Meari21

K-pop Demon Hunters, to me, is what people outside of Korea might perceive Korean culture and its K-pop sub-culture to be. I see this movie as more of an omage than a true reflection of what really goes on in the industry. I will go more into that later. I give them props for taking inspiration from Korean shamanism (mudang) and demonology, though. And the fact that they put real effort into hiring Koreans or people of Korean-descent for the cast, and got bonafide K-pop songwriters and producers to do the soundtrack is something that I truly appreciate even though I am not a fan of this genre of music. The animation, of course, is superb. Sony seems to have hit the jackpot with their animation team since Into the Spiderverse. The story and execution, however, didn't quite land for me.

As I've said earlier, this is more of a western creation. Yes, I know, the director is ethnically Korean, but she grew up in Canada so she's not Korean-Korean, if you know what I mean. In Korea, they'd consider her a foreigner quite honestly. But I digress. From the way these girls behave to the way the industry is portrayed, it just doesn't feel Korean (or even Asian), not in the slightest. This is more in the same vein as Kim Possible and The Winx Club with just a sprinkle of gochugaru and gochujang here and there for that Korean flair. The same formula XOXO Kitty so egregiously used.

The fact that the girls are not under a giant entertainment agency that calls all the shots, but instead they get to decide what or what not to do and even hire their own manager, is far from reality. Yes yes, I know, this is a fantasy world. But even fantasies are rooted in reality and whoever decided to write it this way, is perhaps not privy to the ins and outs of the K-pop world. Or maybe they just chose to ignore that completely and made their own interpretation. The girls indulge in ramyeon, junk food, and other fattening snacks just before a show? There's no way that would happen in a real situation, as evidenced by what takes place in many idol survival reality shows in Korea. K-pop idols are forced to maintain a certain weight and appearance. Weight gain is frowned upon and they live in constant scrutiny from the media and their own fans. I just think that they missed the opportunity to show this darker side of K-pop. It would've made this story a lot more compelling imho. But I suppose they don't want to delve into that because that would mean they have to change their target audience. This is a western animated film and not an anime, after all. This is precisely why the movie didn't impress me. I am too old and definitely not the target audience for this.

The world building could've used a little more fleshing out, too. All we got is a short narration and exposition dump in the beginning introducing the hunters and the demons. No explanation on who Gwi Ma is and why he can turn humans into demons but never tried to turn any of the hunters before. No origin story of the hunters either. I mean, they have a wealth of Korean folklore to work with, why not take advantage of that?

This movie seems more like a short story than a full blown screenplay. This would've worked better as a series to be honest. While I liked the whole “I need to accept myself and not be afraid to show my true self” angle, it's not like this hasn't been done before. I've seen others do it better in fact. I guess what I'm trying to say is they could've taken a different approach, explored heavier themes, and reinvented this trope to make it a bit different from the usual fare. The only thing original about this is the inclusion of the K-pop sub-culture. The rest basically have “the power of three will set us free” vibe, nothing Charmed hadn't done three decades ago, and definitely nothing I haven't seen before.

The soundtrack is probably its strongest suit. But since I couldn't care less about this style of music, the songs didn't quite hit except for one, and that was the duet, Free. Lyrically and melodically, it has the potential to become one of those movie themes that stay with you long after you've forgotten the movie. From a technical aspect, it was also produced and performed well. I won't be surprised if the songs become chart-toppers. Judging by the rapidly growing cult following of the movie, I'm almost certain they will be.

All in all, this is not a bad movie. Sure, it's cringe and cheesy, but it also has heart. It's not groundbreakingly good, but it's good entertainment. K-pop fans will surely find this enjoyable. Normies like me might find it entertaining as well. I also salute the filmmakers' attempt at introducing Korean folklore to a more global audience. I just think it had the potential to be so much better if they had made it a little more mature. However, they chose to go the Winx Club route to cater to a younger audience. I can respect that. It is what it is. But to me, the best (and perhaps the only good) part of this movie is that adorable blue tiger demon. How I wish it got more screen time. lol