History Music / BU

* CherryBlossoms: The shot of Jimin dropping a burning photo has a MatchCut to cherry blossoms falling over the ''HYYH'' logo.

* OminousPipeOrgan: In the interlude, Yoongi appears playing "Passacaglia in D minor" by Buxtehude on a huge pipe organ, leading to the scene of Taehyung covering Jin's eyes, only stopping in the climax with the statue.

* MissingMom: Yoongi's mother died in a fire. Taehyung's also seems to be dead or missing. Hoseok's abandoned him when he was a child.

* ContinuityPorn: "Euphoria", being more of a short film than a music video, connects all previous events in the story. While it doesn't necessarily apply to all of the music videos in the universe, videos like "Blood, Sweat and Tears" and "Fake Love" are full of symbolism referencing the plot and, aside from the choreography, can't truly be understood if you don't know the story. "Fake Love" alone makes references to the ''WINGS'' teasers, short-films like "Prologue" and the ''Highlight Reels'', ''HYYH: The Notes'', among other things.

* RuleOfSymbolism: A recurrent trope. Many events, like in Prologue, the Highlight Reels or Euphoria, are not ''quite'' logical or comprehensible, drawing many interpretations. Anything can mean something else and even give clues to plot points revealed later, including details in sets.

** The Smeraldo flower also deserves special mention as a recurrent symbol. It's a fictional flower that appears frequently in the ''LOVE YOURSELF'' series and it's said to symbolize "the truth untold" (though it might have more meanings).

* ContinuityPorn: "Euphoria", being more of a short film than a music video, connects all previous events in the story. While it doesn't necessarily apply to all of the music videos in the universe, videos like "Blood, Sweat and Tears" and "Fake Love" are full of symbolism referencing the plot and, aside from the choreography, are almost incomprehensible if you don't know the story, and that's including the teasers and short-films like "Prologue" and the Highlight Reels.

** In both versions of "Blood, Sweat and Tears", Jimin appears with Yoongi, Namjoon with Jungkook (the former giving the latter a glass of what seems to be absinthe), and Hoseok with Taehyung (the former attacking the latter with an arrow/dart). In the ''HYYH Notes'', all of these pairings gain importance. [[spoiler:Yoongi appears seemingly helping Jimin confront his fear, Jungkook is revealed to spend time with Namjoon so the younger can learn to be a real adult, and Hoseok stops Taehyung from killing his father, which is also shown in ''Euphoria'']].

* TheReveal: In the ''HighlightReels'', it's revealed that [[spoiler:Hoseok was abandoned by his mother as a child]]. Also, Jin [[spoiler:might be a time traveler]].
** The ''HYYH Notes'' in ''Tear'' reveal that [[spoiler:Yoongi's mother died in a fire, that Jimin has a trauma due to an incident in a Flower Arboretum, that Jin got Yoongi expelled by accident (and that Namjoon knows and, unbeknownst to the other two, so does Taehyung), and that Jungkook lived with Namjoon for a while]]. But most importantly, that [[spoiler:right after Jungkook's car accident, he made a [[DealWithTheDevil deal with a mysterious figure in order to stay alive]].

** In both versions of "Blood, Sweat and Tears", Namjoon is seen giving a drink to Jungkook and generally being in the same room. In the ''HYYH'' Notes, [[spoiler:Jungkook is revealed to spend time with Namjoon so the younger can learn to be a real adult]].

** There was an incident where a teacher walked into the room where Jungkook and Yoongi were in, leading to Yoongi getting beaten up while defending Jungkook. Both Jin (who pointed the teacher to the room thinking there wasn't anyone there) and Jungkook blame themselves for Yoongi getting expelled from the school as a result.

** As seen in the "Highlight Reels", Hoseok was abandoned by his mother in plain daylight, left alone with merely a candy bar, therefore being taken into an orphanage.
** Yoongi isolated himself from the others, even Jungkook, because he felt he'd only get them hurt. This leads to Jungkook thinking no one wanted him, therefore walking alone at night, receiving a beating from some strangers, and getting into a car accident.
** According to the ''HYYH Notes'' in ''Tear'', when Jimin was a child he disobeyed his teacher (who told him to stay put) and walked off alone, thus getting to the Arboretum. Judging by Jimin's strange reaction to seeing a sign pointing to the Arboretum years later (making Yoongi tell the others to change plans and go somewhere else), as well as when he fell down while dancing in the Highlight Reels (which led him to wash his hands until he drew blood), it's clear that ''something'' happened.

** See ParentalAbandonment for Hoseok.

* ChildishPillowFight: The members appear participating in this in "Run".

* {{Flashback}}: The ''Highlight Reels'' feature one to [[spoiler: Hoseok's mother abandoning him in the middle of an amusement park]]. Also counts as a TroubledBackstoryFlashback.

* TimeTravel: It's implied in the Highlight Reels that Jin is capable of this. Some characters even mention having a feeling of DejaVu in the ''HYYH Notes''.

** UpToEleven in ''WINGS'' (''everything'' in that era), the Japanese versions of "I NEED U", "RUN" and "Blood, Sweat and Tears", and in "Fake Love", which all go straight into WorldOfSymbolism.

-> [[spoiler: ''Is that all, hyung? Aren't you hiding anything from us?'']]

* MatchCut: The shot of Taehyung falling backwards into water is matched with a shot of Namjoon dropping candy on his coffee in "RUN". In the ''Highlight Reels'', [[spoiler:a reverse version of Taehyung's fall in "RUN" is matched with a shot of a flower vase falling and getting caught by Jin]].

** In "I NEED U", Hoseok overdoses, Yoongi sets himself on fire and Jimin seemingly attempts to drown himself in the bathtub.

** Both Namjoon and Jin blame themselves for Taehyung's fate.

** Yoongi feels ''very'' guilty over Jungkook's car accident, to the point that he can't even see him when he gets to the hospital and [[NotSoStoic uncharacteristically]] ends up in tears. He seems to want to avoid being relied on, as he thinks he'll only get others hurt, which might have to do with how his mother died.
* LotusEaterMachine: It's unclear if "Epilogue: Young Forever" - where the group happily reunites after getting out from individual mazes - is merely symbolic, an ImagineSpot, or this trope. Same goes for "Euphoria": [[spoiler: while Jin seems to have been able to prevent tragedy, both the song lyrics and the video hint at the happiness being temporary or merely an illusion]].
* OneEyedShot: A RecurringCameraShot in the ''WINGS'' teasers is that of the protagonist of the teaser's eye with another recurting element (the burning piano, the walls with graffiti) reflected/superimposed on it.

* SecondPersonAttack: In the Japanese version of "Blood, Sweat and Tears", [[spoiler:we see Tae attacking Jin with a knife... from the point of view of Jin]].

There's also lots of other content with additional information and clues. This includes the ''HYYH Notes'', [[AllThereInTheManual a collectible series of text narrations]] (from the point of view of each one of the characters at key moments of the story) found in the ''LOVE YOURSELF'' physical albums. Other clues for both concepts and key events have been found in other music videos and trailers, concept pictures, tour [=VCRs=], live shows and even ''commercials''. Most notably, a 2017 selfie uploaded on BTS's Twitter (of Jin holding some flowers, with "Smeraldo" as the only caption) led to the discovery of an [[https://m.blog.naver.com/PostList.nhn?blogId=testesso entire blog]] (now closed) of [[InUniverseMarketing a flower shop dedicated to the Smeraldo]], a fictional flower that appears and has an important role in the series.

There's also lots of other content with additional information and clues. This includes the ''HYYH Notes'', [[AllThereInTheManual a collectible series of text narrations]] (from the point of view of each one of the characters at key moments of the story) found in the ''LOVE YOURSELF'' physical albums. Other clues for both concepts and key events have been found in other music videos and trailers, concept pictures, tour [=VCRs=], live shows and even ''commercials''. Most notably, a 2017 selfie uploaded on BTS's Twitter (of Jin holding some flowers, with "Smeraldo" as the only caption) led to the discovery of an [[https://m.blog.naver.com/PostList.nhn?blogId=testesso entire blog]] (now closed) of [[InUniverseMarketing a flower shop dedicated to a fictional flower named Smeraldo]], site revealed to have been up since '''2015'''.

* OneEyedShot: A RecurringShot in the ''WINGS'' teasers is that of the protagonist of the teaser's eye with another recurting element (the burning piano, the walls with graffiti) reflected/superimposed on it.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: In ''WINGS'', Hoseok is linked to imagery related to motherhood, including the Piéta and the Eva painting. In the Highlight Reels, it's revealed that [[spoiler:his mother abandoned him as a child, giving him abandonment issues]].
** In both versions of "Blood, Sweat and Tears", Namjoon is seen giving a drink to Jungkook and generally being in the same room. In the ''HYYH'' Notes, [[spoiler:Jungkook is revealed to spend time with Namjoon so the younger can learn to be a real adult]].

** UpToEleven in ''WINGS'' (''everything'' in that era) and in "Fake Love", which go straight into WorldOfSymbolism.

* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C2z4GqqS5E FAKE LOVE]]''. Music video.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: While they are all friends, certain relationships (Namjoon and Taehyung, Jimin and Hoseok, and Yoongi and Jungkook) are noticeably stronger. Due to the nature of the series, though, it's unclear if they're this or {{Implied Love Interest}}s.

(not ''all'' of the music videos they release are part of the BU - the ones that unquestionably ''are'' have a "BU belongs to..." disclaimer in the Youtube video description. But even then, it's not unlikely that they're still connected somehow)

Here, each one of the members plays a fictional character both [[TheDanza named after]] and partly inspired by their real-life counterpart (with the members themselves having input in the story), yet being completely distinct; the characters all were in the same school at one point, they all live in an environment where AdultsAreUseless (and often highly abusive), and each has ''very'' serious issues and traumas of their own. While all characters get their focus, the closest thing to a protagonist is [[TheAtoner Jin]], who is trying to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong and fix the series of events that led to the group's separation after a trip to the beach (and to the resulting tragedy befalling the rest of the members), with [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Taehyung]] being the closest thing to an antagonist.

Also, the series is a ''complete'' MindScrew. With a bad case of {{Teasing Creator}}s, a story told in AnachronicOrder, and lots and ''lots'' of symbolism, half the fun of watching the series is [[WildMassGuessing making or following up on theories]] regarding what it's actually ''going on'' in the story; so far, [[DealWithTheDevil deals with the Devil]] and possible TimeTravel and/or [[DimensionalTraveler dimension hopping]] seem to be involved. Maybe.

The storyline (which also went on to inspire other larger-storyline video series for other {{Kpop}} artists) is closely linked to the general narrative and themes present in BTS' music: ''HYYH'' deals with the struggles of youth, growing up, and facing the future; ''WINGS'' is about facing temptation and constitutes a WholePlotReference (both in album and videos) to Herman Hesse's ''Demian''; ''LOVE YOURSELF'' has as a main theme the idea of trying and failing to love and be loved [[BeneathTheMask while covering the darker, truer side of oneself]]. Likewise, the characters deal with school and societal pressures, family and mental health issues, lack of self-esteem, [[GrowingUpSucks maturity]], and so on. Some songs also reference events and concepts from the story.

There's also lots of other content with additional information and clues. This includes the ''HYYH Notes'', [[AllThereInTheManual a collectible series of text narrations]] (from the point of view of each one of the characters at key moments of the story) found in the ''LOVE YOURSELF'' (''Her ''and ''Tear'') physical albums. Other clues for both concepts and key events have been found in other music videos and trailers, concept pictures, tour [=VCRs=], live shows and even ''commercials''. Most notably, a 2017 selfie uploaded on BTS's Twitter (of Jin holding some flowers, with "Smeraldo" as the only caption) led to the discovery of an [[https://m.blog.naver.com/PostList.nhn?blogId=testesso entire blog]] (now closed) of [[InUniverseMarketing a flower shop dedicated to a fictional flower named Smeraldo]], site revealed to have been up since '''2015'''.

'''WARNING''': This series contains some violent/possibly triggering content, including murder, depression, suicide and physical/emotional abuse by parents and figures of authority. The first video of the series has a censored version for a reason, y'know.

!! This series provides examples of:
* AdultsAreUseless: The boys don't live exactly in the best environment, with all the adults (both parents and teachers) present being either negligent, abusive, or absent.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: While they are all friends, certain relationships (Namjoon and Taehyung, Jimin and Hoseok, and Yoongi and Jungkook) are noticeably stronger. Some (or all) of them, though, might [[EpilepticTrees possibly]] even be {{Implied Love Interest}}s.

* MindScrew: The series relies heavily on symbolism and a lot of key elements are implied, to the point that many [[EpilepticTrees fan theories]] center around trying to figure out what is going ''on''. Each new piece of information just creates more questions.
* MissingMom: Yoongi's mother died in a fire. Taehyung's also seems to be dead or missing. Hoseok's abandoned him when he was four.

* ParentalAbandonment: Hoseok was abandoned by his mother at 4 years old, left alone in the middle of an amusement park with only a candy bar left. He's been deeply traumatized since.

* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: A recurring theme. Jin is seemingly trying to fix things and avoid his friends' fates in "I NEED U" and "Prologue", possibly through TimeTravel or [[DimensionalTraveler dimension hopping]]. [=He seems to achieve it in "Euphoria", but it's unclear whether it's a real scenario, an ImagineSpot, or a LotusEaterMachine=].

** A bunch of teenagers hanging out alone at night, [[FreeRangeChildren driving off to the beach]]...
** Yoongi isolated himself from the others, even Jungkook, because he felt he'd only get them hurt. Jungkook, thinking no one wanted him, walked alone at night, getting beaten up by some thugs, and then got into a car accident.
** Hoseok was abandoned by his mother in plain daylight, left alone with merely a candy bar, and therefore taken into an orphanage.

* [=TropeTitle=]: List of tropes that are fixtures of the series.
* [=TropeTitle=]: Any tropes in which the show is already cited can be retrieved from the Wiki if you text-search in a separate window on the program name.

!! Episodes of this series provide examples of:
* The guidelines for listing show-level tropes apply to this list, too. Alphabetical by trope title.
* List of tropes that are only seen in a single episode or a small handful of episodes.
* Tropes ''about'' episodes, like BottleEpisode, are prime examples.
* This list may also include tropes relating to a secondary or tertiary character or location.