Hello!

So these sorts of things do happen. And while it can be scary, there are a few things you might want to keep in mind.

In my time in the writing community, it's totally normal to take the bare bones of an idea or premise and see the similarities between your idea and then see that "hey, wait! this reminds me of something". Just look at the comparisons between Divergent and the Hunger Games. Or, if you were to do a magic school, it might be easy to draw comparisons to Harry Potter, or maybe some other academia-based storylines.

The thing is? Stealing inspiration, then, whether intentional or unintentional, by itself, isn't a bad thing. My advice would be to try and read books based on Eastern-style fantasy if you can, as a first line of defense. I think there was a book (called Steal Like an Artist), and while I can't remember the author off the top of my head, it's mentioned in the book that all artists steal in one way or another. The most important thing, then is to steal from multiple sources if you can.There are two books on my tbr, then, that are based on eastern settings. If you're interested in a recommendation, they would be The Hand of the Sun King by J.T Greathouse and The Pheonix Empress by K Arsenault Rivera. Now, I am not saying you need to copy those books if you don't want to. Those are just two examples which might appeal to you.

Another thing you could do, if it bothers you, would be to try and change small things. You don't have to change the setting. But try changing various things about your characters, and maybe even your plot, if you're interested in something like that. Because sometimes those small differences can mean a lot too.

Another thing I would recommend is to try not to stress about it too much. A lot of the time, when ideas are similar, it can be the execution of the books themselves which set the various stories apart. It's okay to be concerned. But don't stress about it too much that it holds back your progress. Furthermore, we have plenty of other assignments you can use to differentiate your stories from Studio Ghibli.

Lastly, good luck,
Anders