A photo, suspected to be a fanlight for the group RIIZE, has been uploaded to the official RIIZE account, sparking a storm of complaints from fans.
On the 5th at noon, RIIZE's SNS X (formerly Twitter) posted a photo with the caption "RIIZE OFFICIAL FANLIGHT will be released in April," along with a silhouette.
In the photo, the silhouette shows a hand with the thumb and index finger extended upwards. RIIZE often adopts this hand gesture.
The RIIZE fandom, known as 'BRIIZE,' pointed out that the expected silhouette of RIIZE's lightstick is similar to that of a particular group's lightsick. Epik High's 'Park Kyu-bong,' released in November 23, is a lightstick shaped like a raised middle finger.
Furthermore, in some countries, this hand gesture is used to insult others. In Japan, the gesture of raising the thumb and index finger means 'curse' and is considered one of the world's finger etiquette rules that should be avoided.
In response, fans have continuously raised issues on 'Kwangya 119,' a platform established for SM Entertainment artists' rights protection and gathering fan opinions.
Moreover, keywords such as "RIIZE fanlight" and "too shabby" have been trending on social media and real-time trends. Netizens are expressing reactions such as "I understand what the lightstick tries to represent, but there could have been better alternatives," "Considering there is a Japanese member in the group, was it necessary to choose this shape?" and "Isn't this plagiarism?"
In particular, when choosing the fandom name, RIIZE once clashed with fans' opposition when they tried to use the name 'SUNZ,' which sounds similar to sexual words in Chinese, and had to revise it once.
Meanwhile, RIIZE plans to release a single and mini-album in the second quarter of this year. They are also gearing up for a fan concert tour starting on May 4th and 5th.
-It's so bad, please change itㅠㅠㅠ
-Don't be stubborn and change it quickly.
-Seriously, isn't that the shape of finger that used to be used on variety shows? What's with using that as an official light stick? It's so lame.
-Please change it quietly like when you changed the fandom name.
-I didn't know it means 'curse' in Japan. If that's the case, they should definitely change it if they plan to promote globally.
-Seriously, change itㅋㅋㅋㅋ It's so badㅠㅠㅠ
-Please change it, I can't bear to carry that around. This is just too much.
-It's seriously shocking how bad it is... Change it quickly.
-What the hell, change it. What is that?
-Was the fandom name changed too...? What was it originally?
-I can't even imagine carrying that lightstick around; it's embarrassing.
-Oh, seriously, I was looking forward to it since it's been a while since I became a fan, but what's this? It's so... damn... If they're going to promote, isn't this too lacking in effort? It's killing my desire to buy.
-No sincerity at all, seriously, what is this?
-Seriously, I was excited to go to their concert with the light stick, but this crap pops out. So frustrating. Please, just change it.
-Let's just go for something normal. This is seriously bad.
-That journalist must definitely be a BRIIZE.
-Seriously, the design is terribleㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ It's so amazing that it got approved.
-Nice job, journalist.
-But what if they're already producing it in the factory? What do they do, release version 2 or just scrap it?
-If I were a fan, I'd be angryㅠㅠㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Change it a bit... It looks more like a prop for a variety show.
-I love RIIZE, but I really don't want to hold those at their concert.
-But seriously, why did they design it like that? I still don't understand.
-It looks like they made the design without much thought, so it's really funnyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Since it made it to the news, just admit it's not right and change it... It's the first time I've sincerely wished for a change, even though it's not my idol...
