Great singing and shiny blades combine to make this to the top of my 2025 list
Originally published in TheDiarist.ph
What do bright and shiny K-Pop idols have to do with fighting demons? Absolutely nothing. And yet, we’ve found ourselves a gem of a movie with a uniquely simple but well-executed premise.
K-Pop Demon Hunters centers on K-pop idol Rumi and fellow group members Mira and Zoey. But the girls weren’t trained just to perform, they were also trained to become Demon Hunters!
In the movie’s lore, every generation, a trio of huntresses are born to use both their fighting and singing prowess to battle demons. Using their music, they unite the hearts of people to strengthen a barrier called the Honmoon to keep the demons and their King, Gwi-Ma, from stealing people’s souls and plunging the world into darkness.
The twist comes when Rumi’s singing weakens just as the girls are about to turn the Honmoon golden (strengthening its power to its peak) in the lead-up to the biggest show of the year, the Idol Awards. Why?
Because, despite being a Demon Hunter, Rumi is a demon herself. Born half-human, half-demon, Rumi has been hiding her “patterns” (a physical indicator of a demon) from her two other members, Mira and Zoey.
The movie tells the journey of Rumi coming to terms with her shame and patterns as well as opening herself up to another demon (voiced by Ahn Hyo Seop of Business Proposal fame) who has yet to fully throw away his humanity. Antics within the K-pop industry ensue involving the Saja Boys (Gwi-Ma’s demon boy bad) and Huntrix (Rumi’s group).
Through music, epic action, and heartfelt dialogue, the movie pulls at our heartstrings, while also serving as love letter to and celebration of K-pop and K-culture.
When I first watched the trailer, I didn’t have high hopes. Though excited, I wondered if a movie could really utilize K-pop in a way that wasn’t reductive or meant as a mere marketing scheme, only to disappoint in execution. Movies that ride on hype can be either very big hits or misses. That, coupled with K-pop being seen as merely a “teenage girls” genre, and you’d understand my hesitation.
How could a movie capture the intricacies and the love of the fandom, while telling a compelling story? Would the movie just make jokes at the expense of the audience it wants to attract?
Through music, epic action, and heartfelt dialogue, the movie pulls at our heartstrings, while also serving as a love letter to and celebration of K-pop and K-culture
And yet, at the onset, the first song and sequence alone (How It’s Done), I was impressed by everything! The song was energetic and a great way to introduce our three main girls. The action was high-octane, and the film was packed with so much detail and love in every frame. My heart swelled watching it because I felt like I was on a rollercoaster in the best way possible.
The movie didn’t try to shove down references or do things in a way that felt disingenuous. It felt like a nod to the audience it wanted to initially attract, yet didn’t alienate the people who weren’t into K-pop and the fandoms, either. I watched the movie with a friend who wasn’t into K-pop all that much, but his reactions were even louder than mine at times! He was hyped and bopping his head along to the music and found the culture around K-pop fascinating.
Admittedly, it isn’t a perfect movie, with pacing that is sometimes too long or too quick. My smaller gripes include not getting more development and screen time with the other Huntresses, Mira and Zoey, as well as more world- or story-building. But then, the movie still ranks higher than average on my list of top movies in 2025. And it more than makes up for the pacing with its story and themes.
The movie shows that true freedom comes from showing everything about ourselves, all the parts that make up the whole—patterns and all. Rumi has to hide her patterns out of shame and for fear of being ostracized because of her demon blood. But towards the end, she comes to terms with who she really is and embraces her patterns. Empowered by this freedom, she seals away Gwi-Ma with the power of music alongside her best friends.
The movie is a beautiful balance of light-hearted comedy, inside jokes, and heartfelt moments, with a story that is believable and doesn’t require its audience to fill the gaps. It treats its audience as smart, capable people with the ability to read between the lines, not shoving the idea down our throat. Yes, there are explanations of things, but never to the point where it becomes ridiculous and boring to listen to.
I’m quite the K-pop fan; I’ve been one since I was 13 years old, and have been immersed in the genre for more than a decade now. There has been no shortage of movies with K-pop premises but none, in my opinion, comes close to the level that K-Pop Demon Hunters has in both music and love for the genre itself.
The whole album is what we in Gen-Z would consider a “no-skip” album. There are so many nods to the different types of songs that could come out of K-pop (Soda Pop being a bubbly boy group song, Huntrix songs being “girl crush” concepts, etc.). And, of course, they even added a K-drama OST song as a nod to Ahn Hyo Seop’s drama! You could tell that the people behind the movie are fans of everything K-culture themselves. The respect and love they have is evident throughout the movie. It’d be impossible to fit every reference in a single article.
So, please, take this as an encouragement or the final push needed to watch this movie. Beyond being a fan of K-pop, I’m elated to see another animated movie getting the flowers it deserves. The movie has blasted through Netflix’s charts at No. 1 upon its release on June 20 and continues to stay in the Top Ten.
Animation is often overlooked in lieu of more “serious” films, but there is so much that animation can offer that can’t be seen in other mediums. Showing support both for K-pop and animation is something that we don’t see outside of their niches, and I’m hoping that K-Pop Demon Hunters is one step towards bridging that gap, and earning the respect both genres have always deserved.
