Surprisingly Similar Stories: Difference between revisions

** ''[[Chzo Mythos|5 Days a Stranger]]'' or ''[[Scratches]]''?

* A [[A World Half Full|dark, but ultimately idealistic]] [[Seinen]] anime series starring an ''extremely'' morally dubious [[Tall, Dark and Handsome]] [[Anti-Hero]] with a [[Dark and Troubled Past]], [[Big Brother Instinct|sister issues]], and the apparently unwitting ability to [[Chick Magnet|cause anything with two X chromosomes to melt into a puddle of]] [[Squee]], both in [[Mr. Fanservice|and out]] of the story. Thanks to his behavior in his [[Secret Identity]], the fandom [[The Cowl|often compares]] him to [[Batman]]. The plot is a [[Gray and Grey Morality]]-filled [[Melee a Trois]] involving a corrupt government, [[La Résistance]], and psychics with one very specific power apiece, of which the protagonist is one. There's a [[Hero Antagonist]] with whom there's a certain amount of [[Ship Tease]] and [[UST]] going on (complicated by the fact that they don't know their friend is the criminal they're trying to stop) and a [[Mysterious Waif]] with green hair who knows more than she lets on, is a good bit [[Older Than They Look|older than she looks]], and has a complicated emotional relationship with the protagonist that may be at least partially romantic. Said green-haired character is obessively loved by a murderous [[White-Haired Pretty Boy]]. The anti-hero also has a [[Phenotype Stereotype]] rival who is more personally pleasant but also more ruthless. He is dubbed by [[Troy Baker]]. The second season is considered hit-or-miss in part due to a difficult-to-follow plot and the fact that the hero is much less likable for part of it, and features a younger character who shows up near the beginning and joins the protagonist ([[Replacement Scrappy|earning the wrath of part of the fandom]] for [[Spotlight-Stealing Squad|"stealing the real main character's spotlight"]]). There's a good bit of Pizza Hut [[Product Placement]] (to the point that [[Memetic Mutation|it's become an internet joke]]), and the soundtrack is ''[[Crowning Music of Awesome|amazing]]''.

* A rather posh, blonde girl meets a white rabbit, who leads her to fall into a strange, unfamiliar world, full of talking animals and unusual characters. These include a grumpy bug, a sleepy creature who tells stories that go nowhere, a pair of twins who do battle and a malevolent monarch who wants the protagonist dead.

** ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]'' or ''[[Brandy and Mr. Whiskers]]''?

** [[Harry Potter|Potter]] or [[The Dresden Files|Dresden]]?

* [[Love At First Sight]] [[Mayfly-December Romance]] story between an ageless supernatural creature and an emotionally disturbed human [[Single-Target Sexuality|who claims to have never felt attraction to another individual before]]. Despite suffering a great deal of physical or emotional abuse at the hands of the immortal, the human continues to maintain that their romance is based on True Love, and is eager to consumate their relationship, which the Immortal is hesitent to do.

* Despite being a principal character in the story, this teenage boy takes the [[Emo Teen]] stereotype and moves it [[Up to Eleven]] -- he seems to perpetually shift between angsty brooding and social awkwardness. To his credit, he can also be a [[Determinator]], and his [[When She Smiles|When He Smiles]] moments are quite heartwarming. His personality to a large extent originated because of his father, a [[Manipulative Bastard]] who sent him away from the family as a young child for not being good enough -- and only later took him back when it seemed his son had something to offer him. (His mother loved him, but she disappeared from her son's life at an early age.) Luckily, he has an older adult in his life who serves as a cross between a guardian and a [[Trickster Mentor]], trying to get him to lighten up and relax while also take his duties seriously. His peer group includes two girls of about his age, one who is contemptuous, bitchy, and often mean to him ([[Jerkass Woobie|although this behavior is a front to hide her own insecurities]], which {{spoiler|later bring her to the point of insanity}}), and another one who is [[Kuudere|unemotional and stoic]]. The character in question has romantic tension with one of these females (including an awkward kiss scene), and is related to the other one ([[Incest Subtext|which hasn't prevented some fans from shipping them anyway]]). In the end, the boy is forced to face up to the expectations others have placed on him, and realize that maturity means choosing his own path.

** [[Avatar: The Last Airbender|Prince Zuko]]? Or [[Neon Genesis Evangelion|Shinji Ikari]]?

** So, is this ''[[Ben 10: Alien Force|Ben 10 Alien Force]]'' or ''[[Dragonball Z]]''?

* [[Love Makes You Crazy]] the series. [[Miyuki Sawashiro]] voices a foreigner living in Japan, and [[Hiroshi Kamiya]] is a well-educated [[Bishonen]] whose family goes for weird names.

* A man from a BBC One series of the mid-Noughties, with a brown coat and a massive female fan base, played by an actor whose voice is completely different to his character's. He has various companions in different series, including one named Tyler, but he is in all of them. He is the rival and occasional friend of a time-traveller played by John Simm and is eventually saved by {{spoiler|the character sacrificing himself at the end of the series}}. He's {{spoiler|technically died}} at least once.

** [[Doctor Who|The Tenth Doctor]] or [[Life On Mars|Gene Hunt]]?

** ''[[Naruto]]'' or ''[[Star Trek (film)|Star Trek]]''?

* A charismatic former revolutionary who was captured by the regime he tried to defeat. Said regime commits [[Mind Rape]] and a mindwipe on him. The revolutionary breaks free of the programming, steals a ''very'' [[Cool Ship]], and proceeds to raise hell. May have been trying to fight a greater evil coming from outside known space with said revolution. Before we get any real answers, however, he vanishes into the unknown and dies ignobly. Said cause was taken up by one of his followers who previously refused to go along with the revolution, gets a couple former crew members and two AI units from his/her predecessor, and the cool ship...only to die ignobly with the man whose influence s/he could never escape. 

* In this Disney [[Animated Adaptation]] of a fairy tale, the heroine yearns for excitement and adventure beyond the sheltered world she's known. She falls in love with a man whom she teaches to be less selfish, to the point of [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy|sacrificing his own well-being for her freedom]], creating a contrast in context between selfless, true love and possessive, controlling, abusive "love." The couple is forced to separate for awhile but soon reunite, only for the villain to stab the guy right before [[Disney Villain Death|dying during a fall]]. The girl holds her [[Died in Your Arms Tonight|dying lover in her arms]] and cries over him, bringing him [[Back From the Dead]] via [[The Power of Love]] mixed with the effects of an enchanted flower. A peasant [[Hot Consort|marries a royal]], and they live [[Happily Ever After]].

** ''[[Beauty and the Beast]]'' or ''[[Tangled]]''?

** ''[[Tangled]]'' or ''[[Ico]]''?

* A woman becomes the undisputed ruler of her domain, with the aid of her weak-willed male companion. She believes everyone should be happy, and so creates a brightly-uniformed [[Culture Police]] that ruthlessly deals with people who don't fit her definition of how things should be, subjecting them to [[Cool and Unusual Punishment]]. Then the [[Guile Hero]] and companion(s) show up, and deliberately defy her, allying with the locals and eventually forcing the ruler to confront the falseness of her beliefs. The heroes then leave, with the people free to act however they want.

* An evil [[Fairy Godmother]] is the power behind the throne, having transformed a frog into a puppet ruler. She wants to consolidate her power by [[Arranged Marriage|arranging a marriage]] for kingdom's princess. The princess has other ideas, and allies with the heroes. Lots of [[Fractured Fairy Tale|Fractured Fairytales]] take place before the big confrontation during the palace [[Dances and Balls|ball]], [[When the Clock Strikes Twelve]].

** ''[[Discworld/Witches Abroad|Witches Abroad]]'' again, or ''[[Shrek]] 2''?

** ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' or ''[[Naruto]]''?

* He's a Chinese badass who likes to put on a front of [[Obfuscating Stupidity]], during which he's generally [[Eyes Always Shut]] and his [[Big Eater]] status is played for humor. He started out as a [[Badass Normal]], but was turned into a [[Badass Abnormal]] and managed to avoid the sociopathy typically associated with those powers. He has a possible love interest voiced by [[Nana Mizuki]].

* An genetic experiment is undertaken by a group of scientists to create, from the genes of the strongest and brightest man/men on the planet, a superhuman. After two infants are born from this experiment, they're separated, with one being raised and taught by the best of the best to be an ubermensch, and the other is put through hardship for his life. In the end, we find out that one was deliberately made with the superior genes, while the other got the bad genes.

** Liquid and Solid Snake of ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'', or Jules and Vincent from ''[[Twins]]''?