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Twins in anime remain some of the most iconic character options available for creators, as there’s a lot of versatility involved despite their appearances. An anime with twins adds an air of mystery around them, especially when it comes to their personalities, preferences, motivations, and even allegiances in more serious franchises.

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As such, fans who want to find more twins in anime might find it tricky to figure out just which ones are "the best." After all, there are a ton of twins in anime, and a lot of them with unique personalities and approaches to their character. Just who are the most iconic twins in anime today?

7 Zero And Ichiru Kiryuu – Vampire Knight

Zero and Ichiru Kiryuu of Vampire Knight

In the grim and dark world of Vampire Knight, it’s said that twins are extremely unlikely to be born of Vampire Hunters, especially since their innate killer instincts would have the fetuses fight for supremacy. Such wasn’t the case with Zero and Ichiru Kiryuu, born identical twins. Zero was a prodigy even when trained, having developed remarkable swordsmanship skills and combat abilities.

Unfortunately, Ichiru ended up sickly and not as skilled as his parents wanted him to be. This made the loving Ichiru resentful towards his family, to the point of even wanting Zero dead. It’s theorized that the reason why Zero is prodigious while Ichiru is sickly is that Zero is meant to consume Ichiru and become whole.

6 Ryou And Kyou Fujibayashi – Clannad

Ryou and Kyou Fujibayash of Clannad

Unlike other slice-of-life anime series, it’s Clannad that gives the coming-of-age concept a more mature spin. Although a tale regarding friends, its delightful pair of twins Ryou and Kyou Fujibayashi add a lot of sisterly love to the series. The anime emphasizes their bond as sisters throughout their story, and the times they do clash eventually help towards their growth.

The bolder Kyou is strong-headed and has a lot of energy, and is always interested in exploring new things. She’s often scolded for breaking school rules such as riding bikes and bringing pets. As such, it makes sense that she overshadows Ryou, given she is extremely shy. Often the quiet one in the group, Ryou tries to cook (and often fails) and tries to read the fortunes of others (again, often fails).

5 Tsukasa And Kagami Hiiragi – Lucky Star

Tsukasa and Kagami Hiiragari of Lucky Star

If there’s any anime series to define the wacky nature of slice-of-life, it’s probably Lucky Star. And its wild cast of characters won’t be complete without the crazily-adorable duo of Tsukasa and Kagami Hiiragi. As with other twins in anime, they look identical except for a few key characteristics - hair length, color preferences, and surprisingly eye shape choice.

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However, their personalities are also widely contrasting, making for great rapport with the rest of the characters. Sweet Tsukasa is a bit of an airhead, requiring assistance with complex tasks such as texting. And what she lacks in grades at school, she makes up for good household chores. Meanwhile, the tsundere Kagami is more self-centered, but her outgoing nature does help her make fast friends (and enemies).

4 Miki And Kozue Kaoru – Revolutionary Girl Utena

Miki and Kozue Kaoru of Revolutionary Girl Utena

For a classic anime, Revolutionary Girl Utena tackles quite a lot of personal issues and subverts usual genre tropes. With protagonist Utena Tenjou seeking the hand of Anthy Himemiya as her princess, the anime explores Utena’s fights with other duelists and her friendships with them. Particularly interesting of those are twins Miki and Kozue Kaoru, with quite a complex relationship explored in the manga.

Miki Kaoru, the more known of the twins, is a polite student with a prodigious talent for the piano. Regardless, he’s an extremely skilled duelist that respects his opponents continuously. In contrast to him is Kozue, his twin sister, who has a more outgoing yet mysterious personality. The anime heavily explores Kozue’s sexuality, to the point that it explores the extent of her protective or possessive relationship with Miki.

3 Rin And Yukio Okumura – Blue Exorcist

Rin and Yukio Okumura of Blue Exorcist

It’s not often for anime to feature twins in a shounen action anime, and yet Rin and Yukio Okumura of Blue Exorcist just have a great rapport together. An incident will have Rin realize that he and Yukio are sons of Satan, born of a human woman. When their adoptive father dies, Rin enrolls in the True Cross Academy to eventually train as an Exorcist, a slayer of unruly demons. His kind-hearted nature often gets him in trouble, but he doesn’t hesitate to fight for the people he cares about.

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Much to Rin’s surprise, his brother Yukio is actually a veteran Exorcist already and ends up being one of his teachers. This is befitting Yukio’s stature, considering he’s not only serious but also the youngest to ever become an Exorcist. Normally a quiet person, Yukio often gets mood swings whenever dealing with Rin’s various shenanigans. However, Yukio is always a person to rely on when Rin needs the assist.

2 Shion And Mion Sonozaki – Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni

Shion and Mion Sonozaki of Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni

When a horror story is set in a remote town with mysterious traditions, twins aren’t always good news. Such is the case of Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni, whose story of a group of friends become entangled with a horrific tradition in their town. Part of the central cast is Shion and Mion Sonozaki, twins that have a strong camaraderie at first glance, which viewers will slowly see isn’t as strong as the twins have made others see.

Mion is the more stable and mature of the twins. And while she has a tomboyish appearance, she’s extremely caring and protective of her friends, particularly Shion. In contrast, Shion is girlier and more refined. As the story would reveal, both twins hide some unsavory characteristics towards them, and the deeper aspects of their relationship are explored quite intensely in their respective arcs.

1 Kaoru And Hikaru Hitachiin – Ouran High School Host Club

Kaoru and Hikaru Hitachiin of Ouran High School Host Club

Given the impact of Ouran High School Host Club on both the romance and slice-of-life crowd, it makes sense that Kaoru and Hikaru Hitachiin become some of the more recognizable twins in anime. Although both are extremely attractive and have come from respectable families, both Kaoru and Hikaru have extremely different personalities - especially towards their love interest, Haruhi Fujioka.

The more mature Hikaru has a harder time managing his emotions, especially when he turns a tad bit over-possessive towards Haruhi. Meanwhile, the more upfront Kaoru is more mischievous but is extremely serious when around Haruhi.

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