Well the reality is that they did copy K/DA and people were throwing shade because SM was basing the future of music on a publicity stunt by a video game company, effectively cheapening their own music (as good as it is) with a metaverse gimmick.

Getting mad at another group for following the same formula is hypocritical since you’re now basically taking ownership of something you ripped off…

The reason why people don’t care this time around is because the time has passed and virtual avatars have become normal in music because the metaverse has developed more. Blackpink, Justin Bieber, Travis Scott, etc have joined in. K/DA were the pioneers, Aespa were the buccaneers that helped normalized it in music. Congrats and get over it…