(Ecns.cn) – Striking similarities between an upcoming Chinese animated television series called High-speed Rail Hero and the 1997-2000 Japanese Hikarian animated series called Lightning Attack Express drew fire in the domestic animation industry again before the seemingly much-anticipated television series has even officially aired.
After accusations of plagiarism triggered by the two domestically-made animated works Big Mouth Dudu and Windows to the Soul, the series High-speed Rail Hero is now also being seen as a rip-off.
Striking similarities
A Chinese animation enthusiast uploaded a 6-minute video clip on the popular vide website Youku.com, comparing the demo for High-speed Rail Hero and an episode of Lighting Attack Express. With careful observations, the video clip showed that not only were the conversations of both very similar, but also were the characters and story lines.
Since Lightning Attack Express was a Japanese anime and television series, the maps that appeared in them were naturally of places in Japan. But in the demo of High-speed Rail Hero, a supposedly-Chinese animation, the maps shown in the former series remained almost without any modifications.
In one shockingly similar scene, a boy's onigiri (rice balls) fall on the floor. Everything about the scene was exactly the same except for the size of the food.
One of the only distinctive differences between the two works was that the backdrop in Lightning Attack Express is Mount Fuji, while it was an ordinary mountain scene in the High-speed Rail Hero.
Audience responses
One keen viewer of the upcoming animated television series made a brief introduction of its story line. He said that High-speed Rail Hero deals with a rescue team that handles disasters on the high-speed trains crisscrossing the world, and the team undergoes physical transformations to respond in times of crisis. Both High-speed Rail Hero and Lightning Attack Express feature trains that transform into super robots to fight enemies.
Many viewers have been shocked by the striking similarities between the two works, especially after watching the 6-minute video clip and finding that even the breakdowns of the shots were almost the same. Among the most shocking scenes were the number of rice balls, the maps of Japan, and the symbol of the sun on their helmets and armors, which seemed to almost be mechanically copied from Lightning Attack Express.
"Even plagiarism should be committed with more dedication. If the animator does not have the guts to change rice balls to baozi (Chinese steamed stuffed bun), then of course it deserves contempt," one animation enthusiast said online, expressing his opinion.
After watching the demo, one viewer said, "It is definitely not plagiarism, since the picture of High-speed Rail Hero is not as good as of the series 13 years ago. What a shame!"
"Not plagiarism but localization"
To clear up audiences' qualms, a person in charge, surnamed Sui, from the Creative Animation Company explained that High-speed Rail Hero has registered its trademark and applied for copyright protection, so the plagiarism claims are false. He reiterated, "The project is unique and unparalleled, as there is no other animated television series themed with high-speed trains."
About the public responses that even the breakdowns of the shots in the two works were almost the same, Sui said it was because the demo was not a finished product, but only a hasty work used for initial planning last year. Even the demo is quite different from the Japanese Lightning Attack Express, because ours is about high-speed trains with the design of a streamlined locomotive, which can achieve speeds of 300km/h to 350km/h. The trains in Lightning Attack Express could not achieve this speed."
Yet, in the demo, the figures on the display screen of the bullet train were only a little bit faster than 200km/h.
"Now we are in the final stage of production. The release of our demo requires at least one month. As to the limited similarities, it is not plagiarism, but localization," said the chief of the television series project.
