K-Pop Demon Hunters: Singing Their Way Into Our Hearts

K-Pop Demon Hunters is Sony’s newest action-packed, visually stunning animation film, and it has taken the world by storm! It hit an impressive 56.1 million views on Netflix since its release on June 20th. But what is K-Pop Demon Hunters? What makes it so special?

Overview

K-Pop Demon Hunters follows the Korean pop (K-pop) girl group known as Huntr/x. The celebrity trio, Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong), and Zoey (Yoo Ji-young), secretly lead double lives as demon hunters.

They are the hunters of their generation, tasked with upholding the Honmoon, the mythical barrier that keeps demons out of their world. Then came the Saja Boys, the viral demon boy band, who rival them both onstage and in the supernatural world.

The demons are being led by a talking fire called Gwi-Ma (Lee Byung-hun), who aims to steal and consume souls. A demon named Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop) proposes the idea of creating a demon boy band in exchange for Gwi-Ma erasing his memories. The idea of a boy band is ingenious, because K-pop celebrities are idols (popular singers in Korea) that are well-loved, and what’s the best way to take souls than in a form that people love? Many fans of the film have acknowledged that they would willingly give up their souls even after learning about the demon’s goals.

At first glance, the premise may seem simple, but it draws you in and wins you over with its masterful execution. The entire film is filled with layers upon layers of brilliant depth and references to Korean mythology and culture.

The Record-breaking Soundtrack

Arguably the best part of the movie is the songs! After all, what’s a K-pop movie without a catchy, addictive soundtrack that lives rent-free in your head?

The soundtrack’s already charting in the Billboard Top 10 and topping many other music charts. Each song is paired with stunning animation and choreography. I love that every track has its own unique style and serves a purpose, making the whole thing feel like a musical rollercoaster.

The movie uses the song “How It’s Done” as an opening scene, and as an introduction to Huntr/x’s dynamic and music style, which is done very well! You can already tell the movie is going to be amazing just from this song. Apparently, this was also the hardest song to write, taking 57 tries. This detail is reflected in the movie with Zoey having 57 ideas for “Takedown.” It also has been confirmed to be modeled after Blackpink, a very famous K-pop group.

“Golden” is rrguably the most famous song in the movie. It’s meant to represent each of the Huntr/x trio’s struggles and identity. I love the way they incorporated the introduction of the song as the release of a music video to the public! Within the story, this song is also supposed to be the final push to turn the Honmoon golden – which would permanently banish all demons – hence the theme of the song. It’s one of the most popular songs in the movie, and it is praised for the high notes and catchy tune. However, there has been backlash after the movie’s release about the line distribution, because Mira and Zoey barely have any, despite the supposed meaning of the song being for all of them. I think it’s a valid point, especially since the two members don’t have many lines to begin with.

“Free” is focused purely on the relationship between Rumi and Jinu. The song reflects them wanting to be free of their burdens and shows their vulnerabilities.

The execution is perfect, from the harmonizing to the slowly rising melody. The lyrics are much deeper than you would expect from a kid’s movie.

One of the most plot-relevant songs in the movie is “Takedown”. It starts out as purely a hate song for demons but slowly becomes a representation for Rumi’s internal conflicts as the movie progresses. It shows Rumi’s changing view on demons throughout the film, from the way she first proposed the idea to hesitating on the lyrics and finding them too hateful, before it’s used against her to reveal her heritage.

“What it Sounds Like” is the final song that the hunters use to defeat the demons. It’s a representation of what “Takedown” tried to be, and it is described as “the song we couldn’t write.” Essentially, it’s a representation of everything Huntr/x should have done, which they’re now amending.

Saja Boys only get two songs, but that does not make them any less interesting or catchy.

“Soda Pop” is reminiscent of bands like BTS and serves as an introduction to Saja Boys. It’s perfect in the way that it’s meant to follow modern K-pop trends. It worked, because just from that song alone, the Saja Boys reached the Idol Awards, rivaling Huntr/x.

“Your Idol” is a very different from “Soda Pop.” While Soda Pop leans towards the cutesy boy band vibe, “Your Idol” shows off the Saja Boys’ demon side, along with the darker version of K-pop and idols in general. The lyrics talk about worshipping idols and chasing fame, which is common with celebrities everywhere. It’s currently rivalling “Golden” on the charts in a strangely accurate representation of the charts in the film. The intentions of the group are very evident in the song – they are outright saying that they’re there for the fans’ souls. It’s strangely captivating despite the lyrics, and overall, it is a great villain song!

There are also many different dubs, and while some of them don’t cover the songs, many do! I love that the production team included that, so fans around the world can listen to the songs in their own language. The languages of the dubbed songs include French, Hebrew, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and Filipino!

Conclusion

Overall, this film’s popularity is greatly deserved, and you do not need to be a K-pop fan to love it. Prior to this film I never paid much attention to K-pop, but this was the film that did me in. Hopefully its popularity will be a sign to Sony to continue production so that they can answer all our questions! In the meantime, I’ll be singing the songs and laughing at the memes, waiting for it.