History Main / TheyCopiedItSoItSucks

* ''WebAnimation/FiveNightsAtFreddysTheDarkFate'' has been accused of copying ''WebAnimation/FiveNightsAtFreddysTheStories'' due to its identical premise and its characters, especially Toy Bonnie who in this series is essentially a [[DistaffCounterpart Spear Counterpart]] of Toy Chica from ''The Stories''.

* ''Animation/FlowerFairy'' gets some flak since, at least in its first season, it exhibits a number of similarities to ''Anime/CardcaptorSakura'' in its episode formula (a magical girl protagonist and her cute non-human sidekick go around capturing cards/fairies).

* Similar to ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'', ''WesternAnimation/OggyAndTheCockroaches'' got extremely panned on the Internet due to some believing that It was a ''Franchise/TomAndJerry'' rip-off due to the resemblance between the titular characters of their respective series and ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'' due to sharing similar artstyles and slapstick humor.

See also ItsBeenDone and BetterByADifferentName. Related to UsefulNotes/{{Plagiarism}}, which takes this trope to its logical extreme by directly ripping off entire unchanged portions of another work. [[AndThatsTerrible And that's a sucky thing to do]]. Not to be confused with ShoddyKnockoffProduct and TheMockbuster, which is for works which ''do'' copy other works and ''do'' suck.

* When ''Anime/GlitterForce'' was licensed by Netflix, many people saw it as a ''Anime/SailorMoon'' clone because they're both MagicalGirl anime. ''Glitter Force'' is the English version of ''Smile! Pretty Cure'', the ''ninth'' installment of ''Anime/PrettyCure'' franchise.

** Some viewers noticed that ''Film/ManOfSteel'' followed ''Film/BatmanBegins'''s steps way too closely, as it not only imitated said films path for its hero (such as traveling the world to find one's self) but also elements such as the anachronistic order, the WellIntentionedExtremist villain who attacks the hero's home (Gotham/Earth) with a device that alters the environment, the function of Lois Lane and Rachel Dawes and the relationship between the hero and the Government (specially between the trustworthy Gordon/Hardy and the skeptical Loeb/Swanwick). It doesn't help that both films share a screenwriter (David Goyer) and a producer (Christopher Nolan).
** The secondary villain of ''Film/WonderWoman1984'', Barbara Minerva/Cheetah, is a nerd who becomes fixated on the hero, only to be consumed by jealousy and become their enemy once they gain powers—just like Catwoman in ''Film/BatmanReturns'', the Riddler in ''Film/BatmanForever'', Syndrome in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'', Electro in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'' and Killian in ''Film/IronMan3''. Even the against-type casting of Creator/KristenWiig (a comic actor) is similar to Creator/JimCarrey playing the Riddler or Jason Lee playing Syndrome.

* You're bound to see ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' compared to ''Literature/BattleRoyale'' all the time. Many hipsters claim the whole thing is a ripoff that tries and fails to copy ''Battle Royale''. Of course, by this logic, ''Battle Royale'' is just a rip-off of ''The Running Man'', which rips off the Roman Coliseum, which rips off the Labyrinth at Knossos. Creator/StephenKing [[http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20419951_20223443,00.html himself]] acknowledged that the DeadlyGame plot of ''The Hunger Games'' isn't original (citing ''Royale'', ''Running Man'', and another of his books, ''Literature/TheLongWalk''), but that isn't a bad thing.

* Go to any Music/{{Slipknot}} or Music/{{Mushroomhead}} music video on Youtube and you'll often see {{Flame War}}s between fans about which band is better, and about which band ripped the other one off.

* Wrestling/{{Sting}}'s [[ComicBook/TheCrow Crow]] inspired gimmick gets hate from some fans for this reason. His angle with the Wrestling/{{new World order}} was also seen as too similar to Wrestling/TheUndertaker's ([[SevenYearRule then]])old MO.

** Additionally, Team 3D ''legally'' can't call themselves the Dudley Boyz anymore due [[DisneyOwnsThisTrope WWE]] just as they own the rights/names/gimmicks to previous wrestlers (i.e. [[InNameOnly "Fake Diesel," "The Real Double-J."]])

* This trope holds true for even individual aspects of monster-collecting games. See ''VideoGame/DragonQuestMonsters'' -- with its in-depth breeding system -- which released in Japan in 1998, more than a full year prior to ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver''... [[OlderThanTheyThink yet it still catches a lot of flak for copying breeding from]] ''[[OlderThanTheyThink Pokémon]]''. The ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' series had already dabbled in the monster recruiting arts in its [[VideoGame/DragonQuestV fifth]] and [[VideoGame/DragonQuestVI sixth]] installments, though the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS remake of the latter replaced that feature with the ability to learn moves typically used by monsters (the remake of the former on the same system still has the monster recruitment feature, though).

* Several ActionAdventure games are mentioned as being like ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'', in some cases being called ripoffs, like ''VideoGame/{{Alundra}}'', ''VideoGame/IllusionOfGaia'', and even ''VideoGame/BraveFencerMusashi''. And they're RPG-like games that borrow ''very little'' from Zelda. The UsefulNotes/PlayStation4-exclusive (console-wise) ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'' got hit bad by this in ''its own native country'' (China) for being a [[FollowTheLeader clone]] of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''. The HypeBacklash (it is the spotlight of the show) surrounding this got so bad during its announcement in [=ChinaJoy=] 2019 that Chinese Nintendo fans [[FlippingTheBird raised their middle fingers]] to said announcement and one particular angry fan '''smashed a [=PS4=]''' in front of Sony's booth.

* ''VideoGame/LimboOfTheLost'' gets most of its flak for [[UsefulNotes/{{Plagiarism}} stealing copyrighted assets]] from games like ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}'', ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'', ''VideoGame/{{Painkiller}}'', ''VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'' and ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament'', among others. Incredibly, this is largely averted by many reviews: despite the ''literal'' copying, this is often only one of many criticisms of the game's overall perceived quality.

* A meta-example. During the development of ''VideoGame/QuakeII'' and ''VideoGame/{{Unreal}}'', members of Creator/IdSoftware and Creator/EpicGames's teams would often sling mud at each other in their public .plan files, which reached the point of one of Unreal's staff members openly accusing the team at id of stealing ideas from Unreal. His justification? ''"[[http://archive.gamespy.com/articles/june03/dumbestmoments/index2.shtml Unreal has a bald guy and a girl with a ponytail. Quake II has a bald guy and a girl with a ponytail]]."''

* ''VideoGame/RockBand'' fans often claim ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' stole any number of ideas, the most notable one being full band play. The less-informed will argue the opposite, not realizing (or ignoring) that ''Guitar Hero 1'' & ''2'' were made by Harmonix (Forbes gets it wrong in [[http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/0202/052_3.html this article]]). Meanwhile, ''Guitar Hero'' is inspired from ''Guitar Freaks'' in Japan, but that game only had three frets, no hammer-ons, and Konami [[FrivolousLawsuit seemed pretty determined]] [[NoExportForYou to deprive non-Japanese gamers of it]].

* The ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' series gets dismissed as "''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' with demons" quite a bit overseas. Particularly interesting, considering ''[=MegaTen=]'' [[TropeMaker created]] {{Mon}}s gameplay nearly a decade before the first ''Pokemon'' game was even out.

** ''VideoGame/SonicLostWorld'' got even more flak for looking even more like ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'', as its stage design seems to borrow a lot of the gravity gimmicks that ''Galaxy'' had. Even though it's equally likely, if not more so, that the design takes ideas from the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn {{Vaporware}} game ''Sonic X-Treme''.

* The UsefulNotes/WiiU's controller gets some hate for looking too similar to the iPad.

* Don't ''ever'' do [[CausticCritic ranting reviews]] on Website/YouTube, unless you want to be labeled an [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd AVGN]] ripoff. [[FanDumb Even when your topic has NOTHING to do with video games]]. And there are videos on Website/YouTube calling the [=AVGN=] a Creator/{{Seanbaby}} ripoff. This is because Seanbaby predates AVGN, and made fun of NES games for the same reasons. Some of his lines are even almost exactly the same. Also, legions of overzealous fans will call for your blood if you decide to review a game or film that some other critic has also reviewed. Apparently, [[FanDumb no two critics may review the same work EVER.]]

* ''WebAnimation/FiveNightsAtFreddysTheDarkFate'' has been accused of copying ''WebAnimation/FiveNightsAtFreddysTheStories'' due to its identical premise and its characters, especially Toy Bonnie who in this series is essentially a SpearCounterpart of Toy Chica from ''The Stories''.

** Make a microwave show? You're just copying ''WebVideo/IsItAGoodIdeaToMicrowaveThis'', even if you've been microwaving things on Website/YouTube since before "the original and best" got their start in May of 2007.

* Website/YouTube beauty gurus are in a Catch-22. They copy each other so much that people say that all beauty gurus are the same, not just in their topics or what kinds of videos they do, but in their mannerisms down to how they speak, their word choices when describing things, their actions, everything. However, they almost have to do this to get views and subscribers since originality doesn't seem to attract the kind of audience that make up a majority of beauty guru viewers, females between ages 11 and 23. Beauty gurus that have refused to adopt the fake "beauty guru" persona and use/review products they like instead of following trends often get overlooked (even if, for example they do unboxing, review, outfit of the day, and tutorial videos) while you see teenage girls getting thousands of subscribers in months just by copying popular beauty channels, and other girls seeing this and following suit. Despite this, these channels will often get hate comments about copying others.
* ''WebAnimation/TooLoud'', a web cartoon on Website/YouTube made by Dreamworks TV of all people, has been accused of being a ripoff of ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse''... even though the only things they have in common are that one of ''Too Loud'''s main characters bears a striking resemblance to Lincoln Loud, and that of course the web cartoon has "loud" in its name.

* ''WesternAnimation/CoconutFredsFruitSaladIsland'' was hated by many for being a ripoff of ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants''. It doesn't help that [[Creator/RobPaulsen the main character's voice actor]] [[OldShame felt this way as well.]]

* Creator/HannaBarbera gets hit by this trope on the Internet. Mostly by non-fans as to why they "ruined animation". Due to their nature to copy everything, [[SelfPlagiarism including themselves]]. Most of their characters were based on actors from the '50s and '60s, they created so many ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' clones that Creator/{{Boomerang}} ran a block called "Those Meddling Kids". The most JustForFun/{{Egregious}} example that doesn't have to do with Scooby-Doo is ''The Partridge Family 2200 AD'', which is ''WesternAnimation/TheJetsons'' with the Partridge Family in place of the titular family. Which makes sense, because it was originally supposed to be a Jetsons sequel series with the family a few years older but the network bought the show under the demand they substitute the Partridges for the Jetsons.

* ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'' gets a lot of flak by some who feel that it's nothing more than a cheap ripoff of ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' due to similarities between the main characters (a WideEyedIdealist and [[ThePollyanna Pollyanna]] with a FatIdiot [[FatBestFriend Best Friend]] and genius female friend while annoying a {{Jerkass}} who hates him).

* ''WesternAnimation/ScaredySquirrel'' has a number of haters who accuse it of copying ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants''. The reality is that the show is based on a [[Literature/ScaredySquirrel book series of the same name]] (albeit InNameOnly), and the two shows don't really have much in common anyway aside from the characters having vaguely similar personalities.

** ''ComicBook/{{Youngblood}}'' is the remnant of a Comicbook/TeenTitans spin-off Liefeld had created. The character of Shaft is clearly a CaptainErsatz of ComicBook/GreenArrow's sidekick Speedy. That said, Marvel properties also found themselves duplicated in the pages of ''Youngblood'' and it doesn't take much that Cougar is essentially a repaint of [[Characters/MarvelComicsLogan Wolverine]] or that Sentinel is either [[Characters/MarvelComicsTonyStark Iron Man]] or [[Characters/IronManHeroes War Machine]] without the helmet.

** ''ComicBook/{{Youngblood}}'' is the remnant of a Comicbook/TeenTitans spin-off Liefeld had created. The character of Shaft is clearly a CaptainErsatz of ComicBook/GreenArrow's sidekick Speedy. That said, Marvel properties also found themselves duplicated in the pages of ''Youngblood'' and it doesn't take much that Cougar is essentially a repaint of Characters/{{Wolverine|JamesLoganHowlett}} or that Sentinel is either Comicbook/IronMan or [[Characters/IronManHeroes War Machine]] without the helmet.

-->'''Quizmalia''': ...And yes, we are aware that this kind of looks like Rich Berlew's 'The Order of the Stick'. It was an inspiration and a starting point in design. We're just hoping certain fanboys won't attack it simply because it '''looks''' similar.

Compare OlderThanTheyThink. Compare and sometimes contrast with SeinfeldIsUnfunny when the original suffers due to the amount (and sometimes the quality) of similar works released later. Contrast NotSoCheapImitation, when the "copying" work ends up being regarded as superior to its inspiration. Not to be confused with TheyChangedItNowItSucks, where a sequel or an official adaptation changes an aspect of an original work for better or worse. Also not to be confused with ItsTheSameNowItSucks, the polar opposite.

* ''Anime/{{Scryed}}'' is compared to ''ComicBook/XMen'' a ''lot''. Sometimes considered a rip-off entirely and dismissed because of that and more.

* Creator/DreamWorksAnimation was commonly seen this way early on in its history; the worst offenders were ''WesternAnimation/{{Antz}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/SharkTale'', respectively seen as copies of Disney/Pixar's ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'' and ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'' (it didn't help that [[DuelingWorks the former examples came out in the same year]]). Comparisons between ''WesternAnimation/BeeMovie'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'', ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'' and ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' (or ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc''), ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'' (the latter is a Warner Bros. film, of course), and even ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' and ''Franchise/TheIncredibles'' are also common. This eventually faded, however, as [=DreamWorks=] [[GrowingTheBeard developed its own identity]] and shook off its reputation of being a maker of Disney and other animation studios rip-offs, with ''WesternAnimation/{{How to Train Your Dragon|2010}}'' being a SpiritualSuccessor to ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'' (right down to [[Creator/ChrisSanders sharing]] [[Creator/DeanDeblois directors]]). This has shown some signs of coming back with ''WesternAnimation/RubyGillmanTeenageKraken'' being accused of being derivative of ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'' right down to the central family in the former film claiming to be [[CanadaEh Canadian]] whereas that of the latter actually are.

* ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' occasionally had the issue of being compared to ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'' due to the former premiering two years after the former on [[Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} the same network]] and having generally mild similarities (mostly gross-out humor and {{demographically inappropriate humour}}), even though the two were otherwise pretty different (for example, ''Rocko'' did a better job at being subtle in its adult humor and featured much more satire).

* ''WesternAnimation/SindyTheFairyPrincess'' is hated by Franchise/{{Barbie}} fans because the titular character is accused of being a ripoff of Barbie (being a blonde-haired blue-eyed doll who's kind-hearted and sings). The movie itself has many similarities to ''WesternAnimation/BarbieFairytopia'' and it's predecessor films. Even the parent company behind Sindy faced a [[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/sindy-dolls-up-for-her-court-outing-1562808.html lawsuit]] over it's similarties to Barbie.

* Around Fall 2023, ''The Daily Wire'' announced the release of their new animated children's cartoon, ''WesternAnimation/ChipChilla''. Ever since they posted the preview, the show [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ica8oc9h7TU received flack]] for being near-identical to the popular Australian children's cartoon ''WesternAnimation/{{Bluey}}'', down to the similar character designs and premises (both are about a family of [[AmazingTechnicolorSpecies anthropomorphic, blue animals]]). ''Chip Chilla'' itself has been described as boring and lackluster in comparision to it's Aussie counterpart.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' was widely accused of copying ''Series/BabylonFive'', especially since Creator/JMichaelStraczynski publicly stated that he'd pitched an early version of the series to Paramount.

* The ComicBook/XMen are sometimes called a rip-off of ''Comicbook/DoomPatrol'', as both series feature a group of superpowered "freaks" put together by a man in a wheelchair. However, the X-Men debuted only three months after the Doom Patrol. Some like to argue that the long publishing lead times comics had during that era makes any similarities coincidental but considering the Doom Patrol had obvious similarities to the older Comicbook/FantasticFour, it's just as likely DC decided to crib from Marvel and Marvel cribbed right back.

* Despite good critical reception, ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'' was scoffed at for being a ripoff of the ''Franchise/FantasticFour'' (rather than as it was clearly intended, an [[AffectionateParody affectionate]] [[SatireParodyPastiche pastiche]]), considering three of the family members have the same powers save for Dash. The costumes in the film have also been noted for looking similar to ''WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}}''. In fact, Syndrome himself is said to bear some resemblance to the title character (mostly with the hairstyle). On the other hand, given the negative reception of the ''Fantastic Four'' movies, it is often joked as the best ''Fantastic Four'' movie ever made.

** Italian film ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_grande_(film) Da grande]]'' ("As a Grown-up") came out one year before ''Big'', has exactly the same premise and is said to have been the inspiration for it.

** [[Film/ANewHope The original film]] is Creator/AkiraKurosawa's ''Film/TheHiddenFortress'' set in space instead of feudal Japan. Lucas is pretty up front about this (which is smart—if you've seen both, it's so evident that any attempt to deny it would be an obvious lie).

* Adult series ''WesternAnimation/UglyAmericans'' has sometimes been accused of being ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' but with demons and monsters instead of aliens and robots. Both are set in an alternative version of New York and star a fish-out-of-water human main character who adapts soon enough to the bizarre new world, and who also has an inhuman girlfriend and best buddy. Though Mark Lilly (the protagonist) is a white collar worker instead of a delivery boy and is smarter and more driven and cynical than Fry.

* ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'' gets a lot of hate for copying mechanics from its competitors, though this has since cooled off in recent years. ''VideoGame/PlayerunknownsBattlegrounds'' fans ''and'' the developers accused the game of being a rip-off since it too is a 100 player BattleRoyale game, though even Epic Games themselves fully admitted that the "Battle Royale" mode was wholly inspired by that game. Likewise, ''Apex Legends'' fans weren't too pleased when the game added a ping system and a teammate respawn mechanic just a month after the release of their game (the former Ping system would also be integrated in games like ''[[VideoGame/CounterStrike CS:GO]]'' not long after either). It's also compared to ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', due to both being free-to-play multiplayer shooters with goofy humor and more colorful graphics.

* ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'' gets a lot of hate for copying mechanics from its competitors. ''VideoGame/PlayerunknownsBattlegrounds'' fans ''and'' the developers accused the game of being a rip-off since it too is a 100 player battle royale game and Epic Games admitted that the mode was inspired by that game. Likewise, ''Apex Legends'' fans weren't too pleased when the game added a ping system and teammate respawn mechanic just a month after the release of their game. It also occasionally has the issue of being compared to ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', due to both being free-to-play multiplayer shooters with goofy humor and more colorful graphics.

* The Creator/RobinWilliams movie ''Film/{{Jack|1996}}'' was accused of ripping off ''Big'' as well. This was mostly by people who never saw the actual movie, [[NeverTrustATrailer just the trailers]]. ''Big'' was a comedy about a kid becoming an adult through magic, ''Jack'' was a ''TearJerker'' about a kid who aged very rapidly because of a disorder.

* ''[[VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony Danganronpa V3]]'' follows along with the same structure for murder cases as the first two games, with [[spoiler:an important or easily dislikable character getting killed, someone killing another due to an important connection to a past life, two victims on opposite ends of the sliding scale of silly and serious, a sacrifice pact to save the remainder of the students, and a murder that establishes how violently the mastermind wants to battle against the remainder of the participants with main characters becoming the blackened and the victim. ''V3'''s final battle is also the same, as the protagonist works with everyone else to defy the mastermind and survive as a remainder in spite of the circumstances the mastermind has positioned them in; the reveal of the environment being a ''Truman Show'' copy having confusing execution enforced those who were already disappointed by the repeated formula and never wanted to associate themselves with ''Danganronpa'' ever again]]. Reception from the formula being done a third time included people calling the story "dull" and the formula "generic," despite it actually being completely unique to ''Danganronpa'''s forte.

* Devin Grayson's ''ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}'' arc known as "Nightwing: Alone". Or—as its detractors call it—''[[ComicBook/DaredevilBornAgain Born Again 2:]] [[OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo Electric Boogaloo]]''. Not that lifting ''Born Again'' wholesale in and of itself was the problem. It was that, possibly save Superman himself, Nightwing was the least-suited A-list character in the DCU to do that kind of storyline, and Grayson did not adjust the story at all to account for that. For instance, Kingpin {{expy}} [[BigBad Blockbuster]] threatened to destroy all of Dick's loved ones. Those loved ones included [[Characters/TeenTitansStarfire Starfire]], a FlyingBrick who cold turn Blockbuster into dog food and ''Characters/{{Batman|TheCharacter}} himself.''

* ''WebAnimation/FiveNightsAtFreddysTheDarkFate'' been accused of copying ''WebAnimation/FiveNightsAtFreddysTheStories'' due to its identical premise and its characters, especially Toy Bonnie who in this series is essentially a SpearCounterpart of Toy Chica from ''The Stories''.