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Different as Night and Day
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Skeeter: We're so different...
Scooter: It's pathetic.
She does stunts and
I assist her.
Skeeter: He's my brother!
Scooter: And they tell me she's my sister!
A Sub Trope of the Odd Couple wherein the odd couple are twins, usually identical brothers or sisters. A prominent exception is actually in the Trope Namer, The Patty Duke Show. It featured identical cousins, who were described as "One pair of matching bookends, different as night and day" in the Expository Theme Tune.
Basically, Yin Yang Twins as the main characters, with this being part of the series premise. They'll usually embrace using Identical Twin ID Tags to help the differentiation.
Sometimes overlaps with Cain and Abel, in which case you might expect Fearful Symmetry.
Extreme opposite is Single-Minded Twins or Creepy Twins.
Examples
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Anime and Manga
- Axis Powers Hetalia. The Boisterous Bruiser America and the Shrinking Violet Canada are only implied to be twins, but they fit in farely well.
- Bleach: The sweet House Wife Yuzu and the rough Bokukko Karin.
- CLANNAD: Kyou and Ryou. Long-haired tsundere and short-haired easily-embarrassed sweetheart. Sound similar?
- Digimon Frontier: Kouji and Koichi. Kouji is a pretentious snob who is an asshole that works by himself at first but later shows a much kinder side. His digimon is remniscent of a light wolf. Meanwhile his twin is similar in appearance but far more caring and willing to be in the group than his twin once he's de-brainwashed.. And, his digimon forms are darkness oriented and are remniscent of a lion.
- D.N.Angel: Riku and Risa.They even come out and say that their personalities are completely different. Risa is very girly and rather shallow, while Riku is tomboy-ish and more down to earth.
- Durarara!!: Mairu and Kururi Orihara actually invoked this. They actually flipped a coin to decide which girl got which trait. Strangely enough, their roles (Mairu as the Genki Girl and Kururi as The Quiet One) switch when they're on the internet. Even weirder is the fact that they don't consider themselves separate people.
- ef - a fairy tale of the two.: The Shindou sisters. Chihiro is a Ingenue, Kei is a Shorttank.
- Eyeshield 21: The Kongo twins Unsui and Agon. Unsui has a shaved head like a monk (it's sort of a theme at their school) is intensely hard working, diligent, cautious, a very good athlete and basically a decent guy. But Agon (with a distinctive dreadlock hairstyle) is the series' Jerk Ass, a Jerk Jock to the extreme (including the womanizing, which apparently started in middle school) who gets away with being a sociopathic thug, slacker and general all-around asshole because he is a talent seen only once in a hundred years.
- It emphasized by the fact that 'A' and 'Un' represent "beginning and end" aka birth and death.
- Glass Fleet's Non-Identical Twins Vetti and Cleo exemplify this trope. Though, their personalities are passed off as them having been raised separately, with the younger one subjected to mental and sexual abuse, giving him his screwed up personality.
- Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni: Mion and Shion Sonozaki. It's even more odd, when you realize that they're acting like each other, since they are each other.
- Kara No Kyoukai: Shiki and SHIKI. One is somber and speaks in Keigo, the other is somewhat carefree and speaks like a guy.
- It turns out that it's not the only thing like this... Azaka is special, and is attracted to things that are special. This is pretty much in contrast with everyone else in the cast, but particularly with her brother... The normal guy.
- Lucky Star: Kagami and Tsukasa. The former is a somber tsundere while the other is a ditzy cloudcuckoolander. When asked about this by Konata, they point out that they are fraternal twins.
- Monster: Anna and Johan Liebert. Anna's a nice, sweet girl who practices aikido and delivers pizza as a part-time job. Johan is the title character.
- Ranma ½: Towards the end of the manga, there is Pink and Link, identical twin girls from a village of herbalists that neighbours Shampoo's village of "Chinese Amazons" and who practice different branches of an unnamed "Martial Arts Herbalism", a fighting style that revolves around plants and herbalistic concoctions. Pink, who is usually smiling, is a wicked and vicious girl who loves to poison people. Link, who is usually frowning, is a kind and gentle girl who considers it her duty to heal those her sister hurts. Despite these opposite natures, they care for each other deeply and are capable of uniting with singular purpose when given motive... which means that, in their actual appearance in Nerima, they function more like Single-Minded Twins.
- Spirited Away: The identical twin sisters Yubaba and Zeniba. Yubaba is selfish and materialistic; Zeniba, while vengeful at first, turns out to be kindly and humble.
- Tenshi Ni Narumon: Noelle (the light) and Silky (the darkness) as described by Mikael. Mikael and Raphael might also count
- There, Beyond the Beyond: gives us twin boys both named Virid Visette Viridian, who are summed up quite nicely by their titles: "The Mad Prince" and "The Sane Prince".
- Trigun: Vash and Knives. One is a genocidal maniac and the other is a pacifist. That's pretty different.
- Vash is also all about how other people feel and love and peace, and Knives doesn't even do empathy for his twin with whom he has an effing psychic link.
- Vash acts like a fool whenever he can and Knives is all superiority and icy control except when his temper gets away from him. They do have a bit in common still, when you get past the good and evil divide. For instance, scary if you get them mad. Stubborn as hell. Charisma. Way of speaking, when serious, is even a little similar. Pretty good, when you consider they've been separated over a hundred times as long as they were together.
- When they were kids in the anime, one was unusually mature and one was goofy. No prizes for which. In the manga, they were much more similar, but Vash was more outgoing and Knives was more sensitive.
- Anime Knives goes off and cuts his own hair while Vash is getting his first haircut from Rem; when Vash finds him he says "if we stay the same, we won't have any individuality," even though they're pretty distinct already and even have slightly different coloring, because Viewers Are Morons.
- Tsukihime: Kohaku and Hisui. One is carefree, energetic and always smiling, while the other is silent with little expression.
- Also odd, when you consider that they switched places from when they were children. Hisui was originally carefree and cheerful, while Kohaku was shy and untalkative. Then they got older and It Gotworse for them (specially Kohaku, so Hisui buried her emotions to keep Kohaku stable while Kohaku hid her very darkened True Self behind a facade of happiness.
- Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds: Rua and Ruka (Leo and Luna, respectively, in the dub) from Rua is a rowdy, cocky duelist who overestimates himself. Ruka is quiet, introverted and is usually the one to notify Rua when he goes too far.
- The original series' Yugi and Yami Yugi can be counted as this if you consider them twins (of the split personality/alternate guy living in your head kind), with a dash of Sibling Yin-Yang.
- AR∀GO: City of London Police's Special Crimes Investigator: Arago and Ewan fit this trope to a T.
- Saint Seiya has the twin brothers Saga (thoughtful, wise, just until his Superpowered Evil Side kicks in) and Kanon (selfish, scheming, arrogant until he has a Heel Face Turn.) For major irony, Saga is the Gemini Saint, with Kanon inheriting his position once Saga dies.
- Hekikai No Aion: The twin sisters Shizuki and Yuzuki. Shizuki is a Manipulative Bitch and an Ill Girl, in the other hand, Yuzuki is a Ditz and a Dumb Muscle
Comic Books
- Young Avengers: Caring geek Wiccan and hyperactive badboy Speed.
- Flash: Hyperactive, Fun Personified speedster Bart Allen (aka (Impulse) and his collected, scheming, evil clone Thaddeus Thawne (Inertia). Bart even mentions The Patty Duke Show the first time they meet, suggesting they switch places to befuddle their friends. Thad responds by punching Bart in the nose.
- In X-Men Noir, Thomas and Robert Halloway are, respectively, a know-it-all afflicted with Chronic Hero Syndrome and a crude, violent sadist. It's probably important to note that they were adopted by different families after their father died.
- Jezebel and Dinah in Blacksad: Dinah is a black bear (= dark brown) with a white patch on her chest, Jezebel a polar bear (= white) with a dark patch on her chest. Otherwise, they share face structure, and body and hair type. Personality-wise, Dinah is softer and Jezebel harder, although both have it in them to do what they need, if it's for righteous revenge.
- Gregory Stark and Tony Stark in Ultimate Avengers. Becomes a case of Cain and Abel.
Film
- Eurotrip: The twins Jenny and Jamie are pretty different. Throughout the movie the phrase "worst twins ever" is repeated.
- Hellboy II: The Golden Army has Prince Nuada and Prince Nuala; while they are Half-Identical Twins in appearance, Word Of God says they were intended to be as different as night and day in all other respects.
- The Parent Trap: In the 1998 remake, the twin girls, Annie James and Hallie Parker (Lindsay Lohan), are completely different. Annie is calm, reserved, and rather uptight while Hallie is relaxed, loud, outgoing, and a Big Eater.
- Susan and Sharon in the original, to a lesser extent.
- She's The Man: Sebastian and Viola. He's artsy and musical, and she's athletic and loves soccer. It's even lampshaded near the end of the movie.
- Star Wars: Luke is blonde, blue-eyed, calm, mild-mannered and naive; and is a mystical, religious Jedi Knight. Leia is brunette, brown-eyed, quick-tempered, sharp-tongued and worldly-wise; and is a shrewd, practical politician.
- The Star Wars Expanded Universe shows Luke having trouble teaching Leia to be a Jedi. What worked for him (he got a lot of Jedi qualities) won't work for her. Hot temper is not something a Jedi knight ought to have. Especially since she's pregnant with Han's baby while trying to learn.
- Markus and William Corvinus, from Underworld: Evolution, were twin brothers who respectively became the first vampire and first werewolf. One is scheming and pompous, the other is near-mindless and savage. Unusual in that we never learn if they'd been genetically identical or not, as William is already locked permanently in his wolf-man form at the time the film is set.
- Rock star wannabe Roxy and Young Republican Jane in New York Minute.
Literature
- Jacob and Esau of The Bible. In fact one book of children's Bible stories even had the chapter title "Twins Who Were Different."
- Dawn and Eve of Piers Anthony's Xanth are literally as different as day and night, from the fact that Dawn is red haired and green eyed, and is like the morning, while Eve is black haired and eyed and is like the night.
- Amoret and Belphoebe in The Faerie Queene: The former was adopted by Venus, the Goddess of Love and Beauty, and became a Proper Lady. The latter was adopted by Diana, the Goddess of Maidenhood and the Hunt, and became an Action Girl.
- Occurs in Gordon R. Dickson's Childe Cycle series of novels and short stories, in the characters of Ian and Kensie Graeme. Both are Dorsai (Proud Warrior Race Guys). Ian is the epitome of the Warrior - seemingly aloof and intimidating by his sheer presence. Kensie is his polar opposite - warm, caring, social - everything that Ian is not. In the stories it's implied that together the two make up one individual.
- Ironically, it's Ian who's irresistible to women - without realizing it.
- Which is a tribute to Dickson's understanding of Female Psychology. Of course we women would be drawn to a dark, broody type over a sunny open one!
- Both the books and TV version of Sweet Valley High, with the Wakefield twins Jessica and Elizabeth.
- The Eiran twins Eamonn and Grainne from Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey.
- Robert L. Stevenson's The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde may be considered a variation of this trope.
- Shaun and Shem from Finnegan's Wake probably count, but it's hard to figure out which is which, due to the book changing their names constantly. All you need to know is one is boring and dull, and the other is really creative and artistic.
- Specifically, Shaun is dull and conformist but successful in society, while Shem is a slovenly outcast but also an artistic genius.
- In the original Story Lottie and Luise by Erich Kästner (aka "Das doppelte Lottchen"), the titular twins had extremely different personalities, which made their place change all the more hilarious. Most film versions omit this, though.
- The Brothers Majere; easy going, heroic Boisterous Bruiser Caramon and intense, morally ambiguous Squishy Wizard Raistlin in Dragonlance.
- Tamora Pierce gives us:
- In the Tortall Universe, Alanna the down-to-earth Action Girl who dislikes magic, academic pursuits and social games, and Thom the fame-hungry career mage and scholar who thinks he's Above Good and Evil.
- A deliberate subversion of this trope in the next generation with Alanna's daughter and son Alianne and Alan, who are neither this nor Single-Minded Twins. Word Of God says this was to point out that there's not always some mystical weirdness about twins.
- In the Circle of Magic universe, Nia the shy, retiring one (with woodworking magic) and Jory the hyperactive, overeager one (with cooking magic).
- Eve and Alexandra in Master of the Game are a Cain and Abel crossover version — Alexandra is sweet, honest, and innocent, with no ambitions towards running Kruger-Brent, Ltd. Eve is consumed by ambition and the desire to be the center of everyone's attention, and starting from the age of five she's determined to kill and/or ruin Alexandra, who's in the way. (Incidentally, author Sidney Sheldon co-created the much gentler Trope Namer years before.)
- Owen and Porter from First Person Plural by Andrew Beierle. Owen is a book-reading drama nerd. Porter is a cheerleader-dating football player. Owen is gay, and Porter is straight. They are also conjoined twins sharing one body with two heads. This is incredibly awkward considering that Porter married a homophobic woman.
- Nicky and Alex in the Full House book series grew up to be different, one tough, one shy, although in one episode of the show their father was concerned that their personalities would turn out the other way around.
Live Action TV
Newspaper Comics
- In the Scamp (Son of Lady and the Tramp) comics (Specifically the newspaper continuity), Scamp and his siblings are two sets of these. Twin Sisters Fluffy and Ruffy are dignified and tomboyish, respectively, while non-identical brothers Scamp and Scooter are adventurous and timid, respectively.
Mythology
Tabletop Games
- The Wood Elves of Warhammer Fantasy have Naestra and Arahan, polar opposite personalities in identical bodies produced when Naestrahan was split into two women due to an unknown event deep in the woods of Athel Loren. They ride a dragon.
- Ravenloft's Laurie and Gennifer Weathermay-Foxgrove are identical twin monster-hunters and proteges of Rudolph van Richten. Laurie is an exuberant tomboy, fencer and pistoleer who dresses like a man, while Gennifer is a demure, sober-minded wizard with closets full of conservative dresses. Also, Gennifer may be an unwitting lycanthrope.
Video Games
- Ace Attorney: Dahlia and Iris Hawthorne from the third game. Dahlia is a ruthless sociopath who has been using her cute and innocent image to get away with murder, literally, for years and Iris is sweet, gentle, and compassionate, and honestly fell for the lead character while posing as her sister because she needed him for a master plan but didn't want to be bothered with actually seducing him.
- The Devil May Cry series Hothead Dante and calculating Vergil.
- Final Fantasy IV: Palom and Porom. Palom is the mischievous user of black magic, and Porom is the mild-mannered user of white magic.
- Porom isn't that mild-mannered though, when her brother is being naughty, she breaks into big sister mode and clocks him on the noggin'.
- The GetBackers game Jagan Fuuin The Mikado twins: Daisuke is very compassionate and sweet and easily befriends the main cast, whereas his identical twin Kyosuke is cold, emotionless, rarely speaks, and seems robotic. It's eventually revealed that the twins are the same person, namely Kyosuke, who, due to fear of their immense spiritual power, were split into two entities, the "body" and "soul". Daisuke was the soul, and once they were merged back into Kyosuke, he acted much like his "brother" did.
- Mother3: Lucas is the main protagonist and Claus is the final boss.
- Sam And Max Freelance Police from Telltale. The Peacock triplets, aka the Soda Poppers. Specs is the smartest of the three, the main planner, but a pushy perfectionist who, in his acting days (at nine years old), would run his costars ragged forcing countless retakes until scenes were performed to his satisfaction. Peepers is the youngest of the three, and has a tendency to act like a younger sibling, an egotist who trades on the fact that he's "the baby" to be his leverage. Whizzer's personality mainly revolves around his twin obsessions of his soda addiction and his weak bladder; he's a bit less distinct than his brothers.
- Street Fighter: Hyperactive Yun and brooding Yang of the Lee Brothers.
- Tokimeki Memorial 2 has the twin sisters Miho and Maho Shirayuki. Miho is a sweet, daydreaming girl who believes in fairies, and loves fortune-telling and plushies, and dreams of becoming a scenario writer of stories for children; Maho is a playful, blunt and mischevious street-wise girl, who enjoys fashion and window-shopping, and dreams of becoming a model.
- Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines: The Voerman sisters, stoic businesswoman Therese and emotional party-girl Jeanette, from You eventually discover Therese is a Malkavian, a member of a clan of vampires known for insanity, and her "sister" Jeanette is actually her Split Personality. With high enough Persuasion skill, you can convince the "sisters" to cooperate instead of one "killing" the other.
- The WarCraft universe. Malfurion and Illidan Stormrage, the night elf twin brothers.
- The Davis twins in The Sims 2: University are described verbatim as "different as night and day" within the game, yet they actually have identical personalities and aspirations. The only real difference between them is their appearances and what they like to talk about. Similarly, the Pleasant twins in Pleasantview are supposedly very different, but have very similar personalities.
- Adean and Briggid from Fire Emblem Jugdral. Adean is a sweet Staff Chick who didn't train as an Action Girl because it simply didn't fit her kind nature, while Briggid was a stubborn Lad-ette that was first kidnapped and then raised among pirates.
Webcomics
- It's Walky!: Fraternal twins Beef and Walky. Justified as Beef was actually switched at birth with Walky's real twin Sal as part of Mrs. Walkerton's Separated at Birth gambit, Sal and Walky later, after the truth was uncovered, and used to set up some Not so Different moments between the two of them.
- LnM: L is energetic and childish, M is laid back and precocious.
- Molly and her clone / twin Galatea in The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob! were raised separately. Both are brilliant, naive, and devoted to Bob, Jean, and each other. But while Molly is upbeat, friendly, and gentle, Galatea is paranoid and megalomaniacal.
Western Animation
Real Life
- America's Next Top Model: Amanda and Michelle Babin, who were contestants on Cycle 7. Michelle is tomboyish and more outgoing, whereas Amanda is more feminine and introverted. Michelle also came out of the closet during the course of the show, just to add another night and day difference to the mix.
- Tokio Hotel: Bill and Tom Kaulitz are identical twins, but dress and wear their hair differently, just to name one difference, to the point that some people don't believe they're identical. One of the more notable differences is Bill's focus on "true love" while (until recently) Tom was only looking for love of the one-night variety.
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