K-Pop Demon Hunters: Better Than Every Animated Movie in Theaters

Ok, so just to clarify: I am in fact a fifty year old man and not a teenage girl. If you have been following my channel you already know I am pretty much a complete nerd. I dress up as super heroes for fun and write about pop culture, so me talking about this movie probably doesn’t come as a surprise.

Another fun fact about me is that I also watch Korean dramas. No, I generally don’t listen to K-Pop, but I have to admit it is catchy. Much more to me then hip-hop or rap, though rap is incorporated into Korean pop music often. I also love Anime and Anime music, but again, no surprise there.

This movie is both Korean drama, Korean Idol band and anime all rolled into one so you can see why it would appeal to me. At first, I thought it was a new Netflix show and I put it in the back of my mind as something I would check out later. Especially after the masterpiece that Gentry Chau vs. the Underworld was, I figured it would be good. So, after my children raved about it and pretty much demanded I watch it, I decided to check it out sooner rather than later.

Ok, so my kids were right , the music in this movie is amazing. I will be adding it to my Spotify play list next time I am in the gym. (Don’t judge me until you watch it for yourself.) Honestly, I used to love Disney music, but nothing they have done in the last few years has really made an impact on me. The music in this film, however, is still rolling around in my head even hours after I watched it.

To be fair, pretty much every Disney offering has been rehashing stuff they have already done with a few exceptions and those have been forgettable. The music in this film is not only fresh and exciting, the lyrics are deep and poignant. As my friends would say, I am a sucker for a moving message and this film has it in spades. Not only is it shown in the story and characters, it is driven home by the music and the lyrics. Very much like Disney films used to do.

So, on to the message. It is on par with Thunderbolts. It is about finding the beauty in brokenness and not allowing it to define all you are or ever will be. It is about friendship and finding a community that will love you in spite of your past failures. Again, as a Christian how could I not be moved.

The main character Rumi also feels like she is a mistake and shouldn’t have been born. She is half demon and half human who kills demons. She believes, because her teacher who was her moms best friend taught her, that if she can use her voice to seal the demon world forever than her demon half would evaporate. Like her, I wrestled with feeling like I was somehow a mistake. That God had messed up when he created me.

In fact, the villain is an actual demon who speaks into peoples ears reinforcing the feelings of failure, shame, hopelessness and worthlessness. It tells people to hide their faults from others because it makes them unlovable. Sound familiar? I know it does to me. Very much like the Void in Thunderbolts. This demon locks you in the pain of your past failures, convinces people they are all alone, and then steals your soul and your future. It plays on your insecurities reinforcing lies until it has you caged by them.

Wow. Maybe God is moving in pop culture in ways we didn’t expect. I am not saying the creators are Christians, but I can certainly see God speaking through this and the Thunderbolts. Very much like the Matrix, but that is for another post.

Honestly I am still feeling the feels even hours after the film ended and that is what a good movie should do. Heck, that is what all good art should do, make you feel something deep in your soul. Something that sticks with you long afterward and makes you think. This film does that and it does it well. (I am not crying right now, and I am certainly not wishing that Rumi was real and I am absolutely not dreaming of a broken girl like her that will see me the way she sees Jinu. Ok, that should have stayed in my head…)

So, that being said, why was this not in mainstream theaters? It certainly is better than every offering Hollywood has given us over the last few years. Lets see, we currently have Elio, Dogman, Bad Guys 2, another Smurfs movie, Zootopia 2, A Plankton Movie….need I go on? Why by the love of all that is Holy was this film not in theaters? It’s a Sony movie, and yes it’s a Netflix movie, but it should be in theaters.

Maybe its because it is a bit more tween to younger teen and not a kids movie, but man, this movie would have cleaned up if it had been released in theaters. It literally would have no competition. A bit scary for younger children perhaps, but no more so than Monster House or Coraline. I would absolutely have taken my kids to see this movie when they were younger. Not adult like League of Legends Arcane, but not for young kids like Elio.

Maybe it’s because it lacks the “Message.” The main characters are women, so what’s the problem. They are minorities and culturally relevant. Sure, there is a bit of a love story that is sweet and pulled at my romantic heart strings, but the women and their music is what saves everyone. It allows them to be feminine and vulnerable, but strong at the same time. Maybe it is because it celebrates the strengths and differences between men and women that Disney and the message obsessed Hollywood hate so much.

As a writer I can’t help but think that if Star Wars had done with Rey what this movie did with Rumi than the Sequel Trilogy would have been excellent. She wrestles with her dark side which was given to her by her father, and she has to come to terms with it as part of herself and find the beauty in it while not letting the darkness define her. Just like what Rey was designed to do, she tears down the failed old dogma and replaces it with something better. Seriously, this is what should have been Rey’s story. (Oh what could have been…sigh.)

Either way, this movie is everything Disney and Dream Works used to be. It has gorgeous animation, beautiful music, fantastic voice acting, a positive message about overcoming hate and not allowing our past failures to define us, and is entertaining for both parents and children.

This is not really a film review so I will wrap it up here. If Netflix keeps giving us content like this then the major studios like Disney should be quaking in their boots. I was a teenager during the Disney renaissance and my kids grew up in the early to mid 2000’s during the hey day of great animation. I had thought that those days were gone, but films like this give me hope that just maybe, they are coming again.

I will leave you with the lyrics for the end battles song and maybe the words will touch you the way they touched me.

[Verse 1: Rumi]

Nothing but the truth now

Nothing but the proof of what I am

The worst of what I came from,

patterns I’m ashamed of

Things that even I don’t understand

I tried to fix it, I tried to fight it

My head was twisted, my heart divided

My lies all collided

I don’t know why I didn’t trust you to be on my side

[Chorus: Rumi, Zoey, Mira, All]

I broke into a million pieces, and I can’t go back

But now I’m seeing all the beauty in the broken glass

The scars are part of me, darkness and harmony

My voice without the lies, this is what it sounds like

Why did I cover up the colors stuck inside my head?

I should’ve let the jagged edges meet the light instead

Show me what’s underneath, I’ll find your harmony

The song we couldn’t write, this is what it sounds like

[Verse 2: Rumi]

We’re shattering the silence, we’re rising, defiant

Shouting in the quiet, “You’re not alone”

We listened to the demons, we let them get between us

But none of us are out here on our own

So we were cowards, so we were liars

So we’re not heroes, we’re still survivors

The dreamers, the fighters, no lying, I’m tired

But dive in the fire, and I’ll be right here by your side

[Chorus: Rumi]

We broke into a million pieces, and we can’t go back

But now we’re seeing all the beauty in the broken glass

The scars are part of me, darkness and harmony

My voice without the lies, this is what it sounds like

Why did we cover up the colors stuck inside our head?

Get up and let the jagged edges meet the light instead

Show me what’s underneath, I’ll find your harmony

Fearless and undefined, this is what it sounds like

[Bridge: All](Oh, hey)

This is what it sounds like(Oh, oh, oh) Hey, hey

This is what it sounds like(Oh, oh, oh) Hey, hey

This is what it sounds like(Oh, oh, oh) Hey, hey

Oh, this is what it — , this is what it —This is what it sounds like

[Chorus: Rumi]

We broke into a million pieces, and we can’t go back

But now I’m seeing all the beauty in the broken glass

The scars are part of me, darkness and harmony

My voice without the lies, this is what it sounds like

Why did we cover up the colors stuck inside our head?

Get up and let the jagged edges meet the light instead

Show me what’s underneath, I’ll find your harmony

Fearless and undefined, this is what it sounds like

J

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For more from JW Kiefer, you can find him at JWKIEFER.com or on Medium.