History Main / RudeHeroNiceSidekick

# '''The idealistic side''': The nice sidekick trying to turn the anti hero into a nicer one and succeeds in the end.
# '''The cynical side''': The anti hero shows the sidekick that being nice won't do them any good. The sidekick being nice is portrayed as misguided.

Subtrope of {{Foil}}. May overlap with BroodingBoyGentleGirl if the hero is a guy and their sidekick is a girl, or CaptainSmoothAndSergeantRough, when it's done with a OfficerAndAGentleman and a coarse SergeantRock. Compare NobleTopEnforcer (the EvilCounterpart for the nice sidekick), MoralityChain (someone that keeps the borderline-good guy from turning bad), MoralityPet (someone who exists to humanize a bad guy/make them more relatable), and TheLancer. Often results in a {{Good Cop Bad Cop}} situation. HypocriticalHeartwarming may also apply if the hero is harsh on their sidekick but even harsher on anyone else who doesn't treat them well.

* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': An example of being TheLancer than the sidekick, Alphonse Elric is very much the more approachable and affable of the Elric Brothers, despite often being confused for Edward Elric (and he being a soul sealed in a suit of armor). Ed meanwhile is a cynical individual due to the trauma he and his brother endured, the responsibilities of fixing what he has done and just his mercurial personality. He does undergo CharacterDevelopment that has him soften up a bit and open up to people.

* In ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'', Katyusha, commander of the Pravda team, is a TinyTyrannicalGirl who enjoys looking down on her opponents, both figuratively and literally. Her vice-captain, Nonna, is a quiet, levelheaded and relatively polite individual.
* Inverted with [[IdiotHero Usagi]] and [[KidFromTheFuture Chibiusa]] from ''Anime/SailorMoon''. Usagi is an a compassionate AllLovingHero, while her sidekick Chibiusa a rude BrattyHalfPint who loves to belittle Usagi. Chibiusa does [[CharacterDevelopment get better]] after Episode 73 by becoming far less rude to Usagi and [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther having a much better relationship with her]], though she still has her habit of messing with Usagi every once in a while.

* ''Film/Deadpool2016'': The eponymous Deadpool is a foul mouthed, perverse anti-hero, in contrast to the genuine NiceGuy and GentleGiant, Colossus of the X-Men.
* ''Film/{{Superbad}}'': Seth (Creator/JonahHill) is a foul-mouthed, misogynistic pervert who's incredibly rude to everyone, especially to Fogell. Evan (Creator/MichaelCera), meanwhile, is friendly, considerate and open towards others; unlike Seth, [[AboveTheInfluence he openly objects to making out with Becca while she was intoxicated]].

* ''Literature/InDeath'': Eve Dallas's partner Delia Peabody is much nicer and more feminine that Dallas is. Dallas makes use of this, having Peabody comfort shaken witnesses and relatives of murder victims, and [[GoodCopBadCop letting Peabody play good cop to Dallas's bad cop]].

* ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'': Drake is the self-centered, narcissistic ladies' man versus his more reasonable, outgoing and considerate step-brother Josh, [[ButtMonkey who gets exploited by Drake constantly]]. {{Deconstructed|Trope}} in "Josh Is Done", when Josh becomes fed up Drake's attitude and decides to quit his friendship with him for good.
* ''Series/{{Galavant}}'': At the start of the series Galavant is arrogant, standoffish, and heartbroken. His squire, Sid, is much more affable and approachable despite being a ServileSnarker.
* In ''Series/HouseMD'', Dr. Wilson and Dr. House have this dynamic; House is a {{Jerkass}} who very rarely shows anything other than total disdain for others' feelings and is only interested in the puzzles presented by their medical cases, while Wilson is an oncologist (a doctor specializing in cancer) who makes a habit of caring ''too much'' for his patients and his friends. They rarely work together, but are best friends, and House often uses Wilson to bounce ideas off of when he's stumped on a case. Appropriately, the characters of House and Wilson are based on [[Literature/SherlockHolmes Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson]], who are also an example -- note the similarity in their names (House/Holmes, Wilson/Watson).

* ''Series/SamAndCat'': Sam is generally pushy, rude and aggressive, while Cat is generally friendly, sweet and childlike.
* Inverted with ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''. Captain Kirk is a charming OfficerAndAGentleman. By contrast, his first officer, Spock, is more tactless and ruthlessly pragmatic. The fact that he's also TheStoic when he does these things probably doesn't do his image any favors.
* ''Series/TheFollowing'': Ryan Hardy and Mike Weston's dynamic is this at the very start. [[spoiler:Ryan's influence, having to kill others, being tortured nearly to death, and having a fellow Federal agent dying brutally in front of him add a cruelness and sadism that only increases way more in Season 2 & 3.]]

* ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'': The titular Xena and Gabrielle fit the mold. The former is the hardened fighter trying her hand at redemption while the later is the plucky bard seeking adventure.

* In ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'', your character is a suicidally depressed DefectiveDetective with substance abuse problems who regularly says and does outrageous, offensive things, while your partner Kim is quiet, professional and tolerant. In a slight twist on the trope, though, this niceness is mostly down to how nice the two characters are to ''the player character himself'' - he hates himself and tries to drown it in unhealthy coping mechanisms, while Kim is always open about his positive feelings towards him while calling him out for his worst actions. With other characters - [[OneOfTheKids especially with children]] - it's your player character who is the nice one, expressing genuine, open curiosity about other people where Kim's stoic presentation won't allow him to do so.

** ''Every'' party member in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' is this to Squall. Squall is so rude and blocked-off that the story always makes sure he's partnered up with someone able to handle the social situations that he only ever wants to wriggle out of (and complain about about them in his InnerMonologue). They might be hyperactive like Zell and Selphie, more nurturing like Irvine and Quistis, or more blunt like Rinoa, but they are all far more interested in people than he is.

** The Sidekick (Percival): Aside from a few snarky retorts, he's the everyman we're supposed to identify with. He does the grunt work, but also does the strategic thinking during the preparation for battle (what are the monsters weaknesses that Thrashwood can exploit?).
* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters''. The cheerful Kula and the mature, soft-spoken Maxima plays nice sidekicks to the AntiHero K'.

* Otacon in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', a sweet, shy and nerdy individual who tends to see a good side to everyone, even when those people are sexy terrorist assassins or giant nuclear death tanks, to Snake, who is cold, hardened, damaged, and struggles to be interested in other people (and [[DefrostingIceQueen although he chills out somewhat later on]], he holds onto a sarcastic sense of humour and an overall aloofness). In-universe, Otacon does all the talking with their then-unknown sponsors in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty''.

** Prosecutor Franziska von Karma (whip-wielding ice-queen) and Gumshoe (still good-natured but completely intimidated by her)

* The titular character in the ''Rance'' series is a hyper-violent NominalHero with a raging ego and little interest in anything outside of his most immediate impulses. His slave Sill Plain is a mild-mannered NiceGirl who just wants everyone to get along. Rance also forms similar dynamics with Rocky Bank, Sachiko Centers and Russian Cullet in ''Rance VI'', ''Rance Quest'' and ''Rance IX'', respectively, with each serving as temporary sidekicks to him in Sill's absence.

** Neku and Shiki. Neku is a fairly gruff and abrasive loner who doesn't think much of friendship, and can say some fairly cruel things, although he [[TookALevelInKindness gets nicer]] as the game goes on. Shiki is a NiceGirl who, despite being jealous of her best friend and being willing to [[WhatTheHellHero call Neku out when he goes too far]], gets along with most people.
** Beat and Rhyme, the first pair of other Players Neku encounters. Beat is hotheaded, impulsive and somewhat rude, while Rhyme is relatively friendly if a bit reserved, and follows Beat's lead. [[spoiler:It turns out that this is also a case of SiblingYinYang, as Beat is Rhyme's older brother]].

* ''WesternAnimation/BigCityGreens'': Cricket is the rambunctious and troublemaking son of the Green family who hates being serious, while his sister Tilly is silly, cheerful, and more level-headed who serves as the voice of reason for his mishaps.
* The title characters of ''WesternAnimation/CowAndChicken''. Chicken is the egotistical, cynical and rude hero in contrast to his more kindhearted, playful, and easygoing sister, Cow. Though inverted whenever Cow turns into her alter ego "Supercow".

* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] with Mac and Bloo from ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends''. Whereas [[TheHero Mac]] is kind, loving, mature and has a sweet personality, [[TheLancer Bloo]] often comes off as a selfish bully who is willing to harass his friends on most occasions.
* While more of an AntiHero, space captain Zapp Brannigan from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' is a {{Jerkass}}, while his co-pilot, the alien Kif Kroker is a sensitive guy.

** Daffy and Porky also has this dynamic in ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow''. The same trope also applies to their younger counterparts Plucky and Hamton in ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures''.

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}''. DependingOnTheWriter, common in the [[Characters/BatmanAndBatFamily Bat Clan]] (and surrounding).

* Many incarnations of Dr. John Watson in the Literature/SherlockHolmes stories. It's particularly notable in ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'', which plays up Holmes' personal dysfunction.

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[[caption-width-right:350:The ruthless Black Swordsman... and his FairyCompanion Puck]]

* ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess: The titular Xena and Gabrielle fit the mold. The former is the hardened fighter trying her hand at redemption while the later is the plucky bard seeking adventure.

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** Daffy and Porky also has this dynamic in ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow''. The same trope also applies to their younger counterparts Plucky and Hampton in ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures''.

* ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'': Drake is the self-centered, narcissistic ladies' man versus his more reasonable, outgoing and considerate step-brother Josh, [[ButtMonkey who gets exploited by Drake constantly]]. This gets [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructed]] in "Josh Is Done", when Josh becomes fed up Drake's attitude and decides to quit his friendship with him for good.

* ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'': Drake is the self-centered, narcissistic ladies' man versus his more reasonable, outgoing and considerate step-brother Josh, [[ButtMonkey who gets exploited by Drake constantly]].

* In ''Series/HouseMD'', Dr. Wilson and Dr. House have this dynamic; House is a {{Jerkass}} who very rarely shows anything other than total disdain for others' feelings and is only interested in the puzzles presented by their medical cases, while Wilson is an oncologist (a doctor specializing in cancer) who makes a habit of caring ''too much'' for his patients and his friends. They rarely work together, but are best friends, and House often uses Wilson to bounce ideas off of when he's stumped on a case. Appropriately, the characters of House and Wilson are based on [[Literature/SherlockHolmes Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson]], who are also an example--note the similarity in their names (House/Holmes, Wilson/Watson).

* ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'': Basil, a GoodIsNotNice detective, has a tendency to be brusque and unconcerned with others (he has NoSocialSkills), while Dr. Dawson is a SensitiveGuy who gets involved in the adventure to begin with because he can't stand to see a little girl cry. Given that this is a ''Sherlock Holmes'' story with mice, the dynamic between Basil and Dawson mirrors the one between Holmes and Watson. This being Disney, he (and [[TheCutie Olivia]]) wind up [[DefrostingIceQueen defrosting Basil.]]

* While more of an AntiHero, space captain Zapp Brannigan from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' is a {{Jerkass}}, while his co-pilot, the alien Kif Kroker is a SensitiveGuy.

* ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'': Drake is the self-centered, manipulative ladies' man versus his more reasonable, outgoing and considerate step-brother Josh, [[ButtMonkey who gets exploited by Drake constantly]].

** Robin or Nightwing is nicer than the stoic, straight-laced Batman.
*** Flipped when Nightwing became Batman and was paired up with a deadly-serious Robin.
** When he works with Cassandra Cain, his harsh, TerrorHero demeanor is often contrasted with her AllLovingHero status, especially in how they treat criminals.
** When Huntress is teamed with another of the Birds of Prey, the person with her is almost always the nicer one.

* Shiki from ''LightNovel/KaraNoKyoukai'' is a [[SociopathicHero borderline psychotic sociopath]] who, nonetheless, is one of the "good guys" because most of the people she fights are even worse. Her sidekick and love interest Mikiya, on the other hand, is a [[AllLovingHero compassionate and morally upstanding individual with whom everyone wants to be friends]]--including some of the villains Shiki has to fight later.

* Inverted with Mametchi & Memetchi from Anime/{{Tamagotchi}}, Mametchi is the nice and compassionate hero of the series while Memetchi can be bossy and stubborn, she is also one of the two sidekicks of the series alongside Kuchipatchi.

** The First Doctor is strongly characterized as a crotchety old man, while ''all'' of his companions are wholesome, friendly folks; Susan is a precocious young girl, while Ian and Susan are responsible adults who try to keep things from getting too dangerous or out-of-hand. Companions that join later in the First Doctor's run mix up the formula a little, but not much.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'': Basil, a GoodIsNotNice detective, has a tendency to be brusque and unconcerned with others (he has NoSocialSkills), while Dr. Dawson is an {{Adorkable}} SensitiveGuy who gets involved in the adventure to begin with because he can't stand to see a little girl cry. Given that this is a ''Sherlock Holmes'' story with mice, the dynamic between Basil and Dawson mirrors the one between Holmes and Watson. This being Disney, he (and [[TheCutie Olivia]]) wind up [[DefrostingIceQueen defrosting Basil.]]

** Mildly inverted with the relationship between the Second Doctor and Jamie; the Doctor often acts like an {{Adorkable}} clown, while Jamie is the muscle, and because he lacks subtlety, he is often impatient with the people they encounter.

* Inverted with [[TheHero Usagi]] and [[KidFromTheFuture Chibiusa]] from ''Anime/SailorMoon''. Usagi is an a compassionate AllLovingHero, while her sidekick Chibiusa a rude BrattyHalfPint who loves to belittle Usagi. Chibiusa does [[CharacterDevelopment get better]] after Episode 73 by becoming far less rude to Usagi and [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther having a much better relationship with her]], though she still has her habit of messing with Usagi every once in a while.

* Inverted with [[TheHero Usagi]] and [[KidFromTheFuture Chibiusa]] from ''Anime/SailorMoon''. Usagi is an a compassionate AllLovingHero, while her sidekick Chibiusa a rude BrattyHalfPint who loves to belittle Usagi. Chibiusa does [[CharacterDevelopment get better]] after Episode 73 by becoming far less rude to Usagi and [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther having a much better relationship with her]], but she still has her habit of messing with Usagi every once in a while.

Contrast the SarcasticDevotee (who is generally ruder than their leader) and PsychoSidekick (who's defined by being less moral than the hero). Certain variants can overlap with DefrostingIceQueen.

* Inverted with Mametchi & Memetchi from Anime/{{Tamagotchi}}, Memetchi is the nice and compassionate hero of the series while Memetchi can be bossy and stubborn, she is also one of the two sidekicks of the series alongside Kuchipatchi.

* The duo of ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'' easily count. Drake is the self-centered, manipulative lady's man versus his more reasonable, outgoing and considerate step-brother, Josh, [[ButtMonkey who gets exploited by Drake constantly]].

* ''Series/SamAndCat''. The former is pushy, rude and aggressive in contrast to the latter who is friendly, sweet and childlike.

* In ''Series/TheTick2001'', the Tick meets up with Fiery Blaze and his sidekick Friendly Fire. Blaze is a jerk to his sidekick, and Arthur (Tick's sidekick) learns that most heroes with sidekicks are jerks - the sidekicks even have a support group - which makes him realize that his relationship with the Tick isn't all that bad.