Is this some kind of Zootopia ripoff?

Oct 26, 2019 11:39 PM

Offline

Aug 2015

27

-Lamp- said:
I could very well be wrong about this but the similarities are just too uncanny.

Look like Disney has another future lawsuit on their hands.....

Kind of yes. I recall something like BAKI saying herself that Beastars wouldn't have existed without Zootopia.

You don't have to be a dick about it.

Oct 26, 2019 11:45 PM

#3

-Mooners-

Offline

Sep 2016

297

Need_for_Steed said:

-Lamp- said:
I could very well be wrong about this but the similarities are just too uncanny.

Look like Disney has another future lawsuit on their hands.....

Kind of yes. I recall something like BAKI saying herself that Beastars wouldn't have existed without Zootopia.

You don't have to be a dick about it.

I'm not. I just thought nobody noticed it until now. I thought it was kind of obvious by now given how popular Zootopia was. I dont actually want a lawsuit I just think its bound to happen at some point.

Oct 26, 2019 11:47 PM

#4

sashimiso

Offline

Oct 2019

563

-Lamp- said:

Need_for_Steed said:

Kind of yes. I recall something like BAKI saying herself that Beastars wouldn't have existed without Zootopia.

You don't have to be a dick about it.

I'm not. I just thought nobody noticed it until now. I thought it was kind of obvious by now given how popular Zootopia was. I dont actually want a lawsuit I just think its bound to happen at some point.

im sure it is plenty obvious to see the similarity in the concept of this "division" between herbivores and carnivores but the application, setting, and content is different.

both have meaningful messages, but from the first 3 episodes of beastars i'll tell you right now that no one is going "wow what a ripoff, police bunny from zootopia did that exact same thing in minute 28:32"

so other than the whole animal thing, and the distinction between herbivores and carnivores, i personally disagree with your statement as i believe that is where the similarities stop.

Oct 26, 2019 11:50 PM

#5

-Mooners-

Offline

Sep 2016

297

aisakafuyumi said:

-Lamp- said:

I'm not. I just thought nobody noticed it until now. I thought it was kind of obvious by now given how popular Zootopia was. I dont actually want a lawsuit I just think its bound to happen at some point.

im sure it is plenty obvious to see the similarity in the concept of this "division" between herbivores and carnivores but the application, setting, and content is different.

both have meaningful messages, but from the first 3 episodes of beastars i'll tell you right now that no one is going "wow what a ripoff, police bunny from zootopia did that exact same thing in minute 28:32"

so other than the whole animal thing, and the distinction between herbivores and carnivores, i personally disagree with your statement as i believe that is where the similarities stop.

I suppose the term ripoff is a bit much since it takes place in a school setting. huh.

Oct 27, 2019 12:39 AM

#6

OldBastard

Offline

Feb 2016

11

Between the stop motion opening and animal instincts being a key component of the story it seems like there's more inspiration coming from Fantastic Mr. Fox than Zootopia.

Oct 27, 2019 12:44 AM

#7

Mayuka

Offline

Jul 2012

48257

lmao this anime is pretty dark so no.

underneath the stars

Oct 27, 2019 3:43 AM

#8

YamiOrion

Offline

Sep 2015

34

Having anthro animals as your main thing in a series/movie ain't that original.
Disney got nothing on this and people should stop thinking that they own everything.
What are they?China?LOL

Oct 27, 2019 3:48 AM

#9

WraithFury

Offline

Oct 2018

179

Yes since Zootopia came first, well even hero academia is a riff off of MCU AND DCU

Oct 27, 2019 4:44 AM

#10

Luxeraph

Offline

Feb 2017

324

WraithFury said:
well even hero academia is a riff off of MCU AND DCU

lol, at least say DC and marvel comics not the films, since hero academia has nothing from the films other than the recent(can you call 10 years recent?) craze for superheroes.

IMO beastars handles it's setting way better than zootopia, so like someone else said this is more of a clone of fantastic mr fox and heck even zootopia is a mr fox ripoff since both the book and film came out way before zootopia was even thought of.

Oct 27, 2019 7:10 AM

#11

removed-user

Offline

Jul 2018

562339

So i'm someone who reads the manga so i know more about Beastars then whats shown so far in the first 3 episodes.

Inspired by Zootopia? Maybe.
They obviously share a similar aspect of carnivores and herbivores living together but thats about it.

Beastars has more character depth then cute bunny wants to be a cop and fox guy is misunderstood, also doing a much better job at showing the intricacies of a carnivore/herbivore society.

Zootopia feels more of a romanticization of a herbivore/carnivore society and Beastars approaches it in a more "realistic" way.

All in all a ripoff would mean that its just a copy paste of Zootopia wich is not the case.

removed-userOct 27, 2019 7:15 AM

Oct 27, 2019 11:49 AM

#12

raccoon-child

Offline

Dec 2008

159

-Lamp- said:
I just thought nobody noticed it until now.

Kind of surreal to read this since the first reaction of literally everyone who didn't read the source material has been 'lmao Japanese Zootopia!!1!11' like it's the funniest and most creative comment you can possibly make about it

Oct 27, 2019 12:06 PM

#13

OrangeClouds

Offline

Nov 2018

478

That's like calling a lemon a rip off of an orange just because they are both citrus.

Oct 27, 2019 12:08 PM

#14

EGOIST

Offline

Oct 2015

4149

implying disney hasn't ripped off other's ideas lmao

Oct 27, 2019 12:21 PM

#15

AkimiXe

Offline

May 2018

8

EGOIST said:
implying disney hasn't ripped off other's ideas lmao

Exactly Kimba...
I mean Simba...

Oct 28, 2019 6:59 AM

#16

Red_Ryu12345

Offline

Aug 2011

569

It's likely got some inspiration from Zootopia but I wouldn't say they are at all a 1:1 rip off of each other.

Beastars is closer to being more PG-13 over Zootopia which is a PG.

There are similarities so far in how the characters are trying to prove they go against their own instincts or perceived prejudices.

Zootopia is playing it up way more from a race angle where are Beastars is looking more into that inner animistic instinct and how it has influenced the characters as a more introspective look.

Both are solid, I want to see where Beastars ends up but it might end up in the same caliber I put Zootopia which is one of Disney's best movies in the past decade.

Not a rip off, just inspired.

https://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=1696289&show=1400#msg53643286

Oct 28, 2019 9:36 AM

#17

DatRandomDude

News Team

YEEHAW

Offline

Nov 2014

9864

-Lamp- said:

I'm not. I just thought nobody noticed it until now.

Man, you're really living under a rock if you think no one thought it looked like Zootopia.

Oct 28, 2019 11:46 AM

#18

Yautja

Offline

Feb 2015

1103

How oblivious do you have to be to think no one else noticed this? It's so ironic. Just looking on the forum for the first episode, Zootopia is mentioned over a dozen times. And besides having anthropomorphic animals & the obvious carnivores & herbivore sub-theme, there's literally no other significant similarities. Least of all enough for a lawsuit that Disney could feasibly win.

Oct 29, 2019 4:43 AM

#19

Mattinator95

Offline

Jan 2018

4863

Confidant said:
So i'm someone who reads the manga so i know more about Beastars then whats shown so far in the first 3 episodes.

Inspired by Zootopia? Maybe.
They obviously share a similar aspect of carnivores and herbivores living together but thats about it.

Beastars has more character depth then cute bunny wants to be a cop and fox guy is misunderstood, also doing a much better job at showing the intricacies of a carnivore/herbivore society.

Zootopia feels more of a romanticization of a herbivore/carnivore society and Beastars approaches it in a more "realistic" way.

All in all a ripoff would mean that its just a copy paste of Zootopia wich is not the case.

Same thing happened with Land of lustorus
And Steven universe .

Its clear LOTL is completely different to SU . Just becouse it has gems init doesn't make it a rip-off

Oct 29, 2019 12:14 PM

#20

abystoma2

Offline

Nov 2013

5500

Not a rip-off, but heavily inspired, yes. Just the setting, not the themes though.

You all need to watch Nami.

Oct 29, 2019 12:29 PM

#21

mar1217

Offline

Apr 2015

252

Inspired ?

Definitely, but since Paru managed to explore other thematics and characterization from a realistic lense that are completely different from it's "counterpart".

Let's say at this point, this kind of thought is more of an introductory catch to get into the show than anything else.

Anyway, if I remember right wasn't Beast Complex (the pilot to Beastars) released before Zootopia did ?
It's more likely that both projects were developed in almost total indifference of each other but ended up with some similarities anyway.

Oct 29, 2019 1:53 PM

#22

crankyfoxinabox

Offline

Oct 2019

4

There is virtually nothing in the manga nor in this adaptaption that even remotely resembles Zootopia. Even then it wouldn't matter. Copyright does not protect "ideas" or "themes" or "Genres", only tangible representations, and even then, very limitedly.
But I'll bite deeper and argue as if it was a valid comparision.
Zootopia is a buddy comedy crime noir about race/crime/policing, almost a direct lift (in terms of themes and "ideas") from BlackSad(anthro crime noir centered on race using animals as psuedo-metaphors) and chinatown(the plot of a missing person's case turning into a exposure of evil machinations of society, albiet with a happy end).
It has infuences of Animal myths and gleefully regurgitates animal stereotypes that are not even remotely accurate. It overdesigned the world(in a very disney fashion) and ultimately loses it's racial metaphor under the weight of all the shit they cut from the 9 drafts of the script.
It's a good movie, for disney.

Beastars is a coming of age/murdermystery/social drama/Romance that uses a literal representation of species as the conflict. It is closer to "My love Story" mixed with tokyo ghoul, than a lazy crime drama with a token bunny cop and a racy fox conman.
It is considerably more violent and sexual than Zootopia, and is a character focused drama with the overarcing drama concerning Legosi solving a murder then getting involved with the stigma of being a "carnivore offender". It shares almost nothing with zootopia in either it's characters, worldbuilding, and design. The animals are more truely Anthro, in that they are like perfect man-animal hybrids, rather than merely upright walking animals(zootopia).

TLDR; No. Nothing about this Story about a wolf/komodo-dragon hybrid ultimately wanting to sex the rabbit and get married to her, has anything remotely to do with Zootopia.
Unless the fact it uses anthropomorphic animals, in which case disney would have to suffer lawsuits from Furries who made entire graphic novels about worlds with "anthros" decades before disney.
You'd be better off asking if Zootopia is not a rippoff of BlackSad, or Fritz the Cat, than beastars.
Just my Opinion.
I Just wish people had better discernment of Stories than "Is X ripping off Disney?"
Considering how much Disney blantantly steals from others it should give people pause before asking these kind of questions.

crankyfoxinaboxOct 29, 2019 3:04 PM

Oct 29, 2019 1:59 PM

#23

crankyfoxinabox

Offline

Oct 2019

4

Red_Ryu12345 said:
It's likely got some inspiration from Zootopia but I wouldn't say they are at all a 1:1 rip off of each other.

Beastars is closer to being more PG-13 over Zootopia which is a PG.

There are similarities so far in how the characters are trying to prove they go against their own instincts or perceived prejudices.

Zootopia is playing it up way more from a race angle where are Beastars is looking more into that inner animistic instinct and how it has influenced the characters as a more introspective look.

Both are solid, I want to see where Beastars ends up but it might end up in the same caliber I put Zootopia which is one of Disney's best movies in the past decade.

Not a rip off, just inspired.

I would consider Beastars to be more TV-MA than PG-13. They deal with ripping a dudes fingers off and eating it in front of him, and "I must see your Penis" "Show me your Penis" later on.
I am not exaggerating.

Oct 30, 2019 11:24 AM

#24

Red_Ryu12345

Offline

Aug 2011

569

crankyfoxinabox said:

Red_Ryu12345 said:
It's likely got some inspiration from Zootopia but I wouldn't say they are at all a 1:1 rip off of each other.

Beastars is closer to being more PG-13 over Zootopia which is a PG.

There are similarities so far in how the characters are trying to prove they go against their own instincts or perceived prejudices.

Zootopia is playing it up way more from a race angle where are Beastars is looking more into that inner animistic instinct and how it has influenced the characters as a more introspective look.

Both are solid, I want to see where Beastars ends up but it might end up in the same caliber I put Zootopia which is one of Disney's best movies in the past decade.

Not a rip off, just inspired.

I would consider Beastars to be more TV-MA than PG-13. They deal with ripping a dudes fingers off and eating it in front of him, and "I must see your Penis" "Show me your Penis" later on.
I am not exaggerating.

Welp never mind then lol

https://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=1696289&show=1400#msg53643286

Oct 30, 2019 11:38 AM

#25

Vhailor

Offline

Feb 2014

3791

If Disney sues this anime, then Japan should sue Disney for shamelessly ripping off Kimba the White Lion with their "first original" animated feature film The Lion King.

Oct 30, 2019 1:30 PM

#26

ramenyst

Offline

Nov 2014

2754

no it's not a ripoff. Beastars is pretty much adult zootopia and is way more mature, darker, and more interesting and action-oriented.

Check out the game "Torn City"! The BEST online text-based multi-player game!
Kidnapping, shoplifting, jailbreak, racing, assassination, auction, hacking, bounty, stocks, own a company, faction wars, write for the newspaper, casino, marriage, traveling, weapons, avatar customization... There's so much to do so come check it out!!!

Oct 30, 2019 2:08 PM

#27

removed-user

Offline

Jul 2018

562339

There's similar aspects to Zootopia, particularly the division part between the carnivores and herbivores and slight bit of discrimination.

However both of these don't have much in common aside from some basis of the characters being anthros and certain similar aspects between the two. It seems like Beastars is trying to be it's own thing despite the similarities.

Oct 31, 2019 8:10 AM

#28

crankyfoxinabox

Offline

Oct 2019

4

Red_Ryu12345 said:

crankyfoxinabox said:

I would consider Beastars to be more TV-MA than PG-13. They deal with ripping a dudes fingers off and eating it in front of him, and "I must see your Penis" "Show me your Penis" later on.
I am not exaggerating.

Welp never mind then lol

It's still good though. My comparison to My Love Story! mixed with Tokyo Ghoul is pretty accurate in terms of the themes/feels the manga, and (thusfar) the anime adaptation has had.
The Anime is excellent. Some of the best animation, staging, and directing I've seen. The CGI is excellent and they avoided that typical japanese CGI animation, with a lot more fluidity and movement.
There is a scene where a bird dude is telling Legosi to go get flowers and they bobbed and tilted the birds head to his cadence of speaking. It was alien but familiar, with the body language and cadence of japanese conversations but animalized because the bird's anatomy was so different.
Anime animation nerds should take notes from orange on how to do "3d Anime".

Oct 31, 2019 10:36 PM

#29

raccoon-child

Offline

Dec 2008

159

crankyfoxinabox said:
There is a scene where a bird dude is telling Legosi to go get flowers and they bobbed and tilted the birds head to his cadence of speaking. It was alien but familiar, with the body language and cadence of japanese conversations but animalized because the bird's anatomy was so different.

Yeah, the body language is so nice in this show. I don't like 3D stuff in general but I appreciate every little thing Orange is doing for the BEASTARS anime. It's very well directed (the only thing I hate is those immersion-breaking, cheesy-ass sequences every time Legosi almost goes feral) and the seiyuu cast is great. I'm actually really enjoying it even though it still breaks my heart that I'll never see Itagaki's manga get the Doukyuusei-like treatment it always deserved.
I love your comments in this thread btw

Nov 1, 2019 1:45 AM

#30

ApawtheCorgiJo

Offline

Jun 2013

3514

DatRandomDude said:

-Lamp- said:

I'm not. I just thought nobody noticed it until now.

Man, you're really living under a rock if you think no one thought it looked like Zootopia.

My thoughts exactly. Does OP really think no one made this comparison like over a hundred times by now?

臭い-

Nov 1, 2019 6:18 AM

#31

B0oze

Offline

Sep 2015

7

Going by that logic Aesop should sue Disney.

Nov 4, 2019 2:57 PM

#32

crankyfoxinabox

Offline

Oct 2019

4

raccoon-child said:

crankyfoxinabox said:
There is a scene where a bird dude is telling Legosi to go get flowers and they bobbed and tilted the birds head to his cadence of speaking. It was alien but familiar, with the body language and cadence of japanese conversations but animalized because the bird's anatomy was so different.

Yeah, the body language is so nice in this show. I don't like 3D stuff in general but I appreciate every little thing Orange is doing for the BEASTARS anime. It's very well directed (the only thing I hate is those immersion-breaking, cheesy-ass sequences every time Legosi almost goes feral) and the seiyuu cast is great. I'm actually really enjoying it even though it still breaks my heart that I'll never see Itagaki's manga get the Doukyuusei-like treatment it always deserved.
I love your comments in this thread btw

Yeah that "RAGE FILLS MY BLOOD" silliness is probably the wrong visual metaphor for them to use. It's not that it's "innaccurate" it's that it feels overdone and cliche. It's a small pet peeve to me, though. I will say that as someone who's gone through the manga several times now, It is extremely faithful. It almost is a 1:1 but the staging and some of the clumsy dialog from the manga was cleaned up to be more impactful.
I also appreciated that they took advantage of the capabilities CGI can have and made it so Fluid. Most of the time I think people hate CGI replacement's because it looks lazy when it is used for "Static Scenes" (I.e Scenes that would have played better with a few handdrawn frames) Which I think they do for the more "Exaggerated" reaction shots.
It's all about a balance. Most people really don't understand just how powerful CGI can be if used correctly, and how much time and money it saves.
Thanks for the compliment BTW!

Nov 5, 2019 5:07 AM

#33

Fabrizio00

Offline

May 2018

893

FloodBasalt said:
If Disney sues this anime, then Japan should sue Disney for shamelessly ripping off Kimba the White Lion with their "first original" animated feature film The Lion King.

Why do people keep thinking The lion King is a rip-off of Simba? it's as stupid as saying this is a rip-off of Zootopia. All of the complains stop making sense when you notice that the story of Simba is it's own thing while The Lion King is based on Hamlet without all the metal at the end. Oh, and Simba never knew his father that was just his skin and the main villain are people while there's no one on The Lion King.

Nov 5, 2019 5:55 AM

#34

Xstasy

Offline

May 2019

3566

No Beastars is like a more darker and mature version of Zootopia.

Nov 5, 2019 5:43 PM

#35

Mayuka

Offline

Jul 2012

48257

Tista said:

Mayuka said:
lmao this anime is pretty dark so no.

>implying Zootopia isn't dark

It isn't. Kids can watch that and not get scarred.

If a kid watches Beastars.. What the fuck lol. There's literally an almost-sex scene in the first few episodes.

underneath the stars

Nov 5, 2019 6:20 PM

#36

catgirI

Offline

Jun 2015

299

as far as im concerned beastars and zootopia where in production at around the same time, and they both also first aired in similar times (the beastars manga has been ongoing since 2016). its just talented furries having similar ideas. its not uncommon for two different pieces of media to explore the same concept in different ways.

and i see comments pointing the similarities between the two literally everywhere, so its not like no one had noticed them lmao

I AM THE ONE CALLED POWER!

ANIME LIST 🩸 MANGA LIST 🩸 CARDS 🩸 CHALLENGES

How foolish and conceited these humans be...

Nov 30, 2019 2:04 AM

#37

Toucanbird

Offline

Mar 2012

2838

Why do people constantly conflate inspiration to be “ripping off?”

Aug 6, 2020 5:45 PM

#38

RedLycanScurge

Offline

Apr 2020

124

Para Itagaki, Creator of Beastars, said she was inspired by Disney and it helped her create the series! (Though Zootopia and Beastars might have been released too close to each other for Zootopia to be a direct influence).

Aug 6, 2020 9:57 PM

#39

TeamDalaiLana

Offline

May 2016

655

Yes and it’s nowhere near as good. Most of the things are hamfisted with none of the nuances Zootopia has.

Down on the West Coast

They got a sayin'

Aug 7, 2020 2:27 AM

#40

cigare

Offline

Jun 2020

2643

The Zootopia hentai to be more precise.

Dec 4, 2020 2:30 AM

#41

davidyodo24

Offline

Oct 2019

7530

Yes you are very wrong about it

Feb 13, 2021 8:29 PM

#42

CrimsonHerring

Offline

Jun 2020

245

Kinda an old thread but I have one the to say, Zootopia 2: electric boogaloo

How am I supposed to decide what to write, I can't choose an anime to watch to save my life, you think I can pick a signature?

Feb 18, 2021 4:58 AM

#43

Dex_Lionhart

Offline

Apr 2016

51

LampxTenor said:
I could very well be wrong about this but the similarities are just too uncanny.

Look like Disney has another future lawsuit on their hands.....

By that logic, MHA is a ripoff of Sky High. What you on mate?

Mar 23, 2021 4:08 PM

#44

Densel_

Offline

Mar 2021

39

It is definitely a rip-off Zootopia, the plot not only gives it away but the characters resemble Zootopia characters in many ways.

Mar 26, 2021 2:34 PM

#45

AidenArchiviste

Offline

Dec 2020

39

No. But like c'mon just because it's about animals acting like humans and stuff doesn't mean it's Zootopia ripoff. The stories are completely different.

Poll: » Beastars Episode 6 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Nov 13, 2019	106	by RGreatDanton »» Jan 24, 12:12 PM
Poll: » Beastars Episode 5 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Nov 6, 2019	117	by RGreatDanton »» Jan 24, 12:02 PM
Poll: » Beastars Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Oct 30, 2019	116	by RGreatDanton »» Jan 24, 11:51 AM
Poll: » Beastars Episode 3 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Oct 23, 2019	96	by RGreatDanton »» Jan 24, 11:39 AM
Poll: » Beastars Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Stark700 - Oct 16, 2019	183	by RGreatDanton »» Jan 24, 11:30 AM

Is this some kind of Zootopia ripoff?

More topics from this board

Poll: » Beastars Episode 6 Discussion ( 1 2 3 )

Poll: » Beastars Episode 5 Discussion ( 1 2 3 )

Poll: » Beastars Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 3 )

Poll: » Beastars Episode 3 Discussion ( 1 2 )

Poll: » Beastars Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 )

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters