Expy Cleanup Thread

Oh, didn't realize it had come up before. Those "examples" are disturbing.

Yeah, I can see what you are saying with Deathstrike. Not totally sure though. If any of the examples fit, he might.

It's kind of iff though. If I understand correctly, Lord Deathstrike was a villain who encountered the comic book Big Hero 6, who are pretty different from the film versions (I imagine because of the complex Marvel character rights issues).

So, you basically have a character in the film who dresses similarly and similarly relies on technology (although different technology), but has a totally different identity and personality.

Hmm...

edited 2nd Mar '15 3:39:59 PM by Hodor2

He doesn't dress that similarly, and a kabuki mask-wearing villain is a pretty obvious opponent for a team of Japanese heroes. I'd still call that a stretch.

Yeah, I'm not totally convinced.

Trying to think if there's been an equivalent case in another adaptation- wherein a character was off limits, and so the adaptation used a similar looking original character instead.

Seriously, look at the discussion for the page. There's also The Vision for Baymax because they're both crime-fighting robots and some more gems.

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(Looks at Discussion page)

Wow, just wow.

Incidentally, I think Baymax is almost the diametric opposite to the Vision (and not sure if there's a trope for this). He's kind of similar to the Robot in Robot and Frank (note, not claiming an expy myself) wherein he's created as a service robot and is very open and untroubled about having no free will or self preservation instinct- although able to be a bit clever in fulfilling the terms of their programming. Basically, it's a way of following Asimov, but without going in the direction of Killer Robot or a Tin Man character (like Vision).

edited 3rd Mar '15 12:06:30 PM by Hodor2

You say "a kabuki mask-wearing villain is a pretty obvious opponent for a team of Japanese heroes" but I personally really can't think of any.

Given the depth of shout outs in the film (they've got a direct reference to Manphibian for crying out loud), there's no way the similarities to Lord Deathstrike would have gone unnoticed. Additionally, it's not like they'd actually call the character Lord Deathstrike anyway.

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I'm not thinking so much about any existing example as I'm just thinking that if you're going to have a masked villain fighting Japanese-themed superheroes, of course his mask is going to be a kabuki mask. And there's no real similarities between the characters otherwise. At most it's a Shout-Out.

edited 23rd Mar '15 1:01:19 PM by nrjxll

Let me put it this way: There's more of Lord Deathstrike recognizable in Yokai than most other characters in their comic versions.

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That might be true. But I think there's still not enough to make him an expy.

In terms of similar looking characters, there's Amon in Legend of Korra (although I tend to suspect he's a riff on V of V For Vendetta). Also, a Spider-Man villain, Mr. Negative, has minions called the Inner Demons who dress in suits and wear Kabuki/Oni masks or something to that effect.

Since (as I understand it) the comic Big Hero 6 did fight Lord Deathstrike, it probably isn't a coincidence that Yokai is visually similar. However, the characters are nothing alike in characterization.

edited 23rd Mar '15 3:04:07 PM by Hodor2

Characters.Chrono Trigger has a really questionable Expy example list:

• Expy: It's not entirely an accurate use of the trope, since Chrono Trigger came first, but several of the main characters have designs similar to characters from Dragon Ball:
  • Crono himself is basically teenaged Goku with red hair and a katana.
  • Lucca is a spitting image for a young Bulma, though the official artwork of her hair depicts her color more like that of Bulma's son, Trunks. There's also some resemblance (mostly the glasses) to Arale.
  • Ayla visually resembles Bad Launch, although her personality is rather different.
  • Marle's outfit is exactly the same as one worn by Bulma in the early stories of Dragon Ball.
  • In the Updated Re-release, Frog's human form is basically Vegeta or Yamcha with green hair, though the hairstyle doesn't match in the ending if you kill Magus.
  • Magus himself arguably mingles aspects of Piccolo, Kibito Kai, and Vegeta.
  • The Lavos Core's first form bears more than a passing resemblance to Imperfect Cell.

I am mainly concerned about the lack of detail.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

Sounds like a super-easy cut right there.

Commented on the discussion page.

Seems like they're mostly discussing how they're visually similar, which isn't surprising since they share an artist.

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I was going to say exactly what nrjxll did. That's directly contrary to the definition of Expy: The Expy must be in the later work.

Never mind that Expy is more than "has a few similarities". I cut it.

edited 26th Mar '15 12:16:56 PM by Madrugada

...if you don’t love you’re dead, and if you do, they’ll kill you for it.

Actually, that's pretty much completely wrong. Chrono Trigger did come out before DBZ finished its original run... by like a month.

Every character listed on the expy page came out years before Chrono Trigger.

I still think that they're bad examples, but the "the game came out before Dragon Ball" thing is just... wrong.

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Ok. Didn't know that. They still don't sound like Expies, but that line at least has to go if it's factually untrue.

...if you don’t love you’re dead, and if you do, they’ll kill you for it.

I still easily favor a cut, though. Visual design similarities alone do not make an expy; I don't know when people started thinking that.

New expy thread in YKTTW.

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.

Has this example (Anime & Manga section) been confirmed at all?

• Chiyuri Kurashima from Accel World is this from Orihime Inoue of Bleach. Both are Genki Girl, shown to be the love interest of the main character even though he chooses the Dark Is Not Evil girl, have healing abilities, and pretend to defect to the enemy to get power upgrades. They're also voiced by Stephanie Sheh, and when you think about it, it makes sense.

I don't know Accel World at all, but it's not an accurate description of Orihime or Bleach. She isn't a true Genki Girl (more The Pollyanna), and female healers in love with the main character is almost sitting on chairs. The main character does not have a love interest (either Orihime or any Dark Is Not Evil girl) and Orihime has never done what the spoiler tags state.

Is there anyone who knows both works who can take a look at whether it should be removed or just need a better write-up?

If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.

If the information is outright incorrect, it should just be removed.

Yeah, that Bleach information is just... wrong. Axe that.

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Okay, I've removed it from the page.

I've removed the example from the Accel World trope/character pages as well.

edited 19th Jun '15 3:43:38 PM by Wyldchyld

If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.

IMHO, the WA subpage for Expy has some terrible examples listed. To wit:

• "Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja is a ninja version of The Mask." No context.
• "Spongebob and Squidward have elements of Ren and Stimpy to their personalities. Patrick is possibly like Sven then. " Uhhh, not only did Stephen Hillenburg not work on R&S, but similar personalities alone do not an expy make.
• "Ever since Rosie's debut in the Thomas the Tank Engine series, her and the titular character bear a striking similarity to that of Sonic the Hedgehog and Amy Rose as far as the Pink Girl, Blue Boy trope is concerned. Both male characters are blue and are often annoyed with the clingy respective female characters in pink." & "Curiously the one sided Pink Girl, Blue Boy infatuation was seen even earlier with The Bluffers characters Blossom and Zip, who predate both shows." I seriously doubt that this is a valid example, especially considering Sonic was originally a game series created by Japanese men.
• " Codename: Kids Next Door: Numbuh One is pretty much a ten-year-old Captain Jean-Luc Picard." & "Fans have also noted his similarities with Stewie. '' I don't think either of these are valid examples, particularly the latter, as Family Guy wasn't too popular back when this show was still running.

^ Most of the Disney example (too long to quote here): Again, two characters having similar personalities does not an expy make. I do think the Jungle Book/Robin Hood example is valid, though, due to all the copy-pasting going on that movie.

I'll check the other subpages later.

On the Anime/Manga subpage:

• CLANNAD example (too long to quote): So a company likes to use the same character archetypes. So what? That’s not an expy. And the Lucky Star information is irrelevant & wrong, considering the development of CLANNAD started way back in 2001.
• “Mitsuka-sensei from Dear S is a direct Expy of Shikijo-sensei, almost to the point of ripoff status, as they share the same English voice actress. Ren is an obvious expy of most of the persocoms from Chobits, but more specifically, Chii." & “Speaking of Dear S, Junpei from Nyan Koi! is very reminiscent of Takeya.” I’m pretty sure that all of this is not valid, and just fan-reaching on similar personalities.
• “Yukiteru from Future Diary shares a number of character traits with Shinji, especially in the beginning. Timid and lonely but unable to connect with the people around them even if they really want to and are forced to fight even though they really don't want to. Both seem to want their father back in their lives, but both end up betrayed. The main difference seems to be Yukiteru has his mother and Yuno. The last of which is a mixed blessing to say the least. “ I severely doubt any of this is valid. Most of it is just similar events happening to two different characters.
• “Mutsumi Saburo/Mutsumi Hojo from Keroro Gunsou is kind of a sendup to Kaworu Nagisa from Neon Genesis Evangelion, to the point of having (decorative) wings on his back for his first appearance in the manga, and his "introduction" scene in the anime mirroring Kaworu's reveal as an angel, complete with Beethoven's Ninth Symphony playing in the background. “ I’m pretty sure this is simply meant to be a parody, and nothing else.
• “Stop me if you've heard this premise before: A young, newly-hired male teacher and his busty female co-worker/love interest have to deal with a class of hyperactive students, particularly a "unique" trio of girls whose antics cause no shortage of misunderstandings. This can describe Kodomo No Jikan, Hanamaru Kindergarten, and Mitsudomoe. It's a triple threat of expy-ness!” Three different stories sharing a similar premise does not an expy make, and this trope is supposed to be about characters, not stories.
• Maken-ki! example (again, too long): I doubt any of this is valid. Fighting-based stories tend to have a lot of characters with similar personalities and motivations, due to the nature of the genre. Most of this is just fan reaching.
• “Nina Fortner from Monster is just like Laurie Strode from Halloween. Both are the younger sisters of the Big Bad of the respective works, have Identity Amnesia that made them forget their respective pasts, and being targeted by them." I don’t know anything about Monster, but this is just basic plot stuff, not in any way expy material.

I don’t know enough about the others to comment.

While I'm inclined to think those pages as a whole need a blowtorch taken to them, this definitely should go:

It's within the realm of possibility that one of the two could be correct (I have no knowledge of this show), but it's downright impossible to say a character could be an Expy of Jean-Luc Picard and Stewie Griffin simultaneously, as they have very little in common with each other.