Kpop Demon Hunters - 2025

After 6 months of Spotify Algorithm Destruction, we finally got to watch the thing that the soundtrack is from (by the way, if you’re not aware, an artist called Bongo Cat has versions of the songs where all of the lyrics are replaced by cat meows). I was expecting to like it based on what I had seen, but hey, this is a real good flick. Probably would have made some money if they put it in theaters.

Sony Animation continues their run of “they stuntin on us” animation quality, where the comic book influences of the Spider-Verse films are replaced with anime flourishes, and the action scenes have a madcap Looney-Tunes tempo. The design is full of vivid color and larger-than-life concert venues. The voice cast is incredible, both for spoken dialog (they somehow got Sun and Jin) and the singing, which is out of this world. Golden is the rare That Thing You Do-esque pop song that is a hit both in the movie world and the real one, and the other tracks are appropriately fun or moody or menacing.

I wasn’t expecting Kpop Demon Hunters to provide any sort of In These Times experiences, but we watched the movie as a family the day after Alex Pretti was gunned down in the streets of Minneapolis, and I don’t know, the idea of a demonic army that preys on isolation and insecurity to feed on its hosts, and a protective sustaining network of human souls, lashed together by art and love, hit me pretty hard for some reason.