Top 10 Anime Rivalries That Define Their Series

A hero is only as good as the person standing across from him. These ten rivalries are ranked on how much they shape their series, how well both sides are written, and whether the payoff earns the years of buildup.

The rankings

1. Naruto and Sasuke. The entire series is this relationship. Their final fight at the Valley of the End is the emotional climax of 700 episodes.
2. Goku and Vegeta. The template. Vegeta’s speech during the Buu saga is the best thing Dragon Ball ever wrote.
3. Light and L, Death Note. Two geniuses playing chess with a notebook that kills. The tennis match says everything.
4. Ash and Gary, Pokemon. Childhood’s first rivalry, and the Johto League finally paid it off.
5. Yugi and Kaiba, Yu Gi Oh. Kaiba refusing to accept a loss for twenty years is a character study in itself.
6. Eren and Reiner, Attack on Titan. Two men who are the same person from opposite sides of a wall.
7. Deku and Bakugo, My Hero Academia. The rivalry that turns into the series’ best friendship.
8. Hinata and Kageyama, Haikyuu. Rivals on the same team, which makes every practice a duel.
9. Gon and Killua, Hunter x Hunter. Never framed as rivals, but the tension over who Gon becomes drives the Chimera Ant arc.
10. Thorfinn and Askeladd, Vinland Saga. A rivalry that is really a mentorship neither of them will admit to.

What separates the great ones

Every rivalry here works because the rival is right about something the hero is wrong about. Vegeta’s pride, L’s suspicion and Bakugo’s fear of being left behind all reveal the protagonist as much as themselves.

My take: Naruto and Sasuke over Goku and Vegeta because Kishimoto actually finished the story he started. Vegeta never got his Valley of the End.