u/CaptainDoctor22

Style 1: As seen in the Wheatley vs Spamton example, mostly unstylized, relies on multiple images and maybe some visualized connections to look cool.

Style 2: As seen in the Power vs Perry example, little stylized, uses lighting effects and editing to look cool.

Style 3: As seen in the Korosensei vs Flowery example, heavily stylized, uses multiple effects and likely lighting to look cool.

Please include proof in your response, also please only comment if this is a new vote for JosephNoir rather than an older vote :D

Core Theme: Ancient, ageless, charming, sleazy, (mostly) immortal, well-dressed villains-turned-heroes from hit 2010s/2020s series centered around the forked-up system that the world revolves around (The Time Variance Authority/The Afterlife). Despite initially participating in these systems and generally being maniacal, sadistic people, over time they would become better through the bonds they made during their time in the TVA/The Afterlife. >!Both had to say goodbye to these friends on a bittersweet note. However, while Loki’s final stepping stone in his story was becoming a god above all other gods, ruling over the multiverse like he so wanted, Michael’s conclusion was living out a normal life as a human.!<

Connections:

• At the start of their stories, both were lying, sleazy, antagonistic characters who betrayed some of the few people who saw them as a friend (Thor/Team Cockroach). Though they did take pleasure in seeing others’ pain, it was mainly driven by a sense of worthlessness amongst their peers and a desire to prove them wrong, primarily proving themselves over someone who was viewed as superior to them for millennia (Thor/Shawn).

• In order to do so, both put humans through immense pain and suffering, though notably with a theatrical flair to it (Loki in order to rule the realms and have people bow before him/Michael to show that his new way of torture is superior to the others) as well as being rather bad at it and repeatedly failing at their goal. However, as time went on, both would feel a huge sense of remorse for their actions, and through the help of a group of humans would go on to both redeem themselves and become genuinely better people. Speaking of…

• Their character development is jumpstarted when they’re forced into proximity with a group of humans and one nonhuman (The TVA Employees & Sylvie/Team Cockroach & Janet), though particularly by the nonhuman, who is the first one among them that they actually grow genuine affection for, culminating in a pivotal moment when they admit this (Loki confessing his love for Sylvie/Michael admitting that Janet is his friend). >!This person is also one of the last people they speak to in the whole series, with their last conversation being a bittersweet and heartfelt farewell.!<

• Another cornerstone of their development is a snarky, sarcastic human who becomes their work partner and later best friend (Loki & Mobius working for the TVA/Eleanor helping Michael run his fake Good Place). While this person is distrustful of them at first, through time and genuine care, their friendship grows into something special for them both.

• Both also have a comic relief friend who, despite their goofiness, is actually one of the smartest/wisest among them when it counts (Ouroboros being a talented scientist/Jason coming in clutch several times, and being oddly articulate [such as when he described how difficult being a human is to the Judge]).

• Both are tied to bureaucratic world controlling organizations (The TVA/The Afterlife) that regularly dooms innocent people to eternity in a desolate, agonizing realm (The Void/The Bad Place) for minor slip-ups in their life, just in an attempt to keep things “orderly.” Upon realizing how forked up these systems are, both Loki and Michael would work diligently with their human friends, who were also victims of this system, to try and fix it. >!This culminates in a scene where they sacrifice themselves for the cause, though they don’t actually die (Loki’s sacrifice by becoming a time god/Michael’s sacrifice by letting Eleanor go to the Judge in his stead, knowing that he may be retired).!<

• Both are human-resembling creatures, though notably not actually human (Loki is a god/Michael is a demon). Their respective groups (Lokis/Demons) are renowned universally for being lying, backstabbing, evil sons of benches, which they eventually prove wrong by changing themselves. Both even go so far as to stop the wiping out of humanity.

• Both have entered a time loop with the aforementioned group of humans for ages, trying and failing over and over again until they realized that there was no winning if they kept doing what they were doing (Loki’s attempts at fixing the Temporal Loom and later realization that it cannot be fixed/Michael’s attempts at torturing the humans only to realize that the humans would always change and figure out his plan). Speaking of time travel, both are linked to places where time notably moves differently from our world (“Time moves differently in the TVA”/Jeremy Bearimy), though they can enter worlds via a special orange door. They’ve met versions of their friends prior to when they were Pruned/Died through their time travel adventures.

• Both have dealt with a high-ranking figure in their respective bureaucracies (Renslayer/Shawn) who are the main obstacles towards fixing their flawed systems and act as the main villains, trying their best to stop Loki/Michael’s plan.

• Both have been multiversal fugitives on the run from their respective authorities, causing them to have to go through the aforementioned other realm where undesirable beings are sent, as well as a train.

• Both have similar styles of comedy and dry ways of delivery, often talking about fantastical things in a simple, everyday manner.

• Both have the innate ability of reality warping, able to conjure up immensely realistic illusions in an instant.

Contrasts:

• >!Their arcs bittersweetly culminate in them getting what they’ve always wanted by going through a door at the cost of not being able to be with their friends, though this is completely opposite for each of them. Loki ascends to one of the highest planes of existence in the MCU, viewing over the millions of timelines with the knowledge that his friends are safe. Michael, on the other hand, relinquishes his power and lives amongst the humans as another one of us, trusting his friends to continue aiding the process of redemption. So, while one gets all the power in the world, the other loses it.!<

• Loki was completely powerless in the hands of the TVA, while Michael held all the power in his Neighborhood.

• Marvel’s 3rd Horniest Man vs Thinks kissing is disgusting

• God vs Demon

• Both have dealt with a soft-spoken reality warping AI assistant who falls for a human (Miss Minutes/Janet). However, while one is a definitive villain in the story, the other is one of Michael’s closest friends.

Ending artwork by u/ashamed-ad552

1. The Narrator vs Caine (TSP vs TADC). Winner: Narrator.

2. Ross vs Mustache Girl (TAWoG vs AHiT). Winner: Rose.

3. The Beast vs Roy Gribbleston (OtGW vs DHMIS). Winner: The Beast

4. Milo Murphy vs Rentarou Aijou (Milo Murphy’s Law vs 100 GFs). Winner: Stalemate.

5. Shrek vs Plague Knight (… vs Shovel Knight). Winner: Shrek.

6. Comp Dorothy Gale vs Comp Alice Liddell (The Wizard of Oz vs Alice in Wonderland). Winner: Alice.

7. Leonard Church vs GLaDOS (Red vs Blue vs Portal). Winner: GLaDOS.

8. Aqua vs Niffty (Deltarune vs Hazbin Hotel). Winner: Aqua.

9. Henry Stein vs Red Guy (BatIM vs DHMIS). Winner: Red Guy.

10. Remy & Linguini vs Octodad (Ratatouille vs …). Winner: Remy & Linguini.

• Both Shigeo and Seras are teenage protagonists of popular and influential anime/manga series which, despite their relatively short length, have a shockingly emotional story about moving past trauma and taking control of one’s life. They’re frequently referred to by a nickname (Mob/Police Girl), and their last names have the same amount of letters.

• Their lives were predominantly driven by a traumatic experience involving criminals and the brutal mauling of (a) family member(s), causing them to repress their emotions and memories of this event. Beforehand, both were notably a lot more vocal about their feelings, thoughts, and desires, only for those to become buried down afterwards (Shigeo accidentally hurt his brother and nearly killed some muggers/Seras watched as her parents were killed by the people her father had previously arrested).

• Both possess incredibly strong supernatural powers including telekinesis, super strength, super speed, super durability, flight, power absorption, and the ability to resist mind control. They use said powers to fight on the side of humanity in an eternal struggle between humans and supernatural monsters. As part of their mission, they’re dispatched to various locations around their city and the surrounding area to deal with the monsters threatening them by an important organization that specializes in dealing with said monsters (Shigeo is a psychic tasked with fighting Yokai, Spirits, and other supernatural phenomena in Salt City dispatched by Spirits & Such Consultation Office, which becomes very popular in the middle arcs of MP100/Seras is a vampire tasked with fighting vampires, ghouls, werewolves, and other supernatural phenomena in London dispatched by the Hellsing Organization, London’s premier monster hunting group).

• Their main and most notable antagonist is a large organization led by a manipulative suited man leading an army of psychics/vampires (Claw/Millennium). They act as a direct antithesis to Shigeo/Seras’ philosophy; embracing the destructive nature of their non-human powers and causing a wide-scale attack with a disregard for human life. Shigeo/Seras are forced to try and stop them, and play a large role in the defeat of their leader and a high-ranking minion (Shigeo fights Toichiro directly after pacifying Serizawa/Seras and Integra kill The Major directly after Seras fights The Captain).

• One of the most important and close relationships in their life is with a famous man revered as the strongest member of the psychics/vampires (Reigen Arataka/Alucard). This man is their mentor, and instills the core value of Shigeo/Seras’ morals into them. Despite the immense power they possess, Reigen & Alucard teach them to respect humanity and remember that their powers do not make them superior. They also regularly join them on their missions, and act as a familial figure to them. While Reigen & Alucard do affect Shigeo & Seras greatly, Shigeo & Seras also affect them. They soften their hardened hearts, causing them to appreciate Shigeo & Seras as more than they previously assumed they were, and gain more friends as time goes on.

• Both have several human and inhuman friends who act as tethers to their human side. This includes a group of masculine and determined men (The Body Improvement Club/The Wild Geese) who lift them up in their darkest moments, offering encouragement and support despite the circumstances; a similarly powerful side character with black hair whom experiments on themselves to get stronger in an attempt to match the strength of a protagonist, betraying them for a period before redeeming themselves due to Shigeo/Seras’ kindness (Ritsu Kageyama/Walter C. Dornez); a love interest whom they try to impress and causes a lot of their character development (Tsubomi Takane/Pip Bernadotte); and a deuteragonist whose relationship to them initially starts as antagonistic, only for them to grow closer as friends over the course of the series, to the point where they’re willing to give up their life for Shigeo/Seras (Dimple/Pip again).

• Both Shigeo and Seras are driven by an intrinsic pacifism and desire to not harm others [though notably they are okay with harming monsters]. They restrain their inner demons and urges in order to keep people around them safe, and know that if they were to let themselves loose it would result in a large amount of destruction. Despite these efforts to restrain themselves, their true emotions have burst through in moments of intense pain, resulting in both a change of color pallet and a more shadowy appearance. It’s in these forms that they become a lot stronger and, in turn, more dangerous (Shigeo’s 100% and ???% forms/Seras’ real vampire transformation). This has been triggered before by a sadistic and cruel villain who causes Shigeo/Seras to relive past trauma in an attempt to break them (Mogami/Zorin).

• In terms of personality, both Shigeo & Seras are incredibly kindhearted and sweet but traumatized teenagers thrust into fights they don’t deserve to have to fight. This stress only causes their already repressed emotions to stir and intensify over the course of the story, erupting when those close to them are in danger. They’re awkward but sincere, determined but a bit goofy, and in general the best person several people in-universe know, and cause several people to change for the better due to their sheer kindness.

• At the end of their stories, both achieve a balance between who they were before their trauma and who they are now, signified by them being called by their true name rather than their nickname (Shigeo Kageyama 100%/Seras being called “Seras Victoria” instead of “Police Girl” by Alucard). They achieve this balance by accepting, not rejecting, their powers, merging with their darker selves to be the true Shigeo & Seras. Both readily move forward into the future, tethered not by the past, but by a love for the people around them and a desire to help the world.

• Black Cat vs Golden Retriever

Animation/Fight Potential:

I’d imagine it’d start with Seras using her super strength and speed to kinda batter Mob around, while Mob uses his telekinesis to throw stuff at Seras that she weaves around and such. Then, once he enters his higher percentages, Seras would use some of her more esoteric powers (like her own telekinesis, tendrils, and flight) to try and get around Mob’s increasing destructiveness. Mob can see other people’s memories and transmit his own, so I’d imagine they’d understand what the other has been through around the 2/3 mark, and Shigeo would enter ???% shortly after. The end of the fight would be Seras (with assistance from Pip in her mind) trying to get close enough to ???% Mob to snap him out of it, similar to how Reigen did. The aftermath would be a confused Shigeo, now back to normal, wondering where Seras went. The death would be Seras staring at the sun—similar to Alucard’s death—while fading away from her injuries.

Story Potential:

Mob has, like, perfect powers for good story potential lol, that being his ability to take in and give memories. This would allow for some neat emotional moments, where Shigeo realizes the trauma Seras has gone through is similar to his own. Seras, being the older and more emotionally mature of the two, would see Shigeo’s memories and try to help him, considering that she has a tendency to help people who need it. I think Seras desperately trying to save Shigeo from ???%, not attack it, is a neat way to end the fight.

Debate:

Yeah sadly there isn’t really any debate. Shigeo wins pretty handily. Despite this, they’re close enough to each other in canon that there isn’t a scale issue and the fight would “look” close.

• Both Audrey II and Haruko Haruhara are the overarching alien main antagonists from highly influential music-based referential self-aware sometimes fourth-wall breaking pieces of media that have been cartoons, comics/manga, and films. They’re goofy, over-the-top, cartoonish, sadistic, bloodthirsty, megalomaniacal, manipulative, oddly flirtatious and perverted at times, and musical (Audrey sings/Haruko plays a guitar). Their series are known for their good music, unique vibe, fun humor, and surprisingly deep messaging beneath it all. Audrey and Haruko are the culmination of this messaging, being metaphors for a big theme in the series (Audrey is a metaphor for what Seymour is willing to do for fame; how his sins grow bigger and bigger until he can no longer control him and they literally swallow him whole/Haruko is a metaphor for Naota’s growing sexual urges due to puberty, something she outright states in the show).

• They’re aliens from the far reaches of outer space that arrived on Earth due to their roles as scouts for a large shadowy alien organization (Audrey II’s species is sent to scout planets, presumably killing and eating their species/Haruko is a member of a Galactic Brotherhood of sorts whose role revolves around going to different planets for an unknown reason). Despite this, they don’t resemble a traditional alien, instead resembling a normal aspect of human life (a plant/a girl). They also have flower motifs (Audrey being a plant/Haruko’s name meaning “Spring Flower”).

• Their most important and notable relationship is with that of a lonely young man desperate to leave his small, cramped, foggy town whom they meet on an ordinary day, only to go on to change their life forever (Seymour Krelborn/Naota Nandaba). Due to their cute and unassuming appearance, they’re openly invited into the young man’s house with his single father figure and work there (Audrey II lives in and brings customers to Mushnik’s flower shop/Haruko works at the Nandaba household as a housekeeper).

• Over the course of the story, they manipulate this young man into doing their bidding. They pretend to be their friend, giving them popularity and working with them. However, their facade cracks after they murder both a perverted and chaotic man whom Seymour/Naota is jealous of due to their close relationship to their crush, as well as Seymour/Naota’s father figure (Orin Scrivello and Mr. Mushnik for Audrey/Naota’s dad for both of these in Haruko’s case lol).

• Despite initially seeming well-meaning, both view Seymour/Mushnik as a means to an end. They use their bodies for power, and also get them to kill others in order to get more power (Seymour both feeds Audrey his blood and gets blood from others/Haruko uses Naota’s N.O to try and get Atomsk, and also gets Naota to fight robots that come through his N.O).

• Their ultimate goal, as revealed later on, is to get as much power as possible by “eating” others. They show a general disregard for others’ safety and are willing to destroy anything and everything to get said power. This culminates in the final act of the series when a monster is fed so much that it grows giant and starts rampaging (Audrey wants to eat humans, eventually eating so much that he can damage freely/Haruko wants to eat Atomsk and absorb his power, which is achieved after the Core is fed). This is particularly triggered after the main protagonist is fed.

• Even though their red flags were present since the beginning, the main protagonist ignores them, which ultimately causes them a lot of trouble. Audrey/Haruko fight the main protagonist in a final battle where they show their true colors for the first time, and [depending on continuity], are ultimately defeated, yet are still alive afterwards.

Contrasts:

• Ugly Plant vs Hot Anime Girl

• R&B vs Alt Rock

• Green vs Pink