Just as it is in Hollywood, the Japanese industry of anime isn’t immune from blatant copy of popular anime, and spinning and re-spinning them into “newer” anime by making minor tweaks here and there.
While there’s nothing wrong in being inspired by excellent concepts, a line must be drawn at blatant rip-offs. For those who still aren’t convinced, here are 10 rip-offs of some of the most popular anime out there.
10 Kabaneri Of The Iron Fortress (Copied From Attack On Titan)
Both anime have a young man with a special ability, who is the only one that can help humanity against monsters who have pushed humans to the brink of extinction. Viewers also get to see a black haired beauty who’s an extremely capable monster killing machine (more capable than the male lead himself)
The only difference is the setting of these anime – one is set during the Industrial Revolution, while the other is set in an alternate reality with a German setting.
9 RahXephon (Copied from Neon Genesis Evangelion)
A young, socially awkward teenage boy suddenly finds himself in the midst of a battle he wants nothing to do with – that between humanity and creatures made of machine. Conveniently, it is this young man specifically (for reasons explained later) who can win the tide in humanity’s favor.
While the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime is focused more psychoanalysis and religion, RahXephon goes the conventional route and establishes a romance between its two leads.
8 Dive!! (Copied From Free!)
A young boy who’s in love with water and swimming, practices day and night to become the best version of himself, and longs to be in the water because that’s the only place he truly feels at peace. However, his swim club is on the verge of being shut down, and he manages to find a band of misfit young boys who can help him keep his club (and his dreams) alive.
7 Guilty Crown (Copied From Code Geass)
There is a new order in the world due to certain events happening, and a young boy (who is dissatisfied with the current regime) is one day bestowed with extremely powerful powers.
These powers are a game changer for him, and he uses them to fight a battle that’ll help restore Japan’s supremacy. Both anime also involve many personal sacrifices that the protagonist has to make in order to achieve what he desires.
6 Durarara!! (Copied From Baccano!)
Brain’s Base studio created both these anime, and Durarara!! Is an obvious rip off of Baccano! (one of their most popular series till date). Both shows have a huge cast, a non-linear format of storytelling, intertwining plots, differing point of views given by all characters and ultimately, all of that meshing into one cohesive (kind of) story line.
Those who liked one of these, are sure to like the other
5 Magic-Kyun! Renaissance (Copied From Utano☆Prince-sama♪Maji Love 1000%)
Prince-Sama will always be considered a game changer in the reverse harem genre, and its popularity spouted many copies. However, none were as blatant as Magic-Kyun! Both anime have a main character with a dead family member (to whom they talk regularly), are transferred to a school for extremely talented teenagers, fall sick on their first day of school and meet extremely gorgeous boys who start liking her for no apparent reason whatsoever.
4 Akame Ga Kill! (Copied From Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
Akame ga Kill can easily be said to be a watered down version of Brotherhood. A bright eyed young boy is left disillusioned when he finds out that the ruling authority that he so passionately believed in, is actually corrupt to the core. He joins hands with a few rebels, witnesses the loss of many loved ones and finds the time to fall in love with a lovely lady in the meanwhile.
The former is an out and out shounen (which means plot and character development are sacrificed for the sake of better animation), while the latter has no such problems with it.
3 Mob Psycho (Copied From One Punch Man)
In a world where humans with super powers exist, one young man possesses the ultimate power, which proves to be more of a bane than a boon. Not to mention how his power gets him into constant danger (from which he comes out unscathed every time because he’s an OP character).
Created by the same mangaka (and anime studio), both anime are visually similar as well.
2 Charlotte (Copied From Angel Beats)
Both anime come from P.A. Works, which is not a surprise seeing how Charlotte is basically a rehashed version of Angel Beats. Both series have a protagonist who is the leader of her group, is strict and bossy, thus is disliked by everyone. Both shows also have random music videos inserted in anime that are meant to be serious, are set in high-school type settings and have female protagonists that look like carbon copies of each other.
1 Bungou Stray Dogs (Copied From Hamatora The Animation)
Judging by the first seasons of both anime, it’s really easy to see how one inspired the other. Set in worlds where people possess superpowers, the MC is part of an agency that helps people deal with people or incidents involving these very powers. The protagonist and his best friend/partner have two polar opposite personalities, because of which they often butt heads with each other. Both series are serious in nature, but both have plenty of comedic influences in them.