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Noble Male, Roguish Male
aka: Light Masculine And Dark Masculine

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/griffith_guts.png
Don't go to the one on the left.
And probably not the one on the right either.

Demon Hunter: You often argue with Lyndon. Why?
Kormac: Our motivations are complete contradictions of one another. I am driven by honor and the good of others. He is driven by greed and a calling that comes from below his waist.
— Diablo III

Two male characters portray different aspects of masculinity. The Noble Male is generally worldly-wise, gentlemanly, and sophisticated — while the Roguish Male is generally street-wise, grizzled, and uncouth. The former will generally focus on a single special lady and treat her with the highest respect while the latter tends more toward sleeping around with many women or is just not interested in sex and romance at all. If he is, romance with him is likely to be destructive, deadly even, if he is any good with women at all. Basically, the Noble Man is what the single woman is looking for and the Roguish Man what all the girls out there lust after.

Differs from Sensitive Guy and Manly Man in that the Noble Male is still very much considered "manly" — but is so in a more chivalrous fashion, rather than in an aggressive fashion.

A love triangle between them might be The Gentleman or the Scoundrel or a male version of Betty and Veronica. Also related is Red Oni, Blue Oni, with the Noble Male being the Blue to the Roguish Male's Red.

Contrast the polar opposites, Bifauxnen and Lad-ette — two girls who are both masculine, but in different ways — and Light Feminine and Dark Feminine — two girls who are both feminine, but in different ways.

As with any two-character trope, the two characters have to have some sort of relationship with each other, be it friends, family, love interests, or rivals for a love interest, so the two characters can be playing the traits directly off each other. If they become enemies at some point, then it's Chevalier vs. Rogue. If they're in a military-like organization, they're often Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough.

In modern Western culture, "feminine" usually implies Light Feminine, while "masculine" usually implies Roguish Male. When Dark Feminine and Noble Male are paired up, you usually get Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy.

Examples:

    open/close all folders 

    Anime & Manga 
  • Berserk: Guts is an ultra-manly and uncivilized Byronic Hero and Griffith is a sophisticated and manipulative Cultured Badass. Guts is very much the Roguish Male in most things, including not being interested in sex or romance (at least, until he meets Casca). Griffith, on the other hand, shows what a Noble Male is capable of until he goes bad. And it is horrific.
  • In Bleach we have:
    • Juushiro Ukitake, white-themed, dainty, interested in tea ceremonies and on the other hand Shunsui Kyoraku, with his stubble, playboy behavior, and relaxed-to-the-point-of-laziness attitude.
    • Byakuya Kuchiki, young lord of the noble Kuchiki Clan, adhering to rules to the point of letting his adopted sister get executed, contrasted with Kenpachi Zaraki, who exemplifies Blood Knight behavior, even among the already more violent parts of the Bleach crew.
  • The anime version of Code:Breaker has Masaomi Heike and Toki Fujiwara. Masaomi enjoys tea and cakes out in public while Toki skips school and gropes a girl's chest.
  • Code Geass: When they first met during their childhood, Lelouch Lamperouge really was the nobld one, while Suzaku Kururugi was the ruffian. It was the subsequent occupation of Japan by Britannia that supposedly inverted things, with Lelouch becoming more vengeful and embittered, and Suzaku, who was responsible for killing Genbu but never being punished for it, feeling guilty and wanting to atone, started attempting to be even more mild-mannered and chivalrous. Though of course, cracks in their respective facades would show throughout the series.
  • Played with in Death Note. Light Yagami starts out as a noble and charismatic figure with a slight cynical morality, but turns into a tyrannic and manipulative Knight Templar. L is far better than Light morally but still uses extreme methods to achieve his goals, such as kidnapping Misa. His aloof attitude and somewhat arrogant attitude, and appearance also makes him come off as Roguish. This gets played more straight when Light loses his memories.
  • In Dragon Ball; Son Goku, a Blood Knight who grew up as a wild child (Roguish) and his son Gohan, a scholar who fights to survive (Noble).
  • In Fruits Basket, Yuki is the polite, sweet Noble Guy in stark contrast to rogue, Tsundere Kyo.
  • Hetalia: Axis Powers: Germany and Prussia, with Germany as Noble and Prussia as Roguish. Prussia may have these dynamics with India (Noble) as well, judging by Hetaween 2011.
    • Austria and Prussia fit this dynamic. Austria is a terrible fighter who bows to others in greeting and can play classical piano music. Prussia is an arrogant warrior who insults and harasses others and doesn't know how to spell the name of the location he wants to conquer.
    • England is a composite of both, being disapproving gentleman sipping tea in one strip and a raging drunk swearing like the sailor he used to be in the next.
    • Switzerland combines the two. On one hand, he's willing to help those in need and make sacrifices for his loved ones; on the other hand, he has terrible mood swings and casually shoots at people if they get close to his territory.
  • Nicolas and Guy from Innocents Shounen Juujigun make up this trope, with Nicolas as the noble (albeit hot-headed and a bit immature) young knight seeking glory and honor by Etienne's side, and Guy as the roguish, uncultured bandit with a crass demeanor and a propensity for violence. The two of them are Etienne's most loyal followers and the only two to survive the main story.
  • Played with between the titular half-demon Inuyasha and his older half-brother Sesshomaru, a full demon. The former is boisterous, disheveled, and immature, while the latter is elegant, calm, and aloof. But while Inuyasha is the heroic protagonist and an extremely devoted lover (once you get him to admit his love in the first place), Sesshomaru starts out as a murderous antagonist and has very little, if any, interest in romance (though his fangirls would beg to differ).
  • Jojos Bizarre Adventure: Robert E. O. Speedwagon lands on both ends of this trope.
  • Nanami's two familiars, Mizuki and Tomoe, from Kamisama Kiss qualify. Mizuki is almost always polite and respectfully to other people, even though he is a bit naive sometimes, a Genius Ditz, and is something of a shut-in. Tomoe's personality ranges from Jerkass to Jerk with a Heart of Gold and his interests include booze and trips to the Red Light District.
  • In Kyo Kara Maoh!, Conrad Weller (noble) is an upstanding knight, loyal to his king to the point of stupidity, actually of noble birth in both human and demon lands, and a chivalrous fighter. His best friend Jozak (roguish) is a cynical and worldly-wise spy and Combat Pragmatist who has no problem with the idea of manipulating their new, inexperienced king for his own good. Throughout the series, though, it's consistently shown that of the two, Jozak is more emotionally healthy.
  • Played with in Magic Knight Rayearth. Subverted with Ferio, who at first seems to be a rogue guy, but he really is a noble guy since he is Princess Emeraude's younger brother. Lafarga may seem rogue and impotent, but he really is the captain of the royal guard — although in the second season his true down-to-earth temperament shows better.
  • Natsu e no Tobira has two of Marion's friends, Jacques and Lind. Jacques is the Roguish since he's hotheaded, emotional, and kind of a tease, while the refined and sarcastic Lind is the Noble and shows it by keeping Jacques' temper in check. This comes to a breaking point when not only tragedy hits the group, but Jacques finds out that Lind was a False Friend to Marion and violently explodes on him.
  • Saiyuki: Sha Gojyo (roguish) and Cho Hakkai (noble). This being Saiyuki however, Hakkai isn't entirely as noble as he seems.
  • The Vision of Escaflowne: Allen is the chivalrous Knight in Shining Armor, while Van is the violent Blood Knight. They are even color-coded.
  • Yona of the Dawn: Hak and Suwon are a classic example of this trope. Hak is a roguish prodigy warrior who has little interest in romance (besides with Yona), and Suwon is a princely Bishōnen. Additionally, there is Jaeha and Kija—Kija being a Sheltered Aristocrat Pretty Boy while Jaeha is a womanizing Pirate.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh!: Early on, Tristan/Honda (noble) and Joey/Jounouchi (roguish) had this dynamic, but as Joey went through Character Development, he started becoming a more heroic character... right about the same time Duke/Otohi became a recurring minor character and filled Roguish better than Joey ever had. It especially became clear in regards to their pursuit of Jou's sister, Serenity/Shizuka, with Dogged Nice Guy Tristan performing gesture after gesture of kindness and self-sacrifice towards her, while Handsome Lech Duke sweeps her off her feet with his charm.

    Comic Books 

    Fan Works 

    Films — Animated 

    Films — Live-Action 
  • Cruz Diablo: Carlos (noble) is the captain of the Viceroy's soldiers more into chivalry love while Chacho (roguish) is the leader of a gang of Highwaymen who kidnaps women.
  • Deadpool (2016): Colossus (noble) is a polite and chivalrous Cape, while Deadpool (roguish) is a Heroic Comedic Sociopath with a crude sense of humor.
  • The Fugitive plays around with these roles: Sam Gerard is the cop in the equation, but he's the Roguish one, while Richard Kimble, the fugitive, is Noble.
  • The Man from U.N.C.L.E. gives us dapper, smooth-talking Gentleman Thief Napoleon Solo (Roguish) and the chivalrous and dutiful Illya Kuryakin (Noble).
  • Marvel Cinematic Universe:
    • Tony Stark/Iron Man, who ignores any rules he didn't make himself and will sleep with anyone, including reporters who call him "Merchant of Death" (roguish), and Steve Rogers/Captain America the paragon of incorruptible virtue who basically choose celibacy when he missed out on his true love (noble); one of the greatest foil in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, their difference gets really tense in Captain America: Civil War.
    • You've also got Thor and Loki, who interestingly portray both roles at the same time. Thor has a noble soul but acts like a crude rogue, while Loki acts like a distinguished noble but has the roguish heart.
  • Godzilla from the MonsterVerse is part of two such dynamics.
    • In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, he's the Noble Male to Rodan when the latter briefly challenges the former at the end only to back down. Godzilla is conscious of and actively fights to defend the world's natural order in the bigger picture, and he knows when to seek a fight and when it's more prudent to avoid it. Rodan on the other hand a ferocious, territorial Blood Knight who takes more joy than he needs to in slaughtering Monarch's Gold Squadron, he charges into a fight against Ghidorah of all creatures when severely outmatched; and his allegiances throughout the film are fluid depending upon which Alpha Titan is dominant, thus he only seems to care about Earth's natural order as much as whichever Alpha he's currently answering to does.
    • In Godzilla vs. Kong, Kong is portrayed as the more compassionate, kind and restrained of the titular Titans, while Godzilla is portrayed as a lot more aggressive and forceful than he was previously.
  • The Phantom of the Opera (2004) has Raoul, Christine's kind, noble, brave childhood friend as the Noble, contrasting with the controlling, manipulative, homicidal stalker Erik as the Roguish.
  • Picnic at Hanging Rock: Mike is the blonde, noble-born British young man, while is Aussie valet and friend Albert is dark, sooo manly and outspoken.
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Will Turner (noble) is polite, chivalrous, and loyal, while Captain Jack Sparrow (roguish) is devious and has a severe case of Chronic Backstabbing Disorder. Throughout the first three films, Will has eyes only for his childhood friend Elizabeth, while Jack is regularly slapped by former lovers.
  • Rush Hour: Lee (noble) is the loyal, well mannered good cop from the East, while Carter (roguish) is the wisecracking, arrogant bad cop from the West.
  • Star Wars:
    • Han (roguish) is the rugged space-pirate and Luke (noble) the pure-hearted moisture farmer in the original trilogy. Even more so as Luke is the son of a Nabooan queen from a noble house, while Han grew up a Corellian scrum-rat.
    • The latter two Prequels have Obi-Wan (noble), who very much embodies the ideals of the Jedi, and Anakin (roguish), who is the brooding Byronic Hero who eventually goes Dark Side.
    • C-3PO is the refined, well-mannered Noble Male (as much as a droid is "male"). From what is indirectly conveyed about his dialogue, R2-D2 is the more laid-back, snarky Roguish Male.

    Literature 
  • Jane Austen:
    • In Sense and Sensibility, Marianne Dashwood's two love interests are the honorable and sincere Colonel Brandon (Noble), and the suave but flaky Mr. Willoughby (Roguish).
    • In Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy is honest and generous to those he cares for (Noble) while Mr. Wickham is The Casanova soldier who's just out to sow his oats (Roguish).
  • A Brother's Price
    • Jerin Whistler (noble) and Keifer Porter (roguish), as love interests of the princesses.
    • The love interests for the Whistler sisters also fall into this category, with the roguish, uncaring, and sexually promiscuous Balin Brindle, and Cullen Moorland who is sweet and gentle.
    • The Whistler family and the Brindle family can also count in the way they differ: the Brindles (roguish) usually start fights at social gatherings, while the Whistlers (noble) end them, swiftly and without excessive violence. The Brindles are uncultivated country folk, while the Whistlers have manners fit for a royal court.
  • In The Case of the Double Husband, best friends George and Ted formed the noble/rogue pairing. George was an intelligent and sensitive aesthete (before his untimely death); Ted was a lazy bachelor with tastes that ran to the lowest common denominator (before his sudden personality switch in the wake of George's passing):
    He [George] loved music, books and poetry with a passion, and possessed a wonderful collection of records of classical music; he was also something of a connoisseur of antiques... How such a fellow, gentle, diffident, artistic, should have made an efficient soldier I could not conceive, yet apparently he had made a very brave one; but how he could have wanted as a friend bluff, hearty Ted Eliot, who had no ear for music or poetry, preferred "whodunits" to any other form of reading, and by way of amusement liked going to football matches, races, or the dogs better than anything else, was even more puzzling!
  • In Chronicles of the Kencyrath, Jame goes to Tentir and meets and slowly befriends two guys. At first glance, friendly, fine-featured Timmon looks like the Noble Male, and surly, burly Gorbel looks like the Roguish Male. But the trope is slowly zigzagged. As you get to know them, "Noble" Timmon turns out Brilliant, but Lazy, and "Roguish" Gorbel to be hardworking and driven, and quite honorable. Timmon's also kind of a slut, while Gorbel never shows interest in anyone. So in the end, even though Timmon is a good diplomat and Gorbel is a good hunter, they're both Rounded Character with Hidden Depths and more complex than the simple Noble and Roguish dichotomy.
  • Done on a racial level in The Death Gate Cycle with the Sartan playing the part of the Noble, and the Patryns playing the Rogue. Of course, various members skew differently and there are a few "Not So Different" Remark moments.
  • In Dragon Bones, there are the brothers Garranon and Landislaw. Garranon looks like a graceful stag, Landislaw more like a bull, or that's what the ladies at court say. Their personalities match; Garranon is gentle and kind, while Landislaw is rather a bad boy. Their first appearance is due to the fact that Landislaw bought a slave that didn't really belong to the seller, and said slave has escaped to Hurog. Garranon wants to retrieve the slave to get his brother out of trouble, but is polite about it and treats Ward (who everyone thinks is mentally retarded, due to his Obfuscating Stupidity) with respect. Landislaw tries to grab Ward to shake him, which doesn't go well as Ward is a Gentle Giant who can drop the gentleness if provoked.
  • Doc Savage's two main aides, Monk and Ham. Monk is our Roguish Male: gruff, homely, brutish-looking, and proud of it. Ham, by contrast, is the Noble Male: well-spoken, elegantly dressed, and sophisticated.
  • The Dresden Files has Michael Carpenter, Knight in Shining Armor, sliding right into the Noble Male role whenever he's sharing the page with the more anti-heroic protagonist Harry Dresden. Harry is often the Noble Male when paired with other men of the series, most notably Thomas, but it's hard to rank as noble when compared to Michael Carpenter.
  • Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser subvert this (like so much else). Fafhrd seems like a romantic and is noted for his cleverness and singing ability. Mouser is a shifty little scoundrel. However, once you get to know them, the pragmatic and scheming Fafhrd seems a bit more Roguish and Mouser seems a bit nobler.
  • Good Omens has the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley, whose relationship with each other falls somewhere between Heterosexual Life-Partners and Discount Gays (since they love each other and both present as male, but don't exhibit much in the way of sexuality or truly follow mortal conceptions of gender).
  • The Hunger Games: Peeta (noble) is gentle, kind, chivalrous, has quite the way with words, and advocates diplomacy over violence (even, at times, during the actual Hunger Games). Gale (roguish) is hot-blooded and passionate, believes that the ends justify the means, eager to go out and fight, and became his family's main provider at age thirteen when he began poaching (eventually together with Katniss).
  • Crops up in The Infernal Devices trilogy. Jem Carstairs is a kind, soft-spoken guy who plays the violin. William Herondale is a sarcastic lad with a reputation for deflowering maidens and frequenting taverns. They're Vitriolic Best Buds who made an oath to fight side-to-side and die for each other if needed. They also fall in love with the same girl.
  • In Knight and Rogue Series, Main characters Michael and Fisk zigzag this trope. While Michael is the nobleman and Fisk is the rogue/semi-reformed con-artist, Michael is the more rash and reckless one while Fisk is the scholarly one. Over the course of the story, it becomes increasingly difficult to really tell which one is which.
  • The third book of the Last Herald-Mage Trilogy has extremely noble and white-clad Herald-Mage Vanyel Ashkevron, impossibly gorgeous and dutiful. He's found Safety in Indifference to others, not that that keeps him from wearing himself to the bone for them, and still pines for his first lover, two decades dead. Stefan is a red-cloaked young bard taken from the streets, a gay Ladykiller in Love, and, at least initially, Only in It for the Money. It's not a complete split — Stefan is quite calculating and is ultimately The Reliable One who can weather the extremes of Van's crises and subsequent breakdowns. Stefan is in fact the Reincarnation of Vanyel's first love, Tylendel. In his previous life, despite all his virtues he was reckless in placing family ties over duty to others or even Van himself.
  • Simona Ahrnstedt in her debut novel Överenskommelser gives us Seth and Johan. Seth might be a better man than you might think at first, but he does have a roguish thing going on, and he just keeps having meaningless affairs with numerous women. Johan is noble and pretty much flawless. But they're still close friends, and in fact they eventually get married to two cousins. note 
  • Raymond E. Feist loves this trope: the early (and many of the later) books in The Riftwar Cycle all revolve around two male protagonists who slot neatly into these roles:
    • Magician: Tomas (noble) and Pug (roguish).
    • Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon: Prince Arutha conDoin (noble) and Jimmy the Hand (roguish) — literal in this case.
      • The backstory implies Arutha's father Duke Borric was the noble to his cousin Guy du Bas-Tyra's rogue.
    • Shadow of a Dark Queen: Erik von Darkmoor (noble) and Roo Avery (roguish).
  • Shadow of the Fox series, we get Daisuke and Okame, who are literally this, being a noble and a ronin, respectively. Their personalities fit too: Okame is unrefined, drinks, gambles, and has a lot of attitude, while Daisuke is cultured, elegant, and gentlemanly. They're Fire-Forged Friends. Later on they become a couple.
  • A Song of Ice and Fire:
    • Best friends and foster brothers Ned Stark (noble) and Robert Baratheon (roguish). Ned is incredibly honorable. Robert's heart is basically in the right place too, but not so bound by honor, and he's a total slut.
    • Another pair of quasi-brothers, Robb Stark (noble) and Theon Greyjoy (roguish). Robb is Ned's son, and he's much like his father. Theon has a mess of conflicting feelings and loyalties, and he spins out and implodes. After sleeping with a girl he shouldn't have, Robb marries her. Theon is a slut.
    • Robb Stark's two most notable bannermen, the Wicked Cultured Roose Bolton and the Boisterous Bruiser Greatjon Umber. Roose is an utter monster masking his Axe-Crazy, sadistic nature behind a gentlemanly veneer and while Greatjon Umber may be quite sexist he is overall a good man.
  • The Sunne in Splendour:
    • Early in the novel, the future Richard III has role models in his two oldest brothers. Edward, the future king, is a carousing, womanizing, fun-loving and mischievous figure, who also happens to be a brilliant warrior. Edmund is the brave, kind, wise-beyond-his years, Too Good for This Sinful Earth mentor to his sensitive youngest brother.
    • When Richard grows up, he steps into the "noble" role to Edward's rogue, becoming a fierce warrior and fair governor of his own lands. He is intensely loyal to Edward, even standing by him when he is deposed for a brief time. After some youthful dalliances, he becomes a loving and faithful husband to Anne, and he very much frowns upon the debauchery of his brother's court.
  • Tortall Universe: In Song of the Lioness, Alanna is torn between Jonathan, the Noble Male (literally, he's a prince), and George, the Roguish Male (often even called "the Rogue", as he's the king of thieves). She ultimately marries George, and she's intentionally instrumental in setting Jonathan up with his future wife, Thayet.
  • The romantic rivals from The Twilight Saga: Edward (noble), though moody, tends to be more noble and chivalrous (to the point of being old-fashioned), while Jacob (roguish), loyal though he is, is more of the bad boy who is impulsive and tries to pick fights with Edward on multiple occasions.

    Live-Action TV 
  • Apollo and Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica (1978). While Starbuck is a gambler and smoker who tends to find himself in fights and generally juggles between two women (or maybe more), Apollo is more reserved when it comes to duty and women—the latter of which he, unfortunately, doesn't seem to have luck with, and is also a Parental Substitute to Boxey.
  • Bridgerton: In season 1, Daphne's love interest are the kind and polite Prince Friedrich of Prussia (noble) and the broody, sarcastic Simon Basset who has a reputation of being a rake (roguish). Daphne eventually chooses Simon over Friedrich.
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Angel:
    • The two ensouled vampires Buffy has been romantically involved with: Angel is noble, selfless, calm, reserved, and generally chivalrous and gentlemanly. He goes to great lengths to help people and to achieve redemption for his past. While he has had other relationships, he's primarily bound to his love for Buffy. Spike, in contrast, is roguish and nearly Angel's complete opposite: reckless, wild, emotional, and bursting with blunt snark. He is, though, fairly devoted to Buffy as well despite his sharper edges, and was fixated on Drusilla steadfastly before that. Ironically, if they had coexisted in their original human lives, it would have been the reverse. Liam (Angel) was a "drunken, whoring layabout, and a terrible disappointment to [his] parents", and William Pratt (Spike) was a sensitive upper-class poet devoted to his ailing mother (the Cockney accent is an affectation, his natural accent was posh). Adding to the comparison, Angel is Spike's grandsire (the Master sired Darla who sired Angel who sired Drusilla who sired Spike) and their original names, Liam and William, are variants of the same name.
  • In Castle, Ryan is noble — upstanding, by-the-book, hopelessly devoted to his wife Jenny (and a romantic even before they were married), while Esposito is roguish — troubled past, willing to go behind the captain's back, flirts with various female characters (though loyal to Lanie when they're actually in a relationship).
  • The Doctor and Adric in Season 18 of Doctor Who were an attempt at doing this.
    • Roguish: Adric is young, arrogant, relatively uneducated (despite being a star student by his own culture's standards), and tends to cheat or whine in order to get his way.
    • Noble: The Doctor is ancient, brooding, philosophical (despite being one of the more swashbuckling Doctors), extremely knowledgeable, and tries to keep to a strict moral code. Although the flirt of the two, he's recently lost his Implied Love Interest and seems to have shifted far beyond concern.
  • In the second season of Dark Angel, the introduction of Alec causes him and Logan Cale to fall into this trope, with Logan as the Noble and Alec as the Roguish — Logan is a crusading cyberjournalist out to expose and fix society's ills and Alec is a Lovable Rogue who's just gotten free of Project Manticore and isn't concerned with do-gooding unless there's something in it for him, at least at first. As the writers comment on in the DVD commentary, the original intention of them being Betty and Veronica for the series's heroine Max in a Love Triangle didn't really materialize, however, with Alec becoming more of a troublemaking brother figure. Max's affections remain steadfastly with Logan despite a virus making them literally unable to touch and him mistaking her and Alec for dating after seeing them hug. There's also some friction between the two men at first, but that's resolved by the later episodes.
  • In Firefly
    • Noble: Simon is the obvious example, being a gentleman in manner and loyal and kind towards his sister.
    • Roguish: Jayne is the opposite extreme, big time, being violent and selfish.
    • In-Between: Mal isn't so different from Simon as far as determination and protectiveness go, but he is less polished in mannerism.
  • Stefan and Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. Stefan (Noble) is polite and abstains from drinking human blood; his brother Damon (Roguish) makes snide remarks and kills people on a whim.
  • The White Queen: Richard of Gloucester is the Noble Male and King Edward IV is the Roguish Male. Richard is noted In-Universe to be chivalrous and very serious, plus he's a romantic at heart, whether it's love or warfare. He doesn't overindulge in food, drink, or sex. He never partakes in prostitutes, he has never tried to rape anyone (in fact, he rescues Anne Neville from gang-rape), and he's faithful to Anne after she becomes his wife. note  Edward is a hedonistic Boisterous Bruiser with "a king's appetite" for earthly pleasures, which leads to significant weight gain from overeating and consuming too much alcohol. He's also notoriously promiscuous, and he attempts to rape his future wife Elizabeth Woodville, who was ready to slice her own throat to preserve her honour. Throughout their marriage, he treats whoring like a sport, and he has a long-term mistress. In Episode 7, Richard criticizes his King for the latter's salacious behaviour while the Queen is giving birth upstairs.
    Richard: I don't believe that [whoring] is the best way to celebrate the birth of your child.
    Edward: Come on, Richard, don't be such a sourpuss.

    Theatre 

    Video Games 
  • Ragna and Jin in Blazblue. Jin was brought up in a noble family in refined culture and learned to fight as a Teen Genius in a prestigious Military Academy. He fights in a graceful and elegant style with Yukianesa, a long katana crafted from solid ice. By contrast, Ragna never received a proper education and grew up as a criminal, learning how to fight under the legendary hero Jubei. He relies more on brute force with Bloodscythe, a large angular sword that can transform into a scythe. Both of them care little for the world and both of them are Jerkasses (Ragna not completely, though).
  • Kiyotaka Ishimaru the Ultimate Moral Compass and Mondo Oowada the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc are this respectively. At first, the two come to blows by how different their views on strength are until they decide that argument in an endurance contest that sees them become best friends over the similarities in their philosophies.
  • Kormac the Templar (noble) and Lyndon the Scoundrel (roguish), two of your three followers from Diablo III. Kormac is a noble paladin type who falls hard for Eirena, your third follower, while Lyndon is a quite unrepentant rogue who is not nearly as good at attracting women as he thinks. This being Diablo, the two have Hidden Depths—Kormac is revealed to have been lied to and brainwashed by his order, while Lyndon is doing everything in his power to pay off the Merchant's Guild and get his brother out of prison.
  • Final Fantasy IV has Cecil a Dark Is Not Evil Black Knight Bishōnen (who eventually atones for his sins and becomes a Paladin) as noble, and Edge, the flirtatious, impulsive Ninja fits the Roughish.
    • Final Fantasy VII:
      • Cloud and his rival Sephiroth are, to some extent, inspired by Berserk's Guts and Griffith (in the page image), and to another extent by Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro who are generally depicted as having this trope in Japanese media. Sephiroth is more experienced, worldly, and dignified, and has a beautiful appearance, and while he is insane he acts enlightened; Cloud is more aggressive and scrappy, with a scruffier appearance and a more brittle kind of personality.
      • Cloud and Barret. Cloud is blond, pale, blue-eyed, androgynously beautiful (but still unambiguously masculine), a former soldier, pragmatic, chivalrous, and a sword-fighter, and while he can be flashy and superficial he's ultimately quite introverted. Barret is a Hot-Blooded Scary Black Man and terrorist with a vicious temper, little ability to restrain his emotions, and a huge gun mounted onto one of his arms. Though Cloud is the flirt of the two, Barret is more experienced (having been married)—in one scene he advises Cloud to ask either Aeris or Tifa on a date, something in which Cloud claims to have no interest.
    • Final Fantasy X has Jecht and Auron. Jecht liked his alcohol, was boisterous, loud, and reckless. Auron was more composed, dutiful, and respectful. Both were badass Manly Men.
  • Innes and Ephraim in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones play it around. Looks and fighting-skills wise, archer Innes looks Noble while spear-user Ephraim looks Roguish, but their personalities say the inverse: logical, cool-headed, and No Social Skills Innes is the real Roguish one, while the charismatic, sensitive and impulsive Ephraim is more of the Noble one.
    • In Fire Emblem: Awakening, the roguish and street-smart Gaius has this going with his support conversations with the serene and faithful Libra and the honorable but sheltered Chrom.
    • In Fire Emblem Fates, there is the cynical and teasing Niles. He plays the role towards his serious lord-in-liege Leo, his boisterous partner Odin, and the Male Avatar (whom he can fall in love with).
    • Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia has the stalwart, dutiful, and proper Forsyth and his friend Python, who is laid-back, lazy, and much more casual with his language.
  • Sonic and Shadow in Sonic the Hedgehog. Which one of them is which however is a big case of Depending on the Writer of course. In general, Sonic can range from either an impulsive Smug Super to a straight up Nice Guy. While Shadow ranges from a violent Byronic Hero to a soft-spoken professional.
  • Front Mission has two mercenaries you rescue, Keith and J.J. whose friendship has been since back when they were in Africa. Plus, the members from the Coliseum fights — just the younger two — Meihua Yang and Gregorio, as a milder contrast.
    • Keith (roguish) is the snarky Boisterous Bruiser, if not a Blood Knight, purely for the profit he makes off of it; while J.J. (noble), eager to make enough to support his family, tempers their mercenary tendencies (or tries to) by being the duo's conscience.
    • M. Yang (noble) joins the unit in order to find out whether her younger brother is still alive, and after satisfaction, continues to faithfully serve the unit's cause; Gregorio (roguish) is the arrogant Coliseum champion from Freedom City, basically a milder version of Keith in personality.
  • Guilty Gear has friendly rivals and occasionally partners Sol Badguy and Ky Kiske.
    • Sol is a muscular and handsome Bounty Hunter with a bad attitude and a huge, angular sword that looks like a cigarette lighter. It's implied that Sol is a big fan of rock/metal music, especially Queen, and he can play the guitar.
    • Ky is an effeminate and pretty blonde guy who's a Knight in Shining Armor and has a noble and chivalrous attitude to match, and prefers an elegant longsword in battle. In his spare time, Ky collects teacups and is devoted to his wife Dizzy (who happens to be Sol's daughter).
  • The classic Mega Man series has the two "brother" robots Rock/Mega Man and Blues/Proto Man who fit this early on, followed by the 7th game's introduction of the rival Forte/Bass who teams up from time to time.
    • Noble: Mega Man, the classic Ideal Hero who will stay a faithful servant doing anything needed for his "sister" robot Roll and Dr. Light who built them both, as well as for humans and robots everywhere.
    • In-Between: Proto Man, fiercely independent of Dr. Light and has been captured to do Wily's bidding once, but increasingly shown to have the heroes' backs as the series unfolds.
    • Roguish: After Proto Man has fit the role less and less, Wily has perfected the rival Bass, whose loyalty is off-and-on with Wily and mostly just fights for his own prideful, selfish reasons, even when teaming up with the heroes.
  • The three male Maverick Hunters of the Mega Man X series by the time of X8 and Command Mission form a spectrum like the original Mega Man above.
    • X is the noble male, being a pacifistic guy who constantly struggles between wanting to create peace with humanity and trying not to kill any more of his own kind even if they're the bad guys.
    • Zero is in-between, having the same desire of peace as X but with fewer compunctions for fighting and killing, and he's had his fair share of bad experiences that shape him.
    • Axl is the roguish one; while he's a good guy in general, as he's younger and less experienced, he's motivated more by being in action and defeating enemies and shows more fun at doing it than his partners.
  • OMORI: Hero is the studious, hardworking, and polite Supreme Chef and mediator of his friend group (noble), and his younger brother Kel is much more bashful, impulsive, and sporty (roguish). This is maintained even as the latter Took a Level in Kindness compared to many other examples of this trope, and helped the two's best friends reconcile.
  • Super Paper Mario: Count Bleck (noble) is an Affably Evil Man of Wealth and Taste. His minion O'Chunks is a Dumb Muscle Boisterous Bruiser. Unlike the trope description above, they are both devoted to their respective loves.
  • Tales of Symphonia has an example with stoic, businesslike Kratos Aurion, who remains loyal to the Big Bad, his friend and traveling companion from thousands of years ago, and the caustic, defiant Yuan, who is running La Résistance to defeat the plans of the same individual. It's more apparent in OVA and Tales of Fandom 2 flashbacks, from before both of them hit their Cynicism Catalyst: Kratos was an idealist at heart, while Yuan was far more practical and cynical even before Martel's death. Naturally, even when on different sides, they remain Vitriolic Best Buds underneath all the bitterness.
  • In Tales of Vesperia Flynn Scifo (noble) is the Knight in Shining Armor to the lone wolf vigilante Yuri Lowell(roguish). This is just one of many contrasts they share between each other; while still remaining steadfast friends.
  • Alistair and Zevran, the two male romance options in Dragon Age: Origins. Alistair is a bashful, idealistic warrior with a dorky sense of humor. Zevran is a flirty former assassin and literal Rogue who meets the party when he tries to kill them — or rather, tries to commit Suicide by Warden.
  • Disco Elysium has Harry, a Life of the Party Addled Addict who has a dishevelled appearance, wears Impossibly Tacky Clothes, lost his badge and gun in a drunken rampage, and is forever getting lost in fanatical political posturing, idiotic Wiki Walk obsessions and spiralling debates with his own brain — and Kim, a quiet, elegant, cool professional who guards his emotions carefully and delights in being 'a spoilsport'.

    Web Comics 

    Web Original 
  • Lightning Sentai Blitzenger: Rai Akasaka is the Noble Male compared to Kimura Sanjou's Roguish Male. The former is a Hot-Blooded leader with a strong sense of justice who immediately drops what he's doing as soon as he hears that his teammates are in danger, while the latter is more volatile and arrogant, and despite fighting for humanity like his fellow Blitzengers, isn't above backtalking his superior.
  • A cross-series example occurs for MythicalSausage, where his Empires SMP Season 2 counterpart is the All-Loving Hero Noble Male as the Protector of Sanctuary, in contrast to his Pirates SMP counterpart, who plays the flirtatious, greedy, and at-times murderous Roguish Male who robs others on the high seas.
    Wassup_im_E: i think i can post this meme [of quotes Sausage's two characters might say] now
    Empires Season 2!Sausage: I'll have her home by 9 o'clock, Sir
    Pirates!Sausage: Your daughter calls me Daddy too
    Mythicalsausage: This is canon.

    Western Animation 
  • Adventure Time: The Fionna and Cake episodes prominently feature sweet, kindhearted Prince Gumball and snarky punk-rocker Marshall Lee the Vampire King.
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender gives us the violent and temperamental Xin Fu and his partner, the calm and refined Yu.
  • Beast Wars has Dinobot (noble) and Rattrap (roguish). After Dinobot's death, Silverbolt takes the noble role.
  • Samurai Jack has the calm, clean-cut, polite Jack and the hot-tempered, rough-and-tumble, obnoxious Scotsman. The usual dynamic regarding relationships is inverted, however, with Jack being a Celibate Hero ( At least until Season 5) and the Scotsman being Happily Married.
  • Thunder Cats 2011: Lion-O is the Noble Male to Tygra's Roguish Male. Played with, in that initially Tygra fits his species ideal standards of noble much closer than Lion-O, but Lion-O is, generally, much more idealistic and altruistic.
  • In Total Drama, Gwen gets a Shiptease with Noble sensitive songwriter Trent, and Roguish juvenile delinquent Duncan.
  • Aqualad and Red Arrow from Young Justice. Aqualad rarely lets his emotions bubble up and is cordial to most people; Red Arrow spends most of his screen time sullen and hostile, even around allies or strangers.

Alternative Title(s): Light Masculine And Dark Masculine

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