certainly not always successful (especially since they're also next-door neighbors). |
| 443 | * In one ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' sketch, messy Dizzy Devil and neat freak Hampton Pig parody ''Series/{{The Odd Couple|1970}}''. The title is even called "The Weird Couple". |
| 444 | * Messy Tommy Pickles and NeatFreak Chuckie Finster in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' episode, "The Odd Couple". |
| 445 | * OnlySaneWoman Lori Loud and BrainlessBeauty Bobby Santiago in ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse''. |
| 446 | * Dudley Puppy and Kitty Katswell in ''WesternAnimation/TUFFPuppy'', who always work together. |
| 447 | * ''WesternAnimation/HitMonkey'': Monkey is a serious, thoughtful animal, while Bryce is the cocky, talkative human ghost spiritually bound to him. |
| 448 | [[/folder]] |
| 449 | |
| 450 | [[folder:Other]] |
| 451 | * ''Gap'' has Tom and David, although Tom is only played this way from David's perspective. |
| 452 | * The two core characters / split personalities in [[WebVideo/LukeMochrieAndTheInners Film Conscience]], Phillip the Inner Pessimist and Ringo the Inner Optimist. |
| 453 | * Part of the initial success of ''Series/MondayNightFootball'' in the early '70s was due to ABC's broadcast booth having one of these in Howard Cosell and Don Meredith. Cosell was openly disdainful of ex-athletes being given prime broadcasting spots and made little effort to hide his dislike of ex-Cowboys QB Meredith. Meredith thought Cosell was a snobbish KnowNothingKnowItAll. The dramatic tension generated by their mutual antagonism helped turn ''MNF'' from an experiment into a pop culture phenomenon. |
| 454 | * Another sports-TV pairing: Creator/{{ESPN}}'s ''Mike and Mike in the Morning''. Mike Greenberg is a small, nerdy, germ-phobic, metrosexual neat freak, and cohost Mike Golic is a big, loud, ex-jock, man's man. |
| 455 | * Subverted somewhat with ventriloquist Creator/JeffDunham and ''any'' of his puppet partners, particularly Peanut and Walter. "Peanut" has pointed out several times that Jeff is essentially talking to himself. ([[LogicalFallacies "You're arguing with yourself]] [[PunctuatedForEmphasis and losing!"]]) In other words, Jeff Dunham is his own odd couple. |
| 456 | * Although used often in the ''WebVideo/ImAMarvelAndImADC'' series in regards to the numerous characters used and the vast variety in personalities, the concept was taken to its most hilarious extreme in which ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} gets the crazy idea that he should be in a sitcom with none other than [[ComicBook/{{Watchmen}} Rorschach]]. [[LampshadeHanging "I smell sitcom!"]] |
| 457 | * The cops variant is parodied in a ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' [[http://www.cracked.com/article_18791_if-movie-characters-didnt-make-horrible-decisions_p2.html article]] with Rizzo and Flynn. Rizo likes to do things by the book. Flynn also likes to do things by the book. Together they are... Perfect Partners. |
| 458 | * WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZWShS_gqsk and]] Music/{{Cher}}. |
| 459 | [[/folder]] |
| 460 |
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