Thread title says it all. Who's a good comparison to Shadow? Can you think of someone else than Vegeta? I'd choose Setsuna F. Seiei from Gundam 00.
Vincent Valentine from Final Fantasy VII always reminded me of Shadow, they have a pretty similar colour scheme and both spend a lot of time brooding
Hiei, from Yu Yu Hakusho. I learned a long while ago that his sister Yukina was also voiced by the same actress who portrayed Maria Robotnik.
Archer from Fate/Stay Night for no reason other than I think it’s a funny comparison, for a mysterious brooding character with an unknown past.
Well, I guess if I can't say Vegeta, then I'm going to say Sasuke from Naruto, who was pretty much the same archetype as both Shadow and Vegeta... Or to be a wise-ass, I could technically say COPY VEGETA from Super lmao
Honestly? Closest I can think of is Black WarGreymon from Digimon Adventure 02. Questions their own existence, eventually turns on those who created and used them, dark trope version of a hero character. Prone to anger in combat, but otherwise a fairly solemn/calm personality. Heroic sacrifice. Shadow's storyline cherrypicks many common antihero tropes, but this is the character that I think best matches their SA2 story.
I don't have much experience with anime, so I don't have many similar characters in mind. But if I had to compare Shadow to some character, I'd pick... Wolverine I guess? They're both edgy antihero rivals to the righteous main hero. They're both living weapons created by a secret government-backed program. The pasts of both are shrouded in mystery. They also both had at least one close young female figure they were protective of. Personality-wise they have plenty of differences... but also some similarities, like their more extreme methods, the fact they both seek to uncover their past, and the fact they both suffer from amnesia.
Shadow being a Poochie would also mean Sonic is a Poochie because they're both just "the cool things from the era" condensed into an anime hedgehog
I probably more associate him with characters like Hugh Jackman's Wolverine or Jon Bernthal's Punisher, rather than tangible actual inspirations he's had. at least that's the lens I would tell a story about Shadow through.
