History FandomRivalry / AnimeAndManga

* Of the major anime distributors, there is the Creator/{{Funimation}} fans vs. Creator/SentaiFilmworks fans. The former will often criticize Sentai Filmworks for their rushed releases, poor dubbing direction, and using niche voice actors while the latter will often criticize Funimation for monopolization of the anime industry (a sentiment that only intensified throughout the English-speaking anime community in general after their merger with Website/{{Crunchyroll}} and acquisition of other anime-licensing companies, such as [[Creator/NozomiEntertainment Right Stuf/Nozomi Entertainment]]) and dubious marketing strategies and releases (particularly with Kadokawa Pictures titles). Regardless, Funimation vs. Sentai Filmworks is considered to be one of the biggest rivalries of the anime industry (both fanbase- and business- wise).

* ''Manga/{{Lady}}'' has one with ''Manga/CandyCandy'', because there's no doubt that ''Lady'' drew a lot from it (and even [[Creator/YokoHanabusa the author]] admitted to being a huge fan of ''Candy♡Candy''). However, ''Lady!!'' takes a different turn with the plot threads and also has a more serious tone. Some fans allege ''Lady!!'' is a SerialNumbersFiledOff version of ''Candy'', while others believe that ''Lady!!'' is a [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome better]] [[CharacterDevelopment version]] of it. Not helping matters is that in many parts of the world, ''Lady!!'' was introduced first (mainly the Middle East and Italy), leading them to accuse ''Candy'' of being the ripoff.

* ''Literature/TheAsteriskWar'' versus ''Literature/ChivalryOfAFailedKnight''. Both of these anime aired in Fall 2015 on the exact same day and the exact same time as each other, and contain many similarities between their settings, plot, and characters that they could easily be considered as "twin sister" series. The backlash against each other was to be expected, however, things got really heated when the latter series managed to pull off some things that greatly distinguished it from the former series and light novel adaptations in general[[note]]like Ikki getting into a relationship with Stella very early on, which was seen as ''the'' defining moment of the series[[/note]], turning it into something rather unique that greatly surprised everyone while ''The Asterisk War'' pretty much ended up being a ClicheStorm that everyone else expected it to be. Not helping matters is that ''The Asterisk War'' managed to get a second season in addition to its light novels getting localized in English by Creator/YenPress, while ''Chivalry of a Failed Knight'' still sits with one season and its light novels are still [[NoExportForYou Japan exclusives]] (aside of a relatively brief period of availability in e-book form via Kadokawa before they had to yank the plug in February 2022 at the Japanese publisher's request).
* ''Anime/AttackOnTitan'' fandom has a brief rivarly with ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', ''Manga/VinlandSaga'' and ''Manga/OnePiece'' fans, due to many vocal critics of ''Attack on Titan'' often using first two titles as a go-to examples of dark stories that handle themes of trauma and vengeance better and have protagonist much less toxic and healthier than Eren (especially in light of Eren's popularity in certain right-wing circles). As for ''One Piece'' same critics would point to it as having much more clear and unambigious anti-fascist message, compared to ''Attack on Titan's'' infamous confused aesop. And on top of that, ''Attack on Titan'' and ''One Piece'' had long been competing on takubon sales charts and anime watch lists.

* In the spring 2013 anime season, we had ''Anime/GargantiaOnTheVerdurousPlanet'' and the (continuing into summer) ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', both animated by Creator/ProductionIG. Some ''Titan'' fans blamed ''Gargantia'' for "stealing" some of their better animators and money, resulting in some OffModel scenes and still shots (even though many of those stills originated in the ''Attack on Titan'' manga). It didn't help that ''Titan'' Episode 6 featured some of the most egregrious stills and "QUALITY", while ''Gargantia'''s Episode 6 featured a particularly well-animated bellydancing scene.

* ''Manga/{{Lady}}'' has one with ''Manga/CandyCandy'', because there's no doubt that ''Lady'' drew a lot from it (and even [[Creator/YokoHanabusa the author]] admits to being a huge fan of ''Candy♡Candy''). However, ''Lady'' takes a different turn with the plot threads and also has a more serious tone. Some fans allege ''Lady'' is a SerialNumbersFiledOff version of ''Candy'', while others believe that ''Lady'' is a [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome better]] [[CharacterDevelopment version]] of it. Not helping matters is that in many parts of the world, ''Lady'' was introduced first (mainly the Middle East and Italy), leading them to accuse ''Candy'' of being the ripoff.
** Even worse, in UsefulNotes/SouthKorea when the ''Manga/{{Lady}}'' movie was released, the Korean dub studio realized how similar it was to ''Manga/CandyCandy'', and decided to change the name of the movie to ''Lady Candy'' (캔디레디). They also changed protagonist Lynn's name to Candy, believing that it would help the series sell more ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idxZbOP9EAs See here]]). This led to many Koreans confusing ''Lady'' as part of ''Candy''.

* Remember ''Madoka Magica'' vs. ''Infinite Stratos'' (relatively chaste, melodramatic, serious TearJerker vs. raunchy, LoveTriangle and {{Shipping}}-driven BattleHarem)? ''Literature/VioletEvergarden'' vs. ''Anime/DarlingInTheFranxx'' is like that x9001. Despite the two shows having very little in common other than being the most hyped anime of the Winter 2018 Anime Season and being put out by the two arguably [[Creator/StudioTrigger most popular]] [[Creator/KyotoAnimation anime studios]] at the moment (2018), arguments between the two fanbases can get very nasty very fast, and not just on /a/. Fan wars in the Chinese anime community got to the point that supposedly a ''Violet'' fan reported ''Darling'''s heavy {{Fanservice}} to the government MoralGuardians, resulting in the show being temporarily [[BannedInChina banned in the most populous country on Earth]]! (''Darling'' fans have been little better; often relentlessly trolling threads and articles about ''Violet''.) ''Darling'' being a two-cour anime has only dragged out the webfights, which as of this writing (almost two months after ''Violet'' ended) show few signs of slowing down.
** ''Darling'' also earned, in its final episodes, the hatred of fans of ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' and ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' for using themes too similar to those two works and ultimately, failing to do them justice, present them in a different manner or become a noteworthy SpiritualSuccessor to any of these series, leading the fans of the other two series to consider ''Darling'' an overhyped, weak and generic anime. Ironically, this ended up with the ''Darling'' fandom making a bold declaration that in these days, mecha genre is dead and the mecha elements they're using are not supposed to be important, what's important is the character drama and interaction. This ended up putting ''Darling'' fandom in the crosshair of not just ''Gurren Lagann'' and ''Evangelion'', but a majority of MechaShow fandom.[[note]]The two aforementioned shows, aside of greatly widespread shows like ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' and ''Franchise/CodeGeass'' are considered by the ''Darling'' fandom as 'the only mecha that matters', any other mecha shows that do not carry those names aren't supposed to be considered significant. [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame All of these shows' fandom are actually... not amused.]][[/note]].
** Due to the aforementioned bold declaration, the ''Manga/GetterRobo'' fandom took the matters at hand and initiated another personal rivalry, since ''Getter Robo Arc'' also aired in the same time and it certainly had similar elements: Dinosaur-based characters. The Klaxosaurus of ''Darling'' were supposed to be 'waifu', but the ''Getter'' characters has fought against the Dinosaur Empire. While ''Darling'' fans dismissed ''Getter'' as an insignificant mecha anime and ignored its long-running status, ''Getter'' fans were even fiercer in stating that ''Darling'' really was the forgettable seasonal anime that wouldn't stay in the heart of fans for so long (unlike ''Getter'' whose influence are still kept since the 70's, and further kept alive with appearances in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'', something that ironically never tried to include ''Darling'' in it), chanting one of their memetic devotion exclamation while mocking ''Darling[='=]s'' more volatile fandom: '''[[MemeticMutation Dinosaur waifus are temporary, believing in the Getter is eternal!]]'''

* ''Manga/{{Watamote}}'' versus ''Manga/HimoutoUmaruChan''. Perhaps because of their similar subject matters (though very different presentations), a fair amount of vitriol gets thrown back and forth between fans of these two series on /a/. The announcement that ''Umaru'' would be getting a second season of anime only made the situation worse.

* Hell, even anime ''fansites'' have this problem: [=MyAnimeList=] fans vs. [=AniDB=] fans vs. [=AniSearch=] fans vs. Anime Character Database fans vs. Anime News Network fans.

* ''Manga/{{Lady}}'' has one with ''Manga/CandyCandy'', because there's no doubt that ''Lady'' drew a lot from it (and even [[Creator/YokoHanabusa the author]] admits to being a huge fan of ''Candy Candy''). However, ''Lady'' takes a different turn with the plot threads and also has a more serious tone. Some fans allege ''Lady'' is a SerialNumbersFiledOff version of ''Candy'', while others believe that ''Lady'' is a [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome better]] [[CharacterDevelopment version]] of it. Not helping matters is that in many parts of the world, ''Lady'' was introduced first (mainly the Middle East and Italy), leading them to accuse ''Candy'' of being the ripoff.

* ''Manga/{{Lady}}'' has one with ''Manga/CandyCandy'', because there's no doubt that ''Lady'' drew a lot from it (and even [[Creator/YokoHanabusa the author]] admits to being a huge fan of "'Candy Candy''). However, ''Lady'' takes a different turn with the plot threads and also has a more serious tone. Some fans allege ''Lady'' is a SerialNumbersFiledOff version of ''Candy'', while others believe that ''Lady'' is a [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome better]] [[CharacterDevelopment version]] of it. Not helping matters is that in many parts of the world, ''Lady'' was introduced first (mainly the Middle East and Italy), leading them to accuse ''Candy'' of being the ripoff.

** ...which also caused the infighting within the Yuri Genre fans, especially male Yuri Genre fans vs. female Yuri Genre fans, with some rather sexist shades in the rivalry. Female Yuri Genre fans argue that male fans oversexualise the yuri couples that should've stayed romantic and that it's made for female audience, not male ones, while male yuri fans argue that girl-on-girl couples are hot, be it sexual or romantic and that male audience kept the Yuri Genre alive.

** ''Sword Art Online'' and Chinese web novel-turned-animation ''Literature/TheKingsAvatar'': an ExperiencedProtagonist in a MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame with expert skills, yet alienates himself from their respective peers, but whereas the former has far more ScienceFantasy elements with a DeadlyGame premise, ''The King's Avatar'' emphasizes the RealLife "[[UsefulNotes/ProfessionalGaming eSports]]" scene with zero {{Fantasy}} and ScienceFiction tropes, using SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome and TruthInTelevision instead abundantly for its narrative.

* ''Anime/AttackOnTitan'' fandom has a brief rivarly with ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', ''Manga/VinlandSaga'' and ''Manga/OnePiece'' fans, due to many vocal critics of ''Attack on Titan'' often using first two titles as a go-to examples of dark stories that handle themes of trauma and vengeance better and have protagonist much less toxic and healthier than Eren (especially in light of Eren's popularity in certain right-wing circles). As for ''One Piece'' same critics would point to it as having much more clear and unambigious anti-fascist message, compared to ''Attack on Titan's'' infamous confused aesop. And on top of that, ''Attack on Titan'' and ''One Piece'' had long been competting on takubon sales charts and anime watch lists.

* In addition to the aforementioned rivalry with the ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' fandom, there's ''VisualNovel/SchoolDays'' fans vs. every other harem anime fans, strangely enough.

* On the internet, {{Hentai}} fans vs. {{Ecchi}} fans, although the reality isn't very clear cut anymore, thanks to RuleThirtyFour causing an ''endless'' layers of overlaps between hentai and ecchi.

* On the internet, {{Hentai}} fans vs. {{Ecchi}} fans, although the reality isn't very clear cut anymore, thanks to RuleThirtyFour.

* Having produced some of the biggest anime blockbusters of TurnOfTheMillennium and TheNewTens that did not fit existing genres, some rivalry has developed between Creator/KyotoAnimation and Creator/StudioShaft.

* Anime/{{Chainsaw Man}} was the hugely popular shounen with a particularly large population of die-hard fans swearing it's high art that had been hyped for months, airing Fall 2022. Manga/{{Bocchi the Rock}} was a slice-of-life about social anxiety that near instantly became a cult hit with ridiculously high ratings, airing Fall 2022. Cue ceasless bickering, despite the fact the two couldn't be more different.

** In more recent years, ''Valvrave'' hatred has squared off against other recent mecha anime including ''Manga/{{Daimidaler|TheSoundRobot}}'', ''[[Anime/FuuunIshinDaiShogun Dai Shogun]]'', ''Anime/CaptainEarth'', ''Anime/GundamReconguistaInG'', ''Anime/CrossAnge'', ''Anime/AquarionEvol'', ''Anime/EurekaSevenAO'', ''[[Anime/M3TheDarkMetal M3]]'', and ''Anime/AldnoahZero''. In terms of previously aired shows, ''Anime/InfiniteRyvius'' seems to have the most comparisons and hatred, even more than ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny SEED Destiny]]'', due to both shows having many of the same tropes.

** A notable one between this title and ''Manga/BlackClover'', as both fought to be the new flagship series of Shonen Jump in the post-''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' era. ''Black Clover'' became a target for mockery due to its overuse of cliches and formulaic storytelling in counterpart to ''My Hero Academia'''s more unusual approach to the ShonenGenre getting praise. The rivalry grew bitter as the former's fans felt the acknowledgement that the latter work was getting was undeserved, accusing it of being as much of a ClicheStorm.

** For the spring 2011 season, there's a small rivalry between ''Manga/AChannel'' and ''Manga/{{Nichijou}}'', especially because of a simple timeslot conflict. ''A Channel'' fans cry ScrewedByTheNetwork; ''Nichijou'' fans call "FollowTheLeader" and "bland" for the former.

** FandomRivalry is actually a natural result of the competitive nature of the manga industry. Within the Jump magazines themselves, there's a table of contents where series placed higher are seen as more valued by Jump and readers want to see their favorite series at the top, sometimes driving them to attack competing series with criticisms to make it look worse for other readers. It gets even more intense when there's a new serialization round where the success of a new manga will mean the cancellation of another and even manga that have earned a safe spot in Jump are often used as a point of comparison. If there's a reason any potential fan has problems getting into the manga community, chances are it's due to this hostility.

* In the internet, {{Hentai}} fans vs. {{Ecchi}} fans, although the reality isn't very clear cut anymore, thanks to Rule34.

** ''Puella Magi Madoka Magica'' vs. ''LightNovel/InfiniteStratos'' for domination of the winter 2011 anime season. ''IS'' fans insist that ''Madoka'' is [[{{Deconstruction}} pretentious]] while ''Madoka'' fans consider ''IS'' to be another stupid, generic [[UnwantedHarem harem]] show.

** Since ''One Piece'' hasn't been topping the charts in terms of yearly sales anymore, it's naturally come to brawl with some of the other popular shounen fandoms, ''especially'' ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba. Using sales as a point of superiority is something both fandoms are guilty of, and this escalated as ''Demon Slayer'' continued to be adapted into anime. See below.

** Since ''One Piece'' hasn't been topping the charts in terms of yearly sales anymore, it's naturally come to brawl with some of the other popular shounen fandoms, ''especially'' {{Demon Slayer}}. Using sales as a point of superiority is something both fandoms are guilty of, and this escalated as ''Demon Slayer'' continued to be adapted into anime. See below.