User blog comment:B214/General discussion/@comment-27180505-20151226021459/@comment-27180505-20160203205516

Never said they were exactly the same, just that their style of fighting is similar in that they can spam attacks from a distance. And no his distance attacks aren’t lacking just because they are weaker simply because he can spam them faster than yudai. See the fight with ikki again. At marginal counters top speed he can spam upwards of 7-8 strikes in less than half a second. And you make overpowering shizuku in v3 sound like that’s an accomplishment when kuraudo did that against ikki who was way above shizuku at that point. Yeah if it’s in the short range than rakiri wins, but just because you’re not a tactitian doesn’t mean you’re an idiot. The guy is a 3rd year, he’s smart enough to know where his strengths and weaknesses are. Him reaching out to ayatsuji is proof of this. besides ouma isn't a tactitian either and he wrecked rakiri in v4 and probably still recks her now.

The rivalry aspect is both secondary to the relationship and is a friendly competition at best. It’s not unimportant as they are both competitive people, but it’s not the defining aspect of their relationship. Especially when the majority of their interaction is more on the romantic side up until v8-9, which makes sense because it’s the climax of tourney arc. Either way, stella’s role is that of stella, not a vegeta type character. The dynamic between her and ikki is too far removed from that. A vegeta type rival is more equivalent to bitter rivalry amongst bro’s developing into one of mutual respect. It’s one thing to say ikki doesn’t need that with stella or ouma or yudai or whoever, but to claim stella fits that role is ridiculous. Especially when it’s ikki who’s been keep up with her power wise up until v9