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Rivalries are very common in shonen anime, whether among siblings, friends, or adversaries. These tend to lead to excellent character drama and are usually a highlight of their particular series, with everyone having their favorites.
Some rivalries last an entire series, which can go on for years. Some rivalries only last through a couple of arcs. This article will go into the 10 longest rivalries in shonen anime, ranked by how long they lasted in their respective universes and out-of-universes.
Note: This list will contain major spoilers for all the anime listed. It is also simply the author's opinion. The in-universe timeframe takes priority over the out-of-universe timeframe for complete rivalries, should an in-universe tie occur, the out-of-universe section takes priority.
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Note 2: Ongoing rivalries take precedence over finished rivalries, with real-world ones taking priority. Only manga and anime are considered, movies, games, and other non-canon material are not included save for any exceptions where the rivalry ended in them. An asterisk indicates an ongoing rivalry.
10 shonen anime rivalries, ranked from shortest to longest
10) L vs. Light (Death Note. Settled. 1 year in universe, 6 months out of universe)
This cat and mouse game started in the shonen anime and manga Death Note with Light deciding to have Lind L. Tailor killed for defying Kira, but L deduced the location of the killer down to the Kanto region.
Light then had to make several preparations, such as hiding the Death Note in a false trapped desk bottom or leaving paper beneath his door to see if anyone went into his room.
Several months following these events, these shonen rivals would officially meet at To-Oh University and L would reveal his suspicions over a game of tennis. Light would inspire copy Kiras either under Light's manipulation (Misa Amane, Teru Mikami) or acting alone (Kyosuke Higuchi).
L and Light's deceptions featured many twists and turns such as lost memories, Light's imprisonment, to L's death at the hands of the Shingami Rem under Light's manipulations. While Light stood triumphant, he'd meet his own end five years later.
9) Yugi Moto vs. Seto Kaiba (Yu-Gi-Oh! Settled. 3 years in universe. Roughly 4 years out of universe.)
The feud between the shonen card game champions started over Yugi's grandfather's Blue Eyes White Dragon Card, which Seto greedily coveted to the point of inducing a heart attack in the old man.
After being defeated by Yugi and his playing Exodia, the rivalry lasted well over 225 episodes in the shonen anime, over the course of four years. As an aside, whilst the shonen anime and manga go in entirely different directions (thus affecting the canon status of the Yu-Gi-Oh!: Dark Side of Dimensions movie), the anime is what's being focused on.
Kaiba would triumph all of once after they dueled three times throughout the series. He did so by threatening to kill himself via the card game if Yugi didn't stand down so he could try rescuing Mokuba by himself in Duelist Kingdom.
Yugi, of course, saw some good in Kaiba but it was a lot of work to get there due to Kaiba's boundless ego, heavy doses of sarcasm, and the antics he pulled to get to the top. The rivalry was settled after Yugi and Atem's final duel, where Kaiba watched Yugi defeat Atem and even offered a few of his cards to help Yugi win.
8) Jonathan Joestar vs. Dio Brando (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Settled. Roughly 8 years in universe. 1 Year out of universe.)
This rivalry that started the long, painful Joestar family journey began in the shonen anime Phantom Blood. It's only going to cover Jonathan vs. Dio, because by Stardust Crusaders it became a blood fued.
When Jonathan was an infant, his father George Joestar was "saved" by Dario Brando. Because Dario was abusive, Dio was adopted by George Joestar into the Joestar family as Jonathan's step brother.
In his youth, Dio would mess Jonthan's life up by bad-mouthing him, isolating him, burning his beloved dog, trying to steal his girlfriend, all the while feigning innocence.
By the time they were adults, Jonathan exposed Dio's crime of poisoning George to take the Joestar fortune. Dio subsequently became a vampire after donning the stone mask, and nearly turned all of England into vampires before Jonathan and company finally stopped him.
Dio even lived through decapitation and was able to kill Jonathan but was stuck in the ocean for 100 years due to Jonathan blowing up the boat they were on. Dio would use Jonathan's body 100 years later against the Stardust Crusaders, meeting his end at the hands of Jonathan's great grandson Jotaro Kujo.
7) Kenshin Himura vs. Saito Hajime (Ruroni Kenshin. Settled. 10 years in the universe. 4 years out of the universe.)
Since the end of Japan's Edo period, Kenshin Himura and Saito Hajime have been rivals. Saito dared to fight Kenshin when he was a manslayer, proving effective enough to survive.
In the Rurouni Kenshin shonen anime and manga, Saito tried to target Kenshin multiple times even when Shishio was a threat. This tunnel vision nearly led to his death multiple times.
From the Kyoto Arc to Jinchu Arc, at over 200 manga chapters that were never animated since the series was canceled, Saito targeted Kension. Saito was the one to finally end the rivalry after helping in the fight against Shishio.
It was a truly mature moment for the man who constantly pursued the former manslayer, figuring there was no point to it after everything they'd been through after Shishio.
6) Takasugi Shinsuke vs Gintoki Sakata (Gintama. Resolved. Roughly 10 years in universe since no specific timeframe. 15 years outside the universe.)
This rivalry lasted well over 300 episodes in the shonen anime Gintama and roughly an even amount of time in and out of the universe.
The rivalry sparked after the two studied together before the events of the series at the Shoka Sonjuku under Yoshida Shouyou. Takasugi developed massive hatred for Gintoki after the latter executed Shouyou to save the other students in their dojo. This rivalry would last roughly a decade, with Takasugi and Gintoki being considered two sides of the same coin in ability.
This one was interrupted, as Takasugi was struck from behind by the villain Oboro during the Shogun Assassination Arc and in a coma from that point forward until the Rakuyou Decisive Battle Arc.
During that arc, Takasugi decided to stop his rivalry to face down Oboro. While Takasugi would kill Oboro, the true threat of Utsuro and his universe destroying ships would reunite the two once again. In Gintama: The Final movie, Gintoki freed Takasugi from Utsuro's control by killing him, ending the threat as his rival died peacefully in his arms.
5) Naruto vs. Sasuke (Naruto. Settled. Approximately 11 years in universe. 14 years out of universe.)
With a total of 408 episodes of Naruto and Shippuden without fillers, and over 697 manga chapters since Sasuke's introduction, Naruto and Sasuke's rivalry is one of the longest in shonen anime, both in and out of the universe.
This ninja rivalry started out very one-sided when Naruto was six years old and entered the Ninja Academy, finding a rival in the then seven-year-old Sasuke. The two would continue to fued even after entering Team 7.
While the two did start getting along, the aftermath of the Chunin exams and Sasuke's subsequent defection halted any meaningful progress. After failing to get Sasuke back, Naruto vowed to train, get stronger, and get Sasuke back.
Sasuke trained to kill his brother, and later, Danzo Shimura. The two would spend a few years apart and clash multiple times before their final duel. Their rivalry was officially settled when Sasuke apologized to Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi, and spent the next few years atoning for his actions via wandering the world and helping people.
4) Amuro Ray vs. Char Aznable (Mobile Suit Gundam to Char's Counterattack. Settled. 14 years in universe. 9 years out of universe.)
To get to the point of this long-running shonen anime rivalry, Char and Amuro met on the battlefield during the first Mobile Suit Gundam while the Federation's White Base tried to escape the space colony Side 3.
While Char was a better pilot, Amuro had the better mech and was able to survive atmospheric entry in his Gundam. The two would clash during the One Year War, seemingly ending their rivalry with the death of Lalah Sune and the emergence of Amuro's Newtype abilities, allowing Sayla Mass to talk some sense into the two of them.
While they entered an uneasy friendship during the Gryps War in the shonen sequel Zeta Gundam, their rivalry was rekindled in Char's Counterattack.
While Char was trying to drop a massive asteroid on Earth, Amuro pushed his Gundam to its limits to stop Char and block the meteor, inspiring many pilots to do the same. In the end, both Amuro and Char overloaded their mechs, their Newtype abilities, and souls to stop the meteor, vanishing in a colorful aurora.
3) Yuno vs. Asta (Black Clover. Ongoing*. 11 years in universe, 7 years out of universe)
One of the healthiest shonen rivalries to grace anime is Yuno and Asta's from Black Clover. Though Asta possessed no real magical talents, both Yuno and Asta went after the same goal of becoming Magic Emperor.
The two aren't the typical insulting and bickering shonen rivalry, however. Instead, Yuno and Asta treat each other like brothers, with Yuno serving the big brother role to Asta.
Since this rivalry is ongoing, much like the next two shonen entries, with Asta having surpassed Yuno in chapter 321, the question becomes who will become the Magic Emperor? The two have had each other's backs through thick and thin, usually against ever more powerful foes that neither can stop alone.
*As the shonen anime and manga Black Clover hasn't concluded yet, time will tell how this rivalry ends.
2) Izuku Midoriya vs. Katsuki Bakugo (My Hero Academia. Ongoing*. 11 years in universe. 8 years out of universe.)
With the superhero shonen anime My Hero Academia starting off from when they were young kids, Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo have been squaring off since before they entered U.A.
Their rivalry started when Deku was made to feel worthless after being born without a Quirk. However, that changed when he tried saving Bakugo from a villain and was subsequently saved by the Number 1 Hero All Might. From that day forward, Deku gained One for All, and his and Bakugo's rivalry ramped up several notches.
Bakugo was always jealous that Deku kept rising higher than he did. The two saved each other numerous times too. This led into the aftermath of the Paranomal Liberation War Arc, where Deku decided to leave U.A. and try to confront Tomura Shigaraki on his own.
He ended up being rescued, then forcibly stopped by Class 1-A with everyone revealing Deku had a profound effect on them, with Bakugo included. Bakugo actually apologized for his actions, having taken a near lethal blow for Deku earlier on, and called him Izuku instead.
While Bakkugo himself hasn't dropped the rivalry, it's been tabled since their final bouts have them going up against Tomura and All for One.
1) Vegeta vs. Goku (Dragon Ball Z to Dragon Ball Super. Ongoing*. 6 years in universe, 26 years out of universe in the anime, 33 years in the manga)
Just for clarity, this is from the long-running shonen anime Dragon Ball Z to it's sequel Super, GT doesn't count. This one is at the top for being long out of the universe, and is constantly ongoing.
This lengendary rivalry started when Goku and Vegeta met on the battlefield after Goku dealt with Nappa. Despite having barely survived the following encounter, Vegeta vowed vengeance and the desire to surpass Goku by any means necessary.
Throughout Dragon Ball Z, shonen rival Vegeta would attempt to make good on his word. Goku went to Super Saiyan against Frieza? Vegeta achieved his own years later. Goku got more powerful against Cell? Vegeta sold his soul to Babidi to get his own power boost.
Goku attained Super Saiyan God, Blue, and later Ultra Instinct? Vegeta got those, Ultra Ego, and Spirit Fission. Just because Vegeta changed as a person, becoming less selfish, doesn't mean he's dropped the rivalry by any means. Even if it's been well over 30 odd years, that constant always remains.
