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Vividred Operation: Not Quite Starring Nanoha Takamachi and Homura Akemi.

The following have their own pages:

Expy in Anime & Manga.

Others
  • .hack: Justified example (as similar player-characters in actual games often have the same base model), but it doesn't stop the trope from being lampshaded and played with; for example, BlackRose and Mimiru actually argue over this in a SIGN omake episode, accusing the other of being a copycat; in the same episode, Bear is killed by Orca but everyone assumes one is the other. A similar incident occurs in Roots and the G.U. games, where Haseo finds himself being befriended by a character who's nearly identical to a close friend of his, who was PKed and put into a coma. Mistral and Mirelle are an interesting example as Mistral and Mirelle are the same The World character, but Mirelle is played by Mistral's player's four year-old daughter. (She changed the character's name to Mirelle at an event.)
  • Several characters from 20th Century Boys bears many resemblance to the cast from Naoki Urasawa's previous work, Monster.
    • "Friend" to Johan Liebert. Both are demented sociopaths whose outward charms allow them to influence other people's perceptions and actions, even attracting a dedicated cult following. Then, they manage to frame the heroes for their horrific deeds. Their basic character designs are quite similar as well, though one being Caucasian and the other Japanese gives them distinct appearances.
    • Kanna Endo to Anna Liebert. Both women share a familial connection with the main antagonist of their respective works, but although they both share the charisma and determination of their evil relative, they use their abilities for good and even play an active part in hunting down the Big Bads.
  • Gaku Namikiri of Absolute Boyfriend is basically Tasuki from Yuu Watase's earlier work Fushigi Yuugi, reincarnated as a supernatual low-ranking salesman. Though Gaku is slightly less Hot-Blooded, he's got the same Idiot from Osaka tendencies, the same loveably roguish demeanor, the same gift for socially incorrect remarks, and the same ability to show up whenever the plot conveniently needs to be moved along.
  • Area 88: Kitori in the TV series is an expy of Sela Bernard from manga issues that did not make it stateside. Both have long black hair, perform the role of squadette, and serve as Kim's best friend.
  • Attack on Titan:
  • Elfin from Bakugan is very unsubtly based on the title character of Sailor Moon, with the only major difference being that she's a frog-like Bakugan. She has her iconic long, blond twintails and odango hair combo and invokes the Magical Girl trope with her Transformation Sequence taking longer than that of other Bakugans (on a blue shiny background, no less) and uses In the Name of the Moon speech before doing one of Sailor Moon's iconic poses.
    Sun, wind and rain combined! In the Name of the Moon! Behold Aquos/Ventus/Darkus (depending on her chosen attribute) Elfin!
  • In Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata's Bakuman。, several of the main characters physically resemble ones from their previous series Death Note. Moritaka resembles Near, Takagi resembles Light, Kosugi resembles Mikami, Miho resembles Misa, Aiko resembles Kiyomi Takada, and Hiramaru resembles Matsuda. Niizuma's character of Crow also shares some visual traits with Ryuk. Hattori also resembles Ryuk, and both appear to have been based at least partially on a real life Shonen Jump editor.
  • There are a number of these throughout the Battle Spirits franchise:
    • In Battle Spirits Shonen Gekiha Dan, Dan Bashin is one to Toppa Bashin. Both are red-using redheads, and chosen ones who are magnetic heroes. Even their last name is the same. However, in the sequel Brave season, Dan's personality changes sharply enough to make the two less comparable.
      • From the same season, Mai Viole is an expy of Suiren. Aside from aesthetic similarities, they're both idols, and both purple-using Action Girls with a tendency to come off as scary even to their allies.
      • Yuuki Momose is one to J Sawaragi. They are both The Rival, both use white, and both have a little sister they're protective of. Both spend some time working with the villains, but only to further their own objectives. In a milder sense, Yuuki's sister Kajitsu is in a similar position to J's sister, Kyokya.
      • Youth Glynnhorn from the Brave season is aethetically Suzuri 2.0, but personality-wise, there's so much season 1 Dan in him.
      • Also in Brave, Stella Korabelishchikov is an expy of Gekiha Dan's Magisa. The both of them have the same dynamic with Kenzo, and are voiced by Satsuki Yukino.
      • Barone is in the same position as both the afforementioned J and Yuuki, as a white-using rival with a cold and prideful personality.
      • At first glance, Flora seemed to be an expy to Kajitsu, down to having flower motifs, a similar deck and the same seiyuu. This is actually explained when she's revealed to be so similar because she's Kajitsu's Reincarnation.
    • In Battle Spirits Sword Eyes, Bringer is one to Pantera in Gekiha Dan. Both are droids who have trouble understanding human emotions, but bond with the hero. Both are also voiced by Jun'ichi Suwabe.
      • Grenada is one to Gilfam in Brave. Both are queens, both have a close female protector with a relationship full of Les Yay subtext. Both have magical powers. Both are voiced by Michiko Neya.
    • In Battle Spirits Saikyo Ginga Ultimate Zero Miroku is one to Zazie in Brave. The both of them are masked white-haired villains with an alter-ego, and both tend to be massive trolls. Both try to summon an Ophiuchus card and the process involves sacrificing their own supposed allies. Miroku's deck and battle style are even an imitation of Zazie's.
    • Okuni Midoriyama of Battle Spirits Burning Soul is a Distaff Counterpart to Hagakure Shido in Sword Eyes. Both are ditzy green ninjas who use bird decks.
    • Battle Spirits Double Drive has Kengou, who is a palette-swapped Barone, as well as Wabii and Sabii, who are zodiac-using fat twins just like Hide and Hideji in Battle Spirits Heroes.
  • Berserk:
    • Design-wise, Word of God has stated that Guts' physical appearance takes inspiration from a number of sources, namely, characters played by Rutger Hauer, Kenshiro, and Blue. His outfit, meanwhile seems to take inspiration from the title character of one of Miura's previous works, Noa, such as the Badass Cape and Arm Cannon.
    • Griffith very clearly takes inspiration from Ryo Asuka, the bishounen best friend of the hero whose interest in him seems to go beyond a simple friendship, only to tragically end up betraying the hero. His appearance also seems to be based on Oscar François de Jarjayes, and given Miura's love for the manga, it's very likely.
    • Word of God has stated that Serpico was specifically to embody a certain kind of "dream man", and in doing this, specifically took inspiration from André Grandier in writing him.
    • The Godhand are likely based on the Cenobites, being former humans turned demons who can be summoned via an Artifact of Doom, and have an interest in turning humans into monsters. For a specific member, Slan is most likely based on Slaanesh, being a Succubi-themed demon who believes that Sex Is Violence.
    • The Unnamed Female Apostle Guts kills in the opening scene of the manga is likely based on the Wolf Witch, a beautiful woman who transforms into a monster during sex and attempts to devour the hero, only to end up getting killed.
    • The Great Goat is clearly supposed to be based on Baphomet.
  • The Big O's creators previously worked on Batman: The Animated Series, and many characters have clear counterparts in the Batman franchise, but most are changed enough by the change in setting to avoid being true expies. The exception is Norman, the main character's Deadpan Snarker Battle Butler sidekick, who basically is Alfred Pennyworth with the serial numbers filed off.
  • Ciel Phantomhive of Black Butler is incredibly similar to Artemis Fowl, with both characters being rather shrewd and cunning young boys heavily involved in unethical activities.
  • Black Clover:
    • Sylph is one of Tinker Bell. She's nicknamed "Bell", has a sassy personality, and is a small fairy with insect wings who wears a green minidress.
    • Jack the Ripper to Nnoitra Gilga as Tabata has stated that he was inspired by Bleach. Both are similar in appearance with thin builds and medium-length black hair, and delight in combat and bloodshed. They each have a praying mantis motif and powers that let them form scythe blades to fight.
  • Black Lagoon: Hansel and Gretel are a pair of blond-haired, mentally unstable Creepy Twins, the boy wearing a shirt and shorts while the girl wears a long dress, who are hitmen for hire despite their young ages — just like Danny and Demi from The Outfoxies.
  • Buso Renkin: Nobuhiro Watsuki freely admits in the chapter notes that the series protagonist, Kazuki Muto, is a gender-swapped expy of Misao Makimachi from Rurouni Kenshin. In addition, he notes (to his apparent surprise) that one of the minor villains is a thinly recast Enishi, and theorizes that he wanted to give Enishi a happier ending through his expy. Many of the other character bios also admit that they are also expies of characters from that series, such as Tokiko being a Gender Flip of Kenshin (or mostly his "Hitokiri Battousai" mode), Studant Council President Oka Hayasaka is one of Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette Tomoe, and an Alchemist Warrior from later in the series looks like Hiko Seijuro just forgot to shave for a few days.
  • Captain Earth introduced a character named Eiji Arashi in episode 5, who seemed pretty familiar to Studio Bones regulars: With his purple hair and eyes, voiced by Akira Ishida and being one of the main characters' father, he's quite a dead ringer for Head, the Big Bad of Takuya Igarashi, Youji Enokido and Studio Bones's previous work, Star Driver. Heck, even his first name (Eiji) sounds similar to the penname Head has (Reiji) and his criminal record sounds much like what one could have put Head to court for (not that it actually happened...) after the end of Star Driver.
  • Sharnid Elipton from Chrome Shelled Regios is a pretty much a copy of Full Metal Panic!'s Kurz Weber: a sniper, whose skill is matched only by his laid-backness, with long blond hair and a propensity for womanizing.
  • Fuuko Ibuki from CLANNAD is an obvious expy of Ayu Tsukimiya from Kanon, as both of them are from visual novels created by Key/Visual Arts. Both of them are Genki Girls, Cloudcuckoolanders and Older Than They Look. They're also both revealed to be comatose, and they use Astral Projection to interact with the other characters.
  • Claymore:
    • Clare is an almost perfect expy of Ikuno from Angel Densetsu. Down to her behavior. (And she's attracted to Raki/Yuji too). For some added expiness read the episode in which Kitano dreams during math lesson just after reading Claymore, and notice his sword and the oni's eyes. Many also see Clare as a genderswapped Guts, given both characters' Dark And Troubled Pasts, penchant for giant swords and general calling.
    • Cynthia is an expy of Ryoko, the main female lead of Angel Densetsu. Could explain how she's avoided cashing in the numerous death flags she's collected to date.
  • Continuing on from the Gundam listing above, Code Geass has plenty of its own:
    • Lelouch is a main character version of Zechs marquise from Gundam Wing (many say he's a Char clone, but due to Code Geass overtly performing homage to Gundam Wing, that's at best inaccurate), what with both being exiled members of (more or less) royalty, suffering from having their beloved parent murdered, having a sister, planning for revenge, and not allowing that sister to be part of it, or even knowing about it. And when she does find out, they have a showdown, and she gets in his way, etc, etc. They also fight an internal battle between revenge, and wanting to join with the "nice guys" and be a real hero, but the outcomes of the conflict and the betrayals they experience eventually forcing them to play the part of a Genocidal monster and Martyr themselves in order to bring peace to the world.
    • Suzaku at one point was fairly regularly compared to Kira Yamato. He's a brunette with a super mecha, opposed to violence, has a best friend for a Rival, a romance with a pink-haired pacifist princess... The problem with the comparison is Suzaku is frequently lying to himself to excuse his own actions and uses what powers he has to enforce oppression onto others as opposed to fighting against all sides to find better solutions people had blinded themselves to as Kira did, as Suzaku never fought to protect anything. As time as moved on and both CG and Seed been re-evaluated the comparison has died a slow death to bearing only superficial similarities. Comparisons to Suzaku being an Amuro Ray Expy however, have risen immensely; due to renewed analysis of the original Gundam series finding that Amuro fought to maintain an oppressive status quo from an Authoritarian Government which the Colonies (Area's in Code Geass) sought liberation from.
    • Don't forget Kallen: Hot-Blooded hairdo, propensity for tight pilot suits, and her mecha equipped with a Facepalm Of Doom? Definitely inspired by Domon Kasshu. Not to mention her mother and Rain Mikamura share the same voice actress.
      • The grand majority of Code Geass Sidestories focused on other characters inevitably recreate the same protagonist-Deuteragonist-Tritagonist Dynamic seen of Lelouch, Kallen and Suzaku. In Akito the Exiled, this Dynamic is seen of Leila Malcal (Lelouch), Akito Hyuga (Kallen) and Shin Hyuga Shang (Suzaku). In Oz the Reflection, it is Marybell Mel Britannia (a 'stayed with the family' version of Lelouch, even having her own puppetry geass and being brainwashed by their father), Marybell's Knight/Lover Oldrin Zevron (Kallen) and their central foe Orpheus (Suzaku). The case for them being Expies is especially large in Oz, due to Marybell's own grief at the consequences of her actions while brainwashed have her take part in Lelouch's Zero Requiem plan just so Oldrin will kill her.
  • Convenient Semi-Friend: Suuna is obviously inspired by the protagonist of Bocchi the Rock!, another Manga Time Kirara series with a shy, blubbering, insular nervous wreck. Bocchi's anime adaptation aired six months before the Convenient Semi-Friend manga debuted and was an enormous success for Kirara, after the less than stellar reception to some of their contemporary releases, so it seems like they've decided to chase after what works.
  • According to Word of God, Hayashida from Cromartie High School is a teenage version of one of the characters from Kachou Baka Ichidachi, an earlier work by Eiji Nonaka.
  • The three main monster characters from Akira Toriyama's Cowa! share similarities with his Dragon Ball Z characters:
    • Paifu the half-vampire is similar to Goku and the Saiyan in that he turns into a hairy feral beast (a were-koala) whenever he sees a round shape, much like the Saiyan turning into Great Apes thanks to the moon.
    • Arpon the fishman has Piccolo's cocky arrogant attitude and limbs that are stretchy much like the Namekians'.
    • José the ghost is an expy of Majin Buu in that he's a goofy, optimistic rotund character who can shapeshift and is somewhat of a comic relief.
  • Cross Ange's protagonist Ange is Character and Story Arc-wise, according to Series Director Mitsuo Fukada, she is intended to be an expy "daughter" of Lelouch vi Britannia and Kallen Kozuki, with their character traits and even the abilities of the mecha they pilot being an overt crossing of the two. The parallels increase when the commonalities of an incompetent brother (Clovis and Julio), a sister they have a need to protect but inevitably end up at odds with (Nunnally and Sylvia), their lives being shattered by a man playing God (Schneizel and Embryo), and the interpersonal conflicts with their allies are all taken into account. Even the nature of their paramour relationships applies here. Design-wise, she is based on Fate Testarosa from Lyrical Nanoha due to her voice actress Nana Mizuki having previously portrayed the character. This allusion is made greater, as Ange's rival (and later one of her potential love interests) Hilda is voiced by Nanoha herself, Yukari Tamura. She also bears similarities to some of the girls of Gundam SEED; she carries the blonde hair, magenta eyes, and piloting skills of Stella Loussier, the tomboyish attitude and royal heritage relating her to Cagalli Yula Athha, and a Beautiful Singing Voice to match that of Lacus Clyne.
  • Eva Marie Parallels/Cyborg 0015 from Cyborg 009 vs. Devilman is an Expy of Rina Hirokoji from Shotaro Ishinomori's earlier series Blue Zone.
  • Mina Tepes from Dance in the Vampire Bund is an obvious expy of Evangeline from Negima! Magister Negi Magi. They're both blonde vampire girls with hot adult forms, both are very powerful, and both are often shown in skimpy clothing and in various states of undress.
  • Zero Two of DARLING in the FRANXX is another expy of Lum Invader. Both sport horns, fangs and eyeliner. Both are romantically obsessed with a boy who they always call "Darling", who they would go to great lengths to be with. Darling in the Franxx also has some references to Urusei Yatsura. The number 002 is once read as "o-ni"; Lum's alien species is the Oni.
  • The Daughter of Twenty Faces gives us a character known only as "the white-haired demon" so far, who is an expy of Suigintou from Rozen Maiden. She shares Suigintou's long white hair, purple eyes, and psychotic creases under the eyes as well as a jealous, obsessive cruelty towards the main character. While she looks human most of the time, her body is actually some kind of animated marionette, complete with Rozen Maiden-like doll joints.
  • Kiteretsu Daihyakka: All of the five main characters are clearly based on the main Doraemon cast:
    • The roles are switched with Eiichi and Korosuke, with Eiichi being the genius and Korosuke being the dim-witted Butt-Monkey.
    • In Spain, Kiteretsu was retitled "Kiteretsu, Nobita's Smart Cousin", and the dub stated that Eiichi was loosely related to the Nobi family, making it part of a Shared Universe with Doraemon.
  • Max Taylor of the anime series Dinosaur King is very much an Expy of Ash Ketchum. The similarities include their weird hair, both being comical protagonists, yet serious about their fighting, having a pet with lighting attacks and both having the same (English) voice. The connection is helped in that Veronica Taylor uses the exact same voice she used for Ash.
  • This is quite a staple in Hiro Mashima works:
    • Jellal from Fairy Tail not only looks exactly like another magic user, Sieg Hart from Mashima's previous manga Rave Master, he goes under the alias Siegrain for a while and has some spells with the same name.
    • EDENS ZERO has multiple Expies from Fairy Tail, such as Happy down to the name (the difference being that the newer Happy is a robotic cat, not a flying magic cat like the older), Elsie Crimson for Erza Scarlet (being a Space Pirate compared to a Knight in Shining Armor) and finally Justice for Jellal and by extension Sieg Hart (although the Expy status doesn't become obvious until he activates his Ether Gear with his hair color change and eye tattoo forming). A more subtle one is Homura Kogetsu for Kagura Mikazuchi (while not exact design-wise, they're both black-haired Japanese-styled swordswomen who occasionally wears a kimono), which is lampshaded in the crossover Mashima HERO'S when the Fairy Tail cast note the similarities upon hearing Homura's description.
  • In Fist of the North Star, Kenshiro is based on Max Rockatansky, Jagi is based on Lord Humungus, and Zeed is based on Wez.
  • Several characters and mecha from Mamoru Nagano's The Five Star Stories are expies of ones from an anime he had earlier worked on with Yoshiyuki Tomino called Heavy Metal L-Gaim, not the least of which were the Humongous Mecha Junchoon & its pilot Colus VI who are expies of L-Gaim's titular mecha and series protagonist Daba Myroad. Infact, the story arc in the manga focusing on Colus VI retaking his throne is an almost exact retelling of the plot of L-Gaim. Interestingly, L-Gaim features an expy of its own Lilith Fau, a tinkerbell-esque fairy who bears an uncanny resemblance to Cham Huau from a previous Tomino series, Aura Battler Dunbine. They even become best friends in Super Robot Wars 4 and Super Robot Wars Compact.
  • Rei Ryugazaki from Free! resembles Joe Kido from Digimon Adventure, both are blue-haired glasses-wearers, love studying, and prone to passionate rants about things. They both also have a happy-go-lucky sidekick (Nagisa/Gomamon).
  • Gengo Aoi in Freezing is an expy of Gendo Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion. Aside from the similar first name, they are older male relatives to the protagonist (though Gengo is a grandfather while Gendo is a father) who manipulate them for their own ends, they lead organisations that fight Kaiju in defense of humanity, and are devoted to one particular woman.
  • By Word of God Ritsu's mother in Fruits Basket is very much based on a ghost character from one of Natsuki Takaya's earlier works.
  • Because of their many similaries (Stoic Child Soldiers who grow more human after meeting and protecting an Ojou, have Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass goofball Lancers, and pilot Humongous Mecha with dangerous but powerful technology), Sousuke Sagara from Full Metal Panic! is often considered an Expy of Heero Yuy from Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. When the two finally met in Super Robot Wars, their similarities were lampshaded, and Heero actually mentors Sousuke in an attempt to do something about his Fish out of Water-ness. In addition to this, Sousuke shares some chracter stylings from both Sanousuke and Kenshin from Rurouni Kenshin.
  • The protagonists of Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash★Star, Saki and Mai, are pretty clear expies of Nagisa and Honoka from the previous season. Saki and Nagisa are both orange-haired Book Dumb tomboys who love food and play a particular sport (softball for Saki, lacrosse for Nagisa), while Mai and Honoka are both dark-haired, intelligent introverts with a passion for science. They have other minor quirks setting them apart, such as Mai's interest in drawing, and the show gives them further Divergent Character Evolution as it progresses. For the most part, however, they are similar to the point that non-fans often conflate them. This was deliberate on the part of the showrunners, who were testing the waters to see if the Pretty Cure franchise could expand into new territory beyond the tried-and-true Nagisa and Honoka; the next season, Yes! Pretty Cure 5, takes the series in an entirely different direction.
  • Future GPX Cyber Formula: Osamu Sugo/Knight Shoemach. Let's see, he has a Secret Identity, he's a really fast driver, he has a little sister who's in love with the main character, also being the long lost brother of said little sister, he's The Rival of the hero, he has a cool accessory covering his face (his sunglasses), he's really popular with the fans and he drives a white and red machine (in his case a race car)...does this remind you of somebody?
  • While being an In Name Only adaptation with little to tie it back to Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, Gatchaman Crowds has an androgynous villain named "Berg Katse" as the original series had. Both Katses are masters of disguise, although the original was a Gender Bender who otherwise wore elaborate disguises to mimic others, while the newer Katse shapeshifts into his targets by using bodily contact (mostly a kiss) to assume their form. The original Katse was also not an alien, although his newer counterpart is stated to be one (as well as a former Gatchaman gone bad).
    • The teams in both series have a "bad boy" type member named Joe. Joe Asakuranote  is a jaded and hot-blooded race car driver who wants revenge on Galactor for killing his parents (who were revealed to be members that wanted to defect), and that uses feather shuriken as his signature weapon. Crowds has Joe Hibiki, a jaded government employee who has a nihilistic view of the world, acts as a "bad boy" when night falls, and that uses feather darts in a similar manner to the original Joe. He also smokes, as the '90s OVA version of Joe Asakura had. Both Joes have a friend named Alan, and both wear racing gloves (even though the modern one isn't a racer). However, one notable difference is that the original Joe is Sicilian (and the only non-Asian member of the Science Ninja Team), while the one in Crowds is clearly Japanese.
  • The God of High School has Mori Jin, A.K.A Son Wukong.
  • Ghost Hunt - Naru's assistant, Lin Koujo has the same hairstyle and pretty much the same stoic mannerisms as Fruits Basket's Hatori Sohma.
  • GUN×SWORD: Michael Garrett looks a lot like Kira Yamato, they both dislike violence, and they both have sex with a love interest who is a part of an organization they joined in an unorthodox way. When the two meet in a Super Robot Wars game, this tends to be lampshaded. "Stop Fighting!" "No, you stop fighting!"
  • Goldie from Gunsmith Cats is an Expy of Semmerling, one of the villains from the earlier Riding Bean OVA. Both women are Psycho Lesbians with unhealthy predilections for young girls, and even have similar designs.
  • Higurashi: When They Cry: Chie-sensei is an authorized expy of Ciel-senpai, down to the curry, seiyuu and Black Keys (well, wooden T-squares, in her case).
  • Hunter × Hunter: Upon arriving to an unknown land, two main characters run into a female martial artist who puts them through days-long Training from Hell to hone their skills, has trained one of the characters' mentors, and can conceal her true age through manipulation of said martial art. Is this Biscuit or Lisa Lisa? She also draws many parallels with Genkai from Togashi's previous work, Yu Yu Hakusho.
  • JoJo's Bizarre Adventure:
  • Tomoe from Kamisama Kiss has more than a few things in common with Inuyasha. Not only do you have a physical resemblance (both are Little Bit Beastly White-Haired Pretty Boys with Hellish Pupils and Unusual Ears) they also have similar mannerisms (both don't like shoes, both are Deadpan Snarkers and both are Jerks with Hearts of Gold). Then you have the fact that both are forced against their will into being bodyguards and servants to a Type B Tsun Dere Ordinary High-School Student who is afflicted with Chronic Hero Syndrome and both eventually fall in love with said student.
  • Komi Can't Communicate: As shown in flashbacks, Masayoshi Komi during his high school years takes traits from both Toshinari Seki (spending his time in class playing games and building things on the spot) and Sakamoto (being improbably good at everything he does while using items he seems to pull out of nowhere).
  • Kyouran Kazoku Nikki gives us Himemiya Senka, another expy of Suigintou from Rozen Maiden. When first introduced, she shared Suigintou's white hair (intended to resemble silver), unnatural eye color, and creases under the eyes showing her disturbed mentality, and even remarkably reminiscent dress as well as obsessive jealousy and hatred towards a main character. She's even referred to as a "Solitary Doll," though in this case it refers to her replacement role as her family's shared abuse victim. Like Gin, though, you eventually learn to empathize with her a bit once you know her background.
  • Last Exile's creators admit that the character Alex Row was heavily based on Captain Harlock.
  • Little Witch Academia:
    • Akko is an Expy of Simon the Digger, as both characters have two legendary items which are useful against much more bigger foes, they are also both the determinator which helps them becoming stronger as they contain lots of potential and also follow an idol that ends up being a mentor. It's notable that the show worked on is by the same people.
    • Amanda, the rough-and-tumble, fanservice-y tomboy with a bright red streak in her short hair makes her a mirror to Ryuko. It certainly helps that Little Witch Academia was also made by Studio TRIGGER.
    • Wangari is based on Lee Jordan from the Harry Potter franchise, being a black Large-Ham Announcer who provides colorful commentary for her Wizarding School's sporting events. The key difference is that Wangari is a girl.
  • Lost+Brain has Rei Hiyama, a top student, bored with the world who comes upon a power of some kind and uses it to control and kill people in order to create what he considers an Utopia, where his will is the law. Also ends up playing Xanatos Speed Chess against an opposing Chessmaster who is leading the effort to catch him. Very similar to Death Note's Light Yagami.
  • Mischievous Twins: The Tales of St. Clare's: Madeleine is based on Angela Favorleigh from the book, who is also a snobby Alpha Bitch with many admirers, most prominently Allison. Both are also extreme narcissists and attention whores.
  • In Goblin Slayer, Heavy Warrior is a dead ringer for Guts — a daunting warrior with a hidden soft side, charges into battle clad in Scary Impractical Armour with a massive, thick sword in his hands and a face decorated with Rugged Scars and an audacious grin.
  • Nana-sempai of Golden Time dresses and acts exactly (though with more Comedic Sociopathy) like Nana Osaki of Nana.
  • The cast of Lyrical Nanoha is an odd case in which they are expies of not only some characters, but also of Humongous Mecha.
    • Nanoha is long considered to be "Magical Girl RX-78-2 Gundam" as she bears the same color motif, and the franchise exists at it is today because somebody in the staff commented about her design resemblance to the aforementioned mobile suit. This comes full circle when Nanoha gains Blaster Bits as an adult, now making her "Magical Girl RX- 93 Nu Gundam." She's also Amuro Ray's expy, having similar origins and talents,note . Both characters also become legendary figures of their respective universes as time went on.
  • Ozma Lee in Macross Frontier is pretty clearly meant to be the Roy Fokker expy. Older ace pilot, leader of "Skull Squadron" and pilots a Valkyrie with a black and yellow color scheme? He even mentions pineapples before being injured, just as Roy did before he was killed (Though Ozma does not die) This even happens in episode 17 of the series, while Roy Fokker died in episode 18 of the original.
  • Shun Mitaka of Maison Ikkoku is suave, rich, and has a silly uncontrollable phobia. Just like Shutaro Mendou of Rumiko Takahashi's earlier work Urusei Yatsura (they even have the same voice actor).
  • Yui and Takeo Sasaki from Marvel Anime: X-Men are Expies of Moira and Kevin MacTaggert/Proteus from the comics, right down to Yui being a famous researcher and Xavier's old flame and Takeo being Xavier's bastard son, much like Ultimate Proteus.
  • Megalo Box was made to celebrate Tomorrow's Joe's 50th anniversary and re-tells the essential story, updated for a modern audience. Needless to say, most of the major characters are expies of characters from the original show and Megalo Box makes no attempt to even pretend otherwise. For instance, Yukiko Shirato is the reimagined Yoko Shiraki, Nanbu is Danpei, Yuri is Rikishii and Joe is well...Joe.
  • Monster Musume has Centorea Shianus who is often compared to Fate Stay Night's Saber in appearance and general attitude, but a much more blatant expy would be Miia the snake girl, who is based on Lum Invader from Urusei Yatsura. Both Miia and Lum appear one day in the life of a regular average Joe, fall for him and become incredibly clingy and somewhat bitchy towards other girls. Both are sweet and affectionate but still have no problem hurting the object of their affection (by crushing him in her spires or electrocuting him respectively). Both are unable to cook something that is fit for human stomachs (Lum is an alien, Miia has a snake's taste receptors and can't cook). Both have an Unlimited Wardrobe with the most fashionable outfits but spend half of their time half-naked. Both have Cute Little Fangs and pointy ears (which a snake woman logically shouldn't need). Finally, both call their loved one "Darling" in Gratuitous English. One story drawn by another artist even lampshades this by putting Miia in a Lum cosplay.
  • My Hero Academia:
  • Naruto: Tazuna from the Land of Waves arc is one to Kuroda from the 1997 pilot manga. They're both jaded older men who drink a lot. They initially dislike Naruto but grow to be his friend by the end of their arcs.
  • Neon Genesis Evangelion: Asuka is a Distaff Counterpart of Tetsuya Tsurugi from Great Mazinger, sharing a lot of his traits. Ace Pilot? Check. Hot-Blooded? Check. Arrogant? Check. Tsundere? Check. Conveniently an Orphan? Check. Huge abandonment and self-assuredness issues and a need to stand out due to this? Check. Huge amounts of Inferiority Superiority Complex? Check. Breakdown due to their psychological trauma and personality issues? Definitely check. Fight against nine Mass Produced models of their own Mecha? Check.
    • Akise Aru from Future Diary is also very blatantly based on Kaworu. They are both light-haired anime boys with red eyes and a calm demeanor, are both angelic beings with feelings for their dark-haired protagonists, and die of decapitation. And in the anime version, they are both voiced by Akira Ishida with the same tone of voice.
  • One Piece:
    • As Monkey D. Luffy represents what "manliness" meant to Oda as a child, he is heavily based on Son Goku, being a Book Dumb Big Eater but also a Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass.
    • Tony Tony Chopper is one to Rudolph, a reindeer who was exiled from his herd for being different. Interestingly, he's also one to The Incredible Hulk, being a doctor whose powers are based around transforming.
    • The original Seven Warlords of the Sea are this to the Seven Heroes, each one taking inspiration from a different member.
      • Dracule Mihawk is this to Noel, a Master Swordsman with a code of honor.
      • Sir Crocodile is this to Wagnus, a man searching for an ancient weapon that he plans to use to take over a country.
      • Bartholomew Kuma is this to Dantarg, a "tyrant" who modified his body to become stronger.
      • Donquixote Doflamingo is this to Bokhohn, a puppet master with an army of slaves at his bidding.
      • Gecko Moria is this to Kzinssie, a man with the ability to steal souls, and regularly butts heads with the other members of his group.
      • Boa Hancock is this to Rocbouquet, the sole female member of the group who's the queen of a tropical island inhabited entirely by warrior women.
      • Jimbei is this to Subier, a Fish-man who controls the flow of the oceans.
    • Zeff is this to Long John Silver, a peg-legged former pirate turned chef.
    • Don Krieg is one to Raoh, a Social Darwinist with a very similar design. However, Krieg is far less sympathetic than Raoh.
    • Foxy is one to Boyakky having a similarly shaped nose and a Giant Mecha.
    • Doctor Hogback is very obviously one to Dr. Frankenstein, a Mad Doctor who prepares corpses to be revived as zombies.
    • Science Captain Sentomaru heavily resembles the Japanese folk hero, Kintarō.
    • The Pacifista are this to the T-800, being quiet Mecha-Mooks. One of them is even defeated in a similar way to the T-800.
    • Rakuyo of the Whitebeard Pirates has a design very similar to that of Jack Sparrow, though much more muscular.
    • Kingdew of the Whitebeard Pirates bears a great resemblance to He-Man.
    • While he's supposed to be based on Humpty Dumpty, Tamago of the Big Mom Pirates clearly takes after Dr. Eggman in terms of design, with his long legs, egg-shaped body, and mustache.
    • Pekoms of the Big Mom Pirates is likely meant to be based on the mythological tarasque.
    • Lao G of the Donquixote Pirates is basically an evil Master Roshi, even having an ability that makes his body muscular.
    • Admiral Fujitora is this to the title character of Zatoichi, being a blind but dangerous swordsman.
    • Cavendish is one to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a man with a good and evil Split Personality. To drive this even further, Cavendish Square is a location in the novel.
    • Don Chinjao of the Happo Navy seems to be based on Senkaku given his formally drill-like head. One can also make comparisons between him and the King.
    • Ideo's name and design are clearly based on the titular mechs of Space Runaway Ideon.
    • Kaido bears a resemblance to Kiba Daio, with his crew also following a similar animal theme.
    • The Vinsmoke Family resemble two things:
      • They are Super Sentai's Expies first and foremost: They are color-coded, have transformation sequence and enhanced powers from their supersuits. They also have five primary members and their team poses is straight out of Super Sentai.
      • The Vinsmoke children are heavily similar to the Dolls - in that they were specifically bred, trained, altered to become weapons of death by the leader of a powerful organization (Judge, M. Bison), with only one member who is good (Reiju, Cammy). They also underwent psychological alterations; while the Dolls were made fanatically devoted to M. Bison to the point they literally couldn't live without him, the Vinsmoke boys were literally left without empathy with Reiju only being programmed to always follow her father's orders in some capacity, and both parties suffered. To drive the point home, the gloves of the Vinsmokes' raid suits heavily resemble the red gauntlets worn by the Dolls and Cammy who, unlike Reiju, was able to escape the evil man who influenced her to kill people.
    • Charlotte Praline seems to be one to Ariel, a mermaid with a beautiful singing voice, who's often accompanied by Fish-men using instruments.
    • Randolph of the Big Mom Pirates is based on The Velveteen Rabbit a rabbit that was given a soul to turn it into something else, though the outfit it wears seems to be based on The Three Musketeers.
    • Design-wise, Charlotte Brûlée is based on Kuchisake-onna, while her mirror theme and envy of attractive people are taken from the Evil Queen.
    • Charlotte Perospero is this to Willy Wonka, a sharp dressed man with a nice hat who runs a candy factory.
    • Charlotte Katakuri's design seems to be based on Zebra, while the way he predicts others actions and speech is very similar to what Joseph Joestar does. He even shares the voice actor with the latter.
    • "Big News" Morgans, in keeping with Whole Cake Island's Alice Allusion, is this to the dodo, being a giant bird in a nice suit.
    • Queen's clothing, eccentricities, and Stout Strength all make him a very obvious one for Obelix.
    • Daifugo of the Animal Kingdom Pirates is one to Jagi, having a similar mask, clothing style, and the same signature weapon.
    • Raijin and Fuujin, two members of the Orochi Oniwabanshu, are this to Takemikazuchi the Japanese thunder god, as they ride on catfish and carry items Takemikazuchi is associated with on their backs.
  • Doesn't Chuck from Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt remind you of another hyperactive, green dog-like creature? GIR from Invader Zim, anyone?
  • Tsukiko Sagi from Paranoia Agent is heavily based, design- and personality-wise, on Osaka from Azumanga Daioh. It has elements of Take That! as well, since she seems to be Satoshi Kon asking the question, "What would happen if Ayumu Kasuga had to grow up?" (The answer is, at least at first, "Nothing good.")
  • Pokémon: The Series:
    • Ritchie is a expy to Ash (and Red from Pokémon Red and Blue), who also has a few of the same Pokémon as Ash, these being Pikachu, Butterfree, and Charmander/Charmeleon.
    • In the first movie, Dr. Fuji lost his daughter when she was still a child. Devastated by this, he tried to bring her back to life via cloning, exactly like Dr. Tenma from Astro Boy. It's made even more obvious because of Fuji's resemblance to Tenma.
    • James' Victreebel was well-known for its painful shows of affection by biting down on his head. His Cacnea and later Carnivine continued the tradition of James having a Grass-type Pokémon who show affection in a painful manner (Cacnea always hugs James, and it's a cactus Pokémon, and Carnivine is even more of an expy as it is a carnivorous plant Pokémon who bites down on James' head). This behavior eventually showed up in a later Pokemon of his that wasn't a Grass type, the Water/Poison Pokemon known as Mareanie.
    • Jessie's Seviper was an expy of her Arbok, being a Poison-type snake Pokémon and her main battler.
    • In Diamond and Pearl, Ash's Torterra, as a Turtwig, was an expy of his Bulbasaur. They had similar builds and were both introduced as somewhat gruff, but likeable, peacekeepers and protectors of a Pokémon community. Like Bulbasaur, Turtwig also agreed to join Ash if he battled it first.
    • Jessie's Dustox ended up being an expy of Ash's Butterfree, being released to breed with a different-colored member of its species after a tearful goodbye. Jesse's Dustox was female while Ash's Butterfree was male.
    • Dawn's Mamoswine ended up being an expy of Ash's Charizard with its character development. It started out as a happy, obedient Swinub, but once it evolved into Piloswine it suddenly stopped listening to Dawn. It evolved again into Mamoswine only a couple episodes after its first evolution, and continued to be disobedient until getting injured in a later episode where Dawn nursed it back to health and it regained its respect for her.
    • Bianca (in the anime) was easily a girl version of Barry from Diamond and Pearl, in that they are both hyperactive, impatient blondes who serve as recurring rivals to Ash. Ditto Ursula with Harley, in that they are both rude-mannered recurring rivals of the resident girl in Ash's group (Dawn for Ursula, May for Harley).
    • Barry's original role as Dawn's childhood friend wound up being filled by original character Kenny until Barry himself was introduced later on, though he became Ash's rival instead as a result.
    • Trip was kind of a failed expy for Paul due to their similar appearances, obsessions with strength, and abrasive personalities. The difference is, Trip ultimately had about a fraction of Paul's skills and while he wasn't cruel to his Pokémon the way Paul was, the condescending, obnoxious part of his personality made him unlikeable as a character.
    • Ash's Pignite had a similar backstory to Ash's Charizard, being abandoned by a trainer that it initially thought still cared for it until finding out to its horror that said old trainer dumped it the first chance he got because he thought it was too weak. The old trainer then tried to take it back after seeing how strong it was with fake kindness, but got a Flamethrower to the face in response.
    • In XY, Clemont's Chespin is this of Ash's Oshawott. They are both gluttonous troublemakers who occasionally pop out of their PokéBalls on their own and sometimes get a little bit lecherous. They even have similar builds.
  • Ranma ½:
    • Despite the fact that they share little in appearance, Shampoo was a deliberate attempt by Rumiko Takahashi to do a better job with the character of Lum from Urusei Yatsura.
    • Ranma himself is this of Ryuunosuke, again from Urusei Yatsura. Both are strong teenagers that often fight with their abusive fathers and have problems with sexual identity.
    • Nabiki Tendo is suspiciously similar to Akemi from Maison Ikkoku, in their eyes and their seductive, jovial natures.
    • Kuno Tatewaki is also comparable to Shutaro Mendou, also from Urusei Yatsura. Both are absurdly rich (although Mendou shows it a lot more), both always carry a sword, which Ranma/Ataru catches, they also want to kill/defeat the main character, for "stealing" their love.
  • All over the place in Rurouni Kenshin:
    • The Shinsengumi: (Watsuki is a huge Shinsengumi fan) get them in Aoshi (Hijikata Toshizou), Sanosuke (Harada Sanosuke), Soujirou (Okita Souji), Kanryuu (Kanryuusai Takeda), and to some extent Shishio (Serizawa Kamo). Saito Hajime is just right out there.
    • Tomoe and Kamatari are based on Rei Ayanami and Yui Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion.
    • Watsuki is a huge fan of Stan Lee, so there are several Expies of Marvel Comics characters: Jin-E and Shinomori Aoshi are both based on Gambit, Kujiranami Hyōgo on Apocalypse, Yatsume Mumyōi on Venom, Arundo Akamatsu on Omega Red and Sadojima Hōji on Forge.
    • Tsubame Sanjō is based on Hotaru Tomoe/Sailor Saturn from Sailor Moon.
    • Misao is a partial Expy of Kaoru, as Watsuki felt he needed a Genki Girl to lighten the Darker and Edgier Kyoto Arc.
    • In the past before he got burned, Shishio was an Expy of Genjuro Kibagami from Samurai Shodown. You could tell was quite handsome and even had a dressing style similar to him.
    • Watsuki is a big Samurai Shodown fan, frequently writing about it in his manga notes. Kenshin himself even resembles Shizumaru from the same series as well.
  • Sailor Moon's Usagi Tsukino is actually an Expy of her own teammate Minako Aino, since the manga Codename: Sailor V, in which Minako first appears, predates the series; this turned into Expy Coexistence when Minako later made her debut in the Sailor Moon manga. This results in strange similarities with hair color, both having a magical talking cat, and both having a Magitek disguise device. They also have identical-looking parents (both based on the author's), although this was never alluded to in the later series. Oddly enough, Takeuchi stated, that she originally wanted to give Usagi silver hair, to make her less of an Expy. Her publisher, however, told her not to, since a mysterious, calm colour like that would have interfered with her being a Loser Protagonist.
  • Sally the Witch: Sally is a mix of Samantha from Bewitched and Sabrina from Sabrina the Teenage Witch. She has a hairstyle similar to Sabrina's and is a quirky young Cute Witch interested in humans. She gets into trouble like Samantha (and somewhat like Sabrina) and does magic when she blinks her eye (Samantha twitches her nose).
  • Mutsumi Saburo/Mutsumi Hojo from Sgt. Frog 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.
  • Utau Hoshina from Shugo Chara! and Fate Testarossa from the Lyrical Nanoha series share many traits. They are both Dark Magic Girls who aren't actually evil and are doing it for the sake of someone (Precia and Ikuto), both of them have long blonde pigtails, they refuse any peaceful or friendly attempt from the main character and both of them receive a Heel–Face Turn undergoing Defeat Means Friendship. A rather long list of shared traits right? They are also voiced by the same voice actress.
  • Sonic X: Dr. Eggman's robotic henchman, Decoe and Bocoe◊, are almost identical to Epsilon and Omega◊—the lackeys of Dr. Bug from the obscure 1991 series Kinkyu Hasshin Saver Kids. Both shows were animated by Tokyo Movie Shinsha, and Decoe is even voiced by the same voice actor (Ken Yamaguchi) as Epsilon, so this is almost certainly intentional.note 
  • The unnamed husband and his wife in Spotted Flower were created as alternate universe versions of Harunobu Madarame and Saki Kasukabe from Genshiken. Besides having similar appearances, the wife has an ex-boyfriend who is a friend of her husband's, just like Kousaka from Genshiken. The husband also mentions throwing away some S&M DVDs because he could not get into them, which Madarame also does. Since the setting is also similar, fans speculate that they are the same characters at different times.
  • Ermina from The Sword of Paros is a lesbian/transman version of Lady Oscar from The Rose of Versailles. Both have blonde, way hair, both dress like men and prefer riding and fencing than activities considered "feminine". Also, both have fathers that want to force them into an Arranged Marriage, although Ermina's father is more extreme than General Jarjayes (taking into account that he is the king of Paros and desperate for a male heir to the throne, is understandable). Besides, there's Yurias, Ermina's Childhood Friend, who is basically a straight-haired version of Andre; both love the protagonists, although Andre and Oscar become a couple, while Ermina loves Fiona and refuses Yurias. Just to finish, Fiona is obviously inspired on Rosalie, although the latter is blonde and Fiona has dark, curly hair. But both are orphans, poor, fall in love with the protagonists and are very, very dramatic.
  • Masataka Takayanagi from Tenjho Tenge and Kazu from Air Gear. Both are Oh! Great creations, and both are shy and reserved with untapped potential. Also, they both play second fiddle to hot headed leads Soichiro Nagi and Ikki, respectively.
  • Tenrou Sirius the Jaeger has these two examples:
  • Azuma Rin from Isekai Cheat Magician is identical Inoue Ritsuko from Those Who Hunt Elves. Their personalities as tomboys match as their roles are very similar in their Isekai parties, that as they deal with most area of effect cleanup.
  • To Love Ru:
    • Kentaro Yabuki reused both the appearance and the powers of both Kyoko and Eve from Black Cat when designing Magical Flame Kyoko and Golden Darkness.
    • Train Heartnet, the Black Cat, also gets an Expy in the form of a gun wielding killer called Black. He even has a gun that looks very much like Train's gun, Hades. he also seems to be based on Eraser!Train rather than Sweeper!Train. Heck, there is even black cat wandering around in that arc (and it's implied that it actually is Black the assassin)...you know, in case you missed the reference
    • Lala is inspired from Lum of Urusei Yatsura. Both are beautiful alien princesses in love with a human boy. Both have all sorts of inventions that hardly work right or do not work at all. And they both love to cook food that is way too spicy or inedible for humans to eat.
    • Yabuki also reused Eve's mother Tearju Lunatique in the form of Golden Darkness's mother Tearju Lunatique. He didn't even bother changing her name for the new version, and even had her reveal that Eve is Golden Darkness's real name.
  • Midora from Toriko is an expy of major Naruto villain Madara Uchiha. They have very similar names, they both have long hair, both are from the generation before the heroes and are some of the strongest people in their verse, both can copy techniques by seeing them, both are reincarnations of another character (a Gourmet God and Indra Uchiha, respectively), and both run an organization of the world's strongest villains.
  • Berkastel from Umineko: When They Cry is an expy of Rika Furude of sister-series Higurashi: When They Cry. It's hinted and later confirmed by Word of God that they're essentially the same person, but Bernkastel is the totality of all of Rika's past lives that never made it past June of 1983.
  • A teenage boy who attracts ghosts like bees to honey, who mades a magic contract with a mysterious person to get rip of the ghosts but instead he turns into that person's assistant. Are we talking about Hayato from Undertaker Riddle or Watanuki of ×××HOLiC?
  • Yuu in Unlimited Fafnir is an expy of Kamito from Bladedance of Elementalers. Both are child assassin with a supernatural power normally only possessed by girls, which causes them to be placed in an all-girls' school. Additionally, both of them are born with a unique legacy to save the world.
  • UQ Holder!:
    • Chapter 3 introduces a shy girl with short hair named Shinobu, an obvious expy of the character with the same name of Love Hina.
    • And then there is Negima! Magister Negi Magi's Setsuna Sakurazaki expy, Kuroumaru, an easily flustered but overly serious shinmeiryuu master who is ashamed to be less than human and hunts his own kind, has been cast off from his family, and has an androgynous build with a black side ponytail. He even has Ship Tease with a cheerful, careless Konoe, for god's sake!
  • L-Elf from Valvrave the Liberator is like Lelouch from Code Geass. Both are once part of The Empire which they are cast off, joined a rebellion group to take down that group, great strategists, and having a love life who dies from The Empire's plans.
  • Zero from Vampire Knight is like Dante from Devil May Cry. Hunts down other species because of his hatred on them for the loss of his relatives? Check. White-haired? Check. Betrayed by the female lead? Check. Kills the mastermind behind the killing of his relatives? Check. Reconciles with the female lead? Check.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: Fujiwara Yuusuke is very much akin to Bakura Ryou, having lost his family (impiled in both cases to be by an accident, possibly a car crash), and having a definite affinity for the supernatural, along with making some level of a bargain with the final Big Bad.
  • Michiru Kita from Zombie Loan is very similar to Lettuce Midorikawa from Tokyo Mew Mew. Both have glasses and shy personalities, and in the beginning of Zombie Loan, Michiru even has Lettuce's twin braids. Until she chops them off, of course.

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