Netflix’s most recent popular show, Squid Game, is being slammed with a string of plagiarism accusations. While the idea of a survival-based deathmatch is not new, some internet users have stated that the similarities don’t end with the plot.
Some fans have noted that certain scenes from the K-drama show have a lot in common with the Japanese film “As The Gods Will,” which debuted in 2014.
The specific scene occurs in the first episode of Squid Game, where the characters are killed in succession in a game played by children called ‘Red Light Green Light.’ It is also known that the “As The Gods Will”, also has an emotional scene with characters murdered in the game of survival.
Another game, Tug O War, was also criticized for stealing the premise of the comedy skit produced in Korea. The video below shows the first version.
오징어게임 보고 싶으신 분 그냥 이 영상 보세요 pic.twitter.com/ujisnkJteu
— 전드 (@h0nonokokyu) September 18, 2021
Both games feature a countdown clock and the giant doll heads featured on both K-drama shows and Japanese films.
However, director Hwang Doh-hyuk has denied the allegations and claims that he was the one who came up with an idea in the beginning because writing the script of the show was in development from 2008 until 2009.
As reported by the Straits Times, the show was put off due to lack of interest and only began production when Netflix became interested.
The film director said that The Gods Will was created in the decade of 2010 following the initial concept to create Squid Game, which came to him after going through several manga‘s in the Survival genre.
While he was wary of claiming the rightful owner of the incident, he admitted, “But if I were forced to tell that, I’d claim that I was the first to do it.”
그리고 오징어게임 일본작품 표절입니다 https://t.co/5kS1oZL5Su pic.twitter.com/rAfQEWXAm3
— 7 (@Fra77777777) September 19, 2021
Viewers, however, feel that since the Japanese movie came a long time ago, even if the script was there, he could have made it so that there were no identical scenes. Having these many scenes familiar is kind of hard to believe that they were initially from him now.
One Twitter user also mentioned:
“Having multiple scenes that overlap suggests that the director knew he was shooting them in the same manner. It’s so obvious,” one netizen said.
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