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{{trope}}
[[File:WallEEve_9140.jpg|link=Wall WALL-E|frame]]
 
{{quote|"''Strange extremes meet in love's pathway.''"|''[[The Scarlet Pimpernel (Literaturenovel)|The Scarlet Pimpernel]]''}}
 
Strong relationships, in both TV and real life, thrive on how each member compensates for [[Foil|the other’s weaknesses with his/her own strengths]], and vice versa.
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* The [[Official Couple]] of ''[[Monkey High]]'' - Haruna is [[The Ojou]] and used to dealing with high-class folks (her father is a now-disgraced politician), while Macharu is [[The Fool]] and very much from working-class roots (his parents run a grocery store).
* In ''[[Kanamemo]]'', no chance is spared to show the loving bond between sparkly Yume and quiet Yuuki.
* [[Will They or Won't They?|Revy and Rock]] of ''[[Black Lagoon]]''. She's an [[Axe Crazy]] [[Broken Bird]] and [[Trigger Happy]] [[Nietzsche Wannabe]], among other things. He's a [[Non-Action Guy]], a [[Wide -Eyed Idealist]] (he ''never'' gets completely disillusioned, and he has every right to), and he's the closest a series this [[Sliding Scale of Cynicism Versus Idealism|cynical]] will allow to [[The Messiah]]. The [[UST|sparks]] [[Slap Slap Kiss|flying]] could power a medium-sized country.
* [[Ship Tease]] aside, it may as well be Zelgadis the cynical, weary, brooding chimera paired with Amelia the optomistic, innocent, and plucky princess from ''[[Slayers]]'', with hints of [[Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl]] peppered in there. In the novels, there is also the hot-headed, driven Luke with the snarky, calm Millina (in this case, this is [[All Love Is Unrequited]]).
* Parodied in ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei-sensei]]''. The first episode plays romantic music when Nozomu first meets Kafuka, and text scrawls across the screen, "[[The Eeyore|A man who is negative about everything]]; [[The Pollyanna|a girl who is positive about everything]]; a meeting that never should have happened." This gets further parody in a later episode showing Nami's first meeting with Kiri, playing the same music and displaying the message "[[Delinquents|A girl who refuses to come to school]]; [[Hikikomori|a girl who refuses to leave school]]; a meeting that never should have happened."
* ''[[Ouran High School Host Club]]'''s canon couple Haruhi and Tamaki. Haruhi is a [[Deadpan Snarker]], and generally calm and collected when it comes to most things. Tamaki on the other hand is a [[Keet]], exaggerated, and easily excitable. The series itself has a lot of [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]] non-romantic pairs in it.
* ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' has [[The Stoic]] officer Chrono and his [[Victorious Childhood Friend]], the [[Genki Girl|bubbly]] [[Bridge Bunny]] Amy.
* Considering they form a [[Manzai]] duo this is inherent to the eventual romantic relationship between Koganei and Amasawa of ''[[The Weatherman Is My Lover]]''.
* Early in ''[[Ah! My Goddess (Manga)|Oh My Goddess!]]'' run, [[Unlikely Hero|Keiichi]] was a [[Chivalrous Pervert]] wondering [[What Does She See in Him?|what anyone would see in him]], and [[Magical Girlfriend|Belldandy]] was something of an [[The Ingenue|Ingenue]]. [[Characterization Marches On|Characterization Marched On]], and the two began develop some of the other's persona, so that after the "Lord of Terror" arc, and in the OVA, K1 became a [[Covert Pervert]], and Bell began pouring on the affection nice and thick, frequently expressing her love for Keiichi. About two years after [[The Movie]], sadly, the two were [[Flanderized]] to the point where [[Relationship Ceiling|he was afraid to make a move, and she rarely acknowledged their love]].
* While not officially a couple as of yet, Soul and Maka from ''[[Soul Eater]]'' are considered this. Maka is a [[Badass Bookworm]] who always follows the rules and feels the need to do everything right in order to get by. Soul, on the other hand, is a [[Deadpan Snarker]] who would rather do things his own way and tends to go against orders that anyone bothers to give him.
** Of course, this could be said about almost every Meister/Weapon team in the series.
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* ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' has the [[Official Couple]] of [[Keet|cheerful]], [[The Ditz|ditzy]] Italy and [[Drill Sergeant Nasty|stern]], [[Germanic Depressives|serious-minded]] Germany.
** Also Italy's [[Hot-Blooded]] [[Cool Big Sis]] Hungary and her ex-husband-but-still-love-interest, the straightlaced and even more stern than Germany Austria.
* Although the series thrives on '''not''' having an official couple, ''[[Hayate the Combat Butler (Manga)|Hayate the Combat Butler]]'''s attraction between Hinagiku and Hayate is all but blatent, every character that interacts with them at some level knows it exists. While it also fits the [[Birds of a Feather]] dynamic, both these characters went about dealing with it in very different ways, leaving them almost complete opposites with the same backstory.
** And to further things along, the third character with a similar backstory is being built up to build a [[Power Trio]] dynamic.
* ''[[Fruits Basket]]'': {{spoiler|Kyo, a hot-headed, tough, no manners, always wants to fight boy, and Tohru, a girl who's very sweet and kind.}}
* ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'': Energetic and outgoing Suzuna with [[Shrinking Violet]] Sena. More obviously, foul-mouthed [[Sociopathic Hero]] Hiruma with Mamori the [[Yamato Nadeshiko]].
* ''[[Ai no Kusabi (Light Novel)|Ai no Kusabi]]'' has this as a plot point of why the [[The Beautiful Elite|highest of the high]] would want to be with the [[Wrong Side of the Tracks|lowest of the low]].
* In ''[[Stellvia of the Universe (Anime)|Stellvia of the Universe]]'', the aloof and stoic Akira eventually starts dating the laid-back [[Plucky Comic Relief]] Joey.
* [[Boisterous Bruiser]] [[Colonel Kilgore]] Ramba Ral and quiet [[Lady of War]] Crowley Hamon in ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]''. They're effectively a boyfriend/girlfriend varient on [[Brains and Brawn]].
 
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== Film ==
* [[Odd Couple]] Steed and Mrs. Peel in ''[[The Avengers (1998 (Filmfilm)|The Avengers 1998]]'': he follows the rules, she doesn't. He admits that she's "just my type".
* [[Atlantis: theThe Lost Empire|Milo Thatch and Princess Kida]], she's the [[The Chief's Daughter|Native]] [[Tomboy Princess|Princess]] who is one [[Bare Your Midriff|P]][[She's Got Legs|r]][[Foot Focus|e]][[Dark-Skinned Blond|t]][[White-Haired Pretty Girl|t]][[Stripperiffic|y]] [[Freudian Slip|Gi]][[Hilarity Ensues|rl]]. Then there is [[Nerd Glasses|Mi]][[Adorkable|lo]] [[Moe Stare|Jam]][[Socially Awkward Hero|es]] [[Give Geeks a Chance|Tha]][[Michael J. Fox|tch]]....[[Geeky Turn On|'nuff said]].
* [[Who Framed Roger Rabbit?|Roger and Jessica Rabbit]]. "He makes me laugh."
* Captain von Trapp and Maria in ''[[The Sound of Music]]''.
* ''[[The Great Race]]''. The Great Leslie - charming male chauvinist. Maggie DuBois - militant women's libber. How can they '''not''' fall in love?
* ''[[Enchanted]]'': Giselle the cheery optimist, and Robert the sarcastic pessimist.
* ''[[Tangled]]'' gives us the jaded, worldly-wise thief and the spirited, innocent princess.
* ''[[Wall WALL-E]]'' has [[The Woobie]] Wall-E and [[Action Girl]] EVE.
 
 
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* Nick Carraway and Jordan Baker in ''[[The Great Gatsby]]''. He [[Will Not Tell a Lie]]; she's a [[Consummate Liar]].
* [[Star Wars|Luke Skywalker]] and [[Expanded Universe|Mara Jade]]. Mara even ''says'' it, for crying out loud!
* Brainy ambitious women regularly find [[PGP. G. Wodehouse (Creator)|PG Wodehouse]]'s [[Upperclass Twit]] [[Jeeves and Wooster (Literaturenovel)|Bertie Wooster]] romantically irresistible.
* Kenneth Oppel's [[Airborn]] series has Matt Cruse, poor cabin boy, and Kate de Vries, rich wanna-be scientist... cue angsting about how they [[Star-Crossed Lovers|can never be together...]]
* This seems to be the driving force behind Zavahl's and Ailie's relationship in the [[Shadowleague]] books- he has the personality of a bad rainstorm, whereas she is never seen to frown.
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** Also, [[The Big Guy|Hamilton]] and [[Teen Genius|Sinead]] was hinted a bit in Book 10.
* Captains Carrot Ironfounderson and Angua von Uberwald in ''[[Discworld]]'' are on opposite ends of the [[Sliding Scale of Cynicism Versus Idealism]]. He inspires her to fight injustice, she reminds him not to set his expectations too high.
** Similarly, in ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Interesting Times|Interesting Times]]'', it's strongly suggested that [[Wide -Eyed Idealist]] Twoflower's daughter Pretty Butterfly inherited her Rincewindian view of the world from her late mother.
* ''[[In Death]]'': Eve has pointed out that Roarke and her have this between them, like in ''Divided In Death''. She is a cop who is crude, rude, not interested in money, believes in the law, and has morals that are basically black and white. He is a former thief who is suave, charming, has more money than you can imagine, believe more in his conscience than in the law, and his morals are very much grey. Fortunately, one thing they do have in common is that they both were raised by bad parents and had lousy childhoods.
* Enforced in the novel ''[[Youth in Sexual Ecstasy (Literature)|Youth in Sexual Ecstasy]]'', the [[Character Filibuster|sexual therapist]] actually says that for a couple to succeed in the long term, they must have opposite temperaments alongside with similar lifestyles and independent realization. The protagonist and his fiance agree on this being the case for them.
* In [[Michael Flynn]]'s ''[[Spiral Arm (Literature)|Up Jim River]]'', Greystroke says that he and Bridget have this.
 
 
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{{quote| '''Leonard''': Are you even listening to me?<br />
'''Sheldon''': Yes. "Blah blah, hopeless Penny delusion, blah blah." }}
* [[Badass]] [[Action Girl]] Aeryn Sun of ''[[Farscape (TV)|Farscape]]'', for some reason, finds herself falling for [[Plucky Comic Relief]] who alternates between [[The Kirk]] and [[The McCoy]] in the form of John Crichton. Though he's pretty well helpless in a real battle, she does end up training him up almost to [[Badass Bookworm]] levels. And while she does thaw a bit from her [[Ice Queen]] demeanor, he just gets more and more extroverted as he slowly goes crazier.
* ''Microsoap'' used and deconstructed it. As the kids describe it, "It was a case of [[Opposites Attract]]. Then it was a case of [[Opposites Drive Each Other Crazy]]".
* [[X Files|Mulder and Scully]]: Skeptical, scientifically oriented [[Fiery Redhead|redheaded]] Catholic meets agnostic UFO/supernatural enthusiast. [[True Love Is Exceptional|And it works]].
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* ''[[Moonlighting]]'', starring Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis. Maddie (Shepherd) is a chic, smart, former supermodel who's dead serious about running the business; David (Willis) is a glib, lighthearted, and pragmatic Private Investigator.
* The show [[Dharma and Greg]] revolves around this trope. Dharma is a free-spirited, tolerant, and ditzy flower child. While Greg is an upright, conservative, somewhat uptight lawyer. Despite the fact that they have virtually nothing in common they got married on their first date.
* ''[[I CarlyICarly]]'': [[Subverted Trope|Subverted]] or [[Inverted Trope|Inverted]] with the [[Abuse Is Okay When Its Female On Male|Sam/Fredde]] arc depending on what aspect you look at. The subversion is they are complete and total opposites that become physically attracted to each other but eventually break up when the actual relationship fails. They are unable to find any common ground in their interests and actually end up sabotaging them for each other when they try being involved in each other's activities. It ends up being one of the main causes of their break up. The inversion is Sam wants someone abnormal like her, and Freddie wants someone more normal like him, so that while they did have an [[Opposites Attract]] vibe, it's not what they need in a partner, making it clear that in their case they are attracted by similarity not opposition.
* ''[[Bones]]'' has the coldly intelligent, scientific, atheist, hyper-rational titular character and her partner the FBI agent- religious, more emotional, more of a people person. Clearly they complement each other, but each also finds the other fascinating and attractive.
* [[Action Girl]]/ [[Hot Amazon]] Zoe in [[Firefly]] is married to [[Non-Action Guy]]/ [[Ace Pilot]] Wash.
* [[CSI: NY]] City boy Danny Messer and country girl wife Lindsay "Montana" Messer. (she's still tough in her own right, though.)
* [[Jerk Withwith a Heart of Gold]] Arthur and [[Shrinking Violet]] ([[Beware the Nice Ones|except when she's sufficiently ticked-off]]) Guinevere from ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]''. Also noteworthy was their difference in class status, with him being a prince and she being a servant.
* ''[[Parks and Recreation (TV)|Parks and Recreation]]'': Who'd have thought a liberal feminist vegetarian community college professor {{spoiler|would be hot for the carnivorous libertarian man's-man Ron Swanson}}?
* [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]] is built on this. [[Alpha Bitch|Cordelia]] and [[The Generic Guy|Xander,]] [[Cute Witch|Willow]] and [[The Stoic|Oz,]] [[Dark Action Girl|Faith]] and [[The Heart|Xander,]] [[British Stuffiness|Giles]] and [[Cool Old Lady|Jenny,]] [[Parental Substitute|Giles]] and [[Your Mom|Joyce,]] [[Ho Yay|Buffy and Faith,]] [[Did They or Didn't They?|Faith and Angel,]] [[Took a Level In Badass|Willow]] and [[The Woobie|Tara,]] [[Foe Yay|Buffy and Spike,]] [[Nice Guy|William]] and [[Crazy Awesome|Drusilia,]] [[Anything That Moves|Faith]] and [[Reasonable Authority Figure|Wood,]] and there's likely several others unmentioned.
 
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== [[Video Games]] ==
* [[Bio WareBioWare]] has a tendency to create somewhat psychotic mad people (usually women) who can be most successfully romanced by a nicer player character.
** [[Ax Crazy|Jack]] in [[Mass Effect 2]] is impulsive, impatient, anger-driven, and generally insane; the Paragon romance arc involves calmly and patiently listening to her issues and generally being nice.
** [[Black Magician Girl|Morrigan]] in [[Dragon Age]] is a survivalist in the extreme who believes love is a weakness; she does, however, approve of some of the Warden's behavior that is rather contrary to her stated doctrine.
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== Web Comics ==
* [[Averted Trope|Averted]] in [[Slightly Damned]]. The main pairing is {{spoiler|Kieri, a [[Making a Splash|water-elemental]] [[Our Angels Are Different|angel]], and Buwaro, a [[Playing Withwith Fire|fire]] [[Our Demons Are Different|demon]]. Seems like a perfect setup for this trope...but in terms of personality, they're really very similar.}}
* In [[Dubious Company]], Walter is an [[Gadgeteer Genius|Educated]], [[Straight Man and Wise Guy|Goofy]], [[Sky Pirate]] [[Winged Humanoid|Bird Man]]. Tiren is a [[Blood Knight|Hardened]], [[Straight Man|Straight-laced]], [[Ninja]] [[Catgirl]]. [[Cool vs. Awesome|Clearly]], the crew [[Everyone Can See It|knows]] they were made for each other. Except [[Failed a Spot Check|Mary]], who insists that Tiren has eyes for Elator.
* [[Homestuck]]: [[Manipulative Bastard|Vriska Serket]] and [[Wheelchair Woobie|Tavros Nitram]], as well as Vriska and [[The Hero|John]].
* ''[[Questionable Content]]'': Hannelore's parents - her father is a goofy [[Mad Scientist]], and her mother is a calculating, dispassionate supervillain.
* ''[[LsL's Empire (Webcomic)|Ls Empire]]'' has Carnation and Pix who are pure evil and pure good respectively.
 
 
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== Western Animation ==
* Robin and Starfire on ''[[Teen Titans (Animationanimation)|Teen Titans]]''. Robin is the [[Badass Normal|serious]], [[The Determinator|determined]] [[The Captain|leader]], and Starfire is the [[The Chick|sensitive, sunny one]].
* Rogue's attraction to Scott in ''[[X -Men: Evolution]]'', at least [[Power Incontinence|until you think about it for a while]]. But on the surface, he is [[The Stoic]] and she is [[The Snark Knight]].
* Silverbolt and Blackarachnia of ''[[Transformers]] [[Beast Wars (Animation)|Beast Wars]]'' fit this trope without Question: [[Femme Fatale]] and [[Knight in Shining Armor]].
* Miss Information and Mr. Smartypants on ''[[Histeria (Animation)|Histeria]]'': The [[Dumb Blonde]] and [[The Smart Guy]].
* ''[[Kim Possible]]'' and Ron Stoppable {{spoiler|Who do eventually hook up}}. The first one is a popular overachiever, the second one is a unpopular underachiever.
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