Full review of K-Pop Demon Hunters
Hello everyone, welcome back to my blog! Today I'm going to be doing something different, but I plan to do more of these types of blogs in the future. And that is none other than Anime and Movie reviewing!! Yes, that's right, I'll be reviewing new (well, not necessarily 😅) anime and movies in my blogs! So for today's first in a series of these types of blogs, I'll be reviewing the popular Netflix animated movie, K-Pop Demon Hunters!
I first saw how popular this was nearly half a year ago, but due to my hectic schedule I didn't have time to watch it. It wasn't until two weeks ago when I finally got the time to sit down and watch this hot movie lol (and I procrastinated posting this for nearly 10 days 💀🙏). So after all that waiting, here's my first hand, honest and comprehensive review of the movie, an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses (imo), an overall score, and whether or not I suggest you to watch it. This'll be a bit long, so hang tight and please keep on reading!
Part I: Basic Plot Overview (No Spoilers)
The plot revolves around three central characters, Rumi, Mira, and Zoey, who are members of a K-pop group HUNTRIX that secretly fights demons. The background is set in an urban dystopia (kinda) world where Demons, under the influence of the Demon King Gwi-Ma, threaten to devour the souls of ordinary civilians. As a result, a long time ago, a three member girl group formed to fight to demons and protect humanity. They used their singing voices to create a barrier that seals away the demons, called the Honmoon. As time passes, every generation there emerges a trio of K-pop singers who also fight demons secretly. Rumi, Mira, and Zoey are the new trio who are immensely popular worldwide. However, the formation of a new Demon Boy group, the Saja Boys, threaten the Honmoon and everyone's safety...
Ok so that's it for the plot without getting into the spoilers 😅.
Now here's my honest analysis and review of this movie.
Part II: My Review: By Category
I watched this movie in 2 days over the weekend, and pretty much binged it. Firstly, I'm going to say that it was better than my expectations, but I'll detail why below. For the comprehensive review, see the last section!!
I will judge and rate this movie out of 8 major areas from 1 to 10, namely storytelling, background, character development, music, animation, character depth, action/twists, and ending. I'll also detail my opinions on why I rate each as such.
Here we go:
Storytelling: 6.5/10. Being a feature length movie, instead of episodes, the total time for deep story telling is limited, so it kind of explains the inherent lack of progression and deep storytelling in this movie. Many Japanese feature length movie anime though, especially the ones from Ghibli, make it clear that it is possible to have good storytelling in a short amount of screen time.
Background: 7/10. The Hunter vs Demon is a strong and simple background setting, but it is a bit overused especially in American cinema. However, this movie makes pretty great use of this trope I shall say, in particular the way the Demon King controls his minions, so I would give it 7.
Character Development: 6.5/10. I was hesitant to give it this low of a score in character development, but at last I must. The character growth is extremely imbalanced between the characters; while Rumi has very strong development, and Jinu average, the other main characters, mainly Zoey and Mira, got absolutely sideline treatment. I was highly surprised that two of the main trio would be ignored to this extent. While being a 95 min movie makes a decent excuse, it is still less than optimal.
Music: 8/10. This is actually the central theme of this movie, as it was marketed as a "animated musical film" and indeed, the music is one of it's strong points. The entire plot revolves around singing and K-pop after all, so I believe the heavy reliance on music is appropriate in this movie. Whether or not the music is good is highly subjective, but I'll say at least I think it is decent xD.
Animation: 9/10. Not much to say here, standard Sony Pictures Animation style, 3D CGI.
Character Depth: 4/10. This is arguably one of the weakest points of the entire movie. As I described above, character development is unevenly distributed, and depth is even more so. I would go as far as to say only Jinu have any character depth and very shallow still. The focus on the music and other parts inherently meant that depth is severely lacking in most if not all characters.
Actions/Major Plot Twists: 9/10. Very good twist at the near end, although it could've been better had the most important thing about Rumi not been revealed so early (iykyk).
Ending: 10/10. The ending is surprisingly strong, and a decent conclusion and sufficient cliffhanger for us to want to watch Season 2 XD.
Ok so that concludes my yapping about different aspects, now lets move on to overall rating.
Section III: Overall Score and Opinion
Combining my area specific scores and comparing it with total, I would rate it at around 60/80 or 75/100. This is honestly, in my opinion, the most fitting rating to be given to this movie. This is an overall strong, emotional, and thematic movie with several issues but also remarkable strengths. It came out way above my expectations. But again, the main central selling point is their music, which I happen to like.
Section IV: Would I suggest you to watch it & Conclusion
If asked whether or not I would suggest you watching it (if you hadn't already 😅since I'm late), I would say that it is a solid movie with great animation and plot twists, but low character development and storytelling. If you happen to prefer animation and action over development, you will definitely enjoy it. However, ultimately whether or not you will love this movie depends on the music. If you like the music, you will definitely enjoy the entire story as well; conversely, if you loathe it, I would suggest you to skip it because it is significantly lacking from the story telling perspective. The music and soundtracks for the movie are readily available on Youtube, so I suggest you go check them out before deciding whether to watch K-Pop Demon Hunters.
Final Thoughts
Anyway those are my ratings of the movie, they are just my personal opinion so take it with a grain of salt. But to most extent I'm being objective here at least xD.
Since you have read all my yapping, share with us what you think! Have you watched K-Pop Demon Hunters? If so, what do you think of this movie? Did you catch all the hype around it 6 months ago xD. Also do you agree or disagree with my ratings and analysis? Share it down below, and thank you for reading! @HeisukeKogami
