Rivalries are some of the key motivators across many anime series. Many classics have a key rivalry at their center, and some of them have outlasted far beyond the fandom for the series themselves.
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After a recent survey in Japan, fans have chosen their favorite rivals among anime and while the focus is indeed on Shonen titles, it’s hard to argue against some of the placements on the list.
The top ten rivals as voted by fans in Japan are as follows:
- Vegeta – Dragon Ball Z
- Raou – Fist of the North Star
- Hyuuga Kojirou – Captain Tsubasa
- Terryman – Kinnikuman
- Saitou Hajime – Rurouni Kenshin
- Rukawa Kaede – Slam Dunk
- Sasuke Uchiha – Naruto
- L – Death Note
- Hayato Ijuin – City Hunter
- Toguro Otouto – Yu Yu Hakusho
Surveying 500 responses from fans aged 20-40, the top three on the list are noticeably from older titles. Coming in first is Dragon Ball Z‘s Vegeta, followed by Fist of the North Star‘s Raoh in second, and Captain Tsubasa‘s Hyuuga Kojirou rounds out the top three. Each of these series were first created before 1985, and it’s interesting to see the top three round out the way it does when compared to a survey taken earlier this year with a younger pool of respondents.
The same kind of best rivals in anime survey was released earlier this year with the majority of respondents being younger than 19. The results back then had Vegeta at the top with Naruto’s Sasuke and Gary Oak from Pokemon rounding out the top three. In this list, Sasuke makes it to seventh place with Gary Oak not cracking the top ten at all.
In both surveys, Vegeta stands on top. It’s hard to argue against the cross-generational appeal of the former villain turned begrudging ally turned friend.
You can currently see Vegeta’s rivalry with Goku on Dragon Ball Super. The series currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on FunimationNOW, VRV, and Crunchyroll.
If you want to catch up with the English dub, the first 52 episodes of Dragon Ball Super are now available to stream on FunimationNOW, VRV, and available to purchase on Amazon Video as well. The 52 episodes span the full range of what has aired in the North America and covers the “Battle of Gods” arc, “Revival of F” arc, the “Universe 6” arc, and bringing the series right up to the “Future Trunks” arc.
via Goo Ranking
