Directed by Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang, KPop Demon Hunters takes us to a world plagued by demons, where the national leaders have been trying to figure out a permanent solution to the problem for a long time. Every generation had gifted people known as hunters who protected the mortal realm from the dangerous demons. This time around, the responsibility of saving the world fell on the shoulders of three girls, Rumi, Zoey, and Mira, who together took a pledge to fight for their people and do their best to save them. So let’s find out if they were successful in their quest or if the demons proved to be too powerful for them.
Spoiler Alert
How were people shielded from Gwi-Ma?
It all started back in the 17th century, when three gifted musicians were chosen to be the saviors who were going to protect the people of South Korea from the wrath of a soul-sucking demon named Gwi-Ma. These protectors used music as a tool to eliminate the evil forces from the face of the earth. Apart from music, they derived their power from the love people had for them and the mutual respect and the camaraderie that existed between them. We’ve all heard that music unites people and fosters connections, but in KPop Demon Hunters, it also healed the world and helped them get rid of all the negative energies. Rumi, Zoey, and Mira (who, together, were part of a band named Huntrix) were selected to be the demon hunters of the 21st century, and their sole aim was to unite their fans, protect them at all costs, and convert the existing Honmoon into a golden one. So that brings us to the question: what was the Honmoon? It could be said that the Honmoon was an invisible shield, a dome that acted as a defense system against the demons. But the problem was that it was not totally impenetrable. There were weak spots from where a demon could enter, and so it was not very uncommon to find demons hiding amidst the masses and pretending to be common people. Also, at times, when the influence of demons increased in a particular area, the protective shield started to show more gaps. Zoey, Mira, and Rumi wanted to fix the issue once and for all. They knew that if they won the upcoming Idol Awards, then the Honmoon would be converted into a golden Honmoon. They were pretty sure that they would be able to do that, since everything up until that moment seemed to be going in their favor. Their new releases became number one chartbusters; the people loved them, idolized them, and more than anything, there was a lot of love and affection between them. Gwi-Ma was worried about the situation, as his entire army had tried everything they could, but they weren’t able to overpower Huntrix. That’s when Jinu, one of the demons, came up with an idea which he believed would work in their favor.
What was Jinu’s plan?
Jinu told Gwi-Ma that the old ways were not working against Huntrix and they needed to get a little innovative in their approach in order to make them a bit vulnerable. He proposed they form a boy band and beat Huntrix at their own game. Jinu said that the moment the people started idolizing the demon band, the Honmoon would be weakened, and then the ghosts could easily penetrate the mortal realm and do some soul-sucking. Gwi-Ma, who was generally very skeptical about everything, seemed to like the plan. So Jinu and his band, the Saja Boys, came to the mortal realm and took the entire country by storm through their music. They were demons, and people should have hated them, but surprisingly, nothing of that sort of thing happened. Even the Huntrix girls, Zoey, Mira, and Rumi, seemed to get distracted by their good looks and catchy music. The plan seemed to work, and the Honmoon started to weaken, which gave the demons an easy passage to enter the mortal realm.
How did Rumi become fond of Jinu?
Rumi seemed to understand Jinu a bit better than everybody else because she felt that there was a lot in common between them. Her mother was a hunter, whereas her father was a demon. It could be said that Rumi was of mixed race, and she knew the consequences that could have on one’s life if people came to know about it. So, she hid the fact that she was part-demon from the people, and even from Zoey and Mira. But that wasn’t as easy as you might think, as, just like demons, she had patterns all over her body. She knew that the moment Zoey and Mira saw them, they would abandon her and never trust her again. There was a part of Rumi that felt extremely shameful for who she was. Celine, her godmother, always told her that one day she would overpower her demonic traits and become a full hunter. Deep down, Rumi knew that nothing of that sort was going to happen, but she was too scared to abandon her illusions and accept reality.
Jinu and Rumi grew quite close with time, and the former revealed to her what had happened in the past because of which he had ended up in the demon realm. Jinu came from an underprivileged background where he had to struggle every day just to afford a single meal for himself and his family. That was when Gwi-Ma decided to take advantage of his misery and make him enter a contract with him. It was decided that Jinu would surrender his soul to Gwi-Ma, and in return the demon king would make sure that he would thrive in the mortal realm. Jinu agreed to the terms and conditions because, at that time, providing for his family, making sure that they had food to eat, was paramount to everything else. Rumi saw that, beneath that cold and evil exterior, there was a vulnerable man who was burdened with guilt and regret. Rumi suggested to Jinu that if they joined forces, they would be able to defeat Gwi-Ma. Rumi asked Jinu to help Huntrix win the Idol Awards and told him that then, once the Golden Honmoon was made, he could stay back in the mortal realm and escape from the captivity of the demon king. Jinu seemed to be on board, but there were things that he was still hiding from Rumi which could potentially hamper her plans.
How Did Mira, Rumi, And Zoey Stop Gwi-Ma?
The moment Gwi-Ma realized that Jinu could possibly have a change of heart and side with Huntrix, he reminded Jinu of who he really was. What Jinu didn’t tell Rumi was that he hadn’t made the deal with the devil to provide for his family, his motives were driven by his selfish interests. He had left his mother and sister behind to die, and that fact haunted him till the current day. Gwi-Ma thrived on the shame that existed inside people like Jinu, and he exploited it so that they became even more miserable. Jinu realized at the end of KPop Demon Hunters that he wouldn’t be able to escape the clutches of the demon king, and so he surrendered to him completely and decided to backstab Rumi. During the Idol Awards performance, the demons exposed Rumi in front of the entire world. Rumi was shocked when she found out that Jinu, for whom she had vouched, had decided to betray her trust. Rumi was ashamed; she felt guilty for betraying the trust of her sisters and not letting them know her secret.
But when all hope was lost, Rumi decided to do something that nobody expected her to. She decided to stop running from who she was. She decided to stop blaming herself for something that was not her fault. At the end of KPop Demon Hunters, Rumi went back on stage, this time without covering her patterns. People looked at her with their jaws on the floor and struggled to understand what she was up to. With all her heart, Rumi sang her song, and she hoped that her sisters would join her on stage. Mira and Zoey realized that just because Rumi had patterns on her body didn’t mean that she was like the other demons. Through her performance, Rumi urged the people to not judge her based on her appearance but let her actions show them whose side she was on. So Zoey and Mira also came on stage, and together, Huntrix performed for the people once again. Meanwhile, Jinu also realized that the only way to atone for his sins was to help Rumi in her war against the demon king. So Jinu sacrificed his life; he gave his soul to Rumi so that it would give her an edge over Gwi-Ma. Rumi, together with Zoey, Mira, and Jinu, was able to defeat Gwi-Ma and his army and send them back to their realm. The huntresses were able to transform the Honmoon into a golden one, which meant that the demons could no longer enter the mortal realm. The fans once again went crazy about Huntrix, which was a testament to the fact that how easily the masses changed their allegiances. That said, I believe that Gwi-Ma will strike once again, presuming that isn’t dead yet, but just forced to return to his realm. He’ll be keen on taking revenge on Huntrix, as clearly they have hurt his ego, and to start feeding on the souls of people once again.
