In the past year, we witnessed a movie become a phenomenon in the form of KPop Demon Hunters. While it looked to be just another release to check out with a Netflix subscription when it first released in June of last year, it wasn’t long before it became a global sensation – between its catchy music, heartfelt storyline and boundary-pushing animation we’ve been seeing a lot lately from Sony Pictures Animation. But there’s something the movie doesn’t get enough credit for: its trio of women characters.
KPop Demon Hunters of course revolves around a trio of friends, Rumi, Mira and Zoey, who make up the girl group HUNTR/X, which secretly protects the world with the power of their song. Co-writer/director Maggie Kang recently made this point to Deadline about crafting these baddies:
I felt there were things that I hadn’t seen yet, not just for representation and Korean culture, but also the type of female characters that I hadn’t seen in animation or movies in general. I felt like I hadn’t seen female characters portrayed in the most real way for me, especially in the superhero category.
Now that it’s almost been a year since KPop Demon Hunters came out and we’ve seen the kind of impact it’s had on audiences, I think it’s going to be one of those rare game-changing women-led movies we’ll be talking about for years down the line. Rumi, Mira and Zoey certainly feel like genuine people who are imperfect and resilient all at once.
In Kang’s new interview, she said that while the characters being “beautiful, badass and strong” was important to her, the fact that they could be “really funny and even stupid” was equally on the wishlist. As she added:
I don’t think stupid is a negative word. I think stupid is great, because it takes a lot of courage and confidence to be that way and to show that part of yourself. I wanted to see female relationships that really embraced that, and the intimacy that comes from that and the vulnerabilities that come with it. I just wanted to see the full spectrum of the female character.
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There’s something so lovely about seeing these ladies chowing down food in the least dainty way possible, lounging around in comfy clothes and zero makeup and having difficulties they don’t always know how to handle. I know I certainly didn’t have realistic female characters like this in the animation space (...probably not at all if I think hard enough) when I was growing up, so it’s really lovely to see that happen in KPop Demon Hunters.
And the cherry on top is that KPop Demon Hunters isn’t an underrated movie. It’s the most viewed Netflix original movie and dominated the award season including two Oscar wins. Kang reflected on its success by saying this:
I could never have expected this kind of reaction… But I was confident that if I were to make a movie that I felt was great, then it would be received very well. When we finished making it, I loved it, because I hadn’t seen anything like this before and I’m so proud because I really pushed myself to my limits.
Maggie Kang certainly accomplished something massive by creating these well-rounded characters who are both strong and silly. And now we can look forward to our sequel questions eventually being answered as the filmmaker works on the followup that she said she wants to be “fresh, surprising and original”. We’re so curious what HUNTR/X will be up to next!
