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6 Times Hollywood Ripped Off Anime Concepts

Hello everyone! Today I’m going to write about some of the most successful hollywood movies that were actually ripped off from anime! 

Before going on any further, I do have to inform you guys that there are going to be some minor spoilers. Because, y’know, I have to explain exactly what’s similar, so you have been warned.

I recently watched this movie called Tenet and I found its plot somewhat similar to the anime Steins;gate. 

Now, when I say “somewhat” similar I’m talking about their base concept. 

They’re both about time travel and how the main protagonist fights to prevent world war 3. 

In both the shows, the main protagonists are being controlled by their own future selves in order to prevent some incidents from happening in the present.

At the end of this movie, I couldn’t help but think if it was inspired by Steins gate. But turns out the director has not mentioned anything about it.

So, I googled about it and found out that some of the most popular Christopher Nolan’s (director of Tenet) films were somehow “referencing” anime.

This got me interested. Because being a closet weeb and enjoying anime is one thing but ripping off ideas from anime and getting famous is a totally different thing.

So I searched for more Hollywood movies that were actually rip offs of anime, and honestly I was shocked by the results. 

I found that some of the insanely popular Hollywood movies were copied from anime!

So here’s six of such movies that were actually copied from anime.

Hollywood Movies That Ripped off Concepts From Anime

6. Pacific Rim – Tributes Anime/Japan’s ‘Mecha’ Concept

pacific rim x neon genesis

Now the entire concept of young boys piloting giant robots is from the Japanese media. It was a popular genre from back in the day called “mecha”. The movie’s concept of the military building giant robots to fight off monsters that pose a threat to the planet is same as the anime called Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Both of these shows involve the main character who has troubles with their parent and runs off from duty because of their personal traumas. They also share a similar rival character who wants to prove that they are better than the MC.

5. Ready Player One – Coincidentally Has The Same Concept As ‘SAO’

ready player one referenced sword art online

This movie is set up in an extremely similar environment to Sword Art Online. The author of this movie claims that he didn’t know about SAO while he came up with the concept. But, the sword art online light novel was released in 2009 and we got ready player one novel in 2011. So maybe they read SAO and thought they’ll create their own novel inspired off of it. Or not. We’ll never know for sure.

But the one good thing about this is that both the authors of the shows are on good terms with each other. Apparantly they meet up to share ideas and stuff. Seeing this actually makes me think it could have been a big coincidence, but watching the movie makes me think otherwise.

Because SAO has some of the most unique concepts in the world. It seems too impossible for another person to have come up with the same idea without even referencing it. In sword art online, there is the creator of the VR game who dies but continues to live in the VR world. There is also this concept called “seed” in SAO through which several other VR games can be created. Ready player one had these same concepts except they renamed “seed” as “egg”.

4. The Matrix – Inspired From The Anime Film Called ‘Ghost In A Shell’

Matrix and ghost in a shell comparison

Matrix is a super popular sci-fi movie that was released in 1999. For the western audience, it was a super unique concept and they loved it. Little did they know it was a concept that already existed in the Japanese anime and manga industry. It was inspired from this anime called Ghost in a shell. However, this movie also had a ton of original content too. So, I wouldn’t call this one a rip off. It’s just that Ghost in a Shell is an amazing work that set new standards for the sci-fi genre.

3. Black Swan – Copied From The Anime Movie Called ‘Perfect Blue’

black swan ripped off perfect blue

Did you know that Black swan was actually inspired from the anime called Perfect Blue? Both the works are psychological shows that talks about the mental hardships of a celebrity. Although the director denies any relations to the anime, it is definitely similar to Perfect Blue.

Even though it was a coincidence, it is very well known that directors like Satoshi Kon and Shinya Tsukamoto are the director’s inspirers. So maybe he subconsciously replicated the exact scenes from the anime, who knows.

2. Inception – Base Concept Is Ripped Off From An Anime Called ‘Paprika’

Inception is Copied From Anime

Inception is a HUGEly successful film by Christopher Nolan that almost everybody knows for its deep and meaningful plot. But what most people do not know is that it’s actually copied from the anime film called Paprika.

Paprika is set in a near-future world where a device called ‘DC Mini’ has been invented which allows the user to look into the dreams of others. The idea of the device is to help people with mental health disorders, but of course, it falls into the wrong hands and chaos ensues. Doesn’t this concept seem similar to Inception?

1. The Lion King – Totally Ripped Off An Anime Called ‘Kimba’

lion king is ripped off from the anime Kimba

Bet none of you expected this movie in this list! Produced by Walt Disney, the lion king became widely known as one of the best animated films for kids. But apparently, it was an absolute rip off of an anime called kimba. And when I say absolute, I mean it. It ripped off every single moment from the anime but claims it has nothing to do with it. Most people would at least say it was “inspired” from so and so work, but no. They declined any and all relation to the anime and claims that it is 100% original. But hey, the above comparison says otherwise.

That’s it for this post! These were all the popular films that were ripped off from anime!!

3 thoughts on “6 Times Hollywood Ripped Off Anime Concepts”

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