TFA ripped off Star Wars; the overall plot,
It remixed the plot. In STAR WARS the overall plot was to destroy the Death Star; in TFA the overall plot was to find Luke.
Though, after all that it borrowed, it still managed to be an original film, because of it’s design.
No, it seems like one because of it’s design when it wasn’t wholly original.
It took a whole lot from older sources, and then built on them.
One can argue TFA does exactly the same things in a lot of regards. Especially when it comes to scenes like Maz’s Castle or the Han and Kylo Ren confrontation.
You can’t give one specific thing that Star Wars was ripping off, because it wasn’t a ripoff.
Did you see the Dam Busters video I posted?
because straying too much from the original films makes it hardly a SW film, but being close makes it feel unoriginal.
That’s a difficult line to walk across. Even if Episodes VIII and IX are mostly original there will be people who will not like it because they think it doesn’t feel enough like Star Wars. But there’s no way to make everyone happy. Not in this day and age anyway and especially not with the fandom in question.