In his latest upload on Monday, renowned YouTuber PewDiePie called the hit show “Squid Game” an “anime rip-off”.
Strong opinions: In the video, the 31-year-old Swedish star, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, compared the South Korean series to Japanese shows that share a similar concept, such as “Kaiji” and “Liar Game.”
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- While playing a re-creation of “Squid Game” on “Roblox,” PewDiePie shared his thoughts on the popular South Korean show.
- “Why is no one talking about how ‘Squid Game’ is ripping off all these animes?” he asked. “Like ‘Kaiji’ and ‘Liar Game,’ ain’t nothing new! Right?!”
- The YouTuber also finds issue with Gi-hun, the show’s protagonist. In comparison with “Squid Game,” he claims that “what was fun about those [Japanese] shows was the fact that the protagonist was actually kind of smart.”
- Despite his thoughts so far, he admits to not finishing the show yet: “I don’t know how it changes. I’ve only watched a few episodes of ‘Squid Game.’”
Becoming #1: “Squid Game,” directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, is now on track to becoming the biggest show in Netflix’s history, NextShark previously reported. The K-drama thriller currently occupies one of the top two spots in more than 70 other countries and territories’ Netflix platforms.
- In an online roundtable interview with Netflix Korea last week, Hwang credited the show’s success to its simultaneous worldwide release, calling the move “a great advantage.” He also said it was a “great decision to work with Netflix” for the show.
- Jung Duk-hyun, a South Korean cultural critic, surmised that the show’s surge in popularity was due to its critical statement on society and how the show succeeds in balancing out the “intricacies of cultural differences against global issues.”
- “Though the specific Korean childhood games presented in the story may be unfamiliar to global viewers, the series managed to present the universal issues of capitalism and an ever-competitive society in a way that’s easy to understand,” Jung added.
Featured Image via PewDiePie
