KPop Demon Hunters (2025)

Delightfully absurd and refreshingly creative, I enjoyed this film a lot, though maybe not quite as much as I would have if I were a true Kpop fan.  

The playful art style is visually distinct - feels like a nice cross between code lyoko annd into the spiderverse. It actually made me wish that this movie had come out in theaters. The songs really sound like Kpop songs - catchy and giving Blackpink. The sheer absurdity of the story is the strongest draw for me. It kept me engaged and made me laugh out loud more than once. 

On the other hand, I feel like I’m missing too much context to make enough meaning out of the story. Or at least I would have appreciated what I did manage to connect more if I were more familiar with the Kpop discourse. There’s commentary about Kpop idols being unhealthy role models, also about how Korean idol factory companies mistreat these idols and solely use them to make money at the expense of both the idols and their fans. But as someone who doesn’t follow Kpop (or any idol culture if I’m being honest), I just kind of .. don’t care about this😅? I was hoping some themes of this movie would break through to me even though I’m not a big Kpop fan based on the rave reviews, but they did not. 

Some parts of the story also don’t quite work for me. Why did the ending for the boy need to be the way it is. Who is Celine and what does she represent? I can mostly overlook this because this story is so ridiculous and such details don’t need to make sense, but it would be nice if they did.