10 Hollywood Blockbuster That Secretly Copied Hit Anime

With so many live-action adaptations from popular manga being announced for the coming months, the anime craze seems greater than ever. However, Hollywood has always had its sights set on Japanese artists when developing many of its most iconic films. Some of the best anime films revolutionized mainstream Hollywood cinema, even if sometimes the directors don’t admit it.

Many directors have been vocal in their admiration for Japanese anime legends like Satoshi Kon and Hayao Miyazaki, choosing to include tributes to their works in their own films. However, there are also cases where the many similarities between Hollywood films and anime left viewers wondering if the directors had purchased the rights from Japanese producers.

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

The hit franchise starring Keanu Reeves, John Wick, doesn’t seem to have much in common with any anime at first glance. However, its director, Chad Stahelski, has always been open about the influence that Cowboy Bebop‘s creator, Shinichiro Watanabe, had on his films. Stahelski has praised Cowboy Bebop‘s fight scenes, and the anime helped shape John Wick 4‘s ending.

Stahelski himself has confirmed that Cowboy Bebop is one of his favorite anime and wanted to pay homage to one of Spike Spiegel’s most iconic moments. Watanabe has also expressed his admiration for John Wick‘s action sequences, which is why the director enlisted Stahelski’s help on the 2025 anime Lazarus.

Clash of the Titans (2010)

A remake of Desmond Davis’s 1981 epic film, Clash of the Titans, is loosely based on characters from Greek myths but was also influenced by some of the most legendary knights in anime, Saint Seiya. Just like Clash of Titans, Saint Seiya features armored warriors who are in a terrible battle against the gods to protect the world.

According to AnimeAnime.jp, Clash of the Titans‘s director, Louis Leterrier, admitted to being a fan of Masami Kurumada’s franchise. Leterrier also revealed that the gods wear shining armor in Clash of the Titans to pay homage to Saint Seiya. Due to this connection, Kurumada drew special illustrations for Clash of the Titans‘ Japanese release.

Chronicle (2012)

Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira is one of the most influential anime in history, having inspired many sci-fi films over the years, including Chronicle. Chronicle was conceived by its director, Josh Trank, and writer Max Landis, and similar to other films like Looper, it shares thematic elements with Akira, such as featuring children with telekinetic powers.

As reported by Gizmodo, Trank is a big Akira fan, and the anime film was a great influence when crafting Chronicle. Trank even highlighted how a particular scene of Andrew was created to emulate Tetsuo’s destructive spree in Neo-Tokyo. These similarities have led to Chronicle being praised as a modern version of Akira.

Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003)

Quentin Tarantino reportedly recommended actress Chiaki Kuriyama watch the 1998 film Kite for her role as Gogo Yubari in Kill Bill: Volume 1. However, while Kite has an infamous reputation due to its explicit nature, it’s not difficult to see the resemblance between Sawa and Gogo, as both are orphans working as hitmen.

Gogo’s name is also inspired by the classic anime Speed Racer, whose original Japanese title is “Mach GoGoGo”. Additionally, in Kill Bill: Volume 1, Tarantino showed off his love for anime in the 7-minute animated sequence made by Production I. G (the studio behind Ghost in the Shell) featuring O-Ren Ishii, the character played by the actress Lucy Liu.

Pacific Rim (2013)

It’s easy to point out the similarities between Pacific Rim and Neon Genesis Evangelion, as both are heavily influenced by the Kaiju sub-genre and feature mecha pilots with a neural connection to their units (drift for Pacific Rim and synchronization for Evangelion). Yet, the influence of Pacific Rim’s director, Guillermo del Toro, dates back to some older mecha anime.

Del Toro has confirmed his love for the 1988 anime Patlabor, with the Robot Police Officers being among his mechanized figures in fiction and fundamental to the design of the Shatterdome in Pacific Rim. Another key inspiration for del Toro’s Pacific Rim was the anime Tetsujin 28-go.

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

Satoshi Kon’s cult classic, Perfect Blue, is a marvel of both anime and cinema. In Perfect Blue, Mima plays an idol who, because of her fans, starts suffering from depression and paranoia, causing her fictional characters to intertwine with her dreams and reality, questioning her own identity. This unique vision of Satoshi Kon’s inspired Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream.

Despite not experiencing commercial success, Requiem for a Dream is a critically acclaimed film for its realistic depiction of the weight of addictions. However, the sequence where Jennifer Connelly’s character is in the bathtub is strikingly similar to a scene from Perfect Blue. Although Aronofsky referred to it as an homage to Satoshi Kon, the Japanese director wasn’t convinced.

Black Swan (2010)

Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, for which Natalie Portman won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2010, was also controversial for resembling Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue. In addition to having very similar sequences, Black Swan shares plot elements with Perfect Blue, showing a woman experiencing an identity breakdown caused by professional pressure who develops a sort of alter ego.

Although Aronofsky recognized the similarities between both films, the director stated that the film was inspired by Swan Lake, the ballet. Furthermore, although there is a popular belief that Aronofsky has bought the rights to Perfect Blue, Satoshi Kon himself confirmed on his blog that no agreement had been reached in this regard.

Inception (2010)

Some viewers have questioned the originality of Christopher Nolan’s Inception, considering it overlaps with Satoshi Kon’s Paprika, as both blur the fine line between dreams. Satoshi Kon’s Paprika is about a psychologist whose device for accessing his patients’ dreams is stolen. Inception, on the other hand, is about a group that can access dreams to steal secrets from people’s subconscious.

Despite their similar concepts, the stories of Paprika and Inception take different routes. Still, Satoshi Kon’s influence on Nolan’s blockbuster is undeniable. Inception borrowed some sequences from Paprika and made them its own, paying homage to Kon, such as the iconic hallway scene, the elevator, or the way the mirrors shatter.

Avatar (2009)

It’s hard not to compare James Cameron’s blockbuster with Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke, one of Studio Ghibli’s signature works. This comparison stems from the fact that both films address environmental themes. While Princess Mononoke has a spiritual component, it primarily seeks to convey how humanity doesn’t care about the devastation of nature.

In contrast, Avatar showcases how Jake develops a desire to protect nature upon discovering and falling in love with the sublime world of Pandora. However, Avatar isn’t a copy of Princess Mononoke‘s themes of war and environmental protection, as James Cameron developed the script before Miyazaki released the film.

Nonetheless, Cameron acknowledges that Miyazaki’s films influenced him while making Avatar, drawing inspiration from the forest in Princess Mononoke and the flying fortress of Laputa in Castle in the Sky when designing the world of Pandora.

The Matrix (1999)

One of the biggest film franchises of all time, The Matrix draws heavily on anime films like Akira and Ninja Scroll. The Matrix was inspired by Akira‘s cyberpunk aesthetic while also sharing the high-paced action seen in Ninja Scroll. However, the anime that has most influenced The Matrix is ​​Ghost in the Shell.

In Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell, virtual and tangible reality merge, exploring human identity through the fusion of the machine and human consciousness. Beyond its stories, there are several scenes in The Matrix that mirror sequences from Ghost in the Shell. However, the Wachowskis have confirmed they have been influenced by Ghost in the Shell.