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When it comes to plagiarism in Japan, perhaps no manga have been able to surpass the popularity of the "Four Heavenly Kings of Plagiarism" (パクリ四天王).
The prestigious title of "The King of Plagiarism" was given by fans to four well-known series, they are: Samumrai Deeper Kyo (Later replaced by Monster Hunter), Flame of Recca, Black Cat and Rave Master.
Samurai Deeper Kyo began serialization in Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine in 1999, a time when Magazine's second golden age was coming to an end with the conclusion of popular series like Love Hina and GTO (After Shonen Jump's dominance faded in the mid-90s after series like Dragon Ball, Yu Yu Hakusho ended, Shonen Magazine managed to take Jump's throne between 1996-2001 with strong series like Love Hina and Kindaichi Case Files). Magazine editors concluded that their success was due to Magazine's appeal to different kinds of readers (Kindaichi Case Files to female readers, GTO to teens, etc.), so they tried to pull in the doujinshi audience as well by taking in Akimine Kamijyo, a former doujinshi artist. But what to draw? At the time, Rurouni Kenshin was Jump's flagship series. Since Magazine has never serialized a samurai manga before, the next step was obvious.
After the first chapter of Samurai Deeper Kyo was published, fans immediately noticed uncanny resemblances between Kyo's story and Kenshin's. The editorial department received countless letters of complaint, and Kyo became one of the Kings of Plagiarism almost instantly.
Later, after Samurai Deeper Kyo's story began heading toward the supernatural/fantasy direction, Kyo's place in the "Four Kings" was replaced by Monster Hunter, a manga that was criticized for copying settings, designs and speeches from series like Berserk, Blade of the Immortals and Monster. Due to Monster Hunter's relatively low popularity, however, it never reach the level of fame Kyo did.
Rave, on the other hand, was aimed at a young audience. Back then Magazine's main readership was between 18-22, so most people would skip Rave, and those who read the manga are too young to be able to notice.
It wasn't until Rave was animated when people took notice. Many criticized Rave for copying One Piece's art (although the author himself said he copied from GetBacker's Rando Ayamine), and for copying Dragon Ball and Final Fantasy's location and character design. Some Rave spreads in particular where also accused of plagiarizing One Piece's (One Piece vol.11 pg.116 vs. Rave vol.2 pg.84).
As for Black Cat and Flame of Recca, both manga were accused of copying elements and art from popular shonen manga like Yu Yu Hakusho, Trigun, Rurouni Kenshin, and more. An entire site was dedicated to the topic of Black Cat and plagiarism, below are some sample comparisons.
SO... What do u think?
To see more details about this info, click on the link above
When it comes to plagiarism in Japan, perhaps no manga have been able to surpass the popularity of the "Four Heavenly Kings of Plagiarism" (パクリ四天王).
The prestigious title of "The King of Plagiarism" was given by fans to four well-known series, they are: Samumrai Deeper Kyo (Later replaced by Monster Hunter), Flame of Recca, Black Cat and Rave Master.
Samurai Deeper Kyo began serialization in Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine in 1999, a time when Magazine's second golden age was coming to an end with the conclusion of popular series like Love Hina and GTO (After Shonen Jump's dominance faded in the mid-90s after series like Dragon Ball, Yu Yu Hakusho ended, Shonen Magazine managed to take Jump's throne between 1996-2001 with strong series like Love Hina and Kindaichi Case Files). Magazine editors concluded that their success was due to Magazine's appeal to different kinds of readers (Kindaichi Case Files to female readers, GTO to teens, etc.), so they tried to pull in the doujinshi audience as well by taking in Akimine Kamijyo, a former doujinshi artist. But what to draw? At the time, Rurouni Kenshin was Jump's flagship series. Since Magazine has never serialized a samurai manga before, the next step was obvious.
After the first chapter of Samurai Deeper Kyo was published, fans immediately noticed uncanny resemblances between Kyo's story and Kenshin's. The editorial department received countless letters of complaint, and Kyo became one of the Kings of Plagiarism almost instantly.
Later, after Samurai Deeper Kyo's story began heading toward the supernatural/fantasy direction, Kyo's place in the "Four Kings" was replaced by Monster Hunter, a manga that was criticized for copying settings, designs and speeches from series like Berserk, Blade of the Immortals and Monster. Due to Monster Hunter's relatively low popularity, however, it never reach the level of fame Kyo did.
Rave, on the other hand, was aimed at a young audience. Back then Magazine's main readership was between 18-22, so most people would skip Rave, and those who read the manga are too young to be able to notice.
It wasn't until Rave was animated when people took notice. Many criticized Rave for copying One Piece's art (although the author himself said he copied from GetBacker's Rando Ayamine), and for copying Dragon Ball and Final Fantasy's location and character design. Some Rave spreads in particular where also accused of plagiarizing One Piece's (One Piece vol.11 pg.116 vs. Rave vol.2 pg.84).
As for Black Cat and Flame of Recca, both manga were accused of copying elements and art from popular shonen manga like Yu Yu Hakusho, Trigun, Rurouni Kenshin, and more. An entire site was dedicated to the topic of Black Cat and plagiarism, below are some sample comparisons.
SO... What do u think?
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