All posts by Gibraltarr

(Disclaimer: some of what is written here is taken from my Shonen Hero proposal for both Denji and Power).

What's the Work?

Chainsaw Man is a manga series created by Tatsumi Fujimoto in late 2018. It is pubilished in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump.

Who are the Characters?

Aki Hayakawa is a major character from Chainsaw Man, serving as one of the two deuteragonists for Part 1.

Katana Man is a character from Chainsaw Man, initially appearing as a minor antagonist in Part 1, and as a major ally in Part 2.

What Makes Them Shonen Rivals?

Aki

• Heroic: As a member of the Security Bureau, Aki has protected Tokyo from several devil threats.

• Honorable: Aki is typically very polite, and becomes very protective of Denji and Power as the story progresses to the point he's willing to give up his goal of killing the Gun Devil so both of them could live safely, and was also willing to give up two months of his life to save the Angel Devil despite his own hatred towards devils.

• Tragic: Aki's family was killed by the Gun Devil when he was a child, leaving him to grow up alone filled with rage for devils.

• Intelligent: In sharp contrast to Denji, Aki is a very intelligent and mature man.

• Pursues a Big-End Goal: Aki seeks to avenge his family by killing the Gun Devil.

• Cynical: He has a hard time trusting on anyone, especially when it comes to devils.

• Pessimistic: Aki has a very nihilistic outlook in life, and doesn't see it in a positive light.

• Perpetual Frowner: He hardly ever smiles, and is typically sporting a serious look in his face everytime he appears.

• Celibate: Due to being a workaholic and being too focused on his goal, Aki hardly shows any interest in romance.

• Is a Blood Knight: Thanks to his own hatred towards devils, Aki has no qualms about killing them and even tends to enjoy the task.

Katana Man

• Anti-Heroic/Anti-Villainous: After being initially an antagonist, he eventually joins the Security Bureau (albeit for his own greedy reasons), and was willing to help Asa and Yoru to rescue and protect Denji, but only because he wants to kill him himself.

• Honorable: Shockingly, even him ends up feeling sympathy for Denji after his reaction to seeing his appartment burnt down in the ground and Nayuta's disappearance, and even makes his own suggestion to cheer him up.

• Naturally Talented: Unlike Denji who initially struggled with his Chainsaw Man form, Katana Man is naturally very skilled with his blades, something he even mocks Denji for.

• Arrogant/Jerkish: Both would be a massive understatement for him. Katana Man is very prideful of his own strength, and is typically a mysogynistic asshole that is very unpleasant to be around.

• Pursues a Big-End Goal: Kill the Chainsaw Man and make him apologize for killing his grandfather.

• Believes in the Power of Individual Strength: As mentioned above, he's extremely prideful of his own strength.

• Redemption Arc: Somewhat... While he doesn't become a full-on hero he does join the Security Bureau and becomes an ally to Asa, Yoru and Denji (although a VERY flimsy one).

• Is A Serious Threat/Villain: Initially introduced as an antagonist that is part of the Gun Devil cult, driven entirely by his wish of killing the Chainsaw Man and avenging his grandfather.

• Short-Tempered: Gets angered very easily when things don't go his way.

• Born Into Privilege: Katana Man was born as part of the Yakuza, as a result he ended up having a very privileged life, and unlike Denji, he has a very positive opinion about the Yakuza, even going as far as calling them "true heroes".

• Is a Blood Knight: He loves fighting so he can brag about his own strength.

Veredict?

Weak yes for Aki, as even though he fits the criteria he was only a rival to Denji in the beginning of the story, meaning he was a rival for a very brief time. Katana Man though is a shocking yes, he's a much more clear rival than Aki that ends up being a perfect foil to Denji, and even though he's VERY unlikable and initially starts as a Hate Sink (which would immediately disqualify him), his appearance in Part 2 ends up toning up his comedic moments such as his pompousness, his over-the-top hatred towards Denji and his dynamic with the Nail Fiend, allowing him to rise to Entertainingly Detestable status, which allows him to qualify.

Welp, with Thorfinn being proposed in the Shonen Heroes Wiki I figured I had to propose Canute here lol.

What's the Work?

Vinland Saga is a seinen manga series created by Makoto Yukimura in 2005.

Who's the Character?

Canute (or Prince/King Canute) is one of the main characters of Vinland Saga serving as the overall deuteragonist of the show.

What Makes Him a Shonen Rival?

• Anti-Heroic/Anti-Villainous: Canute wishes to build a paradise but is willing to use very questionable methods to achieve that goal, including poisoning his own brother to unify both Denmark and England and invade farms to use their resources.

• Honorable: Canute absolutely cannot stand pillaging and rape, going as far as punishing severely those that commits these crimes, he also banned street duels, and was willing to spare Thorfinn by selling him as a slave instead of executing him when he attacked him for killing Askeladd.

• Tragic: He grew up in what can be explained as a "snake nest", with his own father hating him, resulting in him becoming sheltered and scared of his duties as a prince. The death of Ragnar, the only person that was willing to let him have a normal childhood eventually caused him to snap and decide to go against God's law and built a paradise on Earth no matter what it takes, leading to Canute becoming a ruthless king that rules with an iron fist.

• Intelligent: He's very knowledgeable about how politics work and is very cunning in terms of battle strategies, being able to conquer England in just 3 months while his father took years to manage such feat.

• Pursues a Big-End Goal: Defy God's Law and build a paradise on Earth no matter what it takes.

• Cynical: Canute is very cynical towards the Vikings, seeing them as only barbarians that only know to fight and cause destruction and believing he's the only one capable of "saving" them.

• Believes in the Power of Individual Strength: As mentioned above, Canute believes he's the only one capable of saving the Vikings.

• Redemption Arc: After being convinced by Thorfinn to stop the attack on Ketil's farm, Canute becomes much less willing to use violence to achieve his goal, even reducing his own army in England, becoming a much more benevolent king as a result.

• Is A Serious Threat/Villain: Unlike most examples, Canute actually starts as a shy and sheltered teenager that is scared of the real world, but snaps at Ragnar's death, eventually becoming a tyrant king following his father's death at the end of the War Arc.

• Short-Tempered: While mostly calm and stoic, Canute isn't afraid to punish those that anger him, and notoriously asked to behead a couple of soldiers that were pillaging an English village.

• Born into Privilege: Canute is part of the Danish Royal Family and one of the two heirs to the throne, however unlike most examples this turned out to be a horrible thing as the Royal Family happens to be a "snake nest" as described above.

Veredict?

Yes to my boy Canute, he isn't exactly a conventional rival but he still fits, especially thanks to his philosophical rivalry with Thorfinn, I might also propose him to the Seinen Heroes Wiki later since he also fits that archetype.

What's the work?

Yu-Gi-Oh is a anime/manga series created by Kazuki Takahashi in 1996 that spawned several other shows, it follows the story of Yugi Muto, a young boy with a talent for Duel Monsters who rises all the way to the top.

Who's the character?

Seto Kaiba is a major character in Yu-Gi-Oh, serving as Yugi's main rival as well as the show's deuteragonist (alongside Yami Yugi), and also the de-facto protagonist of the Dark Side of Dimensions movie.

What makes him a Shonen Rival?

Anti-Heroic/Anti-Villainous: Has saved his brother multiple times, as well as Yugi and his friends. He also teamed up with Yugi to defeat two Rare Hunters and has a soft spot for children.

Honorable: Despite being a massive jerk most of the time, Kaiba has lines he wouldn't dare to cross, with bullying and mistreatment of children being two things that pisses him off. He also develops a genuine respect for Yugi, considering him the only person on his league.

Tragic: Seto's parents died in an accident when he was just 3, as a result he and his younger brother Mokuba both spent a good portion in an orphanage, and even when he was adopted by Gozaburo Kaiba he was often abused by him, which led to him becoming the cold, arrogant and victory-obsessed man he is now.

Intelligent: Defeated his adoptive father in a game of chess after studying his playstyle so Mokuba could get adopted as well, he also planned a ploy to take over Gozaburo's company after he was gifted 10% of its share. As the CEO of Kaiba Corp he's often regarded as a genius in-universe due to his company's inventions.

Arrogant/Jerskish: And how, one of Kaiba's defining traits is how arrogant he is, his dismissive treatment towards Joey's skill as a duelist in especific is one of his most notable interactions outside of Yugi.

Pursues a Big-End Goal: Defeat Yugi so he can finally be the best in the world.

Cynical: Very distrustful and jaded of people's intentions due to his past.

Believes in the Power of Individual Strength: Thinks Yugi's talk about believing in the heart of the cards is bullshit, instead believing that the strength is in the individual.

Redemption Arc: Slowly softens to Yugi and begins treating him with more respect, and as more focus is put on his character he begins to move away from villany, instead becoming more of an anti-hero.

Is A Serious Threat/Villain: Pretty much the show's very first villain, being introduced stealing Solomon's Blue-Eyes White Dragon card and kidnapping him so he can defeat Yugi in a duel.

Veredict?

Very easy yes for Kaiba, in fact, I'm surprised he isn't in this wiki yet considering he's typically regarded as the other codifier of the Shonen Rival trope alongside Vegeta.