SPOILER ALERT with Jimmy Nichols

KPop Demon Hunters

A Golden Movie

The Oscars are less than a month away, and the nominations are locked in. While movies like “Sinners” and “One Battle After Another” will be competing for Best Film, other movies like “Zootopia 2” and “Elio” will be fighting for Best Animated Feature. 

The movie with the best odds to win the title of Best Animated Feature is the Netflix original film “KPop Demon Hunters.” With catchy songs, thrilling action sequences and an interesting plot, the movie quickly captured the hearts of both children and adults. 

The plot follows the band Huntrix as they look to achieve the Golden Honmoon, which is the barrier sealing the demons out of the world. The K-Pop trio has Rumi, the lead singer, Mira, the main dancer and choreographer and Zoey, the rapper and lyricist. 

These three have been chosen to continue the legacy of previous hunters, protecting the world through music. However, the demons start to make music to drive the world into darkness. 

The animation style in this movie is fantastic. It has elements from anime throughout the movie, but it keeps a Western style in the movie. 

Also, the use of lighting for some of the scenes reminded me of “Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse.” It uses darkness with blue and red lights to highlight the characters in a similar way to those movies. 

Because of this animation, the movie was nominated in its category. One aspect that will help in the Best Animated Feature category is the fight sequences. 

Often, the group sings while in action sequences, showing the trio destroying demons with their weapons. The best example of this is the opening scene where they fight off a plane and skydive down to their concert. 

While the action scenes are of great quality in this movie, the plot is a little basic. The “twist” of the movie is that Rumi is half-demon and has not told the other two.  

She is hoping the Golden Honmoon will seal this part of her, but she is losing her voice as it spreads across her body. My issue with this plot point is that it sets up the basic third-act conflict between the protagonists. 

There was no reason for it to be a secret in the group, and it led to the dumbest fight with the quickest resolution. If it had been revealed to the other two sooner, it might have made more sense. 

Despite this plot device, it is still a good movie and offers a story of redemption for one of the demons: Jinu. Jinu is a human who sold his soul in the past to become famous. 

He lives with the guilt of abandoning his family and shows how the head demon holds guilt and shame over people. Jinu eventually sacrifices himself to help Huntrix defeat the demons and save the world. 

This is a great lesson to take away from this movie. Shame and guilt hold power over what we do. 

Accepting our past is the first step we can take to move past it. Even if we have done something bad, learning ways to do better every day can help reduce the feelings of shame and guilt. 

This is how the movie concludes with Rumi singing a song about accepting who she is. By accepting that she is half-demon, she removes the shame she has about it. 

The most famous part of this movie is its songs. The breakout song from this movie is the song “Golden.” The song charted at number one worldwide for weeks in 2025 and trended on TikTok for some time. 

I do not listen to K-pop music, but the songs in this movie are enjoyable and catchy. It has a good vibe throughout it, and it is no wonder “Golden” is nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars. 

“K-Pop Demon Hunters” is a great movie to watch if you have not already seen it. It is not necessarily a movie I plan to rewatch multiple times, but if someone put it on, I would vibe to the movie.