Times when Hollywood borrowed ideas from anime 2
1. Lucy (2014) and Elfen Lied (2004)
What would happen if humans could use 100% of their brain’s capacity?
The audience explores many themes from Lucy, such as the cruelty of humanity, existentialism, and whether the girl Lucy is still human when she reaches her ultimate intelligence.
2. Transcendence (2014) and Serial Experiments Lain (1998)
Like many other ambitious films, Transcendence tried to create something new but suffered negative reactions from critics because of the inconsistencies and illogicalities rife in the script.
Both have content revolving around a character with intelligence far beyond human imagination, trying to become the person who controls both the virtual world and the real world with his own consciousness.
3.Pacific Rim (2013) and Gundam series and Neon Genesis Evangelion
Giant robots (mecha) are a prominent popular culture feature of the land of the rising sun.
However, Michael Bay’s Transformers series is so different from those two that Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim is the one that needs mentioning.
However, Guillermo del Toro is a huge fan of mechas, so Pacific Rim is like a tribute from the Mexican director to famous Japanese robots.
4. Inception (2010) and Paprika (2006)
When released in the summer of 2010, the movie Inception and director Christopher Nolan immediately received much praise from critics and audiences.
However, four years earlier, Satoshi Kon’s film Paprika had introduced D.C. `therapy.`
Although the two films do not have the same script, many overlapping details and images appear, such as the dream penetration device, the concept of reality and dreams blending together, making the characters not sure where they are.
5.Black Swan (2010) and Perfect Blue (1997)
The story of Black Swan has been a subject of debate since the film’s release in 2010. The work revolves around dancer Nina Sayers, who loses herself while trying to transform into both the black swan and the angel.
This plot is quite similar to another Satoshi Kon’s animated film: Perfect Blue.
Perfect Blue has a closed ending, not as suggestive as Black Swan, but the pressures that Mima Kirigoe and Nina Sayers go through are very similar, even down to the visuals.
6. Avatar (2009) and Princess Mononoke (1997)
The most popular 3D blockbuster of all time, Avatar, has been sued many times for plagiarism.
If examined carefully, Avatar is even heavily influenced by another famous animated work of Studio Ghibli, Japan, Princess Mononoke.
7. The Matrix (1999) and Ghost in the Shell (1995)
In terms of plot, the two films have very few similarities;
The setting of Ghost in the Shell is twenty-first century Japan, where people can replace their bodies with prosthetic limbs, cybernetic implants, and artificial brains, giving them the ability to connect to a network.
And in The Matrix, people connect with the Matrix – a world created to appease humanity’s subconscious by intelligent machines.
8. The Lion King (1994) and Kimba the White Lion (1965)
In addition to similar character names, the two popular animated films have many similarities if the audience is willing to pay attention.
But an incident forced both lion cubs to flee their homeland, waiting for the day to return and take back what should belong to them.
Tezuka Productions once shared that they did not want to take The Lion King and Disney to court because the opponent was a large corporation and the Japanese side could hardly win.
