People are different at the core, pal.

Just make something you really love and I promise it'll be unique and special on its own, because you are unique and special.

Just like everyone else.

Nah, don't count yourself out.

There's probably nothing out there that's completely original, but that's fine. Fiction has been around for as long as there have been people, there's no way we haven't thought of pretty much everything so far.

Like I said, just make something for you, put your own spin on it.

Similarities in plot, characters, theme, etc. aren't bad. Those are all just surface level things.

One of my favourite books when I was younger was Dealing with Dragons. It had a lot in common with fairytales -- but that's why I liked it, it had all the setting and character types from fairytales that I liked, but they had different personalities and acted differently, so it was fun and interesting. And it wasn't like I'd never seen a princess who didn't want to marry a prince before... but I liked this princess's character. Similarity to existing things doesn't make a story unoriginal at all.

If somebody reads your story and thinks, "well, it's a lot like [insert movie here], except it did this one really interesting thing and took it in a different direction," that's not a bad thing? That's a very successful story! It means you've managed to resonate with something that other people like, but also bring something new to it. That's really good!
If you obsess over pulling out all the "unoriginal" ideas on the surface, and vetoing any concept that's been done before, it will actually make it harder for you to find a way to do something new and interesting. Because a lot of times, what makes a story unique is that it comes from your point of view and it focuses on the parts that matter to you and it's built on your values and experience. But if you pull out all the ideas that have been explored in other stories before, you're not going to have many ideas left to build on, and then you can't even get to the parts that are unique about your version.

What's more, a lot of this is going to come with practice. A lot of times you need the practice of telling a story that's a little unoriginal in places.

BUT ALL THAT SAID: You can't control how other people respond to your work. You can't stop someone else from thinking you got an idea from somewhere else, and all you can really do is shrug and smile and say "I guess great minds think alike." But if someone thinks your character looks like a character from a popular anime, that doesn't mean you have to change your character; you can go on making your story. When readers notice similarities to something, a lot of times, that doesn't mean anything.

Oh, man, I feel for you! I used to have a very similar problem and I ended up getting nothing done because of it. I agree with everything that Blade Rabbit and Shazzbaa said. I really hope you feel better soon!

EDIT: By the way, the reason I'm not giving you any advice myself is because I'm still struggling with this to some extent and I'm afraid I'll just make you feel worse.

There's millions artists out there - there will be always things that are similar, no matter how hard you try. It's only a fact of whether you stumbled across them already or not.

Thinking that you can do something completely new is a bit silly. You're already borrowing concepts from the real world or other concepts that are already established. The mechanics like gravity, social structures, perception of good and evil etc.

Also studies have shown that people like things that remind them of something they like. And they get sceptical over new concepts and may judge them more critically.
It's more about taking already existing concepts and changing them a bit to something innovative. Right now I'm working on a sci-fi story based on "The sleeping beauty" and the people enjoy it.

@shazzbaa is totally right here; identifying similarities isn't a bad thing at all. Something in your story is always going to remind someone of something else. That's just the nature of the creative landscape and, maybe more than that, human nature. People tend to contextualize things and compare things in a way that allows them to understand and digest them better.

The thing is, you are always going to be telling a different story because your story is informed by your perspective, your life experiences, and the development of your own personal voice and style. Even if you decide to plainly retell a story that someone else wrote -- say for example a play by Shakespeare -- the things you concentrate on and the way you present it will be different because it's you and not Shakespeare.

If you want an excellent example of this, watch the film Clueless. It's a modern adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Emma. They share so many things, but they're both distinctly different from each other. Clueless is an example of how a different storyteller can make the same fundamental story seem like a completely separate tale.

My point in bringing that up is that even when two storytellers tell the same story, they're almost always going to do it in appreciably different ways. But in telling different stories that may tempt readers to compare them, even if similarities exist, you're unlikely to tread the exact same path as they have. It is always worth telling your story. Don't be afraid to be compared to others. It doesn't necessarily mean a thing.

Let me start by saying this... EVERYTHING HAS BEEN DONE oooooohhhh

There is not one single original story out there, everything is a retelling of something else, and that is not a bad thing! You can take the superhero story and 9 out of 10 times all the stories will be the same at the core but what makes them different is how those plots are handled. Take for example Twilight and Interview With the Vampire, both are about vampires BUT one of them is WAY more effective than the other one... and it's NOT Twilight. It really comes down to what you do with the story. Don't worry about being original (as long as you're not plain stealing from someone else) because most likely, you are not original. I would worry about doing something that is good and memorable with your own retelling of the story.

When it comes to character creation I would really try to be original or go for different things (no more pink haired characters PUHLEASE!!) You have to create characters that are memorable, much like your story, but since comics are a visual storytelling medium they are the ones who will sell your story to new readers. Make them visually appealing, and when you have that down you can flesh out their personalities, make people really like them ALWAYS, really like to love them or really like to hate them. Don't make them boring or forgettable even if that is how they're written they have to be memorable. Good example of lovable characters are Fred and George from Harry Potter, a good example of a character people love to hate is Cersei from Game of Thrones, and a good character who is forgettable and boring but still likable and holding his ground is Toby from The Office. I'd say look up some of their scenes on YouTube and see how these characters act and react with the world around them.

TL;DR don't worry about your story not being original, it probably isn't, just work to make it good, focus your energy on writing and creating memorable characters, and don't steal!!

https://youtu.be/3FguTMzvdsc3
I will just leave this here because it's quite relevant to the topic and Thomas is a cutie and his video cheers me up all the time.

I actually like it. There's a couple of comics here that have similarities to my work. And I'm like "cool"

IMO, there's nothing new under the sun. You can probably think of the most creative thing imaginable and find out it's been done before. What separates yourself from that similar aspect of someone's work is how you execute that idea. I believe I've read somewhere, if several people got the same prompt to write about (draw etc) there would be several different interpretations or iterations of said idea.

I will admit that this is something I battle with a lot as well, but I just have to remind myself, I cannot live in fear and if there is something too similar, it's in my creative control to change said similarity. Don't be afraid to try your ideas and form them. Remember you are in control, and creativity cannot leave you unless you let go of it. You will always bring your own experiences, thoughts and views to your work and that's what makes it unique compared to the next artist who is doing their own POV about a creative work.

I hope I've helped a little bit. Good luck.

Two comics with a smiliar plotline will still be massively different as long as the artists did not actually copy each other, and that's bound to happen. Everything has been done, and writing a story just for the sake of being creative rather than actually wanting to write a story usually does not end well.

However I've seen multiple webcomics where the plot & characters are straight up plagiatrism of published works, and that's not the same thing.

I had read mangas that are almost copies but I don't care lol. I meet people that are similar in real life too. I think as long as you don't copy the character on purpose is ok.

There is a difference between similarities and a blatant rip-off.
Your story can have similarities, that's completely okay, but if you keep worrying about it having similarities to other things you could possibly end up butchering your story. Just tell it they way you want to tell it.