There's been some debate from the beginning of the success of BSSM about other mahou shojujo-franchises being "rip offs" or "fakes". However, that's not entirely true. I've said it myself somewhere before, but I'll now quote Woobwoob:
Let us discuss: do you feel that the shows made after SM that follow the "pattern" set by SM? Or is SM your only one and you don't like the genre in general and feel that all the other shows are cheap fakes?
*Note: I tried to fit in as many answers as I could, but I can't stuff everything into the poll, hence the "other" option.
Woobwoob said:
I know I'll be watching both SM and Precure next year. :love: The way I see it, if you like SM and teams of magical girls in general, you'll like Precure. Also any other series that's been called a SM "ripoff" before like Tokyo Mew Mew or Mermaid Melody. They're all different and they're all good. SM basically just started a new genre of magical girl.
*Note: I tried to fit in as many answers as I could, but I can't stuff everything into the poll, hence the "other" option.