All The Tropes

Surprisingly Similar Stories: Difference between revisions

Page Discussion

Surprisingly Similar Stories (view source)

Revision as of 21:34, 22 February 2015

103 bytes removed ,  9 years ago
m
clean up
VisualWikitext
m (Fixed an error: the officers *weren't* both colonels.)
m (clean up)
Line 10:
* Our story centres around a forbidden romance, the likes of which are so iconic that the character's names have entered pop culture and are recognizable amongst people who don't know the story. Our heroine is a teenage girl who while heartbreakingly passive throughout most of the story makes a startling act of defiance towards the end. Our hero is well-known for his [[Purple Prose|wordyness]] and childlike attitude that may make him unsympathetic. The lovers are forbidden from contact by society, most vehemently her parents, but eventually they come together under hard-to-keep secrecy. The story ends in tragedy when they are separated and both of them die
** ''[[Lolita]]''? Or ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]''?
* An impulsive young protagonist travels to a thick forest full of [[Scenery Porn]] as part of an evil corporation bent on exploiting its natural resources for personal gain. He was not chosen for the job for his intelligence. Through poorly-explained means, he becomes one of the forest's differently-sized and mystical natives. He learns to interact with the environment, falls in love with the first [[Fan Service|fanservicey]] native girl he meets, rides their flying mounts, and finally decides to stop the exploitation of his newfound people. After single-handedly destroying one of the corporation's terrible machines (which is much, much larger than himself), he rallies the natives, drives off the humans trying to exploit the natural resources, and uses the power of the forest itself (channeled by the natives) to [[Earn Your Happy Ending|secure his victory.]] The audience learns an [[Anvilicious|anviliciouslyanvilicious]]ly [[Green Aesop]].
** ''[[Avatar (film)|Avatar]]'', or ''[[Fern Gully|Ferngully: The Last Rainforest]]''?
* A young man goes into hibernation, and when he wakes up, he is in the distant future. This young man is a bit of a slob who likes to drink beer and is usually referred to by his last name. He becomes friends with a robot who likes to watch a robot-themed soap opera. He is in love with a woman who is smarter than he is. He has lots of adventures travelling through space, and he is somehow his own ancestor. 
Line 51:
** ''[[Mass Effect]]'', or ''[[Babylon 5]]''?
** Also, both sets of representatives eventually employ an elite security organization that's above the law, and only accountable to the person/persons at the very top of said station's [[The Federation]] (SPECTRE's and Rangers).
* A black-haired, green-eyed boy with a miserable home life is approached by a mythological being and informed that he himself is no mere human, which explains the strange things that have happened to him up until that point. He is sent to an institution created especially for the purpose of teaching children like him how to use their supernatural powers. Features of the institution include magical beings as servants and competition between different factions among the students. In time the protagonist learns that even among his peers, he is special--hespecial—he is the subject of a prophecy concerning a [[Dark Lord]] who is gradually regaining strength and followers after a crippling defeat some time ago. Our hero and his two best friends--afriends—a wisecracking [[Big Eater]] and a brainy girl with whom the protagonist shares [[UST]]--have—have several encounters with said [[Dark Lord]] and/or his minions over the course of the series, culminating in an all-out war between the forces of supernatural good and supernatural evil.
** ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]'', right? Are you sure it's not ''[[Percy Jackson and The Olympians]]''?
* This [[Darker and Edgier]] installment begins with the main hero of the story in heaven after having fallen to his/her death near the end of the previous arc. He/She comes back wrong before getting better. Meanwhile, his/her powerful wizard ally becomes obsessed with increasing hir magical power, and, in a [[Kick the Dog]] moment, callously disintegrates a [[Smug Snake]] villain who had themselves just crossed the [[Moral Event Horizon]] by murdering a likeable supporting character. Said wizard also undergoes a power upgrade combined with a darker, evil new look after hir loved ones are threatened and begins the next arc back to normal but still trying to atone for and deal with what (s)he did during hir flirtation with evil. 
Line 63:
* A painfully average young man meets an eccentric, [[Blithe Spirit|blithe, spirited]], unrestrainable [[Strange Girl]] who violates all rules of common etiquette, propriety, and modesty...and he's inexplicably attracted to her in some bizarre, frightened way. Despite the danger/folly of associating with her, he can't stay away, no matter how uncomfortable her strange habits, such as her history of serial dating, make him.
** ''[[Daisy Miller]]'' or ''[[Haruhi Suzumiya|Suzumiya Haruhi No Yuutsu]]''?
* A group of rebels fighting against the oppressive regime of an immortal godlike being, is led by a [[Badass]] who mentors a younger, less confident character for the first third of the story, only to have a [[Dying Moment of Awesome]] leading to the rebellion's first victory. The real hero of the story steps forward, and inspired by their [[Love Interest]] and their friends, defeats the [[Big Bad]]. The heroes establish a democratic state and live in peace briefly, only for it all to collapse into anarchy when it's revealed that the previous villain was only protecting them from the embodiment of entropy and despair. Following numerous reveals, epic cosmic battles, and [[Heroic Sacrifice|Heroic Sacrifices]]s, the heroes defeat the great evil and return to live in peace, except for [[The Hero]] and their love interest, who do not get such happy endings. 
** ''[[Mistborn]]'' or ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]''?
* [http://www.cracked.com/funny-4445-home-alone/ This] [[Cracked.com]] article proves that ''[[Home Alone]]'' and ''[[Die Hard]]'' are the same movie.
Line 83:
** ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]'' or ''[[Brandy and Mr. Whiskers]]''?
* Our hero is a sensitive, if rather passive, young man, living in a dystopic society. One of his parents has been notably absent from his life, while the other one is manipulative and controlling. Due to the influence of said parent, he is forced into an uncaring social system that devastates his sense of self-worth and leads him to commit soul-destroying actions. A potential love interest offers temporary relief, but communication problems surface, and the characters drift apart, unable to overcome external pressures and their own insecurities. Under great stress, the protagonist withdraws to the safety of his own mind, walling himself off totally from the world. A [[Mind Screw]] sequence drenched in [[Nightmare Fuel]] (and loads of [[Soundtrack Dissonance]]) results. In the end, however, there is the briefest suggestion that things may be better in the future. [[Gainax Ending|Or not]].
** Now tell me -- isme—is this ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''? ''[[The Wall|Pink Floyd's The Wall]]''? Or ''[[Brazil (film)|Brazil]]''?
* (Admittedly, part of this is probably a [[Shout-Out]]). A man with prodigious powers of illusion and trickery is prohibited from entering the United States, though he dearly wishes to, referring to it as "going home." Meanwhile, a younger man's father has just died in Australia, leaving behind unresolved issues in their relationship, though they were close enough that the son has taken up his father's profession. The son takes his father's body on a flight from Sydney to LAX for the funeral. Once over the ocean, though, the son becomes ensnared in the illusionist's scheme. He's subjected to a series of surreal experiences, culminating in a final reconciliation with his father. Along the way, he's followed by a mysterious series of six numbers, and ends up having to enter them into a device, without ever really understanding what's going on. On the other side of the fourth wall, the audience is [[The Untwist|surprised]] by the final revelation that, though parts of the story were illusions, the whole thing did not turn out to be a dream (that we know of, anyway). On the other hand, since the father and son's last name refers to an ancient profession associated with Jesus's apostles, maybe [[Everybody Is Jesus in Purgatory]].
** Wait, whose subconscious are we going through exactly? [[Inception|Robert Fischer]]'s or [[Lost|Jack Shephard]]'s?
Line 98:
* [[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.
** [[Twilight (novel)|Edward and Bella]] or [[Durarara!!|Celty and Shinra]]?
* Despite being a principal character in the story, this teenage boy takes the [[Emo Teen]] stereotype and moves it [[Up to Eleven]] -- he—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 -- andenough—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]]?
* A man and his wife become the emperor and empress of [[The Empire]], they have a son and a daughter, and the wife disappears. Years later the man and his son have a fight and the son decides to leave home. Fast forward a few years later, and the son has joined a rebellion against his dad, while his little sister is still in favor. Towards the end of the series, he finally [[Calling the Old Man Out|confronts said dad]] and {{spoiler|becomes emperor himself despite the expectations of every politically-savvy person in the country.}}
Line 135:
* A man in a long, black coat and his female associate challenge people to possibly deadly games which usually involve blades and makeshift devices. Contestants are briefed on the challenge beforehand and have a few hours to complete the challenge. All the materials required to succeed are available, but they must go to great lengths to acquire them. If they do, there's usually a face-off with their enemies before they can be considered winners. Their games end up being great re-run material for [[Channel 4]].
** This is ''[[Saw]]'', of course. Or is it ''[[Scrapheap Challenge]]''?
* This show is the sequel series to another show, becoming [[Darker and Edgier]] in the process. Many of the concepts from the first show are [[Retcon|Retconned]]ned to come from aliens; for example, the protagonist turns out to have descended from aliens, despite looking human. One of the villians from the first series joins up with the hero, now much older than the first series, and the protagonist's female sidekick, the smartest of the group, acts as [[The Chick|the group's bonding force]]. The female sidekick begins having a romance with a dark, brooding villain who switches sides every so often, while the hero becomes friends with one of the most powerful beings in the universe. One of the main plots in the show includes the heroes journeying from planet to planet to find several parts of a whole item which grants power beyond anyone's comprehension. Also, the show is criticized for having quite a lot of filler. The show, which was aired on [[Cartoon Network]], had a sequel series; whether this is better than the original or not depends on the viewer.
** 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.
Line 153:
* This story begins underground, with a burrowing colony whose philosophy is to dig as often as possible to avoid danger from the outside world. One digger, whose name ends with "-imon", accidentally causes animal-like creatures to attack the colony. He is then exiled from said colony, joining up with a large, boisterous friend. Eventually, the digger meets and rescues a young, innocent child who is related to the [[Big Bad]], left for dead. The digger relays his philosophy to said child and, after a [[Time Skip]], they go off to defeat the [[Big Bad]] and his forces.
** This is ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'', right? Or is it {{spoiler|''[[The Lion King|The Lion King 1 1/2]]''}}?
* The [[Big Bad]] attacks a heroic character, which results in said character getting a scar on the forehead and in the two of them being [[Synchronization|linked mentally]]. This link makes the hero feel unclean and unworthy to be around their friends and it proves to be both useful and dangerous for them both, as they can spy on what their enemies are doing but run the risk of exposing their own secrets and plans to the enemy as well. Eventually, the villain decides it's in his best interest to block the connection, leaving the hero and their companions free to track down and [[Gotta Kill Em All|destroy]] his [[Soul Jar|Soul Jars]]s so they can ultimately destroy him. [[Anyone Can Die]] (but not without getting a [[Dead Guy, Junior]]), and the powers of [[The Power of Love|love]], [[The Power of Friendship|friendship]], and having a cause worth fighting for prove to be more [[Badass]] than the forces of evil. Religious allegory abounds.
** ''[[Dracula (novel)|Dracula]]'' or ''[[Harry Potter]]''?
* Let's see...four person main cast, but [[Loads and Loads of Characters]] among the guest stars, including politicians, alien ambassadors, allies and a large [[Rogues Gallery]]. [[The Hero|The field commander]] is borderline suicidal and lost his family due to tragedy. [[The Chick]] is a scientist who likely has the most common sense, but is still a trained fighter. [[The Smart Guy|There's a Ph.D.]] who signed on reluctantly, is grossly underpowered compared to his teammates, but can be really dangerous if pushed. And a [[The Big Guy|walking tank bred to be a fighter]] who is the only non-human crew. The commander back home has the unenviable task of putting up with both the team's antics and the crooked politicians trying to shut the project down. 
Line 197:
* A slacker with a guitar tries to impress a girl with oddly coloured hair and rollerblades by facing a gauntlet of enemies headed by shadowy, yet charismatic man. Along the way, he gains an acoustic theme about his love, a realization about what he's fighting for, and a serious self-confidence boost by the final boss. While treated favorably by critics, it wasn't too profitable.
** ''[[Scott Pilgrim]]'' or ''[[Gitaroo Man]]''?
* A boy who had his mother [[Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence|go to a different plane of existence]] when he was young grows up to be a [[Magnificent Bastard]] [[Messianic Archetype]] who controls his own army and confront his [[Magnificent Bastard]] father who abandoned him and is planning [[Instrumentality]]. One of his [[Love Interest|Love Interests]]s is a [[Tsundere]] [[Heroes Want Redheads|red-head]] with a red [[Humongous Mecha]], and the other is a [[Deadpan Snarker]] [[You Gotta Have Blue Hair|exotic-haired]] [[Mysterious Waif|girl with mysterious origins]]. He also confronts a secret society of people with special abilites like his own and his rival is a white-haired boy.
** ''[[Code Geass]]'' or ''[[Shinji and Warhammer40K|Shinji and Warhammer 40 K]]''?
* A group of British siblings [[Blitz Evacuees|sent to live in the country during World War Two]] discover magical secrets in the house where they are staying. There's a witch who intends to use her spells to win a war, and a world inhabited by talking animals with a lion as their king, and a climactic battle between good and evil, with swords and magic both in heavy use.
Line 227:
* This story is about aliens that come to Earth. They're here to prevent humans from eventually developing technology that will destroy the universe. They give a [[Hannibal Lecture]] to the humans when they meet face-to-face, and the encounter ends with the aliens being defeated. Whether or not the universe is still doomed is left to the viewer's imagination.
** ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'' or ''[[Plan 9 from Outer Space]]?''
* A webcomic about [[Anthropomorphic Personification|Anthropomorphic Personifications]]s of countries, centering on a [[Power Trio]] consisting of a scrawny, excitable hedonist with a phobia of being alone, a larger and more level-headed man with whom the first man is in a long-term relationship, and a third character who is reserved, tech-savvy, and something of an outsider to the first two. The comic derives much humor from the inevitable [[Culture Clash]] as the various characters interact, and also from re-interpreting historical events as interpersonal relationships. Most of the fans, though, are in it for the ambiguous--andambiguous—and not so ambiguous--[[Yaoi Fangirls|yaoi]].
** ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' or ''[[Scandinavia and The World]]''?
* The setting -- sevensetting—seven participants are involved in a battle royale. Each one has certain innate advantages and disadvantages -- onedisadvantages—one is bigger and more powerful than the rest, one finds it easy to create a safe zone at the edge of the conflict and influence events from the sidelines, and so on -- buton—but the various skill levels of the participants also have a major impact on their chance of success. What is more, the players tend towards different personalities -- onepersonalities—one is [[Good Is Dumb|stupidly honest]], another suffers from [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder]], and in most scenarios there is one guy who [[Smug Snake|thinks he's hot stuff, but in reality doesn't even quite understand the rules, let alone possesses a good chance of winning]]. In any case, alliances are repeatedly made and broken, long periods of leisurely conversation are followed by scenes of intense action, and although the format points to a [[There Can Be Only One]] ending, it is more than possible for two or more to win by cooperating with each other.
** ''[[Fate/stay night]]''? Or your average game of [[Diplomacy]]?
* This is a comic about a young adult living in a video game-esque world. He fights a variety of people who, in his mind, are out to get him, fighting for what he sees to be his true love. {{spoiler|However, he isn't as perfect as he thinks.}}
Line 263:
* This beloved classic animated movie begins with the birth of the main character, a [[Talking Animal]]. He grows a bit older, meets the female lead, and grows very close to a parent who protects him and tells him about where his life is destined to take him. This parent is killed in a disaster during a series of events that began with the lethal intentions of the main villain (a predatory animal with a wounded eye). The grieving main character runs away, and promptly begins meeting new friends, and is then reunited the female lead, who stresses the threat posed by the villain but is initially ignored by the main character. Eventually, however, he comes to his senses, and he and his friends lead an attack on the villain (who ends up falling to his doom). At last, the hero stands on a rock overlooking the land that is his home. If we also mention that he sees his dead parent in a cloud at one point and remembers what he was taught, and that the supporting cast includes a duo of significantly mismatched size and a flying guy who usually frustrates the main character, then it should be obvious to anyone that this movie is ''The L''...
** ...''[[The Land Before Time|and Before Time]]'' or ...''[[The Lion King|ion King]]''?
* This takes place in a world where the time period and technology level/aesthetic [[Schizo-Tech|don't quite add up.]] The story centers around a [[Dysfunction Junction|dysfunctional]] [[True Companions|yet tight-knit]] team of nine mercenaries. Said mercenaries include: [[The Medic|a medic]]; [[The Engineer|a friendly, easy-going mechanic]]; [[Insistent Terminology|a Professional With Standards]]; [[Scary Black Man|an intimidating black person]]; [[Shell-Shocked Veteran|a soldier who's still stuck on a war that ended long ago]]; someone who's [[Mysterious Past|past is unknown]] because he is secretive; someone who's [[Mysterious Past|past is unknown]] because he/she is [[The Unintelligible|imcomprehensible]]; an [[Genki Guy|enthusiastic]], [[Man Child|somewhat childish]] guy; and a [[The Big Guy|rather large,]] [[Hot-Blooded]] fellow who is [[I Call It Vera|very attached to his guns.]] Oh, and there are [[Nice Hat|Nice Hats]]s aplenty.
** ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'', or ''[[Firefly]]''?
* The [[Affectionate Parody]] of [[Disney Animated Canon|Classic Disney Films]] stars two acquaintances: A fat guy who's main color is green, and a somewhat annoying horse-like animal. Together they go on a huge journey, and have all kinds of strange adventures, including trying to cross a rope bridge but destroying it in the process, at the same time, each one discovering the friend he never had, while the fat green guy is trying to stop some homes from being destroyed. Sometime later in their journey, they encounter a ferocious kitty cat.
Gethbot
Bots
10,856

edits

Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/1245588"