So we were cowards, So we were liars, So we're not heroes, We're still survivors

I’m a sucker for a good poppy earworm, and K-pop Demon Hunters is full of them. Tim Welch, a vocal coach, reacts to each song from the film: TAKEDOWN, How It’s Done, Your Idol, Free, and Golden.

EJAE, who sang as Rumi and co-wrote many of the songs in the film, when asked what she would tell her younger self: 수고했어요 (good job, you worked hard).

What’s that derpy tiger with bird friend on its head? Jakhodo is a genre of traditional Korean painting–the word literally means “magpie and tiger painting.” The folktale surrounding these paintings:

There once was a tiger that wandered into a big puddle in the forest. Incapable of freeing himself, the tiger anxiously awaited for someone to rescue him. He endured days without a meal before a good-natured woodcutter happened to pass by the muddy puddle and the tiger. The tiger begged the man to save his life. When the woodcutter obliged, the ungrateful tiger attempted to eat the woodcutter. Startled by this sudden turn of events, the woodcutter asked an ox and a pine tree to fairly judge the situation. But the pair sided with the tiger, urging the tiger to eat the woodcutter.

In desperation, the woodcutter turned to a magpie for its opinion and final judgment. The magpie asked the woodcutter and the tiger to re-enact the story so that he could make a proper judgment. The foolish tiger returned to the puddle and got stuck, once more. The woodcutter was freed.

What this folktale and painting are meant to symbolize is a satirical look at the strict social hierarchy and norms at that time during the Joseon Dynasty. The tiger is meant to represent aristocratic officials who often mistreated commoners (subjects). The magpie, on the other hand, looks down on the tiger from its pine tree perch. The magpie is mocking the tiger.

And steals the tiger’s hat.

What is this “Saja” business? Jeoseung Saja:

Known as the Korean Grim Reaper, serves as a psychopomp guiding souls to the afterlife, rooted in ancient beliefs about death and the netherworld. In Korean mythology, Jeoseung Saja acts like the Grim Reaper, escorting souls—both good and bad—from the physical world to the netherworld. Unlike the singular Grim Reaper of Western lore, the Jeoseung Saja are a class of spectral bureaucrats responsible for this task. Often referred to as the “Messenger of Death” or “Death Angel,” Jeoseung Saja plays a significant role in Korean folklore, embodying cultural beliefs about death and the transition to the afterlife.

[…] The Jeoseung Saja are traditionally depicted as imposing figures dressed entirely in black, adorned with a “hanbok,” the traditional Korean attire modified to suit their solemn role. Topping their attire is a wide-brimmed black hat known as a “gat,” adding to their authoritative presence.

Mira wearing a sleeping bag as a fasion statement? Oh, c’mon, that’s been done before.

From the MetaFilter thread, MeFite kitcat notes:

There was a lot of healthy female representation I haven’t seen in any media my daughters have ever watched (girl-mom since 2010) and it made me really glad, like:

  • Girls really enjoying food!
  • Girls wanting to sit on a couch and do nothing!
  • Girls googly-eyed over boys!
  • Girls lying to each other and having a real fight!
  • Girls refusing to give in and come back together as friends until there’s an authentic reconciliation (not just engaging in facile self-subjugating compromise because ‘girls always have to place social cohesion above all else’)!

I loved the animation styles of when the Huntr/X girls were comically angry or upset or crying–or in the end credits we see the cute portrayal of Mira burping and her belly-button tummy popping out of her shirt. It’s like when anime jumps into chibi: it really leans into the medium of animation to help evoke the viewer’s emotions.

Does K-pop Demon Hunters count as an animation where music saves the world?

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