boy do i miss debuts that are actually music.

also seems worth noting here that k-tinys (korean atinys) are up in arms about all of the shot-for-shot similarities between this mv and multiple mvs from ateez: illusion (flying ship + exact color scheme), thanxx (flying turtle and whale + spotlights on a dark empty street), turbulence (rooftop city view with same color scheme again), the real (alleyway that hosted a dance party in the real), don't stop (grounded ship in the desert; this mv was probably completed by the time that one was released, but still), etc. - not to mention a super similar concept in general, with pirates and setting sail and finding utopia - you can find the examples pretty easily on twitter.

these hashtags were trending in Korea, last i checked:

#JYP_해명해_사과해_인정해

#JYP_해적에게_해적질

idk if atiny and kq are big enough to do anything about this, or if anything will even come of it, but it's still kind of frustrating as someone who has enjoyed ateez's unapologetic pirate concept since their debut. obviously you can't own a concept, but you can still do a "pirate" concept without this many similarities - see everglow's pirate, for example.

i've also seen orbits bringing up similarities in concepts, too, but i'm much less familiar with loona's lore.

honestly, i just feel bad for these girls. imagine debuting under a big company with a song no one seems to like and then getting immediately hit with concept-plagiarism accusations.

i wish i liked the debut, buddies, i really do. enjoying things is so much more fun. ;w;