Well then, maybe they’re seeing stuff that I’m not. As far as I know there isn’t that much marketing that’s unique to the Asian market at least in Korea. I’m seeing mostly the same posters, the same trailers etc. that I see through Western social media, other than maybe these exceptionally unfortunate character posters:
If you must know, the Korean in the margin reads: Cold-blooded [upper left-hand corner] Jedi [vertically down the left side]
Relatable/evil [smaller red lettering above crossguard] character [line change] realistic [in the space formed by crook of elbow] Villain [lower right-hand corner]
The VILLAIN [large lettering, we get it] who killed his father [upper right-hand corner] son [fainter letters below ‘villain’]
Kylo Ren [lower right-hand corner]
The one with hidden power (Force) [upper left-hand corner] change and growth [below]
Rey [lower left-hand corner]
A time OF chaos [upper right-hand corner. Yes, ‘of’ is done in the largest lettering for some godforsaken reason]
The light and the DARK [large lettering, lower right-hand corner]
Then there’s this poster, which reads, “The fierce battle* of characters that cross over between GOOD and EVIL”
*I put an asterisk next to “fierce battle” because there are a few different meanings that can attach to this Korean word depending on the Chinese characters it stands for: “series biography(列傳),” “biography of a martyred hero(烈傳),” or “heated battle(烈戰).” I thought the last is the likeliest given the type of movie we’re talking about.
If you’ve recovered from the awful photoshop job on the character posters, there isn’t a whole lot in the promotion over here that’s different. We already know the movie will explore gray arieas of morality. We know Kylo and Rey are going to stand for the Dark and the Light, and even Luke showing up on both the “dark” and “light” sides of the poster is consistent with Rian saying Kylo and Rey are two sides of our protagonist.
As for Reyno-like dynamics being common in Asian stuff: yes indeed, the romanticization of stalking and assault is an unfortunately common trope, at least in Korean media. It’s why I don’t generally bother with KDramas (which shippers often compare their ship to), because a lot of them are so misogynistic and formulaic.
The thing is, the Asian region isn’t even the franchise’s best market. The Force Awakens did well but not great in China. So even if we assume Star Wars makes plot decisions for the Asian market, it doesn’t seem like a good financial decision to alienate large sections of the much-larger Western market to boost sales in Asia. Basically shippers have been claiming absolutely everything is proof of their ship becoming canon, and this appears to be more of the same.
@reylo1992 oh my god you really felt the need to add to a properly tagged post with a picspam so long it won’t even load fully on my phone? What the fuck is it with your desperation? And why the hell are your lot so obsessed with a shitty cosmetics-shilling “period” drama (srsly, this shit has modern concealer and mask packs in 10TH CENTURY KOREA) that was a crappily acted and edited ratings flop? Oh right, because it gives you the visuals you need.
I already said in the op the romanticization of assault is common in kdramas so I’m not sure why you decided to show me endless reams of “proof?” I also didn’t even mention cousins, is this a new copypasta going around with you guys? That’s so rude and obnoxious I can’t even.
As for the relationship diagram, did you notice one big difference between the one for TLJ and the one for Shitty Heart Ryeo? As in, the relationship between Kylo and Rey is marked with a ? for mysterious, while there’s nothing mysterious about the arrow between Wang So and Go Ha-jin, which is literally stated to be mutual interest–as in romantic interest. Wow, it’s almost like there was zero romantic buildup between Kylo and Rey to label it that!
Yes, placing the main romantic lead centrally in a relationship diagram is common for kdramas–the ones where romance is central, that is. That’s not the only type, though. Let me help ya out since I actually know kdramas other than Shitty Heart.
The central relationship here in Daebak is between brothers who are protagonist and antagonist. This means they’re gonna fuck, right?
Again, the most prominently placed relationship is between half brothers.
A master and apprentice who are also antagonists are placed centrally. Romance!
Oh wow, the main protagonist and antagonist are in love! I mean, why even chase each other for 16 hours if it’s not lurve?
So it’s really a question of genre, that is, what kind of story you think Star Wars is: a war drama where the clash between protagonist and antagonist is central or a melodrama where the romance is central (exactly what the director said TLJ wasn’t, hmm 🤔).
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