After watching the new Netflix original animated movie to rise to the top of Netflix’s charts, “KPop Demon Hunters”, its success is not at all surprising to see. “KPop Demon Hunters,” directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appehans, is an animated, coming-of-age story that follows pop stars/demon hunters Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong), Zoey (Ji-young Yoo), and their k-pop group, Huntrix.

The film follows the trio in their fight to seal the Honmoon, a magical barrier that keeps the demon and human worlds separate. By uniting fans, making uplifting songs, and slaying demons that break through the barrier, demon hunters strengthen the Honmoon. Huntrix is close to achieving a golden Honmoon (a permanently closed barrier) until new demons appear…in the form of the Saja Boys. They are a rival boy band led by Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop), a human-turned-demon with a troubled past. 

“KPop Demon Hunters” does a great job of dealing with topics like death, violence, and shame, while still being a funny, upbeat movie. One of the many highlights of this movie is the music. Songs like Golden, Your Idol, and Soda Pop are the few that have hit the Billboard Top 100, but every song within the film is a standout. Cho, Hong, and Yoo’s voices are phenomenal and give depth to both the speaking and singing aspects of voice acting.

While the movie is very charming, the pacing throughout is very rocky. With many plot points like Rumi being part demon and Jinu’s backstory, the movie can feel very rushed. With a running time of 1:36:00, it feels as if every plot development has been crammed in. 

Besides the amazing soundtrack, the dynamics between every character pushed the story far beyond killing demons and singing fun songs. Strong female friendships were displayed in the dynamic between Rumi, Mira, and Zoey very well. Even though the group had fights, it was great to see their perserverence through hard times.

Although this film is very action-packed, the themes of self love and acceptance were shown throughout the movie. Specifically, to see Rumi have to accept herself for who she is and grow to not hide it from the world was the best part of the plot. 

I think this movie would be great for anyone to see because of how many positive messages are given throughout. This movie is rated PG but can still be watched by adults without being too childish.

I really loved this movie, especially its soundtrack and the themes presented throughout. Even without good pacing, I rate this movie a 4.5/5.