Hollywood has always had an interesting history when it comes to the world of anime. Aside from straight-up adaptations, many American blockbusters have taken influence and inspiration from classic anime. That said, anime hasn't ignored Hollywood either, with many Western shows and movies inspiring classic shows. For example, some of the first "magical girl" shows, like Sally the Witch and Himitsu no Akko-chan, were actually inspired by the 1960s sitcom, Bewitched. Even the great "Godfather of Anime" Osamu Tezuka drew inspiration from Betty Boop and the early Disney cartoons.

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Today, we are going to take a look at the various anime over the years that took inspiration from Hollywood movies. And remember, because we might be comparing entire plots, there are bound to be plenty of spoilers below.

10 Adolescence of Utena / Sleeping Beauty

Fairy tales are an important theme in the world of Revolutionary Girl Utena. Between Utena's desire to become a "prince" to Anthy's backstory as a "witch," the show seems to initially use the trappings of fairy tales to throw us off what is actually happening in the show. So, it makes sense that, when the Adolescence of Utena movie came along, it would use one in particular.

In one memorable scene, when Utena and Anthy are escaping to the outside world, Utena transforms into a car, which Anthy uses to drive away from the academy. This might not immediately evoke any fairy tales, but, according to the director's commentary, the scene is actually a reworking of Sleeping Beauty. Instead of a princess trapped in a state between life and death (cursed to a death-like sleep/turned into an inanimate object) and having to be rescued by a prince, here it is the "prince" who is "trapped," and has to be rescued by the princess.

9 Ponyo on the Cliff / The Little Mermaid

In this Miyazaki film, a young boy befriends a ningyo-like goldfish, who desires to become a human girl. According to Syfy, as the whole "boy meets fish" concept suggests, the story was somewhat inspired by The Little Mermaid.

As with the above, you could argue it's more based on the original story than the Disney movie, but, to be fair, Fujimoto is an overprotective parent after King Triton's heart and the happy ending, complete with a magic kiss, is straight out of Disney. Seriously, anyone who thinks of "The Little Mermaid" and thinks "cute, little children's story" and not "heartbreaking tragedy" is clearly thinking of the Disney film.

8 Bubblegum Crisis / Streets of Fire

Streets of Fire is a 1984 movie about a mercenary who has to save his ex-girlfriend from a biker gang. The film proved popular in Japan, with it getting a few references in anime. For example, a poster of the film appears in the Megazone 23 OVA.

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The film was also especially influential to the Bubblegum Crisis anime. As Nitehawk Cinema points out, a few of the musical sequences liberally borrowed from elements in the '80s film. In particular, Priss and The Replicants in the anime seem heavily based off of Ellen Aim and The Attackers, a prominent band in the movie.

7 Lupin III / The Magnificent Seven

The world of Lupin III is heavily influenced by Western fiction. Probably the most obvious is Maurice Leblanc's Arsène Lupin, a fictional gentleman burglar who is literally the in-universe grandfather of the titular Lupin III.

However, the original 1960s manga also took a lot of influence from popular spy movies from the decade. The character of Daisuke Jigen was heavily influenced by actor James Coburn, especially as he appeared in The Magnificent Seven. In fact, his voice actor, Daisuke Jigen, was even Coburn's primary Japanese voice-over dubber.

6 Fist of the North Star / Mad Max

Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the remains of a nuclear war, this story revolves around a warrior named Kenshiro and the deadly martial art dubbed "Hokuto Shinken." Over the years, it has inspired anime, OVAs, video games, and even live-action work.

In an interview on Twitter with YonkouProductions, illustrator Tetsuo Hara explained that the series had a lot of inspirations, ranging from Bruce Lee to the Mad Max film series.

5 Tokyo Godfathers / The Three Godfathers

The Cast from Tokyo Godfathers

This one should be a little obvious... the reference is in the name! This 2003 anime film revolves around three homeless people finding an abandoned child on Christmas Eve.

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The plot has its origin in Peter B. Kyne's novel Three Godfathers, in which three bank robbers become godfathers to a newborn baby. The original book has been popularized by various film adaptations over the years, notably in 1916, 1936, and 1948, the last of which starred actor John Wayne.

4 Gungrave / The Godfather

Technically, the anime series has its origins as a video game, revolving around the Millennion crime syndicate. but the anime adaptation started to remind viewers of a certain Hollywood film series.

Reviews of the series, like on Amazon and DVD Talk, are quick to bring about comparisons to "The Godfather." But there's something that makes the influence a bit more obvious: Millennion founder Asagi Caldwell, better known as Big Daddy, looks nearly identical to Michael Corleone as he appears in The Godfather: Part III, as played by Al Pacino.

3 Baccano! / 21 Grams

Characters from Baccano in a bar setting.

Originating as a series of light novels, Baccano! mixes up stories involving thieves, gangsters, and more in America during the Prohibition, with storylines divided partially into years.

According to the franchise's Wiki, a large influence on the series was the 2003 film 21 Grams, which also told various stories in a nonlinear arrangement. The 1916 silent film Intolerance, which also employed a format using parallel storylines, was also said to be an influence on the anime.

2 Dragon Ball Z / Superman

In all fairness, the original Dragon Ball clearly started out as a retelling of Journey to the West, what with Son Goku literally named after the Japanese transliteration of Sun Wukong, the legendary Monkey King. But by the time the sequel series rolled around, a lot of similarities between Goku and a certain Western superhero could be seen, especially after Goku's origins came to light.

Both Goku and Superman were born on doomed planets and sent to Earth as babies, after their fathers failed to save their homeworlds. Both are raised by elderly people and are given both an Earth alias and an alien one. Both even encounter three survivors from their home planets who want to destroy the Earth.

At the very least, series creator Akira Toriyama is no stranger to Superman. He previously created a parody of him, dubbed "Suppaman," for the Dr. Slump series.

1 Ghost in the Shell / Blade Runner

As we've previously reported, the original Blade Runner eventually got the direct anime treatment, so it's no surprise that the film franchise would influence other anime over the years. In fact, it's been credited with influencing quite a few, like the aforementioned Bubblegum Crisis.

According to IGN, while discussing how Ghost in the Shell seemed to influence The Matrix film series, director Mamoru Oshii talked about how Japanese and American filmmaking tends to have something of a "mutual relationship," saying how anime movies took influence from movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, or The Terminator.

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