BT21 UNIVERSE is a Youtube series that forms part of BT21, the franchise co-created by the members of Korean group BTS in collaboration with LINE FRIENDS. The storyline follows the characters created by BTS themselves as they pursue their goal of becoming famous Universtars and spreading love around the world, making friends as well as enemies along the way.
The main cast
A group of Funny Animals plus an alien, a sentient cookie, and a robot who are training to become not just superstars, but Universtars.- Alien Abduction: How Tata was able to recruit the other members.
- Author Avatar: Each of the characters (with the exception of Van) represents and was created by one of the BTS members, sharing some physical and/or personality traits:
- Tata is this to V. This can be seen in their Big Ol' Eyebrows, but also their gentle and unusual way of seeing the world.
- RJ is this to Jin. They're both very neat and polite with (as seen in RJ's "ROLO" note) a liking for puns.
- Cooky is this to Jungkook. Both are Hot-Blooded and love exercising (particularly combat sports) and horror movies, with Jungkook often being compared to a bunny in Real Life.
- Koya is this to RM. Both are introspective thinkers, with a fondness for nature, small creatures, and the moon.
- Chimmy is this to Jimin. They're both known for their charm and cuteness. Their backstory also has some similarities with Jimin's friendship with V in real life.
- Shooky is this to SUGA. Aside from the fact that they're both smaller than the rest, they both write songs, both have practical skills/street smarts, and are both very direct and (sometimes brutally) honest in their approach.
- Mang is this to j-hope. Both are known for their amazing dance skills.
- Badass Adorable: They may be cute, but each member is capable of holding their own when the chips are down.
- Funny Animal: RJ, Koya, Mang, Chimmy and Cooky.
- Mixed Animal Species Team: A koala, an alpaca, a dog, a rabbit, and a squirrel wearing a horse mask along with an alien, a living cookie, and a robot.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: All of them, even though some of them aren't critters.
Tata
Created by: V
"This is Tata from out-TA space!"
An alien prince hailing from the Planet BT. Tata discovered Earth with their AI robot companion, VAN, after they were forced to make an emergency landing there. Tata is able to shapeshift, and their limbs are able to stretch out to long distances.- Rubber Man: Is able to stretch their limbs out. In a short animation, Tata is shown using their arms as a jump rope.
VAN
Created by: RM (represents BTS's fanbase, ARMY)
"Teering. Hello there, I got the answers for you."
A grey-and-white robot who serves as Tata's main form of transportation. VAN seeks to protect anyone they've befriended.- Benevolent A.I.: Comes from the Troy line of AI and serves as the protector of BT21.
- Your Size May Vary: VAN's height always seems to fluctuate in the official artwork, ranging from being small enough to be held to standing taller than RJ to even Kaiju-sized, towering over the tallest city skyscrapers.
RJ
Created by: Jin
"Let me give you a nice, big hug!"
A friendly alpaca with a bit of an appetite and a fondness for puns. RJ comes from a wealthy family living in Machu Picchu, but left their home after meeting Tata, who promised them they wouldn't have to shave their fur ever again. However, RJ does have a dark secret: When they get dirty, this manifests a grumpy alternate personality, named DJ.- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: Sports a bright red bandana around their neck.
- Big Eater: Just like their "father," Jin.
- Jekyll & Hyde: Their alternate personality, DJ, comes out whenever they get their fur dirty.
- Light Is Good: Has pure white fur and is gentle and shy.
- Nice Guy: Is described as kind, neat and polite.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Bread and churros.
Shooky
Created by: SUGA
"I love everything, but just be careful with milk!"
A tiny little cookie with a big heart. Shooky loves playing pranks and is best friends with Cooky. Milk is their sworn enemy.- Brutal Honesty: Just like their "father", Suga, they don't hold back with their opinions. As seen when they critique the bread the three bakers they'd chosen as a substitute for their sick grandfather make.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In season 3 episode 07, they dive into a bottle of milk, in order to retrieve a data disk that can save Van.
- Logical Weakness: They're a living cookie, so of course the thing most dangerous to them is milk.
Koya
Created by: RM
"My music will find you peace on sleepless nights."
A peaceful blue koala who can often be found sleeping. Koya is a thinker with a fondness for small creatures and nature and is a creature of many talents, such as drawing and songwriting.- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: A sky blue-colored koala with a purple nose.
- Ambiguous Situation: When coming across Moya's picture during their investigation on AT21, they simply click past it without any information being shown on-screen. It's not stated whether this is because they simply have nothing on Moya or because they dislike Moya so much they refuse to even bother with them.
- Furry Reminder: Koya is seen eating eucalyptus leaves, which is what a koala eats in Real Life.
- Hidden Depths: Despite their apparent laziness, their extremely good at investigating and skilled with computers. It took them all but one day to find out everything about AT21, based on one hate-mail.
- Laid-Back Koala: Koya is, of course, a koala, and they are often seen sleeping deeply or are lost in daydreams. They even talk with a slow, drowsy voice!
- Volumetric Mouth: Sports one when yawning after their investigation on AT21.
Chimmy
Created by: Jimin
"I love Me, Myself and I!"
An energetic little pup who sports a bright yellow hoodie.- I Just Want to Have Friends: Before they met Tata and the rest of BT21, Chimmy repeatedly tried to make themselves friends out of inanimate objects, but they kept falling apart.
- Friendless Background: They were completely alone before Tata found them.
- Mysterious Past: Chimmy woke up in a box on the street, alone and with no idea of who they were.
- Please, Don't Leave Me: After having a nightmare about their friends leaving them, Chimmy proceeds to put 200% into their shared daily activities to prevent it from happening. They end up overdoing it every time and bewildering their friends instead.
Mang
Created by: j-hope
"I feel the beat, I breathe the beat."
An amazing dancer with a secret behind their mask.- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: Their body is a pale lavender color, and under the mask, they have a white face and the insides of their ears are light blue.
- Cartoon Creature: The mask they wear implies that they might be a pony, but since they haven't taken it off, you can't know for sure. Once the mask comes off, however, they're revealed to be a cute little squirrel with a heart-shaped smile.
- The Faceless: It's not shown what they look like beneath their mask.
- Mask of Confidence: Wearing the horse mask helps them fight their stage fright.
- Performance Anxiety: They always wanted to dance professionally, but their huge stage fright prevented them from participating in contests. The mask their mentor gave them doesn't take the fear away, but seems to alleviate it somewhat.
Cooky
Created by: Jungkook
"Think you've figured me out? Think twice."
A bright pink bunny who seeks to defy the stereotypes associated with their appearance.- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: Cooky has pale pink fur and white paws.
- Badass Adorable: A bunny with a penchant for boxing and martial arts in general. Just don't say the "adorable" part out loud where they can hear...
Friends and Family
Various friends and relatives of the main cast.King Fafa
The king of BT Planet and the father of Tutu, Tata and Titi. Fafa is strict, but deep down, he loves his children.Princess Titi
Tata's baby sister has a mind of her own, often outsmarting her own brothers.RA, Rㄱ, and RK
RJ's parents and little sibling. RA is a proud father who puts his faith in his family and his fur, while Rㄱ is an excellent cook with a great sense of style. Little RK uses their charm to make anyone fall in love with their innocent eyes and adorable face.- Alliterative Family: Each of them has a name starting with the letter R.
- Cuteness Proximity: RK can use their cuteness to make anyone fall for them.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: RK.
- Virility Carpet: RA has a patch of curly brown fur on his chest, giving off this effect.
Toll, Leaf, and Baeby
Koya's friends who live in a eucalyptus forest, a pair of sentient acorns, a sentient leaf, and a little bird, respectively.- Carnivore Confusion: Of the... herbivore variety. Mere seconds after Leaf tells the story of how they met Koya, they turn around and watch in horror as Koya eats regular leaves in the background.
C-Gul
Cooky's father and a champion boxer.Jooky
One of Cooky's childhood friends, Jooky was badly injured in a boxing match by Ian and had to be sent to the hospital.Happy Kiddos
The neighborhood children who are always exploring and having fun with each other.Mustashu
A mustachioed gingerbread man who owns the local bakery, Mustashu is the grandfather and creator of Shooky and the Crunchy Squad who fell sick after drinking sour milk, leaving him unable to bake anymore. Shooky and friends set out to find someone to take over the bakery and find a cure for Mustashu's illness.Crunchy Squad
A group of cookies created by Mustashu who are Shooky's friends. Currently, there are 362 of them.Conn
A tall, muscle-bound unicorn who is Mang's mentor and an amazing dancer. Conn is a romantic at heart and often dreams about falling in love.- The Mentor: Was this to Mang, as their dancing teacher and the one who gave them their mask to combat their Performance Anxiety.
Antagonists and rivals
Prince Tutu
Tata and Titi's older brother and the first in line for the throne. Compared to Tata, who is kind and sensitive, Tutu is very greedy.- Big Brother Bully: He's Tata's older brother and supports BT21's rival AT21.
Moya
A green koala who sees Koya as a rival and thinks that everything Koya does is better than what they do... at least in their head.- Evil Is Petty:
- They formed a whole rival group for a bunch of innocent music-lovers, just because they're jealous of one of their member's skills.
- In The Uninvited Guest they try to ruin BT21's Christmas by stealing their presents and their tree and tearing down their decorations. They even leave a petty firework that spells out "I'll be watching you". The latter doesn't work, as BT21 interpret it as a well-meaning fan saying they'll watch over them.
- Stealth Pun: Moya is a green koala whose one-sided rivalry towards Koya stems from an inferiority complex. They are literally green with envy.
Chief
The neighborhood bully and Chimmy's rival. Despite their tough appearance, it is revealed that they aren't as mean as they appear and want to be friends with Chimmy.- Companion Cube: Their music box.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: They're extremely lonely and really just want someone to talk to. They had chosen Chimmy for that at first, but Tata befriended them before Chief got the chance to.
- Lonely Rich Kid: They're very wealthy, living in a huge mansion and owning a lot of expensive things, but they have no one to share that wealth with, which makes them miserable.
Ian
A former childhood friend of Cooky's who is said to have wolf DNA. Resentful after injuring Jooky in the fateful boxing match, Ian disappeared one day and hasn't been found.- Half-Breed Angst: Ian is implied to be part wolf. They resent their wolf-side and it's violent tendencies and even tried to run away from home because they thought they were too dangerous to be around the other bunnies.
- Lunacy: Ian's other side is heavily implied to originate from their wolf DNA. It gets stronger with the waxing moon and takes full control when the moon is full.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Ian was horrified after seeing what their evil split-personality had done to Jooky. The incident caused them to run away and become estranged from Cooky.
- Superpowered Evil Side: Ian has a much stronger and more malicious second personality. It first manifested in their boxing match against Jooky and beat Jooky so bad, they had to be hospitalized.
- We Used to Be Friends: Ian, Cooky and Jooky were the best of friends before the boxing match incident. In the present, Ian has joined AT21 and seems to have grown resentful of Cooky.
Spooky
A burnt, square-shaped cookie who was left in the oven for too long. Spooky feels abandoned by Shooky and the Crunchy Squad and seeks revenge against them.- Revenge: Shooky and the Crunchy Squad left them behind in the oven, so they joined AT21 to get back at them.
Gwang
A white unicorn who is jealous of Mang for being a better dancer than them.- Green-Eyed Monster: They're extremely jealous of Mang's dancing skills. They also seem to have envied Mang for their close bond with dancing legend Conn, who was their mentor.
- Light Is Not Good: They're a white unicorn and also a petty jerk.
- Smug Snake: In their first appearance they huff at Mang as it's their turn in the dancing contest, confident that they'll win.
- Sore Loser: They joined AT21 because Mang had the audacity to be better at dancing than them.
