Time: 100 Minutes
Age Rating: PG – Violence & scary scenes
Voice Cast:
Arden Cho as Rumi
May Hong as Mira
Ji-young Yoo as Zoey
Ahn Hyo-seop as Jinu
Yunjin Kim as Celine
Daniel Dae Kim as Healer Han
Ken Jeong as Bobby
Lee Byung-hun as Gwi-Ma
Director: Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans

I had been meaning to get around to KPop Demon Hunters for some time. I didn’t know too much about it beyond the fact that it was an animated movie which was really popular, it even maintained the title of Netflix’s most popular movie for a number of months since its release (for whatever that’s worth). After hearing one of the songs featured in the movie I decided to check it out, and I definitely get why it is so popular.

KPop Demon Hunters’ story is very simple and straightforward and isn’t the most original, but it makes the most of its nearly 90 minute runtime. It effectively sets up the premise and characters and is well paced, the character moments worked, it is energetic throughout, and has lots of good humour. As a result of the short runtime, some characters definitely get more attention than others. Rumi the protagonist gets the most amount of focus of the central HUNTR/X K-Pop trio, while Zoey and Mira don’t get as much attention despite their distinct personalities. The same can be said about the rival boy band group the Saja Boys, the character of Jinu is prominent while the others are just sort of there. Still, there’s a lot of chemistry between the characters, and the voice cast deliver in their parts. The third act is definitely the most conventional part of the movie and wraps up a bit too neatly and quickly, even though it was enjoyable to watch.

The animation is stunning, fast paced, colourful and vibrant, I really liked the visual style, and the action scenes are enjoyable. The soundtrack is also great with some really catchy and delightful songs.

KPop Demon Hunters is entertaining throughout, and with great and vibrant animation and really catchy music. Considering the popularity and success, I wouldn’t be surprised if they made a sequel and I’d be open to it if they were to make it.