History Main / TheRival

Compare with the ArchEnemy and SitcomArchNemesis, which may or may not overlap. TheLancer, is similar in personality but on the same side as TheHero, TheRival may turn into TheLancer and vice versa through character development. Could be one of the OpposedMentors. See also FandomRivalry. For a specific rival in anime, see StockShonenRival.

* ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11886910/1/Gankona-Unnachgiebig-Unità Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità]]'': Germany and Japan were each other's rivals [[LoveTriangle over Italy]]. Their jealousy towards each other escalated to the point they got caught in a CockFight. [[spoiler:[[TakeAThirdOption Until Italy asked them both out]].]]

* ''FanFic/BlackenedSkies'' gives Kaede two rivals: Celeste and Korekiyo. Of the pair, Celeste is far more ''overt'' in challenging Kaede's attempts to unite the students under her banner and collectively stand against Monokuma, treating her as a naïve, WideEyedIdealist who also refuses to acknowledge her hypocrisies. Korekiyo, meanwhile, was involved in the [[VisualNovel/DanganRonpaV3KillingHarmony same mutual killing game]] as Kaede, and is thus more ''aware'' of her complexities and contradictions than Celeste is, undermining her efforts in relatively more subtle ways.

* All three of the main visual novels of the ''{{Franchise/Danganronpa}}'' series has one of these as part of the main PowerTrio. Each of them are very useful in the investigations and trials, but have conflicting viewpoints with the rest of the cast, especially with their respective protagonists, and fill a similar role to ''Franchise/AceAttorney''‘s prosecutors.

** ''VisualNovel/SuperDanganRonpa2'': [[spoiler:Nagito Komaeda]]. He is a [[LoveFreak hope freak]] with a [[BlueAndOrangeMorality bizarre morality]], finding ''everything'' done for the sake of "hope" to be okay in his eyes even if it includes having people be murdered. He's quite fond of challenging Hinata in the trials, because he wants to see if Hinata's hope is stronger than the murderer's.
** ''VisualNovel/NewDanganRonpaV3'': Kokichi Oma. He is a CardCarryingVillain who admits to being a [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative]] [[ConsummateLiar liar]] that runs a NebulousEvilOrganisation. Unlike the first two rivals, Oma actually is on Saihara's side, but is constantly frustrated with the rest of the cast, and [[GenghisGambit makes himself an antagonistic force to make them all focus]]. He just has way too much fun doing so, and [[{{Troll}} gleefully pisses everyone off with his jokes and pranks]].

* Clay and Candide in ''ComicStrip/SafeHavens'' are competitive with each other since right before birth-in fact, who could be born first ''was'' their first competition. (Candide claims victory, Clay maintains she only won cause she was four inches shorter than him.)

* ''Fanfic/AdviceAndTrust'': Since they met Asuka always regarded Shinji as her rival, a challenge to beat, the one could best her. After getting together their rivalry becomes more friendly but she still encourages him to push himself so that she keeps feeling challenged and driven to improve her piloting and fighting skills.

** In ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'' we have Klavier Gavin, the brother of Apollo's ex-mentor. He is way more helpful than the other rivals though.

** ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyDualDestinies'' has Simon Blackquill, a rival to Athena Cykes, and ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'' has Nahyuta Sahdmadhi, another rival to Apollo.

* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'': Novick sees himself as a rival of Koon's half-brother Ran, who in turn sees him as nuisance.

* DiscussedTrope in ''The Vergil Effect - How to Make a Good Rival'', by The Digital Dream Club. The host discusses what makes a good rival character in videogames, with his preference for [[Videogame/DevilMayCry3 Vergil]] from ''Franchise/DevilMayCry'' being obvious examples, but he offer his positive thoughts on ''Videogame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'', ''Videogame/{{Bayonetta}} and ''Videogame/NoMoreHeroes''.

* ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11886910/1/Gankona-Unnachgiebig-Unità Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità]]'': Germany and Japan were each other's rivals [[LoveTriangle over Italy]]. Their jealousy towards each other escalated to the point they got caught in a [[CockFight cock fight]]. [[spoiler:[[TakeAThirdOption Until Italy asked them both out]].]]

* ''FanFic/{{crawlersout}}'': Even though they haven't interacted in ''decades'', Gellert Grindelwald still views his former best friend Albus Dumbledore as a rival, to such an extent that thought of Dumbledore beating him in ''anything'' angers him. It's decidely a one-sided rivalry though, as after the death of his sister Dumbledore wanted absolutely nothing to do with Grindelwald. Then there's the fact that prior to that event, Dumbledore was madly in love with him.

* Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow to eachother in ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra'' and ''Film/GIJoeRetaliation''.

** Demandred has essentially the same motivation, but much, much stronger- he was born (birth name Barid Bel Medar) ''one day'' after Lews Therin Telamon (aforementioned prior incarnation) and his life followed that pattern from there on, with him being second to Lews Therin in almost every way, including skill with magic, political success, good looks, and even ''height''. They even both courted the same woman, but she preferred Lews Therin. Then [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the War of Power]] broke out, and Barid Bel found out he was better than Lews Therin at one thing- ''war''. Unfortunately, the powers that be made Lews Therin their top general anyway, and that final straw snapped Barid Bel's mind completely so that he became obsessessed with killing Lews Therin and joined the Shadow to better accomplish it, changing his name to Demandred in the process and quickly becoming its most feared general [[note]] Though the joke was on him still; the Dark One already ''had'' a [[TheDragon Dragon]], so Demandred was still stuck playing second fiddle, this time to [[TheAntichrist Ishamael]] [[/note]]. In the last book of the series, [[TheHero Rand]] (who now has memories of his life as Lews Therin back) reflects on how he encouraged this rivalry and expresses regret that he drove Demandred to madness and evil when he could have been one of the greatest heroes of the age- had he not been born at the same time as Lews Therin.

* Sammael of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' [[RivalTurnedEvil turned to the dark side]] because he was jealous of his rival (the former incarnation of the protagonist).

* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' - Novick sees himself as a rival of Koon's half-brother Ran, who in turn sees him as nuisance.

* In ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'', Lord Horribus considered himself to be Torg's rival, though Torg [[UnknownRival didn't take this too seriously]] for much of the series. [[spoiler:After Horribus [[NotSoHarmlessVillain killed Alt-Zoe]], Torg still denied him the chance for a final showdown.]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{Dreamscape}}'': Vampire Lord and Izane become rivals later on. This is what gets them pumped for their match in 'An Unofficial Tournament'.

* ''Fanfic/NeonGenesisEvangelionGenocide'': Asuka felt that Shinji was her rival. She's pretty bitter because she worked hard and getting beaten and mind-raped was everything what she got, whereas Shinji –as far as she knew- was picked from the streets and surpassed her without even trying it.

* Sinn Bodhi stated that he considered Techno Destructo to be his {{Arch Enemy}} when asked to team with him in Vendetta Pro Wrestling, but agreed to do it anyway. This was just one example in a series that was openly acknowledged. [[IronicName Despite it's name]], Vendetta Pro commonly turns long time enemies into tag teams.

* All three of the main visual novels of the ''Franchise/DanganRonpa'' series has one of these as part of the main PowerTrio. Each of them are very useful in the investigations and trials, but have conflicting viewpoints with the rest of the cast, especially with their respective protagonists, and fill a similar role to ''Franchise/AceAttorney''‘s prosecutors.
** [[VisualNovel/DanganRonpa The first game]] has Byakuya Togami. He's a {{Jerkass}} [[BlueBlood Aristocrat]] who admits to intending to kill someone and win the killing game at the first chance he gets. His arrogance and LackOfEmpathy make him unpopular, not that he cares, but he's forced to concede that Naegi and Kirigiri get more results than he does.
** ''VisualNovel/SuperDanganRonpa2'' has [[spoiler: Nagito Komaeda]]. He is a [[LoveFreak hope freak]] with a [[BlueAndOrangeMorality bizarre morality]], finding ''everything'' done for the sake of "hope" to be okay in his eyes even if it includes having people be murdered. He's quite fond of challenging Hinata in the trials, because he wants to see if Hinata's hope is stronger than the murderer's.
** ''VisualNovel/NewDanganRonpaV3'' has Kokichi Oma. He is a CardCarryingVillain who admits to being a [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative]] [[ConsummateLiar liar]] that runs a NebulousEvilOrganisation. Unlike the first two rivals, Oma actually is on Saihara's side, but is constantly frustrated with the rest of the cast, and [[GenghisGambit makes himself an antagonistic force to make them all focus]]. He just has way too much fun doing so, and [[{{Troll}} gleefully pisses everyone off with his jokes and pranks]].

->''"How very fitting that Yugi is competing in the first duel of my tournament. It's only a matter of time before he and I face off against each other again. After all, he's my arch rival. The Franchise/SherlockHolmes to my Moriarty. The Kaneda to my Tetsuo. The Anime/SpeedRacer to my Racer X. I could go on, but I won't."''

->''"How very fitting that Yugi is competing in the first duel of my tournament. It's only a matter of time before he and I face off against each other again. After all, he's my arch rival. [[Franchise/SherlockHolmes The Sherlock Holmes to my Moriarty.]] [[Manga/{{Akira}} The Kaneda to my Tetsuo.]] [[Anime/SpeedRacer The Speed Racer to my Racer X.]] I could go on, but I won't."''

** In ''VisualNovel/ApolloJustice'' we have Klavier Gavin, the brother of Apollo's [[spoiler:former]] mentor. He is way more helpful than the other rivals though.

* [[Literature/HarryPotter Draco Malfoy]] is this to Harry, going out of his way to antagonize him at least once per book (excluding the [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows last one]]).

[[folder: Newspaper Comics]]
* Clay and Candide in ''ComicStrip/SafeHavens'' are competitive with each other since right before birth-in fact, who could be born first ''was'' their first competition. (Candide claims victory, Clay maintains she only won cause she was four inches shorter than him.)
[[/folder]]

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'': A big part of why the Horus Heresy happened was down to feuds between the primarchs. Most famously, Perturabo of the Iron Warriors, who ''despised'' Rogal Dorn of the Imperial Fists. Both legions were siege specialists, but the latter got the privilege of being asked to design the Emperor's Palace while Perturabo and his legion were pigeon-holed into digging trenches and garrisoning planets, with no glory and no thanks. When Horus turned traitor, Perturabo followed him, and took great delight in destroying what their rivals built.

* ''Franchise/AceAttorney''

* All three of the main visual novels of the ''Franchise/DanganRonpa'' series has one of these as part of the main PowerTrio. Each of them are very useful in the investigations and trials, but have conflicting viewpoints with the rest of the cast, especially with their respective protagonists.

* Cereal mascots Count Chocula and Frankenberry have always been rivals. DependingOnTheWriter, their rivalry has ranged from friendly to ugly. (Both often consider Boo Berry a rival too, but he's only interested in promoting his cereal.)

If fate is unkind, they might [[RivalTurnedEvil turn evil]]. On the other hand, the rival might develop a [[FriendlyRivalry genuine friendship]] with the hero and perform a HeelFaceTurn can somewhere down the line. If he is forced to [[EnemyMine team up]] with the hero over a common threat expect [[RivalsTeamUp much awesomeness to ensue]].

* A light-hearted comedy example can be found in the long-running "feud" between comedians [[Radio/TheJackBennyProgram Jack Benny]] and Fred Allen. The two would frequently appear on each others shows to harass one another and trade barbs, leading to a CrowningMomentOfFunny when Jack Benny, who had taken an assumed name to appear on Allen's new game show, finds out his "big prize" is to have his pants pressed -- right then and there.

** [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Warrior_Lady_of_the_Wasteland Warrior Lady of the Wasteland and [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Warrior_Dai_Grepher Warrior Dai Grepher]] are two rival warriors who each has adventures of their own. Warrior Lady of the Wasteland eventually becomes [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/D.D._Warrior_Lady D.D. Warrior Lady]] and Warrior Dai Grepher can either become the righteous [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Knight_Day_Grepher Knight Day Grepher]] or the evil [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Lucius Dark Lucius]]. D.D. Warrior Lady and Dark Lucius would [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Different_Dimension_Ground continue their animosity]].

Compare with the ArchEnemy and SitcomArchNemesis, which may or may not overlap. TheLancer, is similar in personality but on the same side as TheHero, TheRival may turn into TheLancer and vice versa through character development. Could be one of the OpposedMentors. See also FandomRivalry.

* King Brian to Darby in ''Disney/DarbyOGillAndTheLittlePeople''.