Jeon Somi’s agency will remove an animated character from the music video of one of her latest songs after viewers accused it of plagiarism.
The video in question comes from the visual accompaniment for the South Korean singer’s single ‘Fast Forward’ – the lead track of her new EP ‘Game Plan’. The track and music video both debuted on Monday (August 7).
Following its release, some viewers have pointed out how the character in the original video resembles the artwork style of Japanese cartoonist, Rumiko Takahashi and her characters illustrated in the manga series Urusei Yatsura (1978-87).
The artist is also most widely recognised for her fantasy romance series, InuYasha, which ran between 1996 and 2008.
In the music video for ‘Fast Forward’, it appears as if the character is meant to resemble the 22-year-old singer, however, many highlighted how it was nearly identical to the artwork on the cover of the first volume for Urusei Yatsura – with the main changes only being to the direction the character is facing and the hairstyle (via Koreaboo).
Now, Somi’s agency, THEBLACKLABEL, has issued a formal apology in light of the accusations of plagiarism, and insisted that they “deeply apologise” for the parallels between the characters.
“We have reviewed the issue as soon as we were made aware of the criticisms that the animation within ‘Fast Forward’ reminds viewers of a character from another animation,” the agency said in a press release yesterday (August 9, via Korea JoongAng Daily).
“We have decided to delete and change the scenes at issue. We will be replacing them as soon as possible, and we will take all measures possible,” it continued. “We deeply apologise for not having taken more care with the work and promise to work more prudently so as not to make the same mistake in the future.”
‘Game Plan’ is Jeon’s first release in two years, following her debut studio album ‘XOXO’ in October 2021. That record features the viral hit single ‘Dumb Dumb’, as well as her previous singles ‘What You Waiting For’ and breakout solo hit, ‘Birthday’.
Somi’s first appearance in the music industry had been on the 2015 survival programme Sixteen, where she competed alongside 15 other JYP Entertainment trainees to form what would later become TWICE. She signed with THEBLACKLABEL and launched her solo career in 2018.