This Week in Anime

Demon Hunting KPop Style

Coop
Lucas, I'm surprised and thrilled to hear that you've just seen the animated flick of the summer—KPop Demon Hunters. While the demon-slaying girl group romp has only been out since the end of June, it's safe to say that the film has taken the world by storm. KPop isn't exactly anime, but I can't imagine walking away from it without seeing the medium's influence. Given the impact of Sony Pictures Animation's other efforts—the critically acclaimed Spider-Verse films—on the anime industry (especially titles like Trigun Stampede), I wouldn't be surprised if KPop does the same.

It doesn't hurt that the entire cast is intentionally thirst-able, either.

Like Final Fantasy X-2, KPop Demon Hunters is very much about what it can do for you, the audience. And the film was an absolute joy to revisit for today's edition of This Week in Anime. There are so many Japanese animation influences, and we can wedge it into the anime discussion.

I think it behooves us to check this one out, especially with that aforementioned potential for industry influence. But before we go any further with my thoughts or Netflix's questionable plans for a KPop empire, what did you think of the film, Lucas?

It's funny you mention your familiarity with the musical genre specifically, because my past experiences with K-pop turned me off from the film at first. Particularly, because of the insights I gleaned from a panel I'd attended at Otakon last year regarding the industry's not-so-glamorous nuts and bolts. The glitzy industry artifice and the film's admittedly clunky title met me when I wasn't willing to engage with the film on its terms. I'd stopped on my first watch, but there was something in my gut that said, "Hey, you're being unfair to something that's brimming with love and creativity." So, I gave KPop Demon Hunters a proper chance, and I adored it. It smartly pokes at the industry despite being in bed with it out of necessity.

As you said, this film is a wonderful celebration of Korean culture. It doesn't use that rich history and its entertainment industry as just set dressing, but rather, it's deeply woven into every beat of the film—from the folklore behind the hunters and the honmoon to how co-director Maggie Kang was hellbent on emulating the framing and light of K-Dramas. It's a bit more than a skin-deep portrayal of the country. For more production information (including that tidbit about Kang's influences), Channel Frederator has a great rundown on the film's large and small details.

For instance, KPop Demon Hunters probably has the most costume changes out of any modern animated film ever made. I believe it.

Speaking of those fits, I can't get over the fabric and fiber rendering in this flick! I had the screen a lot closer to my face while rewatching it, and couldn't stop being amazed by the fine stitching of the patches on Rumi's jacket or the behavior of everyone's hair. It's astonishing that we've come this far in CG animation, even more so when you look twenty years back to The Incredibles and see the featurettes documenting just how much Pixar struggled with the human form.

That is the movie's greatest strength—it follows the emotion of the moment and isn't above bending logic to make it happen. The general thrust of the film is an external and internal fight for acceptance, but not in a way that feels heavy-handed. Despite carrying a fairly broad message, Rumi's struggle can be seen through so many relatable lenses. Be it the fear of coming out as queer, feeling out of place as a biracial person, struggling with your self-image, or moving on from past actions, her story hits home on so many levels—ones that Zoey, Mira, and even Jinu can relate to.

This scene particularly hit hard. I've both felt this exact emotion before and have known many others who've gone through their own version of the situation.

I can see that, because this is maybe one of the few recent instances where I found a wide swing like this to work. But I have to admit that at its core, KPop Demon Hunters is a rather simple yet refined story. Most audiences have probably encountered a tale like this before, so it's no wonder that people are making comparisons between the character arcs of Rumi, Frozen's Elsa, and many more animated heroines. We'll get back to the Disney juggernaut in a moment.

But given the vocal groundswell around what is a fresh spin on well-trodden plot paths, I understand why some potential viewers are keeping their distance. After a while, that chatter can become white noise instead of being heard as an earnest recommendation. A great example of this in the anime space is perhaps an old friend recommending the latest and greatest shonen title to you. They gave you a heartfelt recommendation, but there can be a larger, outside amount of noise around it that you might or might not have to shake off. Don't get it twisted, KPop Demon Hunters is wonderful, but it's still building off the greater canon of animated films.

I blame Chris's love of Transformers for reminding me of this "inspired" Ken Jeong performance.

Oddly enough, Bobby's probably the most relaxed role he's had in a while... Which also allows Netflix to promote their wide line of merch in the film itself. I'm not a marketing guy, but putting concert merch in your movie that you can sell later seems like a slam-dunk idea to me.

As a merchandise appreciator, it's been fascinating to watch Netflix build out its shop in real-time to meet growing demand while trying to outpace the less-than-legal recreations and excellent fan merch you can find elsewhere.

That's where it gets a bit messy, because while SPA produced the film, Netflix owns it...and their rush to milk this film for all it's worth is troubling to me. The direct comparison to Frozen was particularly chilly in my eyes. Both films are new and scrappy takes on stories we might've seen before. In the case of Frozen, Disney allegedly scrambled to get any and everything out they could to satiate their merchandising maw. That approach didn't do any favors to Frozen 2.

I believe there's some real potential for a KPop follow-up to expand upon the film's strengths, but there will be no room to do that if the focus is put solely on getting all this product out. I hate to say it, but there's a non-zero chance we look back at this one in a few years and go "That first one was a fun flick, but boy did it go downhill when they started pumping sequels and shows out." Please, just let the team go dark for three to five years, and they'll come back when they're good to go.

I'm pretty sure you can even buy that greeting card.

At the very least, Netflix needs to send these to SungWon Cho so he can get up to some digital or real-life tomfoolery.

But abs aside, the sheer commercialization of the film on all angles does bring me back to my initial hesitance around that sector of the music industry concerning this film. I'm thrilled that the movie broke through those conceptions and resonated with me, but this film is another cog in the greater K-pop machine. I think the general Western audience might get a larger insight into that machine as the popularity of the film and its music continues to grow. Heck, "Golden" has even seen some radio play as it continues to break records.

Again, I dug the film, but I can't overlook those forceful (and occasionally questionable) commercial elements.

Absolutely! I'm glad I was able to pull something out of this, but I'm largely in the same boat. However, I wouldn't say no if Netflix let Sony put out a Blu-ray of the film. Then, I could properly enjoy the greatest pastime known to man: Couch.

And while we're here, go to a Korean spa sometime! it rules!