This makes me sad. The limitless global concept is part of what made NCT unique, in addition to their distinctive sound and strong performance emphasis. The original plan was to have different NCT units that would reflect the colors of their specific regions, so I'm really sad to see that not come to fruition. I would loved to see the regional variations and flavors of the different units. The execution sucked and SM was slow to build units, particularly once the group had traction and success. We shouldn't have waited 4 years for the Japanese unit after the Chinese unit. (I"ll give you a year or so because of the pandemic but come on.)
I'm not entirely surprised because people started flipping out when they added SungTaro and the Rookies - just as they have with every addition - like that's not the damned point of the group (its infinite combinations.)
As bittersweet as it is, I hope this means they'll focus more on the existing members, but it's more likely they'll shift attention and focus to the next bg in the circle of kpop life. NCT will continue to carry the financial load for another year or two as SM's attention shifts to the next group, as it was for EXO before them and Shinee I'm sure before that.
I'm still in this NCT shit for life (and this EXO shit, too.)
The rookies and SungTaro will debut in the Tokyo unit - I'm assuming with 1-3 other members (probably Japanese). This probably includes a belter main vocalist (many of the mains were cast last in both NCT and EXO and there are certainly big shoes to fill here with the power of Taeil and Xiaojun.)