Anime's Influence on Western Films

Pacific Rim

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Some people won't realise (especially those who don't watch anime) how many western films there are which have been influenced by Japanese animations. Quite the opposite as anime does take influence from western countries (e.g. anime stories set in Britain).

One obvious film would be 'Pacific Rim' (2013) which shows giant mecha robots fighting giant Godzilla like monsters (also known as kaiju). If this doesn't already scream Japan style genre I don't know what does. The story entails humanity using their "special weapon" in order to save the world from the apocalypse against the kaiju, which is a similar story to the anime TV series 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' (1995). Evangelion's story is about giant bio-machine mechas used to fight against giant monsters, called angels, in order to prevent the apocalypse. Not just the concept of mechas vs kaijus but the plots are also similar.





Avatar



Princess Mononoke

One film praised for it's use of 3D animated characters and environments is 'Avatar' (2009). Some may associate this as being inspired by Disney's 'Pocahontas' for it's historical theme of indigenous people being invaded by foreign enemies. Even the concept of two members from either side falling in love with each other. However, I find more of a similarity between the 'Avatar' film and Studio Ghibli's anime film 'Princess Mononoke' (1997). Especially that both the female protagonists from each film, Neytiri (Avatar) and San (Princess Mononoke), are both aggressive tribal warrior princesses who love their forests and the animals which inhabit them. They even connect and communicate with animals as well as falling in love with the main male human protagonist after having trust issues.
Even the villains from each story have similar goals. The villains from both films come to invade and take advantage of a foreign land's resources. They both do this while fending off any resistance from its' inhabitants with their superior weapons and both have a 'destroy the heart of the forest' theme.















The Matrix



Ghost in the Shell

'The Matrix' (1999) is a western film heavily influenced by the anime film 'Ghost in the Shell' (1995). In fact, when Larry and Andy Wachowski pitched the film 'The Matrix' to the producers they showed them the film 'Ghost in the Shell' telling them "we wanna do that for real". Two similarities borrowed for the film 'The Matrix' is the green typography used to represent the matrix and the ports placed on the back of people's necks. These are both things associated with the film 'Ghost in the Shell'.
There is even an anime, made up of short films, called 'The Animatrix' for which the Wachowskis used the help of Japanese directors to trace 'The Matrix' back to it's roots.








Van Helsing

Vampire Hunter D

Even a simple similar outfit concept is recognisable from the western film 'Van Helsing' (2004). In the film the character Van Helsing wears dark clothing with a wide-brim hat. These are a similar choice of clothing for another vampire hunter from the anime film 'Vampire Hunter D' (1985). Even the long flowing trench coat that Van Helsing wears resembles the long flowing cloak that the title character 'D' wears in 'Vampire Hunter D'. Not to mention their rather similar shady looks, beardless faces and long hair. There is one difference in their characters which is that Van Helsing is human while 'D' is a dhampir (half human half vampire), a concept used for characters like the vampire hunter 'Blade' from Marvel comics.


















The Lion King

My final comparison goes beyond just inspiration and tends towards plagiarism. Osamu Tezuka, creator of 'Kimba The White Lion, died in 1989 which is 5 years before the Disney Film 'The Lion King' (1994) was released. After the release of 'The Lion King' many were astonished by the similarities it shared with the anime series 'Kimba The White Lion'.

Kimba The White Lion



The first thing anyone would notice is the name similarities between Kimba and Simba. They even share the dark tipped ears as their young versions. There are also many characters which show similarities such as a baboon, a bird companion, comedic bad hyenas and a villainous black mane Lion with a damaged left eye. Even a young female lion cub as Kimba's love interest.

There are many scenes in 'Kimba The White Lion' which 'The Lion King' also shares. These scenes include Kimba's father appearing on a similar pride rock like cliff edge and appearing as a cloud in the sky in the manga. Other scenes include a stampede, Kimba entering thorny bushes, Kimba hanging from a cliff edge etc.


It's quite a shame that 'Kimba The White Lion' didn't get as much attention as 'The Lion King'. 'Kimba' was a major source of inspiration in making 'The Lion King' as popular as it has become.

'Kimba The White Lion' and 'The Lion King' comparisons: