KPop Demon Hunters

• Directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans
• June 20, 2025
• Netflix

Voice Cast

• Rumi-Arden Cho
• Rumi’s singing voice-Ejae
• Young Rumi-Rumi Oak
• Mira-May Hong
• Mira’s singing voice-Audrey Nuna
• Zoey-Ji-young Yoo
• Zoey’s singing voice-Rei Ami
• Jinu-Ahn Hyo-seop
• Jinu’s singing voice-Andrew Choi
• Celine-Yunjin Kim
• Celine’s singing voice-Lea Salonga
• Romance Saja-Joel Kim Booster
• Romance Saja’s singing voice-Samuil Lee
• Mystery Saja-Alan Lee
• Mystery Saja’s singing voice-Kevin Woo
• Abby Saja-Sung Won Cho
• Abby Saja’s singing voice-Neckwav
• Baby Saja-Danny Chung
• Healer Han-Daniel Dae Kim
• Bobby-Ken Jeong
• Gwi-Ma-Lee Byung-hun

A K-pop girl group, Huntr/x, are secretly demon hunters that find themselves facing off against a rival boy band whose members are secretly demons. Not nearly as stupid as it sounds.

I finally caved and decided to give KPop Demon Hunters a look. I’m always into animation but given the trailer and the praise I had a feeling this might get a bit on my nerves or not come close to the hype. After watching I certainly get the appeal. And though there are many things from the start that annoy me like exaggerated reactions that are the norm in such animated films, I found myself enjoying what I was seeing. The music is upbeat and there is a nice balance between the comedy, drama, and action.

Our heroes Huntr/x are trying to permanently seal a doorway between the human world and the demon world by using a barrier called the Honmoon with the goal of strengthing it into the Golden Honmoon permanently protecting Earth from Gwi-Ma and his minions who feed on the souls of humans. That is covered largely in flashback exposition that never drags like such things handed to the audience can.

Gwi-Ma at the urging of a former human named Jinu forms a boyband named Saja Boys to counter the musical efforts of the heroes. Writing that it sounds funny but is very serious when on screen. That silliness is treated seriously as is the whole bonkers fictional reality. Lee Byung-hun infuses every word with disdain but never snark.

This demon king Gwi-Ma I found threatening. As designed he is a fuchsia color blob with vaguely defined features, but the voice and presentation was intense for an animated feature. This in contrast to his minions, the Saja Boys aside, are more kid friendly. Monstrous but not scary.

A bit of the humor comes not  only from the characters but as the story playfully pokes at how the public can immediately get hooked on the next shiny new thing. Side characters will rip off Huntr/x shirts to reveal Saja Boys gear beneath. Or in a very Looney Tunes moment half a crowd at an event rushes to the newly arrived Saja Boys while Huntr/x is dismayed. A good bit of humorous commentary.

The film is about accepting others for who they are and coming to terms with yourself while stepping up to the challenge. Lead vocalist and leader of the musical Kpop trio Huntr/x Rumi is the daughter of a demon father and a deceased demon hunter mother and has kept the truth of her father secret from everyone. She hopes the Golden Honmoon will remove the markings that tell the world if seen her secret.

Rumi is looking for a sense of belonging and personal acceptance. The secret she is forced to keep has her conflicted. It puts her at a distance with those closest and into conflict with her foster mother. There’s also a theme of not giving into the darker impulses or the fear which here the demon feeds on.

I expected Jinu being a human-turned-demon to be revealed as Rumi’s father but that was quickly discarded as a potential. Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans looked like they were aiming at ‘tragic romance’ between the two but there was no expression of feelings. Rumi more was dealing with someone she viewed as almost a soul in a similar situation.

There’s not too much story here. It’s a much shorter film stretched out by songs and battle sequences. The songs are fun and poppy. The ones from both bands are a bit on the nose if you know the truth. If you try to put yourself in the place of a fan ignorant of the truth they are catchy tunes. This movie never feels empty or stretched out by keeping the viewer continuously entertained.

Perhaps because this is not only a love letter to K-pop but done from a Korean perspective incorporating culturally unique aspects of demonology and mysticism into a universally accessible story. The characters have personalities that one can relate with.

KPop Demon Hunters was a surprisingly enjoyable movie. I watched it to understand what all the hype was about, and I can certainly see why there is hype about it. It’s fun and has some messages in it without being so deep that it’s a message heavy movie. It is an enjoyable movie that I think everyone will have a good time watching.