For every great anime character who aims to reach the top of their world, there is another who is right at their heels with the same goals. Whether it’s to become the de facto leader, defend their beliefs and philosophies or become the strongest in the world, these characters compete with each other tooth and nail to prove they’re the dominant party. Some of these pairs are more iconic than the rest though, which is why they make our list of the top 15 best anime rivalries of all time.
Midoriya Izuku and Katsuki Bakugo (My Hero Academia)
Best Anime Rivalries
Midoriya and Bakugo’s race to the top of the hero world in My Hero Academia is one which easily contends with some of the more established anime rivalries on this list.
From an early age, the two shared the same dream of becoming a hero on par with their idol All Might, but only Bakugo was lucky enough to be blessed with a quirk and the talent to use it. Shortly before entering high school though, Midoriya was granted the power of One for All and set to work on catching up to his rival post haste.
And catch up he has. In the first few seasons alone, Midoriya competed with Bakugo directly in their school’s Olympics-level sports festival, come out on top in a mock-combat training exercise, and ran to Bakugo’s rescue after he was taken by the League of Villains. Paired with his telling Bakugo how he received his quirk, this has all proven he had the potential to take Bakugo on all along, and that he sees their competition as driven by their spirits instead of their quirks.
To his credit, Bakugo is of the same mindset. He has started to respect Midoriya as an equal and is looking to make amends for his past cruelty, but is determined not to lose to the one person he sees as worth admitting is an equal. After all, there can be only one top hero, and he has no intention of sharing the honor with anyone.
Yami Yugi and Seto Kaiba (Yu-Gi-Oh!)
Best Anime Rivalries
Across multiple years and several high stakes card-based competitions, Yugi and Kaiba’s drive to surpass each other as duelists remains one of the best anime rivalries out there.
Constantly flipping with one overcoming the other, their contests are fairly even in terms of wins and losses, with each win typically matched by a decisive loss down the road.
That said, the two have come a long way from their first confrontation and could even be considered allies by the series’ end. Where once Yugi had to crush Kaiba as revenge for his stealing a prized card from his grandfather, the two eventually throw down for no other reason than wanting to prove who is better, even teaming up to take down otherworldly threats to clear the way for their battles.
It may not be a conventional friendship, but it’s certainly one of the more entertaining dynamics among anime characters.
Ichigo and Grimmjow (Bleach)
Best Anime Rivalries
While Ichigo may take on a slew of different opponents during his stint as a Soul Reaper in Bleach, Grimmjow stands as one who he holds one of the best anime rivalries with.
A hot-headed Arrancar with a desire to be the strongest of his kind, Grimmjow also holds a code of honor which restricts him from fighting dirty. This code even leads him to protect or assist Ichigo and his friends several times, ensuring the Soul Reaper who mortally wounded him isn’t taken out by anyone else’s schemes before they can clash again. As such, he is a perfect match for Ichigo, whose blind drive to protect those he holds dear.
The two clash several times before arriving at a climactic battle within the world of Hollows. Though it’s full of flashy attacks, transformations and bursts of violence, each blow is delivered honorably and for no other reason than to prove who is stronger.
Even when Ichigo proves victorious, the two still hold each other in high enough regard to protect one another from a seperate Arrancar’s attack. As a result, they’re able to establish the base of a begrudging friendship that would prove useful later on in the manga.