10 Best Anime Rivals Who Follow in Vegeta’s Footsteps

Anime is nothing without it Competing lettersAnd one of the best examples is undoubtedly Vegeta from Dragon Ball. Vegeta embodies everything that makes a good rival character with his antagonistic personality, constant efforts to one-up the protagonist, and constant moments where he gets to look as cool as possible, and thanks to Dragon Balls age and popularity, he has long been the most iconic anime competitor around.

With how iconic a character Vegeta is, there have naturally been a lot of characters over the years to take after his aesthetic. Some characters get to the heart of what makes Vegeta work as a rival, and others are more straightforward in their approach, but entertaining nonetheless, but whatever the case, there are many great rival characters in anime that are Just as much fun to watch as Vegeta. Some of the rival characters, in particular, are especially worth highlighting, both for how much they impacted the medium and for simply being great characters in their own right.

10

Eustace’s child

One piece

Eustass Kid is one of One pieces worst generation, the twelve most infamous rookie pirates of the last two years. During the Wano arc, Kid got wrapped up in Luffy’s fight against Kaido and the Beast Pirates, and while they were on the same side, the two still constantly fought in their attempts to one-up each other.

Luffy and Kid didn’t have an extensive rivalry like what is commonly seen in anime, but between the comedy about the two continuously competing with each other and how Kid always did a good job of showing his strength, Child excellently filled the long unfilled role of ​​a rival character in One piece In the short time he competed with Luffy. Child’s future in One piece Is uncertain, but if he does return, it would be great to see his dynamic with Luffy grow even further.

9

Archer

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works

Archer is one of the main seven servants in adaptations of the fate / stay night Visual novel. Archer always antagonizes Shirou and challenges his ideals in one way or another, and the reason for this is because Archer is Shirou’s future self who uses the Holy Grail War to find an opportunity to kill Shirou so he doesn’t have to grow up to be. like him

Although not a rival in the traditional sense of the archetype, Archer serves as a great rival to Shirou for How much he challenges him on a physical and ideological level in every version of fate / stay nightWhich all comes to a head with Shirou’s last bit of character development in the final film of the Heaven’s Feel Trilogy. This type of writing is also typical of a great rival character, and no matter the series, Archer never fails to embody it.

8

Alexander Anderson

Helsing & Helsing Ultimate

Alexander Anderson is Alucard’s rival in Helsing And Hellsing Ultimate and a paladin of Iscariot, the Vatican’s secret legion of executioners. After a brief fight with Alucard early in the series, the two develop an intense rivalry and try to kill each other whenever they meet, even in the climax of the series when London is burning to the ground and Millennium still has to be dealt with.

Anderson not only matches Alucard in terms of fighting ability and how bloodthirsty and insane he can be, but Anderson and Alucard’s rivalry in Helsing Always does a great job of developing both their characters in every fightSomething is especially obvious in how much Alucard lamented Anderson giving up his humanity in their final fight. Rivalries are at their best when there are layers to them, and Alucard and Anderson’s rivalry is one of the best shows of that.

7

Ryoga Hibiki

Ranma ½

Ryoga Hibiki is Ranma’s primary rival in Ranma ½Both in martial arts and for Akane’s affection. Whether it’s a poor attempt to win Akane’s heart or proving himself as a fighter, Ryoga always finds some reason to challenge Ranma to a fight, even if his comically poor sense of direction tends to push their fights days past when they’re supposed to to happen.

It’s one thing for Ryoga to be Ranma’s only rival who can match him without relying on tricks, but as long as Akane isn’t involved, Ryoga grows to truly respect Ranma as a rival and friend and fights him largely to better himselfThat adds a lot of charm not usually seen in rivalries. Ranma ½The Netflix remake is set to premiere soon, and once it does, more people will surely see what Ranma and Ryoga’s rivalry has been working on for over 30 years.

6

Brago

Master!

One of the main characters in the US Master! is Brago, a powerful demon with gravity powers who is touted as one of the top contenders to become the Demon King. After a brief fight with Zatch early in the series, surpassing Brago is treated as the main obstacle that Zatch has to overcome to become king, and Brago, for his part, is constantly interested in the development that Zatch goes through in the battle.

Zatch and Brago don’t have a lot of interactions in the series, but their first fight and Brago’s subsequent appearances always work to maintain the idea of ​​Brago being Zatch’s biggest challenge, and sure enough, The battle for Demon King finally comes down to Zatch and Brago With Zatch just barely winning out in the end. Add in the genuine respect Brago slowly gains for Zatch, and he’s an all-around great rival character, despite his limited screen time.

5

Asuka Soryu Langley

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Asuka Langley Soryu is the pilot of Evangelion Unit-02 in Neon Genesis Evangelion Which formed a rivalry with Shinji due to being the newest pilot. Shinji’s constant successes despite his inexperience are a constant thorn in Asuka’s side, and with all the emotional trauma Asuka has from both before and after her debut, their dynamic affects Asuka to a much worse degree than anyone could have expected.

Asuka has all the usual hominess and competitive drive that are typical of rival characters, but as always the case with Neon Genesis Evangelion, Asuka’s status as the rival character is constantly deconstructed To show how dark being that deep a character can get both physically and mentally. Asuka is a great rival character mostly because of what she says about the archetype, and that’s a big part of why she’s become such a beloved part of anime culture.

4

Katsuki Bakugo

My hero academia

While Izuku Midoriya is the protagonist of My hero academiaEqually important is Katsuki Bakugo, Izuku’s best friend turned malicious bully. Bakugo spent the last decade bullying Izuku for being quirkless out of an inferiority complex, and after Izuku got One For All and started surpassing him on the road to becoming a hero, Bakugo made it his mission to become even stronger and surpass Izuku once more.

Bakugo’s antagonistic nature and explosive personality did wonders to sell him as a rival from day one, but what made him an even better character is how Bakugo always went through consistent character growth To become more humble and more respectful of Izuku To the point of having a genuine friendship with him in the final arc. Through it all, Bakugo still maintained his manic nature, and it’s easy to see why he became the face of rival characters in modern anime, with perhaps the best redemption arc in the series.

3

See

Fist of the North Star

Rah is the main antagonist of the first half of Fist of the North Star and Kenshiro’s older brother. As the Ken-Oi called the King of the Fist, Rao seeks to unite what’s left of civilization under his tyrannical rule, and that goal constantly puts him in conflict with Kenshiro and his friends as it gets more and more personal with each encounter. .

With his intimidating personality, the way he constantly pushes Kenshiro to become stronger, and the surprisingly sharp character development he received in his arc, Raoh is one of the oldest and best-written examples of a classic rival character in animeWith even his death being an iconic part of anime culture. There are few anime rivals with as much gravitas As seen, and once the Fist of the North Star Remake comes out, that point is sure to reach a modern audience, too.

2

Seto Kaiba

Yu-Gi-Oh!

Seto Kaiba is the primary rival to Yugi Muto in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime, first introduced as a selfish rich kid Yugi has to duel after Kaiba sends his grandfather to the hospital. After that, Kaiba’s primary goal in life was to defeat Yugi and reclaim his title as the World’s Greatest Duelist, though Yugi was often busy helping his friends and dealing with one new threat to the world after another.

Kaiba’s antagonism and hammy personalityEspecially in the English dub, every interaction he has with Yugi is great to watch, and it perfectly complements his obsession with settling the score between them which eventually grows to the point of Kaiba entering the afterlife to get his rematch. There are few rival characters as entertaining to watch as Kaiba, and even after over 20 years, that hasn’t changed in the slightest.

1

Sasuke Uchiha

Naruto

Sasuke Uchiha is Naruto Uzumaki’s primary rival in Naruto Who grows from an undivided wonder broken by the death of his loved ones into a bloodthirsty avenger, who is ready to do anything to destroy his enemies. Throughout all of this, Naruto constantly tries to reach out to Sasuke in the name of their friendship, and Sasuke and other forces cause it to escalate into a conflict that decides the fate of the entire world.

Sasuke is always presented as someone who forces Naruto to be better, and as their dynamic slowly grows to be built around friendship rather than antagonism, Sasuke’s rivalry with Naruto becomes One of the best-written dynamics in all of anime For what it does for their characters and the story, overall. Few rival characters have left the kind of mark that Sasuke has, and that’s what makes him stand out Best anime competitor to follow after Vegeta.