Summary
Sony Pictures Animation is one of thebest western animation studios working in the movie industry right now. After making two excellent animated movies based off of Marvel’s most famous superhero—Spider-Man: Into the Spider-VerseandSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse—it recently released a new and original project titledKPop Demon Hunters, which is now available to stream on Netflix.
As its tradition with Sony Pictures Animation, KPop Demon Huntersis yet another excellent action movie with a lot of heart and a unique animation style. However, fans of the studio and people who are only familiar with its twoSpider-Manprojects can’t help but compare all of them to each other. Needless to say, theSpider-Verseduology andKPop Demon Huntersare all incredible animated films, but there are a fewthings that the latter does much better than the former.
8Clever Music Implementation
The Excellent Soundtrack Actually Plays A Key Role In The Story
There’s no denying that both of theSpider-Versemovies have high-qualitysoundtracks,which were composed by the great Daniel Pemberton and feature songs written by famous professional musicians, like Post Malone and Metro Boomin. However, as amazing as these soundtracks are, they’re still quite conventional in nature, since their music just plays in the background and very rarely plays a role in the plot.
Music fans are definitely going to enjoyKPop Demon Huntersa little bit more, because most of the songs are actually diagetic, meaning that they actually exist within the fictional world of the movie. This makes a lot of sense, because this is a story about K-Pop stars who use their music to create the Golden Hoonmoon, a magical barrier that will seal the demons away. Fortunately, the soundtrack of this film is also fantastic, seeing as it was written by many professional Korean artists and producers, like Danny Chung, IDO, Vince, KUSH and more.
It’s Perfect For Fans Of Swords And Other Melee Weapons
Into the Spider-VerseandAcross the Spider-Verseare, first and foremost, superhero films, meaning that all their beautifully-craftedaction sequencesfeature multiple characters who can wield all sorts of incredible and over-the-top superpowers. On top of that, these are also films about multiverses, which makes their stakes even higher and their fight scenes even more overwhelming.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that, but moviegoers who may be looking for something more grounded that still has a lot of style will enjoyKPop Demon Huntersa bit more. The three main characters in this movie—Rumi, Mira, and Zoey—fight mostly by wielding mystical bladed weapons—a sword, a naginata, and a bunch of daggers, respectively—which makes their fight scenes a tad easier to follow, not to mention that they also feature incredible choreography, colorful backgrounds and catchy music.
6More Expressive Characters
It Features A Lot Of Brilliant Visual Gags
Into the Spider-VerseandAcross the Spider-Versehave completely changed the animation industry for the betterby encouraging other studios to experiment with new and unusual art styles. The animation in both of these movies is absolutely amazing, and they feature detailed choreography, colorful backgrounds, fluid movement, and excellent character design.
The animation inKPop Demon Huntersis not as good or as high-quality as the animation in theSpider-Versemovies, but it is still quite solid, and it stands out in one specific (but very important) area:the expressiveness of its characters. The art styleof KPop Demon Huntersis clearly inspired by Asian animation and, as a result, the characters showcase all sorts of over-the-top but funny expressions. For example, the visual gag of Zoey and Mira creating popcorn from their eyes when they see the Saja Boys is one of the best recurring jokes in the entire film.
5More Prominent Female Characters
The Main Cast Is Almost Entirely Made Up Of Women
Every single character in theSpider-Versemovies is expertly written: from Miles Morales, to Peter B. Parker, and even the villains, like Kingpin or the Spot. However,it’s kind of odd how the onlyprominentfemale characterin this cast is Gwen Stacy, even though she’s extremely likable and has a very interesting personal story. These movies are in dire need of more importantfemale protagonists, and this is something that Sony may address and fix inBeyond the Spider-Verse.
That’s obviously not an issue inKPop Demon Hunters, seeing as the main cast of this film is almost entirely made up of female characters, with very few exceptions. The HUNTRX girls, Rumi, Mira, and Zoey, are a lovable trio of protagonists, mainly because they all have their own personalities, motivations, and designs that help them stand out from each other.
4It Appeals More To Female Audiences
Female Animation Fans Will Certainly Enjoy It
Superhero movies are some of the most globally accepted forms of audiovisual entertainment in the world right now and, as a result, they are enjoyed by people of all genders.However, most of them are still clearly made with a mostly male audience in mind, and theSpider-Verseduology is no exception, especially because its narrative is told from the point of view of a teenage boy.
There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, and these movies are still very accessible, but it’s clear thatKPop Demon Hunterswasmade with more of a female audience in mind, even though people of any gender, age, or culture can enjoy it as well. This movie’s story speaks a lot about issues and themes that will resonate more with girls and women (like confidence, self-worth, the public image of women in the entertainment industry, etc.), not to mention that it obviously has a huge focus on K-Pop, a form of music that appeals a lot more to women than men.
3More Asian Culture Representation
This Movie Is A Love Letter To South Korea And K-Pop In General
TheSpider-Versemovies do an excellent job at representing numerous cultures from around the world: Miles Morales has African-American and Puerto Rican heritage, Miguel O’Hara has Irish and Mexican heritage, Pavitr Prabhakar is from a fictional version of India, etc. Weirdly enough, however, these movies don’t have much representation from Asian countries like Japan or South Korea, with the only exception being Peni Parker, who’s more of a walking anime parody than anything else.
At their core, theSpider-Versemovies are a melting pot of different cultures, which makes them appealing to an even broader audience,whereasKPop Demon Huntersfocuses mostly on representingSouth Korean culture.The film pulls this off not only by heavily featuring K-Pop (which is one of the biggest pillars of South Korea’s modern culture) but also by implementing many unique mythological elements that are not commonly used in other American animated projects. Additionally, even the art style and monster designs of the movie are reminiscent of traditional Korean paintings.
2It’s An Original Story
Not Based On Any Existing Intellectual Property
One of the biggest problems plaguing the western animation industry (and Hollywood in general) right now is the lack ofnew and original ideas.Most popular films nowadays are remakes, reboots, sequels, or adaptations of pre-existing IPs, and theSpider-Versefilms fall into that category as well. Of course, these are still two of the best and most inventive animatedSpider-Manadaptations in Marvel’s history, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are based on ideas created by someone else.
On the other hand,KPop Demon Huntersstands out for being a passion project with an original setting, concept, characters, and world. This not only helps the movie stand out, but it also means that talented people in Hollywood are still occasionally allowed to showcase new ideas that look and feel unlike anything else in the industry. IfKPop Demon Huntersis enough of a success for both Sony and Netflix, maybe both companies will be encouraged to greenlight more original projects in the future.
1It’s A Complete Story
Fans Won’t Have To Wait For A Sequel To Witness Its Ending
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verseis still highly regarded as one of the best animated films ever made and, fortunately, its sequel,Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,is not too far behind. However, while the original film was celebrated for being a complete story with a clear beginning and end,its sequel was heavily criticized for having anopen endingthat won’t be resolved until the release of the third entry,Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.
Of course,Across the Spider-Verseis still a wonderful movie on its own, but this unresolved conclusion left a bad taste in most fans’ mouths, especially considering that the development ofBeyond the Spider-Versehas been quite tumultuous. Fortunately for fans of Sony Pictures Animation, the studio’s most recent project doesn’t share that same fate.K-Pop Demon Huntersis a complete story with a clear beginning and end that can be fully enjoyed in undertwo hours. Yes, there are some plot elements that may be expanded on in a sequel or spin-off, but at least it doesn’t have an open ending.
