Review: KPOP DEMON HUNTERS is worth all the hype

KPOP DEMON HUNTERS

Director: Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans

Screenplay: Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans, Danya Jimenez, Hannah McMechan

Producer: Michelle Wong

Starring: Arden Cho (EJAE as the singing voice), May Hong (Audrey Nuna as the singing voice), Ji-young Yoo (Rei Ami as the singing voice), Ahn Hyoseop (Andrew Choi as the singing voice), Lee Byung-hun, Yunjin Kim.

The following review contains spoilers for KPop Demon Hunters which released on June 20, 2025.

KPop Demon Hunters is set in a world where a trio of young women use their voices to create a shield called the Honmoon which suppresses demons and prevents them from escaping the world. The show focuses on the current generation, a K-Pop girl group phenomenon called HUNTR/X composed of singers Rumi, Mira, and Zoey. When they’re not composing, singing, dancing, or slurping ramen, the three spend the rest of their time killing demons who emerge from the depths. Forming the Golden Honmoon is important to the three Demon Hunters, not only because it’s the barrier that will permanently seal the demons and their king, Gwi-Ma, but also because for Rumi, she can finally make the patterns–the defining marks of a demon spreading across her skin–go away.

You see, Rumi is half demon. Her mother was a Demon Hunter who passed away when she was young and her father is a demon. In order for her to fulfill her job as a Demon Hunter, she hides her patterns from her friends and the world. Except her secret gets discovered by the worst possible person: a demon named Jinu, masquerading as the leader of a boy band.

The movie’s gorgeous animation

KPop Demon Hunters utilizes animation as a medium to the fullest. There have been talks about turning it into a live-action, but it simply won’t translate the same. The exaggerated expressions, The Hip Thrust, the physical manifestation of the blow-kiss, Zoey’s iconic heart eyes transitioning to abs to corn on the cob to exploding into popcorn because Abby’s abs indeed need a front row seat to admire? And this was all in just one scene.

You can maybe do the same thing in a live-action but it’ll look out-of-place and unnatural and won’t make people laugh in the way it was intending to. And really, when will you ever see a shirt button popping out into a melted piece of butter, perfect for popcorn?

There are so many other scenes where you can see the animators having fun and taking advantage of the medium to create expressions that you won’t see on a real person’s face like the girls gorging out on their pre-show meal or the boys chugging spicy sauce. Humor aside, you can also see the animators’ skills in the slower emotional beats in the film such as the subtle shifts in Jinu’s expression that cannot hide his inner struggle.

A golden love letter to Korean culture

While KPop Demon Hunters doesn’t paint a realistic picture of what it’s like to be a K-Pop idol, it captures the experience of being a K-Pop fan, and the movie made sure to include a diverse range of fans. I’ve been in various different K-Pop fandoms for years and fans get a bad rep, especially female fans. They’re seen as fanatic, delusional, even crazy, and they’re made fun of or villainized. But KPop Demon Hunters does the opposite: they celebrate the fans. The fans are the ones fuelling HUNTR/X and they’re the ones helping them create the Honmoon.

It also puts Korean culture front and center through the food and their Korean dramas. Anyone who has ever watched a K-drama will recognize the classic slow-mo bump-and-crash, the slow realization of “Holy hell, this guy is hot,” and the girl making an absolute fool of herself. And some people may have noticed the Easter egg in Jinu’s entrance song “Love, Maybe” as it comes from his voice actor’s drama Business Proposal. It’s those little treats that make it so exciting for fans to watch and rewatch.

KPop Demon Hunters is supremely conscious of the industry it’s representing. It seems to be purposefully poking fun at things that make the K-Pop industry laughable to those who have never listened to the music, such as the colorful hair and the ridiculous names of the Saja Boys. Celine’s concern with the girls hiding their fears and insecurities is also pointed criticism of the industry. Companies and netizens are obsessed with idols being the epitome of perfection and idols are constantly under scrutiny for their appearance and behavior. Any small misstep can lead to a full-blown scandal.

Fans left with many unanswered questions

KPop Demon Hunters could’ve done with maybe an additional half hour. The last part of the film felt noticeably rushed, especially since the film had good pacing up until then. It felt like something was missing in Rumi’s confrontation with Celine, such as the emotional aftermath of their fall-out. Does Celine finally see the error of her ways? Does she apologize to Rumi? The happy ending was almost too nicely wrapped up, slapping on a finale song to defeat the evil demons, and I wished the girls got more time to talk with each other post-reveal.

We just barely touched the surface of the world as most of the attention was turned to Rumi’s inner conflict and coming to terms with her heritage. As a result, it left me wondering about how Hunters were chosen; what was the training process like; are there any other demons like Jinu who seem to be constantly tormented by shame and guilt; was Rumi the only half-demon half-Hunter? Does Rumi have any demon powers? Are the demons truly vanquished?

The runtime also made it impossible for KPDH to expand on the other HUNTR/X members, which was a little disappointing. Anything that we know about Mira and Zoey were told to us rather than shown. I was really interested in Rumi and Mira’s friendship because they seemed pretty close with each other, with Mira visiting Rumi in her room and Rumi bringing up her insecurities. I wish the film would’ve expanded on the trio’s friendship (I loved how Zoey and Mira were so supportive and comforting of Rumi when she was losing her voice) and how they became friends. Maybe in the sequel?

A story that everyone can resonate with

KPDH has all the makings of a beloved kids film, but what makes it universal? Why do so many people love it so much?

Because more than its catchy songs, more than its beautiful visuals, it’s a story about unconditional love and acceptance.

Jinu’s betrayal and subsequent redemption was a representation of his love for Rumi. He lost his mother and sister due to his selfishness–a choice that has tormented him for centuries. When he saw her come back, her demon marks on full display, as she fought to protect the world, he couldn’t bear to hurt her again. To prove his sincerity and his feelings for her, he gave her his soul.

Rumi’s voice was affected because she couldn’t accept nor love her whole self which includes her demon side. That was clear through Celine urging her to hide her patterns, insisting that she loves Rumi even though she can’t even bear to look at her or even touch the side of her face where her demonic features are most prominent. Celine could “accept” her only if Rumi covered up her markings, could “love” her once the Honmoon was sealed.

While Mira and Zoey’s stories were never fully explored, the two girls never felt comfortable with their families. Mira was the black sheep; Zoey always felt like she had to make everyone else happy for them to like her. But when they were together and with Rumi, they could be themselves without fear of judgement or rejection. The three found a family who loved them with all their messiness and imperfections.

And who hasn’t ever wanted that?