Netflix's trending survival drama Squid Game has been accused of borrowing plotlines from other similar shows and anime, and YouTuber PewDiePie also believes so. 

In a video dated October 4, 2021, the famed YouTuber, real name Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, played Squid Game on ROBLOX. Before starting the game, he mentioned why nobody was talking about how the series was a rip off from all the other anime.

The 31-year-old stated that the show had similar plotlines to the famous Japanese series Kaiji and Liar Game. "Ain't nothing new," he added before elaborating that the anime had a better and more clever protagonist than in Squid Game.

That said, PewDiePie clarified he had only watched a few episodes of the Netflix hit and didn't know how the story would turn later.

Is 'Squid Game' Related to 'Kaiji' and 'Liar Game?'

Hwang Dong-hyuk's Squid Game and Nobuyuki Fukumoto's Kaiji and Shinobu Kaitani's Liar Game all have common factors - debt and merciless competition to win money. 

However, the story obviously differs from one another. In Squid Game, the lead Seong Gi-hun played by Lee Jung-jae wins the game mostly by luck and a pinch of ingenuity. But in the mentioned anime, the protagonists are extraordinarily intelligent and competent. 

Likewise, in Squid Game, the losers will die at the end of the game. But the fallen ones would have to work endlessly on an unknown island in Kaiji. 

The significant games used in the show also differ from the Netflix show.

The animated series used familiar games and added twists and difficulties that had to be maneuvered using tactics. On the contrary, Squid Game used ridiculously simple games with simple rules but added the hype with its bare gore and violence.

Even the villains of the show and the anime are different. While Squid Game's villains were basically like everyone else on the game: desperate debtors, the antagonists in Liar Game and Kaiji had a more brutal presence.

They were hated for their awfully atrocious activities. 

All in all, Squid Game may have a similar theme to the aforementioned anime, but they all differ in character development, the intent behind the competition, and the used games.

'Squid Game' Director Has Defended Plagiarism Claims

Squid Game has been accused of plagiarizing ideas from various other shows, including the 2014 Japanese film As the Gods Will, Hunger Games, and Battle Royale, since its release on the streaming platform on September 17, 2021.

The director of the nine-episode series, Dong-hyuk, however, has denied the accusations. In an interview with Variety in September 2021, the filmmaker confronted the criticisms. 

He confessed to taking inspiration from Japanese comics and animations over the years. Also, he mentioned he enjoyed watching survival shows like Battle Royale and Liar Game when he was in financial straits himself.

Then, the 50-year-old stated that he found the games too complex, remarking he deliberately used kids' games in his creation to provide a new and more relatable angle.