S. Acierda
While the group continues their tour, fans can now anticipate more content from the Bangtan Universe.
On January 14, the verified account for Smeraldo Books teased the prospect of a graphic adaptation of BTS’ fictional franchise, the Bangtan Universe.
Fans are speculating that the post hints at an upcoming webtoon, comic book, or animated series with the post featuring silhouettes of the group’s characters in the fictional world. Such guesses aren’t too farfetched with BTS previously having two webtoons earlier in their career, “Hip Hop Monster” and “We On: Be The Shield.”
The teaser comes after the Twitter account had been regularly posting snippets of character accounts that have expanded on the Bangtan Universe since earlier this month. The posts come in the same style as 화양연화 The Notes, which have been included with the group’s Love Yourself album series. The entries have been posted with their own English and Japanese translations along with clips from the Love Yourself Highlight Reels, the WINGS Short Films, and the music video for “I NEED U”.
Smeraldo Books first appeared on January 7 and continues the building the group’s fictional world. Naturally, the first character entry to be posted belonged to the group’s vocalist Jin, who a large majority of fans believe to be the protagonist in the group’s youth-centred storyline.
Though not officially trademarked until later, the narrative to Bangtan Universe had initially started with their The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1 (화양연화 pt.1) release, “I NEED U” being their first music video to delve into stories of youth as in line with the album’s themes.
For now, ARMYs can read up on the Bangtan Universe’s characters’ pre-existing accounts for a better grasp of the storyline. Here’s a handy compilation of various translation that will be updated as content is released.
Thoughts? Are you excited? How have your theories been fairing since the Smeraldo Books account opened? Can we finally expect more answers or can we only anticipate more questions? Tweet us at @ForeverBTScom!
