There are few things better than having good friends. People that you can trust in and rely on and share in the joy of life with? Nothing better. Okay, maybe there is ONE thing better if you happen to be a competitive person: a friend who also serves as your rival. Being able to rest in the bonds of your shared humanity AND battle to see who is the most powerful? That’s the sweet spot. So, to celebrate that very specific kind of connection, here are 10 anime friendships that became anime rivalries. Luffy and Koby Series: ONE PIECE RELATED: Which ONE PIECE Character Are You Most Like? When Luffy first meets Koby in ONE PIECE , the former is a wannabe Pirate King at the very beginning of his journey, and the latter is a cowardly young man who’s been abducted by Alvida and her crew. Luckily, some of Luffy’s courage rubs off on Koby, and within a few episodes, Koby musters up the nerve to follow his dream and join the Navy. This puts Koby at odds with Luffy’s whole piracy thing, but in their newfound rivalry, Koby also earns Luffy’s respect. Whether they’ll ever clash again (Luffy absolutely whalloped him during the battle at Marineford) remains to be seen, but the impact that Luffy has had on Koby changed his life for the better. Asta and Yuno Series: Black Clover RELATED: A Beginner's Guide to Black Clover At the beginning of Black Clover , with no apparent magical powers to speak of, Asta is desperate to be taken seriously as a rival to Yuno (though, considering Asta’s loud, desperate personality at the time, I’m sure he would’ve been satisfied with being a rival to anyone). However, when Asta manages to use his powerful anti-magic for the first time and save Yuno, their relationship evolves from the two just being buddies in a small town to rivals on their way to being the Wizard King. Who will make it first? Honestly, I’d be satisfied with either. Eijun and Furuya Series: Ace of the Diamond RELATED: 20 Essential Sports Anime on Crunchyroll There are few better places to find rivalries than in sports, and in Ace of the Diamond , both Eijun Sawamura and Satoru Furuya wish to be the Seidou High School baseball team’s “ace” player. One might expect a rivalry like theirs, especially one with such different playing styles, to descend into outright antagonism or anger. But Eijun and Furuya are sincerely happy when the other achieves success, even if the victory means that they’re plopped into second place. It’s both blood-pumping and heart-warming at the same time. Gon and Killua Series: Hunter x Hunter RELATED: A Beginner’s Guide to Hunter x Hunter When Gon and Killua first run into each other, the two become pretty fast friends in a crowd of burgeoning sociopaths, career criminals, and adventuring oddballs. As the Hunter Exam goes on, though, signs of competitiveness emerge, especially in Killua, who isn’t quite sure about this whole “making friends” thing. He even questions Gon’s abilities at times, thinking that he is obviously the more talented of the two. But this Hunter x Hunter relationship does come full circle. Gon’s optimism and constant kindness toward Killua warms the violent little dude’s heart, and they go back to being friends. Sakura and Ino Series: Naruto RELATED: Anime to Watch if You Like Naruto Though Sakura and Ino take a little while to become close friends, when they latch onto one another, it’s one of the strongest bonds in the Hidden Leaf Village. However, when both get a crush on Sasuke, cracks that were previously hidden begin to emerge. A full-blown rivalry kicks off that goes past Sasuke and eventually lands them on opposing sides of an arena during Naruto 's Chunin Exams. Sakura and Ino's battle ends with a tie, but not being able to progress in the tournament is overshadowed by the mutual respect they gain for one another. As it turns out, a crush on Sasuke is a pretty silly reason to be mad about anything. Orihara and Nagatoro Series: DON'T TOY WITH ME, MISS NAGATORO RELATED: Anime MISS NAGATORO Fans Need To Add To Their Watchlist Next When Nagatoro and Orihara were training in judo as children, Orihara did her best to be friendly. She was loud, excitable and outgoing, a direct contrast to DON'T TOY WITH ME, MISS NAGATORO 's titular character. And though the two weren’t besties, they weren’t on bad terms. That changed when Orihara beat Nagatoro in a match and shattered her confidence regarding the sport for years. As the two barrelled toward one another again in a high school event, this (one-sided) rivalry escalated and forced Nagatoro to regain her courage. The two will likely always be rivals, but at least Nagatoro got her judo groove back. Rin and Haruka Series: Free! – Iwatobi Swim Club RELATED: What Kind of Sports Anime Athlete Would You Be? Haruka and Rin grew up as childhood friends and members of the same swim team. They played together, learned together, and got swimmer’s ear together, as one does in a sports anime. However, in Free! – Iwatobi Swim Club , when Rin returns to Japan from training in Australia for a few years, his competitive spirit has been knocked up a few notches. As such, he sees Haruka as his rival, and the story to follow details how these former friends not only work through their new relationship, but also confront each other in competition. Bakugo and Deku Series: My Hero Academia RELATED: 40 My Hero Academia Quotes Worth Remembering You may not remember this, but for a little while (before Bakugo’s Quirk literally erupted into being), Bakugo and Deku were actually pretty pleasant playmates. Bakugo didn’t yell his name all the time, which is a far cry from the Bakugo he became when he grew up full of fire and pride. In fact, if the once-Quirkless Deku had a more antagonistic attitude, these two would’ve become outright enemies. But Deku tends to see the best in Bakugo throughout the course of My Hero Academia , and the two transform into rivals. Does it make Bakugo any less angry when Deku tries to keep cool? No, not at all, but lately, he’s a little less abrasive about it and is, in fact, one of the main ones telling Deku not to carry the weight of hero society on his shoulders alone. Athrun and Kira Series: Mobile Suit Gundam Seed RELATED: Which Mobile Suit Gundam Anime Should I Watch First? When Athrun and Kira were growing up, they were pretty much each other’s only friend. It was a connection that meant so much to Athrun that he gifted Kira with his awesome robotic bird as a symbol of it. However, years later, when Athrun (now a member of ZAFT) and Kira (now a mobile suit pilot for the Earth Alliance) encounter one another on the battlefield, they have to fight on opposite sides (gotta love the tension in Mobile Suit Gundam Seed ). This doesn’t make them enemies, though, and the fighting weighs heavily on them, in particular Athrun, who is forced to rethink many of the positions he once held. Tai and Matt Series: Digimon Adventure: RELATED: Digimon Adventure Felt a Lot Like Making Friends on the Internet Tai and Matt’s relationship in 2020’s Digimon Adventure: doesn’t start in the same way it did in the original series. Though Matt is a little standoffish in the early episodes, he’s still very willing to team up with Tai to deal with Argomon and save Tokyo. But as the series goes on and more Chosen Children join their group, Matt gets standoffish from time to time, refusing to listen to the others’ plans. This usually brings Matt in direct opposition with Tai, and the two squabble over who they should trust (all while fighting for the same purpose). Eventually, though, Matt joins Team Tai, and he and Gabumon are treated to Digi-volutions aplenty.
