Right off the bat, I’m not a K-Pop fan. It’s a glorified part of the international music scene that’s saturated, full of manufactured songs engineered as nothing more than fake earworms that mostly ring hollow, has an arguably toxic fanbase, and a reputation for putting its overworked stars and production crew in terrible contracts. However, I am a fan of Sony Pictures Animation’s many takes on the animation genre from Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatball to the industry-influencing Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse. So when the two meet to form a new animated film called K-Pop Demon Hunters, I am clearly conflicted with its initial reveal.

After watching it? I can safely say that I am still not a fan of the music genre, but I can respect it being put to good use in service of fun action-packed story about acceptance and redemption.

Song Birds

K-Pop Demon Hunters is an honest film from its title to its premise. Three chosen ones -Rumi, Mira (May Hong), and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo)- are K-Pop stars called Huntr/x moonlighting as demon hunters, using their voices and popstar work to strengthen the city’s demon ward called Honmoon that powers up when their fans are happy. Think Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and so forth but with K-Pop and Korean culture in the forefront.

The titular demons, controlled by its overlord Gwi-Ma (Lee Byung-hun), end up hatching a plan to counter the star power with their own demon boy band K-Pop group dubbed Saja Boys, with Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop) being the lead pretty boy demon. Add in further complications -Huntr/x leader Rumi being half-demon for one – and you have an entertaining rollercoaster ride for all ages filled with action, humour, and drama all balanced out perfectly.

Sony Pictures Animation’s distinct style from the Spiderverse films take centrestage alongside the pop star trio’s act; if you own it, flaunt it, right? The animation and expressiveness of it all does all the heavy lifting from the choreographed moves from both Huntr/x and Saja Boys, to even the anime-influenced expressions of Rumi and co. when they pig out to snacks pre-concert. Props should also go to the team for introducing “pop corn eyes” whenever Zoey and Mira go ga-ga over pretty boys and abs; they’re still girls in the end and we adore them for being themselves and expressively so.

It’s not just slapstick and overexaggerated faces too as the “Demon Hunter” part gets displayed in full force by showboating the trio’s combat prowess and the ferocity of the fights scenes against their mortal enemies. The fact that the musical aspect plays out beat-by-beat really well in sync with the action from the epic sky fight to the climactic battle punctuated with a catchy balled called “What It Sounds Like” speaks volumes to the massive love the team put into this film. Gorgeous colours, kinetic action, and discipline to tone it all down during the show’s serious moments -particularly with Jinu’s backstory & motivation as well as Rumi’s half-demon nature and conflict with her team- all handled masterfully through great pacing and keeping it in a compact 1-and-a-half hour runtime. It is full of anime tropes, but all done with heart and soul put into it. Plus, the loveable animals trope -the bird-with-a-hat and blue derpy tiger from Jinu’s side- don’t outstay their welcome and provide loveable visual gags to break away from the tension before things get hot and heavy.

The girls’ voicework from Cho, Hong, and Yoo have chemistry and do feel genuine. As does Ahn Hyo-seop’s Jinu and Lee Bying-hun’s Gwi-Ma; one has layers in his performance (he is conflicted with his allegiance through and through) while the other relishes at being all-controlling and menacing. Special props should also go to manager Bobby (Ken Jeong) for being a low-key straight-faced supporter and leader, and also Healer Han’s (Daniel Dae Kim) short-but-memorable appearance in helping out Rumi’s ailing vocal chords and giving introspective to the trio. The girl’s mentor figure Celine (Yunjin Kim) is underutilized, as she only makes a few appearances and only makes a slight impact at the tail end of the show.

Done, Done, Done

While your enjoyment of K-Pop Demon Hunters may depend on your tolerance for the genre since half of it relies on its songs and musical presentation, the rest of the show is immaculate. The plot does take a few awesome turns amidst the magical girl-versus-evil trope established, and the main cast is incredibly loveable in both personality and soul.

It won’t change your mind outright about the genre it’s based on, but the filmmakers show a lot of respect and class in representing it in the best light possible while not losing sight of its core narrative. It uses its backdrop & material very well in telling its lavishly animated take on an all-girl action troupe flick. It’s always good to keep an open mind because you may miss out on what could be a great sideshow before the third Spider-verse film finally rears its comic-book head. Not even the dubious reputation of the most overrated music genre of this generation is enough to steer me away from the fun & energy of K-Pop Demon Hunters.

Final Score: 80/100

English Dub or Korean Dub?

Honestly, the trifecta of English, Japanese, and Korean are all done well.

Major props to the Filipino dub for using Tagalog for the majority of the songs.