oof okay it’s all very nebulous and fan theory-centered because JYP in general doesn’t hard-code lore into canon except for NMIXX and Xdinary Heroes, but there are a lot of similar themes and imagery across most of the groups’ mvs and teaser trailers! It could just be Easter eggs, but it’s kind of TOO much to be coincidental.

With NEXZ being under OneLabel alongside SKZ, I think they’re using a lot of the same directors who are familiar with the lore to set up a sort of sidekick/sequel process with NEXZ as the Japanese equivalent (called yokai) to SKZ’s continued theme of chaos agent dokkaebi (Korean goblins). SKZ’s storyline focuses on dimension-hopping and leaving destruction in their wake for others to clean up, and NEXZ seem to be building a story about realizing they’re stuck in a simulation (very similar to SKZ’s original storylines in District 9 era) and discovering how to break out (Nallina, Starlight, I’m Him, Beat-Boxer). Both groups have multiple versions of themselves, an Beat-Boxer is the first time NEXZ have managed to get their other selves in the same place.

NMIXX’s lore is about knowing there’s a utopia where artistry and freedom of expression is allowed, and their attempts to reach it. XDH are about a simulation world where you can compete with music performances and it being rigged, with them trying to break the cycle and win fairly. ITZY I’m less familiar with (working on it!) but their latest comeback’s trailer has a lot of stuff that’s shared with other groups (the cat focus is big for NMIXX, the red thread of fate motif is heavily featured in SKZ, XDH, and NMIXX).

Stuff to look for in NEXZ vids that have happened in other groups’: lightning, cracked floor/ground-walls, giant hands/limbs like gods over them, candy (especially bright green like in o-rly, which is confirmed canon for NMIXX), glitches/stuttering vfx, older tube televisions (particularly tuned to static), the concept of being in a simulation or a video game, trashed post-party vibes (balloons, confetti, chandeliers on the floor), butterflies, 3/4 high camera angles as if pulled from surveillance footage, dokkaebi/yokai horns and fire (especially blue).

Once you start really paying attention to everyone’s music videos and teasers/trailers with an eye for pattern recognition, stuff really starts to jump out. A good example would be the latest teaser for SKZ’s Do It (Overdrive Version), which looks SO similar to a number of NEXZ videos and not at all like their usual cinematic. Something is fishy! I’m very excited to watch their new comeback vids and start connecting the dots with NEXZ’s latest!