Rival characters who aren't up to snuff.

Sometimes rival characters are on equal grounds, or are supposed to reach them.

And sometimes they're just never reach that point.

Vicious in Cowboy Bebop is more of a nuisance than an actual rival to Spike.

Thematically, he feels more like a past he didn't kill than an actual threat, a ghost of the past that Spike can either move on from or confront it and maybe lose yourself in the process.

I appreciate that Vicious mean thematically, but in terms of ooga-booga strength, holyshit is Vicious a hugeass fraud.

I mean Spike fights through an entire organization of criminals before reaching Vicious, and Spike STILL fucking wins that bout! At that point I'd assume Vicious died to embarassment.