Kpop demon hunters: Sony's vibrant animation blends K-pop culture with demon-slaying action

Sony Pictures Animation have done some groundbreaking work in the animation field over the past few years, with Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, its sequel Across the Spider-Verse, and sleeper hit The Mitchells vs The Machines as three notable highlights. 

Now, armed with an original story and script from writer/director Maggie Kang, the studio’s latest effort, KPop Demon Hunters, is set to be another feather in their cap.

It’s a high-energy, meticulously crafted delight that manages to offer something to viewers of all ages, especially the older crowd. 

You don’t need to know much, if anything, about the world of K-pop to get into the film. For the purposes of KPop Demon Hunters, all you need to be aware of is that humanity’s current protectors against the demon-filled underworld are K-pop trio Huntrix (stylised HUNTR/X), the latest in a centuries-long line of demon-slaying hunters. But these warriors don’t only conjure spirit weapons to wield against these supernatural invaders.

Their voices, and the connection to a dedicated fanbase that their songs build, shape and maintain a shield known as the Honmoon — created by the first hunters in a shamanistic ritual to keep demons from stealing human souls. 

Huntrix is made up of icy cool lead dancer Mira (voiced by May Hong), bubbly rapper and lyricist Zoey (Ji-young Yoo), and lead singer Rumi (Arden Cho), the daughter of a previous hunter, who was raised by another hunter Celine (Yunjin Kim) following her mother’s death. Together, they are preparing to finally seal the demon world away for good by releasing their biggest single yet, which they hope will solidify the Honmoon. 

On the other side of the Honmoon, evil demon king Gwi-Ma (Byung-hun Lee) is approached by demon Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop) with a new strategy: to weaken the hunters, weaken the fanbase. Thus, the Saja Boys are born, an all-demon K-pop act to challenge Huntrix on their own turf. By leeching away their fans with catchier songs, Jinu plans to destroy both the Honmoon and Huntrix.

This all sounds very silly and, on a surface level, it kind of is. But, combined with the insanely catchy music, eye-popping visuals and deceptively moving script, KPop Demon Hunters comes together as a dynamite film that will take you by surprise. 

Sony Pictures Animation really knows what they’re doing when it comes to visualising 2D media with 3D graphics. Much like how the Spider-Verse films employ clever aesthetic tricks to make it feel like you’d walked into a comic book (like skipped frames and colour bleeds), here KPop Demon Hunters creates a distinct visual presence, with stylised emoji faces and full Chibi moments bringing a distinctly Asian flair. The fight scenes are also as fast-paced and stylish as any big-budget anime — or aeni if we’re in Korea. They’re even better for being choreographed to new pop songs, like How It’s Done, and in-universe earworm Soda Pop, which were made with the involvement of notable K-pop industry names like Twice, Teddy Park and Kim Min-seok.

But it’s not all style over substance.

Kang’s original story brings a fair amount of depth and emotion to the rivalry between group leads Rumi and Jinu. Both are wrestling with their own inner turmoil and, as they soon discover, they have more in common with each other than they thought, triggering some deliberate K-Drama-esque “frenemies” tension. 

As moving as their story is, unfortunately, it comes at the expense of developing the other Huntrix members, leaving Mira and Zoey feeling like barely a step up from background characters. Though thankfully, they’re not solely relegated to the role of pure comic relief like band manager Bobby (Ken Jeong), as their own insecurities briefly receive screen time. 

Not helping matters is the film’s very brisk pace right from the outset. It manages to squeeze in quieter reflective moments, but there’s a lot of ground to cover in the allotted 100 minutes, leading to a bit of a rushed climax.

Enough narrative breadcrumbs are dropped to lead to a sequel, but chances are that viewers in the present will wish they could spend more time in this bold, graphic world saturated in Korean culture. KPop Demon Hunters doesn’t bother to explain its references, but even to outsiders they’re recognisable as sincere and authentic inclusions, whether urban-contemporary or historical. This includes the film’s scene-stealing critter pair of a demon tiger and gat-wearing crow.

One final thing to note about KPop Demon Hunters is that its messaging: There’s no obvious LGBT+ representation in the film, but Rumi’s interactions with Celine, where the latter insists that they should hide the singer’s secret to keep things “perfect”, add a sharpness missing from so many other animated films that glibly trot out a “Be true to yourself” message.

It’s one of this energetic sleeper hit’s many surprises. DM

Watch KPop Demon Hunters on Netflix now, following its 20 June streaming service debut. 

This story first appeared in PFangirl.