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  • Hard-drinking, hard-fighting Christopher Marlowe was the Red Oni to William Shakespeare's Blue.
  • Protestant "Virgin Queen" Elizabeth I was the Blue Oni to Catholic, several-times-married (and possible conspirator in one husband's murder) Mary Queen of Scots' Red Oni.
  • Model company Tamiya has a logo consisting of two white stars: one on a red background, one on a blue background. And indeed, the red star stands for passion and the blue one for precision.
  • During the Cold War, communist countries were represented by a red star, symbolizing the passion associated with revolution and subversion of "the system," while capitalist ones were associated with the color blue, representing the "cold" and calculating nature of the capitalist ethos.
    • Inverted in American revolution, where the British already had red uniforms and the revolutionaries were left with blue (when they had uniforms, anyway).
    • Now in the USA, red represents Republican states or regions; blue represents Democratic states or regions.
      • An interesting case as this is both played straight as far social issues go, and inverted as far as economics. The red Republicans are as a whole more passionately religious, containing the Christian right, and supportive of laws pushing a certain moral viewpoint, and also support gun rights and are more likely to be War Hawks. Blue Democrats, on the other hand, support a live-and-let-live mentality concerning social rights, except when it comes to supporting gun control, and are more likely to be Peace Doves. Economically, however, Republicans tend to be staunch supporters of the free market and capitalism, a colder more logical approach, whereas Democrats support a more touchy-feely approach that involves government intervention in the form of taxation to support welfare and works programs.
      • The colors were arbitrarily changed around until the 2000 presidential election, where Tim Russert started talking about "red states" and "blue states" and the monikers stuck.
      • Came to a head in the 2008 elections with No-Drama Obama and Maverick McCain, or at least, that's what the parties and media went with.
    • And reversed in the United Kingdom and Canada, where the main left-leaning parties (Labour and Liberals, respectively) are identified by the colours red and yellow, while their opponents in the Conservative Party are identified by blue. In this case, the use of red is derived from the socialist and social democratic associations of each party, while blue was traditionally associated with the monarchy and other such traditional institutions.
  • Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Coca-Cola has survived by its aggressive and continual marketing campaign and bright, memorable advertisements, is incredibly popular, and is sold in red cans. Pepsi has a much more subtle presence in marketing and is sold in blue cans. On the other hand, Pepsi is totally the Red Oni, in spite of the can color. When their ads do show up, they're all about aggressively taking pot-shots at Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola's marketing generally involves adorable polar bears quietly enjoying a refreshing Coke.
    • This is even true for the way both taste: Pepsi has been described as being extremely sweet, almost aggressively so, while Coca-Cola is a lot more mellow. The differences in taste has led to them performing differently on various kinds of taste tests.
  • Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, the two famous Progressive-era Presidents. They aren't color-coded, but they fit the personalities well and the colors associated with their modern day parties.
    • Theodore Roosevelt is also the Red Oni towards his Secretary of War and Presidential successor William Howard Taft, who was definitely the Blue Oni. Taft was even Sensitive Guy to the boisterous TR's Manly Man (that's right, folks, TR was such a Manly Man that he was more of a Red Oni than his own Secretary of War!). TR endorsed Taft to succeed him in the 1908 election, but soon grew impatient and dissatisfied with the Taft administration and ended up running against him, first in the GOP primaries, and then running with a brand new party of his own creation when he lost the primaries.
  • Admirals Halsey and Spruance who regularly exchanged commands of the Central Pacific subtheater in World War II.
  • The colors are already there for the Republican and Democratic parties, but several American politicians fit this surprisingly well.
    • John McCain vs. Barack Obama -- The 2008 election played this out to the book.
    • McCain was also a Red Oni to Mitt Romney's Blue Oni, and Obama played Blue Oni to Hillary Clinton's Purple Oni (some Red traits, some Blue traits) during the respective primaries.
    • Mike Huckabee is often just as fiery as McCain when talking about issues, but otherwise seems quite personable, even to opponents, so he doesn't quite fit the Red Oni designation as well as McCain). So perhaps he'd be a Green or Purple Oni?
    • Speaking of Mitt Romney, as of the 2012 Republican primaries, he's now the Blue Oni to all the other candidates' Red Onis! And not surprisingly, within the Republican Party, those who favor the Blue Oni approach to campaigning--i.e. focus on the economy and don't bother with the fiery and divisive "culture wars" issues--seem to be lining up behind Romney, while those Republicans who favor the Red Oni approach, where the "culture war" issues are front-and-center, are divided between Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.
    • Oddly enough, there's also a second category of Red Oni (or perhaps Purple Oni) in this year's GOP primaries: Representative Ron Paul and his supporters, who, interestingly enough, support a platform that avoids the "culture wars" issues, which is normally a Blue Oni platform, if not for the fact that they are so loudly passionate about it that Ron Paul and his supporters' approach is definitely more Red Oni.
    • Sarah Palin is also a Red Oni to Obama's Blue; McCain would also play Blue Oni to Palin, but only really in comparison. Similarly, Joe Biden is the Red Oni to Obama's Blue.
    • George W. Bush vs. Al Gore.
    • Also Bush and his vice-president Dick Cheney.
    • The 2012 Presidential election has rivals Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, and Newt Gingrich. Herman Cain and Rick Santorum have both Red and Blue qualities, and Ron Paul would be a Yellow Oni. The election was between two Blue Onis, because Romney won the primary; but he still lost to Obama in the general election.
  • The 2012 Olympic mascots.
  • South Korea's flag is the yin-yang with blue and red instead of the usual black and white.
    • South Korea itself is the restrained, well-behaved sibling of the boisterous, blustering North.
  • Unsurprisingly, siblings can be like this. This is especially pronounced when they're twins, or when there are only two children in a family. For larger families, there may be more than one Red/Blue set.
  • Jon Stewart is the Blue Oni to Stephen Colbert's Red.
    • Lampshaded in the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, in which Stewart rallied for "sanity" while Colbert rallied for "fear."
  • L.A. street gangs, the Crips and the Bloods, wore blue and red bandannas, respectively, to distinguish themselves. Whether either group tended to be more emotional and hot-tempered, though, is up for debate.
  • Swedish monarch Gustavus Adolphus and his chancellor Axel Oxienstierna, at least in Hollywood History. An anecdote has an exasperated Gustavus telling Oxienstierna "If it wasn't for me, this country would be frozen solid!" and Oxienstierna calmly replying "And if it wasn't for me, it would be burnt to ashes."
  • Queen Elizabeth II -- blue is her favorite color and all - since she is so prim and proper, always practical and no-nonsense. The Red Oni was her late sister Margaret. Which one is the Tomboy and which one the is harder to determine. The irony is that Margaret was closer to Girly Girl and Elizabeth the tomboy, given that she's technically an army officer.
  • Another example of siblings fitting this: the Gyllenhaals: Maggie and Jake. Look at their film roles and their offscreen personalities.
  • There are two main different types of personality that define this trope - Red Oni is extrovert and Blue Oni is introvert.
  • Richard Feynman and Julian Schwinger. Feynman was rough, energetic, informal, and uncouth. Schwinger was dignified, reserved, formal, and proper. They took completely different approaches to quantum electrodynamics and came up with essentially the same solutions. They (along with Sin-Itiro Tomonaga) shared a Nobel Prize for this work in 1965.
  • In Australian Politics, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott plays the Red Oni to the Blue of Prime Minister Julia Gillard (and her immediate predecessor Kevin Rudd).
  • World War II era Generals George Patton, the Hot-Blooded and gruff, and the careful and calm Dwight D. Eisenhower fit this quite well.
    • In a similar case is Patton and Montgomery. Patton who is an aggressive newbie, and eager to get to the front while Monty is a reserved veteran and has more experience in fighting the Germans.
    • In yet another case, Patton vs Rommel. The Hot-Blooded Patton even named Rommel a calm Magnificent Bastard.
  • Among America's founding fathers, there are several examples, but the most prominent is John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Adams was obnoxious and passionate, while Jefferson was unemotional and rarely spoke.
  • In the US Congress, the House of Representatives is often considered the Red Oni to the Senate's Blue.
  • Among the First Triumvirate in Ancient Rome, Pompey the Great was the fasionable and charismatic maverick who loved the spotlight; Marcus Crassus was the behind the scenes wheeler-dealer who preferred to stay in the shadows. Julius Caesar fell somewhere between the two.
  • Josef Stalin was a definite blue oni, with Leon Trotsky and later Winston Churchill serving as the Red Oni.
  • Prime Ministers William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli.
  • Cats and dogs can be stereotyped as this, what with dogs being more outgoing and energetic and cats more independent and reserved.
  • What? No love for Chris Evert and Tsundere Martina Navratilova?
  • Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Prime Minister François Fillon.
  • In the Chinese Civil war, the Communist Party of China who are the red communist, to the blue nationalist Kuomintang. Today they are the People's Republic of China, and the Republic of China respectively.
  • Neanderthals and Homosapiens.
  • The traditional coloring of Hot and Cold have always been a staple in life. Hot water tends to clean and cook better, but cold water is refreshing and soothing...take your pick.
  • Certain breeds of Monkeys tend to differ in behaviour. Smaller species such as Baboons are often loud, cheeky and aggressive, while Apes like Gorillas and Orang-utans are generally calm, peaceful and inventive.
  • Prolonged rivals, America and Russia never really got along. Both superpowers always tried to one-up the other in terms of progress, even in beliefs their views contrast. America believing in freedom to the people, while Russia believes in absolute control such as Communism.
  • China and Japan have their opposites as well, especially in traditions. China enjoys elaborate celebrations, fireworks and believing in luck to guide their destinies. Japan has a more demure tradition, the peaceful worship of shrines, elegant duties of Geisha and well-deserved family time.
  • In the past, Scotland and England had this contrast especially during the Wars of Scottish Independence. For decades, Scotland fought for it's own freedom relying on it's many clans to protect their land. However, England eventually convinced them to join kingdoms which eventually became the United Kingdom of today. Since then Scotland settled down with England deciding to work together than bicker anymore.
  • Brotherly countries, America and Canada have their fair share of differences as well. Reputation-wise, America has been known to be quite a dangerous place to live. Historically, America suffered many catastrophes through either neglect or brash use of power. Canada on the other hand has a safer, kinder reputation despite just only being north of the latter. Canada is part of the British Commonwealth, and as such isn't ashamed of it's British roots. The weather between them contrasts as well, with America known for it's scorching heat, and Canada famed for it's freezing cold.
  • Popular in harvest, Strawberries and Blueberries make up this trope almost intentionally. Strawberries are not only red but are also bigger and sweeter in flavors, they've proven to be most popular as ingredients for numerous recipes and most people love them. Blueberries are more sour with a dry aftertaste, they are rich in Anti-Oxidants and have a much duller, shade of blue to them.
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