The global hit “KPop Demon Hunters” is the most streamed movie on Netflix. This movie has reached over 325 million views, and has remained in the top 10 for 14 weeks. “KPop Demon Hunters” is musically inclined and involves the genre of K-pop, which has gained popularity over the years. Not only is the movie itself doing well, but the soundtrack has achieved historical success by being the first movie soundtrack to have four songs simultaneously in the Billboard Hot 100 top 10.
The first song in the movie titled “How It’s Done” is the perfect hype song. Whenever I go on runs, this song is the first one I play. With that said, songs like “Golden”, “Soda Pop” and “Your Idol” are the three most popular songs from the movie. I like “Your Idol” the most of these, because of its catchy rhythm and the outfits the characters wear while singing it. Another testament to the soundtrack’s success: “Golden” has topped Spotify’s global top songs chart since July.
Now, my opinion of “KPop Demon Hunters” was set even before I watched the full movie. When I watched the trailer, I was amazed at the character designs and the catchy music. Not to mention that the cast list contained many well known actors such as Arden Cho from “Teen Wolf”, Ahn Hyo Seop from “Business Proposal” and Lee Byung-Hun from “Squid Games”. While watching for the first time, I was captivated by the breathtaking animation and melodious tunes. Sony has had an amazing track record with animation projects, such as “Spiderman: Across the Spider Verse” and “Hotel Transylvania” and now “KPop Demon Hunters” can be included in the mix.
“KPop Demon Hunters” not only entertains viewers, but immerses them and teaches them about Korean culture. The movie portrayed different cultural practices such as bowing to show respect and greeting others, and using specific titles to address people with. For example, in the movie an honorific term “nim” is used, which is utilized to show high respect for someone, or for a person of higher status. Another term that was used was “hoobae,”which is for someone with less experience than others in a certain field.
The movie also incorporated some Korean foods including kimbap, ramyeon, tteokbokki, naengmyeon and hotteok. Being able to watch a movie like this and learn about a different culture at the same time is something that should be praised more in today’s world. This inclusion of Korean culture made the movie even more special and unique. All of this to say, not everyone has had the same reaction I have.
“The movie was overall mediocre and the plotline was very predictable,” said freshman Adelina Dibbs.
One could agree that there were many aspects of the movie that could have been changed to make it more exciting and climatic. These could include adding the Saja boys’ backstory, the backstory of the original hunters and a very popular request, who Rumi’s dad was and the story of him and Rumi’s mom. However, with the length of the movie being one hour and 36 minutes, the storyboard contained whatever it could to keep viewers interested. That being said, the movie definitely would’ve been more top-tier if they had included more backstory on where the characters came from and how they came to be on the demon hunters or information about the other saja boys backstories. The filmmakers most likely would have received less critical reviews if they had included more details. If they had prioritized more beneficiary information to include, the movie would have been easier to understand and not guessed upon by viewers.
“KPop Demon Hunters” was a splendid story that brought a smile to my face,” said freshman Aayusha Chapagai.
“KPop Demon Hunters” may be marketed as a kids movie, but that has not stopped teenagers and adults from enjoying it as well. Several social media platforms, such as Instagram and Tiktok, have blown up with KPop Demon Hunter content. This movie’s impact has reached global audiences, and every time I hear more achievements this movie has made, I am not surprised. Not to mention, this movie has caused the K-Pop world to blow up once again and garner even more attention.
“KPop Demon Hunters” may not be for everyone, but it really stuck out to me, and will definitely be a movie I can love and remember.
