Rumi, Mira, and Zoey, these three animated K-pop idols have taken the world by storm. From the hit soundtrack to the beautifully written story, this movie is sure to go down as one of the best in recent memory.
K-pop Demon Hunters premiered on Netflix on June 20th, 2025 and became a global sensation receiving a theatrical release on August 25th, 2025. This movie received a 7.6/10 rating on IMDb, starring Arden Cho, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo, and Andrew Choi. This movie skyrocketed soon after its release, becoming a hit movie all around the world. The dances were being learned on TikTok, millions of people across the world connected to the movie, and even became Netflix’ s number one movie of all time.
The writers really did their research on real-life K-pop groups, they based Huntrix and The Saja Boys on K-pop groups like TWICE, ITZY, BTS, and Stray Kids.
The members Jeonyeon, Jihyo, and Chaeyoung from TWICE recorded Takedown for the movie’s climax and the songwriters worked closely with music production companies like TheBLACKLABEL, who founded BLACKPINK, to help create beats for the music. They absolutely killed it; they captured that K-pop style with the fast tempo, catchy lyrics that get stuck in your head and integrated the story into it flawlessly. These songs touched people’s hearts, the meaningful lyrics not only making the songs great to listen to but also relatable.
The storyline and deep issues portrayed in this movie was so surprising to see from a kids movie. I did not expect this movie to hit me as hard as it did. I was crying by the end of the movie. Everyone can relate to feeling shame for past mistakes, the need to hide it from their friends and loved ones, and the fear of people finding out and leaving. The movie’s main message is that your past mistakes don’t define you,and that is something it took me years to figure out. Marketing this as a kids’ movie will help millions of young kids from falling into that shame cycle. I can not give enough props to the writers of this movie; turning that deep topic into something digestible to children is no easy feat, and they crushed it.
The heartbreaking forbidden love between Jinu and Rumi was executed beautifully. Their duet, Free, captures the need to trust somebody with your secret, but hiding it for so long that it feels impossible. This was something I resonated with deeply, I’ve never seen it represented in media like this. Overcoming that hurtle of just telling someone is so hard to get over, it took me years to be able to even say it out loud. This part was the first time I cried in this movie. Just wanting to be free from the mistakes of the past, and for the first time, it feels possible. That hope is so overwhelming at first. The line “I don’t trust it, but I want to” is so powerful, trusting somebody for the first time in a long time is a difficult and long process. And Rumi seeing the good in Jinu when no one else would was so touching. The small breaks in Jinu’s tough facade over the course of the movie were just perfect.
Unfortunately, towards the end, Jinu gave in to the shame and betrayed Rumi. This is an amazing example of just how much our shame holds us back. Guilt has its way of forming a death grip on you and not letting you see anything else. Even then, when you feel like there is no other option, there is. You still have that choice, demonstrated by Jinu’s final sacrifice. This was a beautifully tragic display of two hurt people coming together to heal. I could not get enough of them; I could watch this movie a million times and never be tired of their relationship arc.
Every day I wish there was more of the movie, and there might be, in 2027. There are rumors of a K-pop Demon Hunters 2 already in the works. The director of the movie, Maggie Kang, has said that there were already more in-depth backstories for Rumi, Mira, and Zoey, but she wasn’t able to capture it in an hour and a half. Many people speculate that the second movie will be a prequel; it makes the most sense based on what the creators of the movie have said. This would be the smartest move if this second movie is real. Everyone loves a good prequel, and there were so many unanswered questions about the backstory of Huntrix. This prequel has the potential to be just as successful.
Maybe we will get the next part of the story, maybe we’ll be left with the ending we got. Either way, we can love and appreciate this movie for what it is: a masterpiece of tragedy and love.
