The Huntrix as Demon Hunters
At first I was reluctant to watch KPop Demon Hunters because it was animation not live action. That was also the reason my older older Gen Z son hasn’t watched it yet.
However, for lack of a suitable family movie on Netflix, I finally watched KPop Demon Hunters with my younger Gen Z daughter. I’m glad I did. It was an engaging story with relatable characters and a compelling theme. We’ve rewatched it several times since.
The world agrees. KPop Demon Hunters is so popular that it made history as the most streamed movie on Netflix. It’s set to reach over 250 million views in the shortest time of just 70 days. KPop Demon Hunters is the most streamed Netflix movie in 32 countries and continues to pull in millions of viewers of all ages.
Hunters comes with a memorable soundtrack that was performed brilliantly. The KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack has exceeded 3 billion streams on Spotify worldwide. Popular hits are Golden, Your Idol, and Takedown.
The KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack broke another record for being the first movie soundtrack to have four songs at the same time on the top 10 of Billboard Hot 100. The chart-topping songs are: Golden, Your Idol, Soda Pop, How It’s Done. That has never happened in Billboard’s 67-year history.
Hunters is so in demand as a movie and soundtrack that Netflix has recently added KPop Demon Hunters Sing-Along to its offerings. Hunters Sing-Along also opened in select US movie theaters last August 23 weekend.
How did an animated movie break records and capture the hearts of oversaturated viewers around the world?
Strong Story
Every movie starts with a story.
But a good story is not just a plot of What Happens Next. It has to have a theme of What it’s About. KPop Demon Hunters battle demons by literally banding together as a KPop group Huntrix whose songs spread light and foster unity. It’s easily a battle between Good and Evil; Light versus Darkness.
On a deeper level, KPop Demon Hunters is also about Lies and Truths. What lies do we tell ourselves to make an unpalatable truth bearable? What lies do we tell our loved ones so they don’t get hurt? What truths must we accept about ourselves but are too ashamed to admit?
It’s a relatable theme because we all have something to hide—something bad we’ve done. What’s our deepest shame? What dark secrets do we keep that will scare away our friends or incur their hate? What do we hate the most about ourselves that we hide it?
Hard to believe that an animated movie tackles all of that. Yet no one can argue against an engaging script that is brilliantly performed and beautifully animated. There’s a lot of colorful action, sharp dialogue, fun scenes, and real emotions.
The Saja Boys
Complex Characters
No story can survive without a compelling hero. KPop Demon Hunters opens with a dramatic explanation of the heroes’ ancient mission: “Our music ignites the soul and brings people together.”
Then a lively introduction of each Huntrix member by their fans. Thelead is Rumi, a “pop star royalty” with a secret that she keeps from her two friends. Zoey is the cutie composer from California. While Mira is the deep-voiced toughie who is sharp and stoic.
The protagonist is Jinu, the only one with undyed black hair in his KPop boy band a la BTS. Jinu has a personal reason why he wants to defeat the Hunters but we won’t know what until the end. He is charming and wily so we don’t really know if we can trust him even when he says, “Trust me.”
KPop Demon Hunters has the elements of a rom-com action movie without the annoying side bit characters, filler montage scenes, and tired tropes. Everything we see is essential and propels the story.
We see both sides of our Huntrix heroes—their sparkly stardom onstage and their cosy comfy home life. After a show all they want to do is lie on the couch in their robes and gorge on food. Who doesn’t want that?
It also shows that despite their fame, they’re normal like us with healthy appetites who want real friendships. They’re not detestable anorexic divas who only care about looks, fame, or money.
Since they’re like us, we now care about them. Now we’re hooked.
The Huntrix Penthouse amidst the city lights
Cinematic Animation
I’m so amazed that KPop Demon Hunters is animated cinematically. It feels like a camera panning and capturing a shot. Scenes are staged like a movie and lit in layers, with indirect or diffused light and dramatic shadows. The colors and lighting set the mood— exciting, ominous, pensive, victorious.
The editing is so good that I forgot KPop Demon Hunters is animated. So many tight shots interspersed with wide angles to set the scene. Musical performances are cut like a music video. Action scenes are paced to the beat.
The KPop Demon Hunters landscape is true to life. I’ve watched many K-dramas so many things were familiar: the Joseon era, bathhouse, food, rooftops, subway. The animators realistically rendered Korea’s sparkling city lights and concert arenas that I felt I was there. Or wished I was there.
The animation is so detailed that it feels alive. There’s so much texture. I can see the glitter in Rumi’s eye makeup or the glint from Zoey’s bracelets. I can feel the rising mist in the bathhouse, the warm sunlight streaming from a window, and I want to touch the furry bear on Mira’s fuzzy sweater. The only thing they kept cartoony are the faces, especially to show comic expressions.
I almost want to see KPop Demon Hunters as a live movie, but then I’m afraid it may not capture the same nature-defying magic in the scenes that only animation can bring.
Memorable Music
Music makes a movie complete. It adds the spirit of the story. KPop Demon Hunters is a KPop movie so it has catchy danceable tunes that are easy to remember. Soda Pop stuck with me probably because it was the funniest scene.
I always listen to the lyrics so I appreciate that the songs told a story and had a message. In Soda Pop’s case, there’s even a double meaning.
The performers of the songs were amazing. Golden just keeps going up at least an octave and sounds really hard to sing. I can’t imagine how the vocally untrained moviegoers belted out Golden in the KPop Demon Hunters Sing-Along movie in select theaters.
Last week, I found out that the Filipino dubbing and songs were produced by Hit Productions founded by my classmate Vic Icasas. So I rewatched KPop Demon Hunters in Tagalog with my daughter. The translation used a lot of very formal Tagalog that gave the dialogue more depth. The actors and singers were fantastic.
It’s hard to translate music because it has to retain the meaning and rhyme to the beat. Hit Productions translated Soda Pop: “You’re all I can think of, every drop I drink up, you’re my soda pop, my little soda pop.”
To Tagalog: “Laging nasa isip, at sa panaginip, ikaw ang soda pop, my little soda pop.”
A few days ago, I congratulated Vic on their remarkable work on KPop Demon Hunters. Vic is a gracious genius. I’ve always admired his talent. I’m so proud of him.
Heart and Humor
I hardly laugh and I don’t find a lot of things funny. That’s why I’m trying to be a comedy writer. Hunters gave me a chuckle after two minutes when the fans introduced Mira as “so cool” because “Who else can wear a sleeping bag to the Met Gala?” A satirical poke at the Hollywood weirdos.
KPop Demon Hunters delivers humor in the lighthearted scenes to juxtapose with the darker demon scenes. My favorite is the subversion of the Boy meets Girl trope when Rumi falls after Jinu bumps her. You think it’s a Meet Cute, but…no.
I liked that the writers made fun of the Huntrix’s kick-ass leather costume by having them slowly squeak painfully down a tall game show slide. So cringey especially if you’re trying to look cool in front of a cute guy. This was followed by both KPop groups trying to outdo each other in the traditional respectful bowing.
As it is, writing a solid script is hard. And writing comedy is even harder. But KPop Demon Hunters pulls it off because it has established a common ground for everyone to meet. Viewers can identify with the Huntrix and the lead Rumi. They’re good girls trying to do good. They’re good friends so we want them to stay together. We like them so we want them to win.
Humor only works when contrasted with heaviness. There are demons in the story so it is grounded in darkness. KPop Demon Hunters establishes Rumi’s fear that her secret might be exposed. There is growing tension as Rumi tries to hide the truth. All the while, Huntrix has to battle the growing demon invasion as the cosmic deadline approaches. When it gets too serious, comedy comes in.
Ultimately, viewers can relate to the feeling of “fighting a demon”, hiding a shameful secret, imposter syndrome, self-loathing, living with constant guilt or remorse. Or maybe the demon is just Boredom and we want to live vicariously as a hero. Whatever touches the viewer is what works.
KPop Demon Hunters is an animated KPop drama so it doesn’t try to appeal to a broad audience. Yet it does. It maintains its Korean POV, yet it resonates universally. Why?
Because KPop Demon Hunters showed us that we can embrace our Darkness because it is a part of us. It gave us Hope that we can live with our Darkness because there is always Light. That there are many sources of Light: friends, fans, truth, music, love, loyalty, and life.
KPop Demon Hunters is a great movie because it’s an immersive experience that stays with us. It made us feel better about ourselves and our world. It made us believe that even for a brief moment, our life is Golden.
— Ivy Lopez (@IvyDigest)
Ivy is a Jesuit-educated lawyer turned columnist and book reviewer. For the latest books follow @Ivy Digest on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. She has a comedy channel on HumorMeIvy.
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