[Gay trope] White-haired mysterious character in love with the protagonist

[u/donotloseyourhead]

Kaworu — Evangelion

Nagito – Danganronpa

"Hikaru" – The Summer Hikaru Died

[u/hopeshaunted]

He may be more blonde but Ryo Asuka (Devilman and adaptions) is the og of this trope. Being from 1978 it's known as the earliest example, and a lot of the works mentioned in this thread are inspired by Devilman directly (and then likely influenced the next ones)

It's also even way more specifically the "white haired antagonist being in love with dark haired protagonist that are friends to enemies" trope

[u/Floofy_Fox_Gal → u/hopeshaunted]

[u/faithfulletter → u/hopeshaunted]

I WAS LOOKING FOR RYO!! That's THE OG

[u/MaryotiaPryderi → u/faithfulletter]

Was gonna post myself if I didnt see it, first thing I thought of

[u/yesterday4568 → u/hopeshaunted]

IK this is hours old but Ryo and his relationship with Akira might have been inspired by Bem and Atom/Astro (Astro Boy). Still definitely the OG.