Haruyuki and Kuroyukihime starkly contrast with each other. The former is a fat, short kid who's been a victim of bullies and doesn't have many talents except for gaming, but often proves to be stronger than he initially seems. The latter is one of the top players of Brain Burst, vice president of the school's student council, and highly popular in school, although there are times when she appears emotionally vulnerable and more like the 14-year-old girl she actually is.
Haruyuki and Noumi were both bullied- Haruyuki by Araya and other kids and Noumi by his brother- but while Haruyuki became determined to protect his friends, Noumi turned into a bully himself who was no better than his brother.
Kuroyukihime and Taku's nameless Parent. Kuroyukihime is strict with her Child, Haruyuki, but respects him and is willing to let him choose his own path. Taku's parent dictated most of his level up choices, thereby causing Taku's Duel Avatar, Cyan Pile, to become a Master of None, before using Taku as a guinea pig to test out an illegal backdoor program.
Aldnoah.Zero: Two of the show's three main characters, Inaho and Slaine, who are caught on opposing sides of the war between the human factions on Earth and Mars. Inaho is a Child Prodigy from earth who's tactical skills and calm logic get him some serious victories against the martians, and a reputation as a Red Baron of sorts; he never overreacts and always aproaches a situation rationally. Slaine, while originally from earth, is fighting for the Martians and operates mostly on emotion. Even when this seems to work for him, it so far has never failed to come back to bite him. The two characters both want to protect the Martian Princess. Inaho wants to simply because getting her safely back to Mars can end the war; Slaine wants to because he loves her. Inaho has many friends and their respect. Slaine is constantly looked down upon by his peers for his Terran heritage. As the show goes on, Inaho racks up constant victories, while almost everything Slaine does (even when he saves the day) shows that No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.
In Assassination Classroom, Isogai and Asano are divergent foils. Both are skilled leaders and renaissance men, respected by their peers...however, Asano is a total jerk who bullies others into submission and frequently boasts about how superior he is to others. Isogai is a Humble Hero who works alongside the other students, respects their opinions, and thanks them for helping him. (The narrator concludes that Isogai is a far superior leader.)
Karma and Kayano are this as well. They may be Nagisa's closest friends, but they have differences. Karma has been known by Nagisa for a long time and, despite being his psychotic tendencies, is a genuine friend. Kayano, on the other hand, is only known by him for a year and, despite her nice girl image, only hangs out with him to cover up her hatred towards Koro-sensei. While Karma is open with his bloodlust, Kayano hides her bloodlust in plain sight. Lastly, Karma wants to kill Korosensei for fun, while Kayano wants to kill Korosensei for revenge.
Bakuman。 features many characters with contrasting personalities and approaches to manga.
The main characters and Eiji Niizuma form a Technician Versus Performer duo, and the pros and cons of each are detailed at length. The main characters carefully calculate whatever they do, whereas Eiji draws whatever comes to mind, making them best suited to cult and mainstream hits, respectively. Eventually, when launching their fourth and second series, respectively, they begin implementing elements of the other type of series, with Niizuma going cult and the main characters going mainstream.
As couples, Mashiro and Azuki are this to Takagi and Miyoshi. Mashiro and Azuki get engaged in the first chapter, but decide not to see each other again until they fulfill their dreams, at which point they'll get engaged (they end up seeing each other a few times, but they ultimately keep to the promise until they finally succeed). By contrast, Takagi and Miyoshi get married less than halfway through the series, and frequently comment on Mashiro and Azuki's idealized romanticism.
Hattori and Miura. Hattori is more experienced, calmer and willing to engage in long-term planning with his writers, working for months or years to generate a hit series. By contrast, Miura can get personally invested in his work, and he often feels under pressure to get a hit going soon, lest he get fired or transferred.
Moriya and Shiratori. Moriya is under the belief that mangaka should aim for maximum artistic value, even at the expense of popularity. Shiratori, however, sees art as something everyone can enjoy for a small price, and that artists should strive to be popular.
Black Lagoon: Rock and Revy provide an interesting contrast; the hardened, cynical Blood Knight who loves money and the mild-mannered, idealistic, Guile Hero businessman. What makes it notable is that in some ways they gradually switch roles; Revy begins showing a few more heroic tendencies, while Rock becomes much more jaded, seeing his heroics as more of a game.
The reason Choujirou Sakakibe became Yamamoto's Number Two is because he made a conscious decision to become Yamamoto's foil.
Sakakibe: 'As a member of your school, I would only be able to imitate you. The role of a right-hand man should be to compensate for those areas which you cannot address!'
Iba and Ikkaku. Ikkaku is a Blood Knight who refuses to reveal the fact that he knows Bankai to anyone else to avoid having to leave the like-minded 11th Company, even if it means losing a fight or dying. By contrast, Iba chose to improve his kido and leave the 11th Company to become a Lieutenant to please his mother, and is willing to run away or use underhanded tactics to carry out his duties. Iba uses this very contrast to try and make Ikkaku understand why not using his Bankai in battle is wrong.
Ichigo and Ishida, and their fathersIsshin and Ryuuken. Both pairs embody the Shinigami/Quincy contrast and have parallel plotlines. Lampshaded when Isshin and Ryuuken agree they're both lousy fathers, but that Isshin's worse.
Yhwach and Ryuuken. Yhwach is the black-themed First Quincy, while Ryuuken is the white-themed Last Quincy. For all that he claims to hate violence, Yhwach is quite aggressive, abusive, and surrounds himself with subordinates he cruelly mistreats intentionally. For all his protestations of detachment, Ryuuken is genuinely gentle and caring, and distances himself from those he loves for their own protection. Yhwach thrives on wholesale slaughter, Ryuuken has devoted his life to medicine and healing. Between them, they hold the secrets - and fate - of the Quincies in their hands.
Byakuya and Kenpachi. The former is an aloof nobleman, fights eloquently in multiple forms of combat with strategy and obeys the law to the letter (though he gets better). The latter is a savage Blood Knight who came from the poorest of Soul Society's districts, fights with no regard for technique, and does whatever the hell he wants. When they team up together, they become an unstoppable force.
Yuu and Sayaka. For much of the story, Yuu is the object of Touko's unrequited love, while Sayaka keeps her own love for Touko secret. Touko appreciates the fact that she doesn't have to seem special around Yuu, but also appreciates the fact that Sayaka is willing to let Touko be "special" around her and keeps her secrets. Yuu has rejected one boy who confessed to her, while Sayaka ended up being rejected by her first love. Sayaka confesses to Touko and is turned down, while Yuu confesses to Touko long after Touko had first told Yuu that she loved her, and the two go out.
Mio Nanami and Rei Koito, particularly how their respective younger sisters see them. Mio has a reputation as The Ace, and Touko looks up to her, but it turns out that she may not have actually been as respectable as people thought, while Yuu finds Rei somewhat annoying but loves her anyway. While Mio apparently never had a boyfriend, Rei has been going out with her boyfriend Hiro since high school.
Yuu and Maki. Yuu initially thinks that she and Maki are both asexual, but Maki realizes that Yuu wants to fall in love with someone, while he's content watching other people's relationships. The way they react to getting a Love Confession is also different- while Yuu rejects the guy who confessed to her in the first chapter because she didn't feel anything special, Maki refuses to even consider falling in love with the girl who confessed to him. Maki even spells out their differences when speaking with Yuu in Chapter 39. In the end, Yuu gets together with Touko, while Maki is content remaining single.
Kako and Kirie. Both of them are the victims of bullying at their school, but deal with it differently. The highly self-absorbed Kako looks down on Kirie in an attempt to bolster his poor self-esteem, and when the time comes to battle, has a Freak Out over his impending demise and tries to flee. Kirie, however, is selfless and concerned about the well-being of others, but despite being deeply troubled by the fact that every time the pilots win, they're killing an entire universe, is ultimately able to come to terms with his feelings and win his battle.
Lelouch and Suzaku are the major foils to one another, their rivalry and opposition to one another being a major driving force in the series. Lelouch is a Well-Intentioned Extremist who believes the ends justify the means, and is willing to use any tactic to achieve his goals; while Suzaku is firmly in the Machiavelli Was Wrong camp, believing change should be inacted through fair and just means rather than brute force. Their contrasts also extend to their physical capabilities: Suzaku is an Ace Pilot whose is an absolutely force of nature in his Super Prototype Knightmare Frame, Lancelot, and who is highly athletic and physicially fit outside of mecha combat. Lelouch, on the other hand, has practically no physical stamina, and is a middling pilot at best, his strengths leaning more towards leadership and strategy. The few times Lelouch is able to fight well in a Knightmare Frame are in unusual prototype machines with unorthodox equipment, such as the Shinkiro, which is outfitted with a barrier system that plays into his strengths as a quick-witted tactician. Going along with the series's Chess Motifs, Lelouch is likened to the Black King, the most important piece on the board, whose defeat would cause his entire army to collapse, but who is not well-suited to combat; whereas Suzaku is a White Knight, a unique combatant whose unorthodox movements make it a force to be reckoned with.
Suzaku and Kallen contrast against one another, being both Japanese and the Ace Pilots of their respective sides, manning highly advanced Knightmare Frames that make them both the most dangerous soldiers on the battlefield. Those similarities aside, Suzaku is a fully-Japanese man who enlisted with the Britannian army in the hopes of invoking reform from within, so that other Japanese can benefit from his example. Kallen, on the other hand, is half-Japanese and half-Britannian, but she fully embraces her Japanese heritage and rebels against Brittania.
An argument could be made that Diethard is also a foil to Lelouch, being a Britannain aristocrat who at the beginning of the series expresses a similar dissatisfaction with Britannian society. However, whereas Lelouch is very active in enforcing change (for good or ill), Diethard is more of a cheerleader for change and pretty much joins La Résistance because it seems interesting and midway through R2betrays Lelouch when Prince Schneizel seems to be a more captivating leader. In episode 24 of the series right before he is killed, he is shown enthusiastically supporting Schneizel's plan to nuke cities around the world in order to bring "peace".
As spelled out near the end of the series, Lelouch, Schneizel, and Emperor Charles are all foils to one another, being brilliant, ambitious men willing to do whatever it takes to see their goals and ideals realized. During the final battle, Lelouch states that Charles sought the past, wishing to use the power of Geass and C's World to create a World of Silence in which the souls of everyone, living and dead, are united as one. Schneizel sought the present, his end goal being to create a status quo in which Brittania reigned as the undisputed ruler of the world under the threat of FLEIJA bombardment. Meanwhile, Lelouch looked to the future, which he wholeheartedly believed to be better than either the past or the present, because humanity will work to make it better, even when Schneizel argues that the future may be worse than the present due to humanity's ambitious nature.
Shin Hyuga Shaing in the Akito the Exiled OVAs serves as a foil to both Lelouch and Suzaku. While both Lelouch and Suzaku struggle with a certain darkness, and both at least try to resist giving into it (though they both have plenty of "what have I done?" moments), Shin jumps in and embraces ruthlessness. In episode 3, after seeing how far Lelouch has fallen due to his love for his sister, Shin geasses his adoptive sister and mother, whom he loves, to die. Before that, he gives Suzaku a nice "Not So Different" Remark, where, as always, the telling element is what's different even with all of those similarities.
Spike and Vicious. Spike prefers guns, explosives, and martial arts to outwit his opponents; Vicious prefers to just use his sword. Spike wishes to leave the Syndicate and let time take it's toll, Vicious wishes to return the Syndicate to what he knew.
Spike and Andy from "Cowboy Funk". Both are destructive, stubborn, glory-hogging, self-aggrandizing braggarts who are nonetheless extremely competent bounty hunters and they get completely at each other's nerves. Spike has a Cool Ship, Andy has a Cool Horse. Spike prefers semi-autos and dresses like a Lupin III cosplayer while Andy dresses like an actual cowboy. Andy, however, lacks Spike's Dark and Troubled Past and therefore comes across as The Fool compared to the nuances of Spike's blasé attitude.
The title heroine of Cross Ange gets two: Jill is more of a Shadow Archetype, a callous and calculating Fallen Princess who represents what Ange can become if she keeps losing people and things she loves, while Salamandinay is an honorable Warrior Princess who represents what Ange could have become, had she grown up in a normal friggin' society. Ultimately, Ange chooses a middle path.
Katou and Watanabe from Dad, the Beard Gorilla and I. The pair is introduced as the "normie representatives" among their quirky workplace, and are characterized by their lack of hobbies and interest. However, while Watanabe is a Nice Guy whose lack of attachment to any particular dreams or activities drives him to support and help others who do have one, Katou is a lazy and obnoxious snob who resents other people's success despite never putting the effort to achieve those success. It's rather telling that most of their colleagues would avoid hanging out with Katou at all costs, while they would willingly invite Watanabe to fill in the space when going out as a pair is too awkward.
Two of Future Foundaiton's branch leaders, Munakata and Yukizome. Munakata is an emotionally restrained person who's obsessively dedicated to eradicating despair (or what he considers despair, anyway), even at the cost of his comrades' lives; Yukizome is a expressively passionate diplomat who eventually comes to value her students' wellbeing over the greater good. In their origin story flashback, Munakata joins the Future Foundation because he wants to achieve an ideal, and Yukizome joins because she wants to protect the people she personally cares about.
Enoshima and Kamukura. Both are perpetually bored, analytical geniuses aligned with Ultimate Despair as a way to alleviate said boredom. Enoshima actively enjoys despair; Kamukura doesn't. Enoshima spearheads the efforts of spreading despair; Kamukura prefers observing despair rather than propagating it. Both have someone to love, but Enoshima abuses her sister to feel despair; Kamukura genuinely mourns his deceased Love Interest. In short, Enoshima was able to use her similarities with Kamukura to lure him to despair, but their differences ensured he didn't become the absolute fanatic she was, nor did he stick around.
DARLING in the FRANXX has an example of relationships foiling each other, although neither is portrayed as superior. Hiro and 02 bent the rules to become partners, became lovers almost immediately after meeting each other, and 02 'claims' him with something roughly equivalent to a very savage lovebite that reduces his physical health. Ichigo and Goro's partnership was forced on them by APE, they were unsure of their feelings at first, and Goro punctuates his confession to Ichigo by replacing an emotional keepsake that she'd lost.
Death Note: While no one in the series is The Ace to be a proper Good Counterpart, Light Yagami shares some traits with some characters:
To L. Both are extremely intelligent young men who can play others like a fiddle, but while Light uses his smarts to commit acts of tyranny and oppression he believes are for the greater good, L uses his genius to prevent them and/or catch the criminal(s) responsible. Furthermore, both L and Light have a whole reciprocal shadow thing going. Light is the social one, who not only understands but really cares about proper socialization and not being indecorous, but as Kira he's also the one who's the most prolific serial killer in history. L is antisocial and willfully unsocialized, and he doesn't really care about a little thing like illegal detainment, mock executions, and torture, but he's the one trying to enforce the fact that you don't go around killing people, and he means it. Enough to be unwilling to test the Death Note. They're certainly both liars. The primary difference between L and Light — two childish geniuses who hide behind their claims of justice — is that L has emotional intelligence and is capable of accepting and coping with his own and the world's flaws, something that Light absolutely refuses to do.
L: Kira is childish and he hates losing... I am also childish and I hate to lose. That's how I know.
To Near. Like Near, he's incredibly smart, cunning, smug, and arrogant. The big difference is that while Light has social skills and is perfectly capable of socializing, Near absolutely lacks social skills.
To Mello. Like Mello, he's incredibly stubborn, short-tempered, arrogant, childish, refuses to listen to others, is extremely passionate, very intelligent, good-looking, and is not afraid of performing unethical acts to carry out his plans. The big difference is that while Light pretends to be on the side of the law, Mello is on the side of The Mafia and uses it as a resource. Where Mello has a rebellious appearance, Light is always impeccably dressed. Just think of Mello as a more rebellious version of Light.
To Minoru Tanaka. The fact that both are killed by Ryuk certainly cements this status. In terms of sheer intellect, Minoru lacks The Ace aspects of Light, being unable to translate his intelligence into his academics while Light excelled at everything he put his mind to. However, in many ways, the entire purpose of his character seems to be an answer to everything Light aspired to be throughout the course of the series: careful, meticulous, cunning, successful, and altruistic. Ironically, in his short period, he achieved what Light never could: defeat Near and being praised for thousands of people in his country. Another purpose of his character seems to be an answer to all the praise that Light has received by fans for more than ten years and to everything his archetype represents, letting Minoru himself to carry out much more cunning and altruistic plans for his country. All these attributes show that, by the end of the day, Minoru is a far better person than Light, which is cruelly ironic considering that Minoru did not seek to be praised and ended up being much more praised and loved than Light himself. One wonders what Light himself would think if he saw that another Kira managed to be much more loved than he ever tried to be...
In Delicious in Dungeon, Kabru is one to Laios. Kabru is a cynic who tends to believe the worst about people while Laios is a Nice Guy who is rather trusting. Furthermore, Kabru is a talented fighter against humans, but lacks experience fighting monsters while Laios despite being goofy, is an experienced adventurer and an expert on monsters.
Digimon Data Squad takes this a step further with Marcus and Thomas, who not only have the brazen / respectful dichotomy, but also a Idiot Hero / The Smart Guy one and a slack-off / dutiful one, too.
As a general rule, each partner Digimon is designed to be a foil to their human partner, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses and faults at almost every turn.
On top of being an Evil Counterpart to Goku, at least initially, Piccolo is also this to him. Piccolo is cold and dispassionate, while Goku is fun loving and can be quite emotional when angry or upset. Piccolo is one of the smartest characters in the series, while Goku is quite Book Dumb. Piccolo is the responsible one where Goku can be quite irresponsible even when the fate of the world is at stake. Their roles are slightly reverse during the Buu Saga of Dragon Ball Z. Piccolo was willing to give himself to Babidi so Buu would stop slaughtering cities. It was Goku who was rational and pointed out that Piccolo sacrificing himself wouldn't help anyone in the long run.
Goku's older brother, Raditz. Both are overachievers much like their father before them, born low-class yet fortunate enough to become elite by attrition after their race was wiped out. While Goku embraced the gentle heart given to him by his mother and works his entire life to break the limits of his birth, like his father, Radtiz chose to hide behind others stronger than him while embracing the ruthlessness of being a Saiyan, rejecting his mother's kind influence. Also, despite Goku's gentle and kind nature, he maintained his Saiyan pride and spirit, while Radtiz's Saiyan spirit has long been driven out of him despite his claims to the contrary.
Vegeta, his eternal rival. Both are thrill-seeking Saiyan warriors always looking to test, expand, and overcome their limits. While Goku is a cheerful man who cherishes others, greatly values his Earthly upbringing, and was born weak among commoner parents, Vegeta is a rough, arrogant prince who initially cares only for himself, and was born very powerful and heir to the throne of his planet. Through a series of trials and hardships, they gradually influence each other as their rivalry matures from resentment to respect. Goku comes to understand Saiyan pride and Vegeta learns compassion for loved ones.
The later chapters of Dragon Ball Super extends this to the Next Tier Power-Up they attain. Goku's Ultra Instinct form grants him the ability to fight and evade enemy attacks by entering into a state of pure tranquility, such that his body is capable of moving independent of thought. Vegeta, meanwhile, gains Ultra Ego, a form of power attained from training under a God of Destruction that feeds into his love of battle and lets him grow stronger the more he fights and the more damage he takes, albeit at the cost of control over his violent impulses. In summation: Ultra Instinct is about fighting with a clear mind, whereas Ultra Ego is about fighting with a mind filled with battle lust.
Cell. Like Goku, Cell loves a good fight, loves growing stronger, and is a great deal more clever than he initially appears. However, while Goku is a lower-class Saiyan who trains hard to become stronger the good old fashioned way, Cell is literally optimized at a genetic level and cheats, consuming others to steal their hard-earned strength for himself. Most importantly, while Goku ultimately rejects his malevolent Saiyan instincts and chooses to live a (somewhat) peaceful life like a human, Cell embraces his evil nature and eventually seeks to fulfill what he believes to be his creator's will by destroying all life in the universe.
Majin Buu. While both are extreme powerful man children who loves to eat and fight, Buu's childish nature is what allows him to do so many evil things. In Fat Buu's case, he is so innocent that he doesn't know right from wrong and needs Mr. Satan to act as his Morality Chain. Super Buu is a child because he doesn't care about anything or anyone else except his own needs and desires. Kid Buu is as pure like a child because like Fat Buu he has no concept of right or wrong, he just wants to kill and destroy everything. He can even hold the Spirit Bomb because he is evil in its purest form. In comparison, Goku's childish nature highlights his innocent and purity to do the right thing no matter what. Unlike Buu, Goku has a high moral justice. Goku also works to achieve his power through years of hard work and dedication while Buu was not only born extremely strong, but can steal other people's work by absorbing them.
Beerus, his eventual divine counterpart. Both are deities who love so many of the same things—a good battle, food, fun with friends, and sleeping. However, Goku is a hard-working common man who had to rely on his friends' hearts to become a god. He fights to protect life, and he possesses incredible self-restraint and awareness. Whereas Beerus has lived his entire life hovering like a giant above everyone else in his universe aside from his master attendant. His whole job is to destroy to make space for more growth, and his Hair-Trigger Temper and Olympian sense of entitlement make him frightening to be around for most who've met him.
Jiren of Universe 11 in Dragon Ball Super. While both Goku and Jiren are the aces of their teams and some of the most powerful beings in their respective universes, Jiren attained his great strength entirely on his own, refusing to befriend or even trust others. Conversely, Goku is as strong as he is because of the many friends and allies he's made throughout his life who push him forward and higher up. It was only through this ideological difference that Goku was able to defeat Jiren.
In a non-villain example, Goku to his son Gohan. They are both extremely gifted warriors who represent the peak of their groups. Goku is the strongest pure-blooded Saiyan, while Gohan is the most powerful of all the hybrids. They are both also pure-hearted, fun-loving, have a love for animals and people, and are somewhat naive about the outside world. However, Goku loves to fight and challenged himself, while Gohan hates fighting and hurting people, and won't train unless there is an immediate danger. Goku is Book Dumb and doesn't work to support his family, while Gohan is very well educated and has a steady job by the end of the series.
Broly, his fellow Saiyan outlier (before canonization). Both are powerful Saiyans who ran afoul of the royal family and traditional Saiyan culture, they were kept in the same chamber room after they were born, escaped Frieza's genocide of their planet and people apart from the other Saiyans, they very quickly found themselves dressing and living far outside the Frieza Force/Saiyan Army motif and structure, both are messianic characters, both are recognized as the "Legendary Super Saiyan" and both are based on the original Monkey King Sun Wukong. But where Goku lucked into his own self-restraint, became well-adjusted if a bit naive, was born with a ferocious spirit that would eventually earn him the strength to become the first naturally-achieved Super Saiyan in millennia through training, feats, and adversities, looked and lived the part of a common man, became king of his own destiny, and cherishes many loved ones as well as life itself, Broly was born with an uncanny power level and a disconcertingly meek personality causing him to be frightened to tears when subject to continuous loud noises, utterly lost his mind at the first sign of life-or-death trauma as a result, and had to be dressed in attire resembling a regal or holy being that at the same time was used to virtually lobotomize him, and was used as his father's puppet of destruction until his mutant Super Saiyan power burst through and was unleashed in the form of an incredible hulking demon out to kill everything including said father, not even stopping to feel pain unless fatally pierced or torn into.
Post-canonization, Broly continues to serve as Goku's foil, both being powerful Saiyans who ran afoul of family and traditional Saiyan culture, quickly finding themselves living far outside the Frieza Force/Saiyan Army motif and structure, and both being based on Sun Wukong. In addition, both grew up far from any civilization and are Wild Children, the key difference being Goku grew up on Earth, raised by the kindly Grandpa Gohan, and spent his youth among friends; whereas Broly was raised by his vengeful father Paragus on a Death World in total isolation until adulthood. He still shares his lack of restraint in battle, having never received proper training in how to harness his godlike strength and endangering his own life when pushed to, and beyond, his limits, in contrast to Goku's many years of training and experience. Lastly, in contrast to his original counterpart, the canonized Broly is far kinder outside of battle, easily making friends with Cheelai and Lemo and becoming a friendly rival to Goku instead of a bitter nemesis.
Turles, his death-skinned Doppelgänger in Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might. Both were born low-level Saiyans who looked exactly alike, led a group of allies, escaped and survived Frieza's genocide pretty much on their own, and became stronger than they were supposed to be as time went on. Whereas Goku became a peace-loving defender of the Earth through a head injury and his mother's influence on Planet Vegeta, typically works for his strength and only siphons power from others by asking for it to take out true threats with the occasional Spirit Bomb, Turles is a calculating, cold-hearted marauder with ambitions of conquering the universe, who achieves most if not all of his gains in power by planting a life-sucking tree into planets that it then proceeds to rot to death, then eating from its forbidden fruit.
Android 17. They both enjoy the challenge and the thrill of battle, both are never-back-down types, smiling is seemingly second nature to both of them as well, and both were sent out for destruction but would much rather just have adventures and test/show off their strength. However, whereas Goku got all of his power through sheer hard work, 17 was first powered through Organic Technology. Plus he has a Vegeta-sized ego, is likely not as reluctant to kill a worthy opponent, and his somewhat cool attitude doesn't lend as well to making friends as Goku's absolute zest for life. Furthermore, 17 and Goku were both renamed out of one PunnyTheme Naming structure into another by an old man — they were born Lapis and Kakarot, respectively. However, from the circumstances and purposes of this to the old guys' general nature, Dr.Gero could not be more different from the Elder Son Gohan if he tried. Ironically, in Super 17 becomes more serious about being a protector of Earth, taking on a job as the sole line of defense between a royal nature preserve and poachers who would come after its most valuable rare species while Goku, for the most part, gets increasingly focused on honing and testing his combat skills above anything else. 18 herself even lampshades how the two are alike. Also, just like Goku, he loves to train and improve himself to become the strongest, which is implied to be yet another reason he took the ranger job. He can train all he wants in the middle of nowhere like Goku would LOVE to be able to do and has spent the time since the Android saga doing so, leading to him perfecting the powers of his Android tech and contesting Buu and Gohan for the spot of third strongest Z Fighter. As a point of comparison, 17's first confrontation with Ribrianne from Universe 2 mirrored Goku's first confrontation with Toppo from Universe 11, with their opponents considering them evil, which they react with an "So I'm evil huh?" and playing along. Both also considered the fighting style of the Kamikaze Fireballs "worth studying".
After character development, Vegeta becomes this to Frieza. Unlike his former boss, Vegeta learns to care about others and being able to set his pride aside for the benefit of others and his own sanity. By letting go of the past, Vegeta becomes a happier person. Frieza, on the other hand, never learns from his experiences and remains an uncaring fiend even after he is given a second chance at life. He allows his hatred and anger towards Goku to drive him insane, and it's his inability to let go of his pride and the past that drives him to his death, twice.
In some ways, Vegeta is also this to Gohan. Both leave their homeworlds at a very young age (around five years old), both are the strongest member of a trio (Vegeta with Nappa and Raditz, Gohan with Krillin and Bulma), both spend their formative years in constant danger, etc. But Gohan avoids fighting where Vegeta craves it, Gohan has a support system where Vegeta doesn't, and Gohan is generally an easygoing person with occasional moments of severe rage where Vegeta is constantly angry with occasional moments of being even more angry and a couple of instances of calming down a bit.
Gohan to his young brother Goten. They both have many similarities to their father like their pure-hearts, love of animals, and their innocents and fun-loving nature. Goten inherited his father's carefree personality, while Gohan is serious and down to Earth. Goten is quite hyper, while Gohan is very reserved. Goten is allowed to be a child and Gohan was forced to grow up fast because of the constant danger the Earth was exposed to.
Future Trunks have two foils:
Kid Trunks become this to him after the timeline split apart. Kid Trunks is irresponsible, spoiled, playful during battle, and somewhat arrogant. Future Trunks is very responsible, humble, a Combat Pragmatist, and will kill to ensure peace. Kid Trunks is affected by living during a time of peace with both of his parents, while Future Trunks lived After the End where the androids killed all his loved ones, including his father and mentor, Gohan.
To his father. Vegeta loves to challenge himself and fight, even if it means risking the world. Trunks, who grew up in a Bad Future, doesn't care to fight fair or challenge himself, especially when the world is in danger. Trunks is also willing to put the needs of the many before his own desire, while Vegeta only cares about himself and what he wants, at least before character development hits him.
Androids 17 and 18 are foils to themselves, or more specifically, the versions from Trunks's future. While the latter are sociopaths whose idea of fun is mass murder, the former merely create mayhem for their entertainment and have the capacity to care for people other than themselves. The twin androids are the only characters whose personalities are intrinsically different in the two timelines for unexplained reasons (for Trunks, the differences are obviously due to how he was raised), although dialogue indicates the possibility that in that timelime Dr. Gero 'programmed' them differently. The most important example that Future 17 is a foil for 17, Future 17's destructive sociopathy doomed the Earth, Present 17 developing empathy and selflessness is what saves the entire Dragon Ball Multiverse.
Kid Trunks is a foil to his best friend Goten. They're both sons to some of the most powerful beings in the universe, but while Trunks is born into privilege, Goten is born into a common family that is somewhat poor. Goten is also very silly, while Trunks tries to play the serious one.
Both versions of Zeno the Omni-King are one to Zamasu. He believes that mortals have great potential and when it counts their capacity for good will win out. Like Zamasu (or maybe because they figured out what he was up to before Future Zeno erased him), they decide to put mortals to the test, though their method is significantly less crazy and sadistic.
Dodoria and Zarbon are foils to each other. They are Frieza's left and right hand men who both look down on Saiyans, especially Vegeta, and both are rather cowardly. They also both serve to demonstrate the Saiyan ability to grow stronger after near death. However, apart from their shared roles, they are pretty much polar opposites. Zarbon is a Pretty Boy who favors style, beauty, and intelligence, and tends to stay out of direct combat and act as Frieza's advisor, whereas Dodoria is an ugly fat creature who acts as Dumb Muscle and serves the role of Frieza's enforcer, being more than happy to get his hands dirty. Zarbon is also more of a Punch-Clock Villain, while Dodoria is a Psycho for Hire who enjoys killing and tormenting others. Their differing traits are emphasized in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, where they are shown to have a rivalry, and it is also shown that Dodoria is more lenient toward his troops while Zarbon is something of a perfectionist.
Android 21 is one to Cell in Dragon Ball Fighterz. Both were created from the genetic material of the greatest fighters, and in 21's case, researchers, but Cell is a monster without empathy while 21 is a Tragic Villain. Also while Cell is a giant narcissist and believes himself to be the ultimate lifeform, 21 is more inherent raw potential than him in terms of both power and intelligence, but is timid and hates herself for being a monster.
F have a foil between the two protagonists of the series, the Hot-Blooded Gunma Akagi and the Cloudcuckoolander's Minder Tamotsu Oishi, both being best friends with the latter being dragged into the dangerous adventures of the former. Gunma and Tamotsu are mostly like the racing counterparts of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, to describe them in few words.
The Tartaros Arc seems to reinforce this relationship between Natsu and Gray. The former is directly tied to the dragons of the series, while the latter is tied more to demons. Gray even gets his own Slayer type magic to parallel Natsu's Dragon Slayer magic, Devil Slayer magic which he inherited from his undead father. By the end of the arc, Natsu resolves to kill Acnologia, the dragon responsible for killing his own father, as well as the other Dragon Slayer's dragon parents. While Gray resolves to kill E.N.D., the strongest demon from Zeref's book, the same place where the demon that killed his parents and teacher originated from (who, unknown to him, is Natsu).
Makarov and Mavis, respectively the third and first masters of Fairy Tail. They care a great deal for those closest to them and lead well, but they tend to lead differently, with Makarov leading from the front and Mavis being more of The Strategist. Mavis also comes off as more pragmatic and less averse to casualties than Makarov, whose greatest Berserk Button is people harming his guild. This is best shown in Chapter 505, when Mavis comes up with a plan that could potentially allow Fairy Tail to defeat the Albareth army, but while Makarov thinks the plan could work, he instead opts to use Fairy Law to defeat the enemy at the cost of his own life, simply because he can't bear to see his "children" suffer any longer.
In Fist of the North Star, Kenshiro and his fellow Hokuto Shinken practitioners and adoptive brothers contrast widely with one another. Kenshiro, himself, is a man of incredible compassion, but who is unforgiving to those who kill and victimize others, ensuring that their eventual deaths are as painful as possible. Toki shares Kenshiro's compassion, but is a Martial Pacifist who prefers to avoid conflict when possible, and if he must kill, ensures the deaths of his foes are as painless as possible. Jagi, meanwhile, shares Kenshiro's ferocity in battle, but none of his compassion, being a ruthless brigand and complete sadist. As for Raoh, his ferocity in battle is also rivaled by Kenshiro, and his mastery of Hokuto Shinken is bested only by Toki, but he is also a man of insatiable ambition who aims to use Hokuto Shinken to rule over the post-apocalyptic world through fear. This was keenly demonstrated in an exercise their master, Ryuken, conducted with a live tiger for Kenshiro and Raoh: Kenshiro was able to sooth the tiger's fury, but in response to Raoh, the tiger lashed out in fear and was soundly slain by him. It was his gentle nature that would ultimately lead to Kenshiro being named successor of Hokuto Shinken.
In Fruits Basket, the Honda family (Tohru, Kyoko, and Katsuya) serve as foils to the head of the Sohma family (Akito, Ren, and Akira). When Kyoko learned that she was pregnant, she considered aborting it because she would rather not have a baby than have a baby and give it a miserable life by being a bad mother. Katsuya talks it over with her, and they eventually reach an agreement that she'll have the baby and they'll work together to be good parents and treat the child like a person. After Tohru is born, the three are a close-knit family. After Katsuya dies, Kyoko works hard to be a loving, supportive mother for Tohru. Because of all of this, Tohru grows up to be a kind, understanding person, who doesn't try to force her will on others and tries to make her way through the world. When Ren found out she was pregnant, she uses the threat of an abortion to emotionally manipulate her husband into agreeing to raise their daughter as a boy. When Akito was born, the family began to drift apart, as Ren became jealous of the attention her husband was showing to their kid. After Akira died, Ren became insanely emotionally abusive towards Akito. As a result, Akito grew up being clingy and frightened of the world, which was hidden underneath a controlling and dominating attitude.
Yukari and Erika are fans of Miho and Maho, respectively, although it's implied that Yukari's admiration for Miho is as a person, and Erika's admiration for Maho is mainly due to her association with the Nishizumi school.
In the Little Army manga, Emi is a disagreeable and often brutally honest girl who says whatever is on her mind even if it causes trouble with others (one example is how much she dislikes Miho's older sister for defeating her older sister's team by shooting her flag tank when it went to rescue another). One of Maho's teammates from the manga sucks up to her despite bickering with another member of the team, who believes her doing so is insincere and self-serving.
Yuri Isuzu (Hana's mother) and Shiho Nishizumi (Miho and Maho's mother). Both disapprove of their daughters doing tankery to the point of disowning them, but while Shiho believes Miho is doing it for the wrong reasons, Yuri doesn't like Hana doing it. Additionally, Yuri is, on the most part, a warmer and kinder mother than Shiho, if also considerably more emotional, and argues that Hana's flower arrangement is good as it is in response to Hana's saying that she felt there was something lacking from it, while Shiho considers Miho a disgrace to the family.
Kay of Saunders and Anchovy of Anzio. The former detests cheating and dirty tactics, sending in half of her forces when she learns that one of her subordinates has been intercepting radio communications, which backfired on them to keep things fair, and believes Tankery is something that should be enjoyed and done with sportsmanship. Anchovy takes Tankery as Serious Business and believes winning matters more than anything else, to the point of angrily accusing Miho of throwing away victory when she abandoned her tank to save the crew of another in the last tournament. The contrast becomes more interesting when you consider that in the anime, Anzio's fight takes place off screen, while in the manga, it is shown in its entirety while the fight with Saunders is reduced to the final shot.
Then there's High Elf Archer, an idealistic adventurer who is excited at the prospect of seeing the world and going on new adventures, while Goblin Slayer is more realistic in his outlook of the Crapsack World they live in.
Finally, there's the Sword Maiden, a former adventurer who was captured, tortured, blinded and raped by goblins on her first adventure during her rookie days. To this day she still has horrific nightmares about that day, and looks to Goblin Slayer as a source of strength and comfort, hoping that he of all people will be able to understand her pain. However, as Goblin Slayer correctly points out, their experiences with goblins were far too different for him to truly empathize with her, given that she was a victim while he was a witness to the abuse inflicted upon his dead sister. He ultimately does give her the moral support she so desperately craves by promising to come to her aid if goblins should trouble her again, since that's about the only thing he can do for her. It proves sufficient: she's once again able to sleep peacefully afterwards.
Priestess and High Elf Archer are this to each other, too. High Elf Archer occasionally sparks Goblin Slayer's interest in trying new things that aren't strictly related to killing goblins, and constantly tries to encourage him to act like a proper adventurer, with mixed results. Meanwhile, Priestess struggles to maintain her innocence in a world that punishes you for being innocent, and finds herself increasingly influenced by Goblin Slayer to the point that she mimics some of his more pragmatic tactics in combat. While High Elf Archer is repeatedly unnerved by Goblin Slayer's approach to killing goblins, Priestess no longer has the strength to argue with him by the time they meet (though she will put her foot down if she thinks Goblin Slayer is being too reckless and putting himself at too high a risk).
Flashbacks show that Uchiyamada had the same idealism as Onizuka had when he first started teaching. Only when he became older did he lose all that zeal for teaching, making him a Fallen Hero who cares more about his and the school's reputation than the students themselves. Onizuka's attitude (and a "The Reason You Suck" Speech) help get him back on the right path.
Teshigawara is another foil to Onizuka — he's the son of a prominent family who graduated Tokyo University, is very formal and professional, and is a massive Stalker with a Crush on Fuyutsuki. Onizuka is a nobody who graduated from a 5th-rate college, is anything but formal, and is confident and smart enough to actually talk to Fuyutsuki like a normal human being.
Sho Shibuya is a foil to Noboru, to whom he appears to be a Replacement Flat Character at first. As we learn his backstory, it's shown that although he went through bullying just as bad as Noboru did (including by his own teacher), he decided the only way to fight back was by becoming the bully. By contrast, while Noboru does Take a Level in Badass and overcome his bullies (with some help from Onizuka), he always remains a morally good person.
Generally, unless they're a Big Brother Mentor, the Char Clone of a Gundam series will usually serve as the foil to one of the main cast. This is most common when the Char Clone is The Rival, but it's not uncommon for a Char Clone to be the Big Bad and also be a foil.
Given that they're both Ace Pilot Newtypes and technical designers with mental issues, poor social skills, and immense Psychic Powers it isn't hard to see Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam's Big Bad Paptimus Scirocco as an older, more jaded, and cynical version of protagonist Kamille Bidan. The difference is in how they deal with their issues—Kamille slowly gets over his problems and learns how to deal with other people, while Scirocco simply develops his Mind Rape skills to the point where he doesn't have to be good at interacting with others.
Jerid Messa is also a foil to Kamille. They're both young, arrogant, ace pilots with a chip on their shoulder and something to prove. Jerid's Jerk Jock persona makes for a marked contrast with Kamille's Insufferable Genius, while his desire for promotions and personal glory, and weak Newtype status, set him apart from the genuinely committed, frighteningly powerful Kamille.
Hinata Shouyou and Kageyama Tobio are foils to each other. Hinata is loud, short, bright as a sun, extroverted, friendly and lacks all the basic skills in volleyball as he never got to actually play till high school. On the other hand, Kageyama is quiet (unless he is angry), tall, introverted, has a cold demeanor and is a volleyball prodigy who has been playing since elementary school. Their stark contrast is seen in their appearances (Hinata with bright eyes and orange hair and Kageyama with dark blue eyes and black hair), their names (Hinata means "sunny place" whereas Kageyama means "shadow mountain"), and their birthdays (Hinata born on the longest day of the year, 06/21 and Kageyama on the longest night, 12/22).
Another foil to Hinata is Tsukishima. They both play as middle blockers but beyond that they starkly contrast each other. Hinata is a shorty Book Dumb who is friendly, enthusiastic, and passionate to a fault whereas Tsukki is the tall, Smart People Wear Glasses guy who is snarky, abrasive, and lacks passion for the sport. Hinata is an offense-specialist middle blocker who focuses on quick attacks whereas Tsukki is defense focused with his blocking. Due to his lack of experience and training, Hinata relies solely on his innate instincts on the court while Tsukishima only trusts his tangible observations and analysis of the game and does not give in to his instincts. Their names again reflect their foil nature, with Hinata having the kanji "sun" in it whereas Tsukishima has the kanji "moon". This is Lampshaded in the story.
Another foil to Kageyama is Karasuno's secondary setter, Sugawara. Again, they play the same position with nothing much else in common beyond that. Suga, as his name suggests, is the sweetest person on the team, always nurturing and playful with his teammates. He has high communication skills and is very good at learning how his teammates are feeling during the game, what he as a setter can change and improve their spikes, and brings a wholly positive atmosphere whenever he enters the game. However, for all his great contributions, Suga is a very traditional and predictable setter. Whereas Kageyama is a setter prodigy, with his skill of pinpoint and freak quick sets, his ability to deceive the other team, and his overall high skills in other roles too (such as serving and spiking). However, his biggest downfall as a player is his lack of communication skills and social ineptitude. Due to Suga's influence and mentoring, he gets better at this.
A duo created fully as foils to each other is Asahi and Nishinoya. Asahi is the team's Gentle GiantThe Ace spiker whereas Nishinoya is the loud and blunt, short libero. Asahi has an intimidating appearance but also a glass heart; he is gentle, emotional, sweet, anxious, and even cowardly sometimes. Whereas Nishinoya, who gets mistaken as a child quite often, is loud, blunt, brash, and self-confident to a fault. Asahi's role on the court is to jump high and spike in the air, earning as many points as possible. In contrast, Nishinoya as a libero cannot score points, but he is the stronghold of the team's defense, trying to keep the ball off of the floor. The nomenclature of their names reflects this perfectly with Azumane Asahi meaning "Eastern Peak Morning Sun" (peak, as in a tall spiker and morning sun, as in a gentle soul) and Nishinoya Yuu meaning "Western Valley Evening" (valley, as he plays on the ground and is short and evening, as he has a wilder personality). Their birthdays also contrast each other with Asahi being born on 01/01 and Nishinoya being born on 10/10. Their opposite nature also gets Lampshaded in the series.
Due to the nature of the series, in any match, the opposing team will act as a foil to The Protagonist team Karasuno's weaknesses and strengths.
An important example of this can be seen with their rival Aoba Johsai. At the beginning of the series, Karasuno is a bunch of talented individuals who have to desperately hone their skills of working together, whereas Aoba Johsai is known for their perfect teamwork. Their setters reflect this, with Kageyama being bad at communicating on the court and not knowing how to set specifically for each of his spikers and Oikawa being known for his talents as a setter who knows how to get the best out of everyone on his team. This contrast between Kageyama and Oikawa gets explored more later, with the showcase of their backstory together where Oikawa got threatened by Kageyama's natural talent and as to overcome his lack of prodigal talent, he trained hard to be better as a player and better as a teammate/captain.
Another example is with Karasuno's friendly rivals Nekoma - and between Hinata and Nekoma's frontman Kenma. Karasuno as a team is very strong in offense and has several impressive players such as Kageyama, Nishinoya, Asahi, and Hinata. Whereas Nekoma is a team known for their efficient play due to their perfect defense even though they lack "genius" players. As a team, Nekoma functions to keep the ball in the game, perfectly connecting the ball to their "brain and heart of the team" setter, Kenma. Kenma is a very analytical player who does not like to exert much energy and instead plays smart. He is not necessarily athletic and plays volleyball "just because". He is a foil to Hinata who is unlimited stamina and athleticism, jumping and running from one place to another, and does not necessarily play smart but plays passionately. Their personalities are also stark contrasts with Kenma being a quiet introvert who is not good at making friends to Hinata's loud, friendly, extroverted personality.
Kyon and Haruhi have such opposing character traits, philosophies, attitudes, etc., that there are significant amounts of Wild Mass Guessing supposing that they are some sort of "foil-power". Or Haruhi chose Kyon exactly because he balances her out. Or opposites just attract. Or they are gods of chaos and order. Pick one, if you like.
However, when you add Sasaki, it looks more like Haruhi and Sasaki are foils whereas Kyon is the middle ground. Haruhi believes in the supernatural and represents chaos but also creativity, freedom, spontaneity and change. Sasaki believes in logic and opposes emotions while representing order but also conformity, oppression and stability/consistency.
Also, although both of them see love as merely a mental illness, while Haruhi is attracted to both guys and girls, Sasaki claims to have never felt anything of that sort.
Kyon and Haruhi are foils to each other, but their characters are more complex than these arguments suggest, and the foil is correspondingly more elaborate. Kyon is always going on and on about how he'd like an ordinary world, yet he's secretly delighted at the fact that there are aliens, time travelers and espers. Haruhi acts like she's completely convinced that aliens, time travelers and espers exist, but this is a form of denial of her skepticism that they do, and a way of avoiding her disappointment at the ordinariness of her life.
Yuki and Ryōko. The former is an apparent Emotionless Girl who actually does posses deeply held emotions which she is just incapable of expressing; the latter is a bright and cheery girl who, beneath her stepford smile, is completely void of any real human emotions.
Arslan and Hilmes. Both are royalty and are seeking to reclaim their throne. But whereas Arslan tries to avoid unnecessary violence and genuinely cares for everyone, even to his enemies from other countries, Hilmes is quick to violence and will fight and kill anyone who goes against his ideals or doesn't acknowledge him as king. Narsus points out to Hilmes the difference between them. While Hilmes ordered Narsus to serve him and acknowledge him as king, Arslan instead asked Narsus to help him as a favour.
Kubard also notes the difference when he briefly served under both at separate points. While both do reward Kubard, in general there is tension in Hilmes's camp and Hilmes talks down to Kubard as his subordinate and becomes easily offended after Kubard insults him. Meanwhile, Kubard notes that the soldiers under Arslan's command are more relaxed and welcoming. Arslan himself is friendly with Kubard and takes no offense when Kubard is casually drinking in front of him.
Arslan and Gadhevi. It's highlighted in the chapter when both interact with their soldiers. Arslan kindly offers wine and food to them while Gadhevi harshly ordered them around and even killed one for protesting.
Issei Hyoudou and Vali Lucifer. Issei's Boosted Gear doubles his strength every ten seconds while Vali's Divine Dividing halves his opponent's strength every ten seconds (meaning in a direct confrontation, these abilities sort of cancel each other out). Issei is a Lovable Sex Maniac and Harem Seeker and only seeks to become stronger so he can win over girls and protect them (part of his philosophy is that if he is strong enough, he can end conflicts so he can spend more time with girls). Vali is almost completely uninterested in sex (except for a mild fetish for women's butts) and seeks people strong enough to be a Worthy Opponent to him as he is a supreme Blood Knight (he hates peacetime and constantly wishes for war and competition). Issei was born to ordinary human parents and earned his strength through training. Vali was born to noble devil lineage (as a descendant of the original Lucifer himself) and thus inherited vast powers.
For that matter, Issei's and Vali's teams contain several other foils: Kiba and Arthur (handsome and gentlemanly master swordsmen, but the former is of ordinary birth while the latter is descended from King Arthur), Koneko and her older sister Kuroka (both are Nekomata; the former is responsible and initially rejects her heritage, while the latter lives as she pleases and embraces the powers that come with her heritage) and Asia and Le Fay (The Heart to their respective teams, the former is a healer with no fighting skill while the latter is a magician who can both fight and support her allies).
While Issei and Vali are set up as rivals, a less obvious example would be Issei and Raiser Phenex. Both characters lust after Rias, but where Issei is (or used to be) an Ordinary High-School Student, Raiser is a high-class devil from a wealthy family; where Issei wants a harem, Raiser already has one; and where Issei is a weakling who needs multiple doses of Training from Hell to take advantage of his Magikarp Power, Raiser was born with innate talents and a boatload of power, but hardly ever trains. It wouldn't be inaccurate to say that Raiser is everything Issei wants to be... except that he's also a huge Jerkass with an entitlement complex specifically because of that.
Issei also serves as a foil to Tobio Ikuse, the protagonist of the spinoff series SLASH/DOG. Both are ordinary high school students who suddenly awakened their Longinuses (though Tobio is a university student by the time of High School DxD). This resulted in them suddenly being thrust into the supernatural world which they originally had no knowledge of. However, Issei's power enhances his physical capabilities and lets him fight at close range, while Tobio's manifests as a sentient dog that fights independently (though his Balance Breaker turns him into a Wolf Man, allowing him to fight at close range as well). Both of them get powerups because of the ones they love, but Issei seeks a harem while Tobio is devoted to his childhood friend.
Rei and Saeko in Highschool of the Dead are polar opposites in personality, and also competing love interests for Takashi.
Higurashi: When They Cry has Mion (tomboy with a hidden girly side) and Shion (girly exterior with hidden sadist within). Brought up most in Wataganashi-hen and Meakashi-hen.
Inuyasha and Naraku from Inuyasha are foils in every aspect. Inuyasha is hot-headed and impulsive, while Naraku is calm, level-headed, and generally avoids fights whenever he can. A more dramatic foil is that, at first, both of them wanted to use the Shikon-no-Tama (Jewel of Four Souls) to become full blooded youkai, but both ended up giving up that idea. Inuyasha gave up that because even though he wanted to grow stronger, he realized that it would mean he would lose his human feelings and likely kill everyone he cared about. Naraku, on the other hand, hated his human feelings but realised he needed them to be able to manipulate and destroy the bonds between people. Lampshaded in the manga itself when Inuyasha observes that while he used his nature to strengthen bonds, Naraku's used his to destroy them.
Inuyashiki has Ichiro Inuyashiki and Hiro Shishigami. Both of them became Cyborgs after a freak accident with a crashing alien ship, but beyond that, the two could not be any more different. Inuyashiki is elderly, neurotic, not particularly well-liked by his family (save for his beloved dog Hanako), and makes the decision to use his newfound powers to good use by protecting the innocent and healing the sick and injured. Meanwhile, Shishigami is young, attractive, popular, nonchalant, and an utter Sociopath who sees everyone beside himself, his mother, and precious few others as utterly unimportant. After he becomes a cyborg, Shishigami decides to use his newfound powers for his own sick amusement and becomes a serial murderer.
Tsugawa and Kudo in Japan, Inc.. Tsugawa is your typical ruthless manager, Kudo is the social guy who thinks about the employees.
Part 1 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has Robert E.O. Speedwagon and Dio Brando. Both were born to abject poverty, but Dio craved wealth and fortune and was willing to go to any lengths to attain it, including becoming a vampire and expanding his scope to Take Over the World, before ultimately dying at the hands of his nemesis's descendant. Speedwagon, meanwhile, took to petty crime to support his family, accompanied Jonathan Joestar in his travels after he won his respect, and went on to become rich when he struck oil in the desert, his fortunes going to fund research in medicine and science.
Jotaro in Part 3 is The Stoic, in contrast to Joseph's more hammy antics, and the focus is put on a group of True Companions brought together by circumstance as opposed to a pair of rivals sharing a common goal.
Giorno Giovanna from Part 5 is cool-headed and ruthless, a far cry from Josuke's cheerful personality, and he and his allies are members of the mafia instead of just being a bunch of friends avenging a murder like Josuke and Co. And while Josuke's friends ranged pretty wildly, the members of Bucciarati's group are all androgynous prettyboys. And while Diavolo and Kira both want to live in solitude, Kira was fine with his "ordinary life", while Diavolo instead uses his anonymity to rule Passione from the shadows.
Jolyne Cujoh, in contrast to Girono and her own father Jotaro, is loud, brash, openly sexual, and has deep-seeded abandonment issues, on top of being the sole female JoJo protagonist in the series to date. The villain of her arc, Enrico Pucci, is a fervent follower of DIO whose goal is not to live a quiet life, but to remake the world in his master's image.
The Green Clan in K: Return of Kings are all foils to the established characters, who form an alliance to defeat them.
Nagare, the Green King to Shiro, the Silver King and leader of the alliance, and their Clans. Both have their bases in small rooms where they frequently have conversations over meals around a small table. Both are small clans, although they both have a lot more resources at their disposal. But while Shiro is warm and laid-back, Nagare is bent on his plot, and crosses several lines, including orchestrating the events of the first season, where Shiro barely prevented a major disaster, and at least two people were killed.
Tenkei Iwafune, the Grey King to Reisi Munakata, the Blue King - During their fights, Iwafune basically tells Munakata "Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!", and that he should give up on his and his Clan's mission to bring peace and order. Iwafune was once the leader of a large Clan that did a lot of good in the city, but all of them were killed in the Kagutsu Crater disaster when then Red King's Sword of Damocles fell ten years ago. After that, Iwafune became cynical, thinking that the world can't be trusted and must be taken down to a free-for-all where Might Makes Right. Even through losing his Clan and feeling his Sword falling apart, Munakata maintains his focus and intent.
Sukuna Gojo to Misaki Yata and Saruhiko Fushimi. Sukuna is a young kid who started playing Jungle (the Green Clan's social-networking game app) to escape from the boredom and pains of his life. He got enough Jungle points to become a J-rank, meet the Green King, and become an actual Clansman. Though it's only alluded to in the anime and spelled out in the prequel novel Lost Small World, Saruhiko and Misaki were like that at his age as well - they even played Jungle. This is all spelled out in their fight in the end, when Misaki rescues Saruhiko and realizes he isn't a traitor, and they work together to defeat Sukuna, who was too much for them before.
Yukari Mishakuji to Kuroh Yatogami. They trained under the same master (and both still quote his haiku poetry), until Yukari had a falling out with the master and left. In the movie that takes place before this season, Yukari challenges Kuroh to put more of himself and his soul into his sword. He does this by focusing on his devotion to his new King, but he wavers. It isn't until the end of the second season that he manages it.
As the suave second to his King, Yukari might also be considered a foil to Awashima and Kusanagi - check episode 9.
Bai Jin is a two centuries old man who has mentally and emotionally been trapped in his past with his older brother and Francine in Prague, as shown in the space station. Masaru, the one to confront him during the finale, is a little boy who has been forced by harsh circumstances to mentally and emotionally grow up in a short time. While Bai Jin snapped when his brother married Francine, Masaru takes it in stride that Éléonore loves his big brother figure, Narumi.
Capitan Graziano and Dottore are both the hammy speakers of the respective groups, though while Dottore, for all his fault, was devoted to Francine, Graziano is a self-absorbed, narcissistic jerk.
While Diamantina and Colombine are both in love with someone who loves someone else, Diamantina is blind to the fact that Faceless won't return her affection, while Colombine is willing to accept Masaru's love for Shirogane.
Brighella and Pantalone both dress in green, fight using martial arts, and are quite arrogant, though while Pantalone is a Gonk, Brighella looks more humanoid. His real power is also a long-range one, but he hates it.
Harlequin and Arlecchino are both named after the same mask of Commedia dell'Arte and they're pristine white. However, while Arlecchino is a somber and composed musician in a pristine dress, Harlequin is a naked Gonk who can only make silly faces and talk in atrocious puns. While Arlecchino is loyal to his mistress and wants to see her smile and laugh, Harlequin only has a childish crush on her and wants her for himself.
Manabe to Haruka in Kotoura-san. Who better to accompany a mind reader than a guy who says exactly what he thinks?
The two main characters serve as foils for each other: Kuroko, a short, physically weak specialist player and a stoicDeadpan Snarker; and Kagami, a tall, naturally talented power player and a Hot-BloodedIdiot Hero.
The Seirin High School's basketball team and the Touhou High School's basketball team. Both are very offensive teams, but the way the play in a team is the opposite. Seirin relies on teamwork, which makes some of their plays predictable, since they work in certain patterns and they have difficulty to play alone. Touhou throws five talented individuals into a mix who need minimum effort of teamwork to win matches and each player scores points for themselves. Kuroko is a team player who cannot do much by himself, while Aomine is a beast that does not rely on his teammates at all and does everything by himself. Since Kuroko is Seirin's best pass player, Touhou needs to stop his passes rather than Kuroko himself, while Seirin needs to stop the very-hard-to-beat Aomine who never passes to anyone.
Another foil to Seirin is the Yosen High School's basketball club. Both teams have a double ace: Kuroko and Kagami for Seirin, and Murasakibara and Himuro for Yosen; each of them is a foil to one another. Kuroko is small and physically weak, but he became an excellent specialist after intense training and because of his love for basketball. Murasakibara is 41cm taller than Kuroko, is a naturally gifted basketball player, but he claims that he doesn't like the sport and only plays it because he hates losing more. Kuroko believes that anyone can become good if they train hard enough, while Murasakibari believes that hard work is worthless if you are doomed to be bad and that you'll never catch up to anyone who is naturally talented. Kagami and Himuro have a Tiger Versus Dragon theme, with Kagami being a power player who is naturally gifted, while Himuro is a specialist who refined his basic skills to become an excellent player. Seirin is a completely offensive team, while Yosen is a completely defensive team, which is even demonstrated by the heights of their players. Seirin has three small players and two tall members, while Yosen has three giant players and two players with average height.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes has its chief protagonists, Reinhard von Lohengramm of the Galactic Empire, and Yang Wen-Li of the Free Planets Alliance. Both are regarded as tactical geniuses, both within their own armies and their opponents as well as to each other, who were instrumental in achieving key victories for their respective sides. Both are also well aware of the shortcomings of their respective governments. Beyond that, their differences are as marked as their similarities. Lohengramm is an ambitious young man who has his sights set on taking control of the Empire and enacting radical reform, who maintains an air of calm stoicism around all but his closest confidants, and whose strategies tend to favor bold action, even in the face of overwhelming odds. On the other hand, Yang reluctantly joined his military to stay out of poverty and would much prefer to quietly retire. Around his crew, he is more affable and personable, and his strategies favor caution and minimizing casualties whenever possible.
Little Witch Academia has Akko Kagari and Diana Cavendish, two aspiring witches from Luna Nova Magical Academy who wish to follow the example of Shiny Chariot. Akko hails from a family of average, non-magical folks, and is a bumbling klutz who tends to cause trouble, but also possesses vast, untapped magical potential. Diana, by comparison, comes from a long line of respected magicians and is a straight-laced student whose command over magic is prodigious compared to her peers. As it turns out, both of them also attended the same magic show where they got their inspiration to become witches, but also lost any ability to use magic due to Shiny's Dangerous Forbidden Technique. While Akko struggles to use magic as a result, Diana spent her time before attending Luna Nova training and, through great effort, regained her magical abilities.
Reim's Fanalis Corps and the Magnostadl's magicians. The Fantalis has low quality of Magoi so they are unable to perform magic (with the exception of Muu and perhaps Myron) but they have Super-Strength and Super-Toughness. The magicians have more than average Magoi and can perform powerful spells but have a weak body (with the exception of Professor Myers and Aladdin himself). Each are viewed as the symbol of strength of their countries. The Fanalis represent "the power of the people" while magicians represent "the power of magic".
In March Comes in Like a Lion, two characters both serve as foils for Rei Kiriyama, the frequently morose protagonist who is lacking drive in shogi and his life in general. Harunobu Nikaidou is his foil in terms of philosphy and ideals, while Hinata Kawamoto is his foil in terms of general emotional disposition. Their personalities are used to emphasize the traits that Rei himself lacks.
The two leads Medaka and Zenkichi are good foils; Medaka is determined, heroic, and altruistic, but also masks destructive and monstrous tendencies and some levels of cynicism. Zenkichi presents himself as her cynical partner who gets dragged around and merely supports, but he hides determination and empathy which are are a similarly invaluable asset.
Later Kumagawa Misogi is introduced, providing the most prominent antithesis to Medaka and to a lesser extent Zenkichi. While Medaka is the ideal heroine who constantly wins and gains allies, Kumagawa continually runs into failures and never truly wins. In contrast to Zenkichi, Kumagawa continually brings people to his level while Zenkichi works as hard as he can to catch up to the extraordinary people around him.
Tohru and Elma. Tohru is a fire-breathing western style Chaos dragon whose human form has long blonde pigtails and serves as a maid. Elma is an eastern style water dragon in the Harmony faction whose human form has short black hair and works at an office.
Kanna and Saikawa. Kanna is a quiet, reserved dragon girl who is easily liked by her classmates; Saikawa is a loud, boastful human girl who isn't well-liked by her and Kanna's peers.
Kanna and Ilulu. Kanna is stoic child, wears white, was banished by her neglectful parents, and has a female Implied Love Interest. Ilulu is an emotional teenager (that looks like a child), wears black, lost her Good Parents to humans, and has a male Implied Love Interest.
Taketo and Saikawa. Take is relatively reserved and more unsure about his feelings toward Ilulu, and Ilulu is more open about her affections toward him. Saikawa openly displays her affection towards Kanna, and Kanna is more passive on reciprocation.
Monster has several of the side characters with A Day in the Limelight subplot blatantly mirror the protagonist's quest in some way. The village doctor is what Tenma could have become had he married Eva. Richard Braun is what Tenma would have become if he had shot Johan without any question to his past. Milan Kolash is the Tenma who goes through with the murder. Johan also has foils in the form of Nina and Dieter.
Moriarty the Patriot: Sherlock Holmes and Professor William James Moriarty are Mirror foils. They're both incredibly intelligent and capable of the same Awesome by Analysis, and have similar goals in regards to protecting people and supporting justice, but their stubbornness leads them to clash in their differences. William is significantly more inclined to dirty methods than Sherlock is, is quiet, well-mannered, and well-dressed and very, very reserved and restrained. Meanwhile, Sherlock is brash and straightforward, honest to a fault and blunt about everything.
This also applies between Enchu and Yoichi, who was another member of their group of friends; when Muhyo's talent became clear, Yoichi realized that he couldn't hope to catch up to him, but Enchu never gave up, and fell into madness after losing the Executor position to Muhyo soon after losing his mother.
Enchu and Tomas. Both are the Evil Former Friend to the heroes (Enchu to Muhyo, Yoichi and Biko, Tomas to Page), but while Enchu did a Face–Heel Turn as a result of his grief over losing his mother and jealousy of Muhyo, Tomas was Evil All Along, since he was a criminal even before joining the MLS. Enchu eventually undergoes a Heel–Face Turn and becomes The Atonerwhile serving his sentence in the Arcanum, while Tomas gleefully embraces his evil until he's sentenced and defeated.
In My-HiME, Shizuru and Haruka contrast with one another. Shizuru is a calm, polite Ojou who is highly popular in the school and in love with her best friend Natsuki, but believes her feelings are improper. Haruka has a Hair-Trigger Temper, her family is Nouveau Riche, she only got twelve votes in the election, and is the subject of possible unrequited love by her best friend Yukino, but implies she finds homosexuality disgusting.
Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha contrast against one another throughout the entirity of the series. Their one commonality starting off is that both are orphans. In the beginning, Naruto is a pariah due to his being the host to the destructive Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, who plays pranks and acts like a delinquent because being scorned by the adults and peers was preferable to being ignored. Meanwhile, Sasuke is popular and well-liked among his peers and others in Konoha due to his coming from the prestigious Uchiha clan. Naruto is incredibly Book Dumb and struggles to maintain good grades in ninja school, while Sasuke is a scholarly prodigy. In terms of fighting abilities, Sasuke learns many techniques well and utilizes them to devastating effect, while Naruto is a more unconventional fighter who thinks outside of the box and is able to overwhelm his opponents with unorthodox tactics. At the end of Part I and going into Part II, their roles become reversed: Naruto becomes a folk hero in Konoha, while Sasuke becomes a fugitive due to his affiliation with the villainous Orochimaru. Naruto even comments on this contrast during one of his later fights with Sasuke, noting that their positions could've easily been reversed, with Sasuke as Konoha's golden boy and Naruto as a villainous traitor.
Hinata Hyuga is this with Sakura Haruno when it comes to their attractions towards Naruto and Sasuke respectively. In Part I of the manga Hinata's attraction towards Naruto came solely from his boisterous and optimistic character, which is one of the factors that makes Hinata's admiration for Naruto grow into genuine love during Part II. On the other hand, Sakura's attraction to Sasuke in the beginning stems from his physical attractiveness and ideal image as a cool and cunning bad boy with prodigious ninjutsu talents. As the series continues on Sakura begins to realize that there's more to Sasuke than his good looks and bad boy attitude and that Sasuke is an imperfect person with a huge chip on his shoulder and starts to understand him on a deeper level. Understanding what Sasuke has gone through in his past and spending more time with him as a member of Team 7 is what causes Sakura to develop genuine romantic feelings for him.
The Uchiha clan was a clan of stoic ninja with a talent for fire ninjutsu. The strongest Uchiha were genius bruisers possessing the clan's kekkei genkai (the sharingan). They rivalled with the Senju clan, who were known for their exceptional stamina and for believing in The Power of Friendship. Many Senju practised medical ninjutsu, but only one was known to possess a kekkei genkai (Wood Release -a hybrid of earth and water ninjutsu).
In Boruto, Naruto becomes a foil to his son, Boruto. Boruto is a rebellious Guile Hero and resents his father for not spending enough time with his family. The adult Naruto is a Reasonable Authority Figure with a naive personality, who (being an orphan) had no father to compare himself to.
Neon Genesis Evangelion uses the mechanic a lot. The most obvious example is Rei and Asuka - their personalities are diametric opposites in a Red Oni, Blue Oni dynamic, which is further emphasized by their reversed appearances (red eyes and short blue hair, blue eyes and long red hair). Shinji falls somewhere between them in temperament, and so serves as a foil to both. Several scenes draw a parallel between Asuka's and Shinji's relationship and Misato's and Kaji's. Ritsuko contrasts directly with Misato. The series has a Geodesic Cast, with several similar groups set up to compare and contrast.
To an extent, the Angels as a whole are a Foil to the "Humans" that inhabit the Earth. They usually embody and symbolize either a trait that their opposition has in abundance or lacking in, or reveal a trait which they have suppressed. Fitting, since they're literally Humans that rejected our Human Forms which metaphorically took a different Path of Life since before Creation.
Not quite they have different origins, creatures created from the seed of life vs those created from the seed of knowledge. It's All There in the Manual. Even though, originally they were souls of citizens of the same world.
While Kaworu can immediately be identified as on to Rei due to the two of them being Adam and Lilith vessels, he was explicitly designed to be one to Shinji. This gets further emphasized in Rebuild of Evangelion, due to an increased emphasis on their roles as unique Impact triggers, the physical contrast (hair, eyes, reversed plug colors, body language, Kaworu's love for change and Shinji's fear of change, Kaworu's blind trust vs Shinji's mistrust) which are placed in similar circumstances, including rebellion against their manipulative guardians: SEELE and Gendo.
Yato and Tenjin in Noragami. Tenjin is essentially everything that Yato wants to be: beloved throughout Japan with several successful shrines and living a comfortable, good life. Unlike Yato, Tenjin is calm and mature rather than brash and foolhardy. He is well respected and takes good care of his Shinki, whereas Yato at times can barely manage Yukine. However, Tenjin is a lot less merciful than Yato when it comes to dealing with misbehaving Shinki.
Usopp and Kuro. Both of them are cowards, but while Usopp, an aspiring pirate at the time of his introduction, is willing to overcome his fears and face much stronger enemies to protect those he cares about, Kuro is willing to betray and murder a young girl and sacrifice his own men in order to retire from piracy.
Monkey D. Luffy and Buggy. The former is a happy-go-lucky adventurer, while the latter is a greedy and ruthless pirate. Luffy idolizes Shanks, while Buggy can't stand him. Both accidentally ate Devil Fruits (in fact, Buggy was the first Devil Fruit user apart from Luffy), but while Luffy doesn't mind, Buggy is furious, since he'd planned on selling his. Said Devil Fruits are opposites in some ways, since Luffy's Gum Gum Fruit protects him against blunt attacks but is vulnerable to bladed weapons, while Buggy's Chop Chop Fruit is especially useful against enemies who might try to cut him.
As The Lancer, Roronoa Zoro is a neat contrast to his captain Luffy in many ways; a former bounty hunter with an outwardly stern and menacing disposition who actually resembles the traditional pirate far more than Luffy does due to Luffy's own cheerful demeanor.
Marshall D. "Blackbeard" Teach and Luffy are both powerful pirates with the same goal, but they are complete opposite to each other in more ways than one:
Teach is a big, overweight Gonk. Luffy is a short and leanly muscular Keet.
Teach, for all his bravado, is a Dirty Coward deep down while Luffy isn't afraid of death.
Their Devil Fruit powers also notably contrast each other. Teach's Dark Dark Fruit is a Logia without the Nigh-Invulnerability that normally comes with this type of DF and its abilities possibly make Teach even more vulnerable to physical damage. Luffy's Rubber Rubber Fruit on the other hand give him resistance to physical (specifically blunt) damage, something rather rare for a Paramecia type (because the fruit is in reality the Mythical Zoan Human Human Fruit, Model: Sun God Nika, and so its power is much more versatile), Teach's powers also work mostly by attraction and by manipulating his surroundings or his opponents' bodies, while Luffy's powers work by expansion and by changing his own body.
Teach is a Manipulative Bastard that makes long and careful plans. Luffy is a Nice Guy, a terrible liar, and rarely plans the actions he does.
Teach's rise to power is quiet, staying below the radar for years without receiving a bounty, before finally instantly emerging to the world by defeating Whitebeard and claiming his title as Emperor. Luffy's reputation is monitored as he quickly rose the ranks in infamy with ever increasingly large incidents.
Vice Admrial Vergo is similar to Vice Admiral Smoker. While Vergo is renowned for his patience towards his men in the G5, Smoker is much more strict and harsh with them. However, it is revealed that Vergo had been faking his fondness for his men the entire time, and viciously turns on them, while Smoker genuinely cares for his men underneath it all and fights for their lives. And if Smoker ever gets promoted to Admiral, he will become one to Sakazuki and/or Kizaru, due to having a color-themed moniker like all the other Admirals and being a good-natured Marine.
Captain Coby steadily becomes Luffy's Marine counterpart. While both are talented young men who aim to become the best of the best in their respective fields, Koby is much more reserved and self-deprecating than Luffy is. This is most apparent when Koby declares that he will become an Admiral, where, in contrast Luffy's constant enthusiasm when declaring himself to be the next Pirate King, he shows embarrassment and immediately apologizes for his behavior afterwards.
Sanji is a foil to Donquixote Doflamingo of all people:
Both came from wealthy backgrounds, with Doffy being a former World Noble and Sanji being the third son of the Vinsmoke family, a royal family of Underworld assassins and commanders of Germa 66 whose power and affluence are almost on par with the World Nobles.
Both left their cushy lifestyles at a young age. Sanji did it willingly because his relatives are criminal assassins and because said relatives (save for his older sister Reiju and his deceased mother) were abusive assholes. Meanwhile, Doffy had to discard his title as a World Noble because his father wanted him to learn how to live among the commoners their neighbors so often mistreated, which Doffy never quite got over even as an adult and has been trying to be accepted back into Mariejois ever since.
Both are very formidable fighters, but Sanji is a physical fighter whose kicks are aided by Haki. Meanwhile, Doffy is a Devil Fruit user who, while no slouch in direct combat himself, tends to heavily rely on his powers.
Both have a talent at being The Chessmaster. Sanji uses his talents to help people, while Doffy's entire career lies in using people like puppets (literally and figuratively) and even caused an entire kingdom to suffer for it.
Both Sanji and Doffy hate their fathers, but Sanji has a legitimate reason because Vinsmoke Judge is a brutish man and abusive parent who believes in Might Makes Right and conquered the North Blue just to demonstrate his family's strength and power. Meanwhile, Doffy's father was kind and well-meaning, but his idea of making his family leave the World Nobles to live among the commoners made Doffy lash out like a brat who was denied his allowance and kill him (though it's implied the death of Doffy's mother, as well as his father's naivete, provided motivation as well).
Both have antagonistic relationships with their siblings. Sanji's older and younger fraternal quadruplet brothers are assholes who bullied him for being a weak waste of space. Doffy's brother Rocinante opposed him because he believed his sibling was "evil to the core".
Both had affectionate relationships with their mothers, who died of illness when they were both young. Both incidents were the turning points in Sanji and Doffy's lives; Vinsmoke Sora had secretly pulled a Heroic Sacrifice to protect Sanji and his quadruplet brothers from becoming their father's weapons, dying in the process and allowing Sanji to "live" like a normal child. The death of Doffy's mother, however, drove him to "death", specifically, the murder of his father; it's implied he killed his father because if he hadn't moved the family out of Mariejois, his mother's illness would have been cured by the World Nobles' advanced medicine.
Finally, Sanji and Doffy's personalities are basically inversions of each other. Sanji's a Jerk with a Heart of Gold who cares deeply for his friends no matter how much he argues with them and is a compassionate, princely (pun intended) young man underneath his abrasive, harsh exterior. Meanwhile, Doffy's kindness, charisma, and father-like treatment of his pirate crew hides the insane, entitled, sadistic, prideful scumbag who psychologically manipulates his "family" into serving as his tools and won't hesitate to discard them when it's convenient. It's even reflected in their powers: Sanji's use of fire can also feed and help his crewmates, while Doffy's seemingly harmless strings are used as tools of manipulation and murder.
Charlotte Linlin and Kaido act as almost mirrors to each other in their powers, personalities, and how they rule.
Linlin wants to create a world where everyone can live together in peace on equal footing, though she uses violent (and often psychotic) methods to do so. Kaido wants to create a massive war where the strong survive and the weak perish.
Linlin's army is based heavily on nepotism where the only officers are her own children, of which she has several dozen and treats as disposable tools. Kaido's forces are a meritocracy where anyone can challenge a higher ranking member for their spot*Unlike Bege, who was merely a soldier under Big Mom, Hawkins was made an officer almost immediately after joining Kaido. Similarly, X. Drake rose to one of the highest ranks in under two years under Kaido. Kaido abuses his only child, Yamato, for being rebellious but actively wants them by his side.
Linlin allows anyone to live in her territory (which is filled with food) and lead (mostly) peaceful lives so long as they pay their semi-annual soul tax. Kaido keeps the borders of Wano closed and forces its citizens to endure hard labor and starvation.
Linlin's devilfruit relies heavily on others, either by creating specialized minions out of her own soul or by making others fear her so she can steal theirs. Kaido's devil fruit grants him a vast array of abilities, all of which enhance himself in some manner.
Finally, Linlin becomes outraged and even fearful at the idea of someone actually being strong enough to defeat her. When Kidd and Law are about to defeat her, she first begs for her life then mentally insists This Cannot Be!. In contrast, Kaido grows excited the more powerful his opponents are and actively seeks a way for to die, preferably in combat. Unlike Linlin, he happily fought Luffy to the very end, having even apologized for CP0 interfering with their fight previously.
One-Punch Man: Saitama — the unknown most powerful hero in the world who seems unimpressive and whom people look down on — and King — the famous, respected, seemingly impressive Fake Ultimate Hero. Ironically, the two also have a lot in common and start hanging out, because both are kind of apathetic and often have nothing better to do than play video games, even if it's for opposite reasons.
Satoshi/Ash begins the series as something of a Butt-Monkey who struggles to succeed and always puts in his level best to come out on top, while his original rival, Shigeru/Gary, is a smug punk who seems to be a natural at everything he does in regards to training Pokémon with little-to-no effort. In later entries in the anime series, the rivalry becomes much more friendly, with Shigeru/Gary eventually pursuing a career in research and science like his grandfather, Professor Ohkido/Oak while Satoshi/Ash continues to pursue his own path as a trainer.
Satoshi/Ash is impulsive and governs with his heart, while Shinji/Paul is always more in control and strongly favors cold logic. This was pretty much the basis of their rivalry, mainly with them disagreeing on how it was appropriate to train Pokémon.
Both also represent the viewers/players in different ways. Satoshi/Ash is the adventurer, who learns about the world through his adventures and uses the Pokémon he likes and he puts a lot of effort to support them, even on an emotional level, like the casual players care about their Pokémon they raise through their adventure. Shinji/Paul on the other hand represents the competitive players, releasing Pokémon he deems useless or too weak and put them on intense training without caring much about their well-being as long as their limits are pushed on maximum to unleash their potential. Like the real life competitive players, Shinji/Paul's teams follow specific strategies and his Pokémon fill certain roles to achieve victory for the whole team.
XY(Z) presents Ash with two more foils in the form of rivals Sawyer and Alain. While Ash was certainly no slouch prior to his adventure in Kalos, XY gave Ash a huge buff into a supremely competent trainer with the skill and maturity of a veteran which won him the respect and admiration of beginning trainer Sawyer. In XY, Ash was skillful, innovative, seasoned due to his experiences from previous journeys, and unpredictable in battle which was his greatest asset. Meanwhile Sawyer was a bit naïve, getting distracted easily mid-battle, but at the same time analytical and did things by the book which compensated for his lack of experience and allowed him to grow from a trainer who would regularly get his hide handed to him by Ash on a silver platter into a Semi-Finalist of the Kalos League who could actually defeat Ash and pose him a challenge. Infact he built his entire specifically to counter Ash's Team.
Alain serves as a foil to Ash as a person/character. While XY may have amped up Ash's battling skills, he still remained the good natured, outgoing kid who has an uncanny ability to make friends no matter who they are wherever he goes like always. Meanwhile, while Alain is far from antagonistic, mean-spirited, or anything that makes him seem like a Jerkass, he's very aloof and borderline anti-social and only became friends with Mairin because she insisted on following him, and Ash because he feels like is the only person who can give him an exciting battle. No better place is this shown than the Kalos League where you can see Ash sitting with his friends and happily chatting about when he isn't battling while Alain is standing against a wall by himself just observing the action when he isn't battling. Whenever they were in battle, Ash tended to thank his opponents for the battle and compliment their skill, even one trainer he didn't have to battle but did anyway because he promised he would. Meanwhile, Alain after battle would just simply recall his Pokémon and borderline scoff at his battles, calling his matches boring and leave without giving his opponent so much as a glance being visibly disinterested in everyone but Ash who was quite literally the only reason he decided to participate in the Lumiose Conference in the first place.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Rebellion uses Madoka and Homura's relationship to contrast different kinds of love. Madoka's love is extroverted, indiscriminate and conventionally selfless, an emotion that empowers other people; Homura's love is introverted, fixed entirely on one person and dangerously intense- an emotion that empowers herself. (Note that this does not make Homura evil.) Both girls have essentially the same goals, but different methods of reaching them. Which is why it's really unfortunate that they can't work together.
The Quintessential Quintuplets: Fuutarou's circumstances are similar to Yotsuba's. Both grew up in a poor family and believed their lives to be meaningless. But whereas Fuutarou had given up on his situation, Yotsuba was determined to give her life meaning somehow. This culminated in them making a promise to each other: to study hard and become rich in order to support their families, and become someone useful to others. But while Fuutarou succeeded, Yotsuba failed miserably. On the other hand, Yotsuba’s mistakes became a factor to her abandoning her Inferiority Superiority Complex towards her sisters, and only then could she learn how to build relationships, empathy, and consideration; becoming a likable person with friends as a result. But Fuutarou, who although had become a highly intelligent and capable person, became a social outcast without a single friend. Also, while Fuutarou's family lives in Perpetual Poverty, Yotsuba's economical situation drastically improved when their mother married their rich stepfather.
In Sailor Moon Crystal, Venus is Kunzite's foil. Both were renowned guard-captains during the Silver Millenium; both were sworn to protect a different line of royalty. But when evil (here personified as Queen Beryl) beckoned, Venus upheld her duty while Kunzite abandoned it. One Reincarnation later, they're mortal enemies.
Close examination of the 90s anime has shown Usagi and Zoisite to be foils as well as shadow archetypes. Both are childish and impatient, the youngest of their respective groups and in need of the most guidance and completely obsessed with the ones they love. But while Usagi is slowly revealed to be The Messiah, Zoisite showcases the darker side of this personality type, leading to his downfall.
Touka and Momo. The former is obsessed with standing out as much as possible. The latter has grown up while being unnoticed by most people, and has accepted that, but wants to be acknowledged and appreciated most by her friend and senpai, Yumi.
Momo: (regarding Touka) She must be an outrageous self-interested showboat. (regarding Nodoka) And she has body parts that have more personality than herself. (regarding herself) Then there is the antithesis of such people.
The Miyanaga and Matsumi sisters nicely contrast. The Miyanaga sisters were close in their childhood until a tragedy involving the death of a third girl the two of them were close to, at which point their parents separated, Teru stopped talking to Saki and Teru denied even having a sister. By contrast, the Matsumi sisters are very close, with Kuro protecting her older sister Yuu from bullies, while Yuu resolves to gain back any points Kuro loses so that she doesn't feel guilty.
Hiroe and Kyouko, in terms of playing style, as summed up by Hiroe.
Hiroe: You see, while I have never started a mahjong game even considering the possibility of losing, Kyouko constantly thinks about losing, even to weaker opponents. She derives her strength from that carefulness. That's Kyouko in a nutshell.
Hisa and Kazue — both are talented players who ended up in schools with less-than-stellar teams. While Hisa forgoes going to the individuals for her first two years, wanting to go to the nationals with her team, Kazue sees the individuals as a place she can shine without being held back by "weak" teammates.
Kafuka (the ultimate optimist) to Itoshiki (the ultimate pessimist) in Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei. Highlighted even further by Kafuka being The Pollyanna to Itoshiki's Attention Whore tendencies where he does not actually want to commit suicide and she has a fairly troubled past.
The Tsukamoto sisters. Tenma is extroverted, has long hair, Tareme Eyes and big mouth◊. Yakumo is introverted, has short hair and big◊ Tsurime Eyes.
Harima is a hoodlum who wears shades while Hanai is the Class Representative who wears glasses.
Skip Beat! has Erika Koenji and Kimiko Morizumi. Both are spoiled brats with influential families note Erika is the daughter of an important company CEO, and Kimiko's family all work as producers or directors in showbiz. and are always willing to use their family's influence to gain advantages in auditions, gaining important roles and fame more easily. The Lotus in the Mire arc shows their differences. Since her original appearance, Erika has taken Kanae's words to heart and has learned to not rely on her connections anymore, choosing to audition and prove that she can earn a role herself by working hard. On the other hand, Kimiko continues to throw tantrums when things don't go her way and is willing to severely injure her opponents, even allowing for the risk of death, if it gives her a second chance at snatching up a role.
Subaru has several foils in the first series, with the first being Takako Sunohara. Both are exceptionally good dancers for their young age, but Subaru's troubled past has caused her to be more jaded and focus entirely on ballet. Takako has a lot of things to do outside of ballet. Made blatantly obvious when Takako's teacher, who shared the stage with Subaru at one point, compares the two by saying that Subaru's dance was dark and oppressing, whereas Takako's dance is 'warm like the sunlight'.
Later on, there's a bigger emphasis on Subaru and Priscilla Roberts. Both came to America to become professional dancers at a young age and Priscilla was accepted by the New York Ballet easily, eventually getting the leading role in Romeo & Juliette and being a renowned dancer for the past 15 years. Subaru struggled more, belonging to a rather obscure troupe, but her dancing of Don Quixote began to gain her some fame. Priscilla even mentions that Subaru reminds her of herself when younger, wondering if she sees Subaru not just as a rival, but a potential successor. Things become more obvious when both dance the Bolero on the same days.
The sequel series finally brings in Hsu Minmin, a Chinese acrobat-turned-ballerina. She and Subaru both have troubled pasts, suffering certain degrees of parental abandonment, view ballet as their main focus.
The titular heroes, "Wild Tiger" Kotetsu T. Kaburagi and Barnaby "Bunny" Brooks, Jr., start out about as different from one another as a pair of heroes can get. The only thing they have in common are their superheroic careers and the same "Hundred Power" ability. Kotetsu is a seasoned hero who is less concerned with his public image and more concerned with being a hero and saving people, even if it means causing collateral damage to the city, while Barnaby is a relative newcomer who is more interested in advancing his career. Kotetsu became a superhero because he was inspired by another hero who saved him, while Barnaby became a hero as a means of exacting Revenge against his parents' murderer. Kotetsu struggles to maintain popularity among hero fans, while Barnaby became a household name almost immediately following his debut. Kotetsu is a widower and a single father, while Barnaby is a bachelor. As the series progresses, Kotetsu's more optimistic and idealistic traits rub off in Barnaby and the two become True Companions, but still continue to bicker and argue Like an Old Married Couple.
Starting with Tiger & Bunny 2, the two-hero team format pioneered by Kotetsu and Barnaby is adopted by all heroes, with each hero paired up with another. In every case, their personalities and abilities contrast with one another:
"Rock Bison" Antonio Lopez is The Big Guy whose powers make him nigh invulnerable, lending well to an aggressive fighting style. His partner, "Origami Cyclone" Ivan Karelin, has a power that isn't as useful in combat (namely, changing his appearance and voice to other peoples'), but which lends itself well to trickery and undercover work.
"Blue Rose" Kalina Lyle and "Golden Ryan" Ryan Goldsmith have powers that are suited to stopping enemies in their tracks (cryokinesis and gravity control, respectively). Kalina is the more serious of the two and is a dainty pop-star in appearance, while Ryan is a burly blowhard and prima donna.
"Dragon Kid" Pao-lin Huang and "Magical Cat" Lara Tsaikoskaya have powers that naturally compliment each other (lightning and water, respectively). Pao-lin is an Action Girl who fights with martial arts, while Lara is more of a cutesy Magical Girl in appearance and fighting style.
"Sky High" Keith Goodman and "Fire Emblem" Nathan Seymore are top-ranking heroes who are highly popular. Both also tend towards being Large Hams, with Keith being a good-natured ham with a keen sense of showmanship, while Nathan tends more towards Camp and flamboyancy.
"Mr. Black" Subaru Sengoku and "He Is Thomas" Thomas Taurus are newcomers to Sternbild's superhero scene. Subaru is a Hot-Blooded young man eager to prove himself, while Thomas is much more stoic and passive.
In Umi Monogatari, Marin is outgoing and positive while Kanon is quieter and gloomy.
Most of the pairs in The World God Only Knows seem to be designed to be foils of one kind or another. Tenri is passive and shy while Diana is pushy and proactive. Vulcan highlights Tsukiyo's cool elegance and emotional reserve, while on the devil side of things you can make similar comparisons between Haqua and Yukie, Elsie and Keima and possibly even Nora and Ryou. (And between Elsie and Haqua, for that matter.)
Witch Hat Atelier: Qifrey and Olrugio are best friends, but are almost complete opposites to each other in every way. Qifrey specializes in water magic, Olrugio in fire. Qifrey seems warm and friendly, but harbors a Dark Secret and is willing to use and manipulate others for his quest of personal vengeance against the Brimhats. Olrugio is rude and gruff, but is actually a Nice Guy who constantly puts others before himself. This contrast is also represented visually: Qifrey has white hair and wears white robes, with a black undershirt. Olrugio is dark-haired and wears black robes, but has a white shirt beneath.
In World's End Harem Hino Kyouji, the Number One, is the complete opposite of the series protagonist Reito; Hino accepted the new world where women throw themselves at the remaining men pretty quickly, he is constantly having sex without a care in the world, perfectly happy with a situation where he is treated like a King and the harem is always around to fulfill his wishes; while Reito didn’t take the news that all men on earth, including his family and friends, died and now women out nowhere demands for him to become a breeding stallion, and still is looking for his love, Erisa, who has disappeared in the crisis.
Gija and Jaeha of Yona of the Dawn. They are the exactly opposite in everything they are like for example, personality, mannerisms, views and ideals about the world and fighting style and how they interact with the opposite gender.
The two recurring antagonists of Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Duelist Kingdom arc aren Pegasus J. Crawford (tournament host, Manipulative Bastard, Chessmaster, Gentleman Snarker and Squishy Wizard) and "Bandit" Keith Howard (a Smug Snake and Jerkass who'd be The Brute if he wasn't self-employed). Keith's arrogance, underestimation of his opponents, reliance on beating people up, and his belief that the world owes him something contrast nicely with Pegasus, who plays a much longer game, knows he'll have to work towards his goals, and relies on magic and manipulation over brute force. They do not get along.
Seto Kaiba and Jounouchi Katsuya are foils to each other. Kaiba's signature monster is Blue-Eyes White Dragon while Jounouchi's is Red-Eyes Black Dragon. They also have a hot versus cold dynamic.
Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL has Gauche and Droite (whose names contrast, being "Left" and "Right" in French). Gauche is very Hot-Blooded and his dueling style is aggressive and relies on brute force. Droite is an Ice Queen and her dueling style is passive and relies on weakening and manipulating her opponent. Despite their differences, they care about each other very much and are a nearly unstoppable tag-team.
Sakyo, the Arc Villain of the Dark Tournament arc, serves as a foil to the villain of the previous arc, Gonzo Tarukane. While Tarukane is short, ugly, and a Jerkass who is very blatant about how evil he is, Sakyo is tall, handsome, and very affable in-spite of how reprehensible he can be. Both have goals centered around getting more money in-spite of already being rich, but whereas Tarukane wants more money simply for the sake of having more money, Sakyo wants more money so that he can spend the money as part of his goal to build a portal connecting the human and demon realms. And finally, while they both lose their fortunes and die, they react in contrasting ways: Tarukane suffers a Villainous Breakdown in his final moments, while Sakyo accepts his defeat and keeps his composure to the very end.
Whereas the Dragon-in-Chief of the Dark Tournament arc, Younger Toguro, serves as Yusuke Urameshi's Evil Counterpart, the villain of the following arc, Shinobu Sensui, serves as his foil. Yusuke treats his job as a Spirit Detective like a chore, while during his time with the role, Sensui treated the job with honor. Whereas Yusuke is Hot-Blooded, lazy, a Sir Swears-a-Lot, and has little respect for authority, Sensui is calm, hardworking, polite, and refined. Whereas Yusuke's fighting style is an unrefined street-fighting style largely based around punches, Sensui's fighting style is an elegant martial arts style largely based around kicks. Yusuke is a human-demon hybrid who fights to protect humanity from evil humans and demons, while Sensui is a pure human who seeks to punish humanity for their sins. In fact, it's these differences that are what led to Koenma deciding to hire Yusuke as a Spirit Detective in the first place. After seeing how Sensui's intelligence and moral philosophy negatively effected him during his time on the job, Koenma felt that someone with a less developed intelligence and sense of morality would fit much better into the job.
The six awakened girls of Franchouchou each form a pair that greatly contrasts each other.
Sakura and Saki: They are both natives of Saga and are the only ones with no prior experience in the idol business, let alone the entertainment industry. Both girls also died in accidents involving land vehicles due to their own recklessness (Sakura got hit by a truck rushing out of her house without looking for traffic, while Saki took a game of chicken too seriously and rode off a cliff to her death). But where Sakura is the sweeteveryday girl who was an aspiring idol (and was supposed to file for an audition on the day she died), Saki is the aggressive ex-biker who showed no interest in the industry in life. They're also both the centers of the group, with Sakura being the emotional bedrock and Saki the functional leader, as showcased when they both try to mediate between Junko and Ai's argument in Episode 6.
Ai and Junko: They're the only professional idols of the group, with the former hailing from the mid-Heisei period (late 2000s), and the latter from the late Showa period (early 1980s); said differences in time period, however, inform their vastly differing philosophies towards their profession—in Ai's time the idol was a relatable figure fans could identify with, while in Junko's, it was an idealized image of perfection. Both initially expressed skepticism regarding the group's prospects, but while Ai was outspoken with her misgivings, Junko was much more silent about it. They also took their zombification the hardest out of the group, both trying to escape the mansion in Episode 2 and getting Heroic BSoD when they realized they were stuck with Kotaro, and also died in accidents just as their careers started to take off, leaving them with issues about being "history". However, their reactions to said issues were very different: Junko spent half of Episode 7 depressed at how her ideals seemed outdated, while Ai continued practicing without rest, refusing to be just a relic.
Yugiri and Lily: While they weren't idols, they were experienced entertainers in life, with Yugiri being an oiran and Lily a famous child actress. However, their backgrounds—the former, a High-Class Call Girl; the latter, a transgender girl—would normally make them anathema in the idol industry except for the highly-unorthodox Kotaro, who knew their histories and still revived them regardless. In terms of time period, Yugiri is the earliest and Lily the most recent. They are also the least bothered by their new lease of (un)life, with Yugiri being the calm and mature older sister of the group and Lily the energetic and cheerful child. While Yugiri has moments of joining the other five in the insanity, Lily has moments of maturity.
◊. Yakumo is introverted, has short hair and big
