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This is What it Sounds Like! Let's Discuss KPop Demon Hunters
702 Plays26 days ago
In this episode, Satsunami and WysteriaMoth dive into the surprising Netflix hit KPop Demon Hunters! But what makes this catchy caper so memorable? How has it impacted the duo with it's themes? And do you put cheese in your Ramyun?! All of this and more in our review of KPop Demon Hunters!
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Transcript
Introduction and Upcoming Plans
00:00:00
Speaker
Wow, I can't believe season 5's nearly over. Well, guess I better start recording for Bioshock month. Wait a minute, what's that noise? Hey, Satsu! I heard from little birdie you're shorting episode this month. Lucky for you, I've got the perfect topic. Come on, what do you say? no. No, no, no, no, no way. No, no, no.
00:00:25
Speaker
Oh, come on. You don't even know what it is yet. Forget it. You're not roping me into another adventure. Not after the Wonderland incident. You're still on about that? Come on, that's ancient history. Anyway, how was I supposed to know the cakes at the tea party would be so flammable?
K-pop Movie Review Intro
00:00:41
Speaker
Okay, fine. I'll bite. What do you have in mind? o Okay, I don't think you're ready for this, but here we go. A K-pop movie review. That's it. No catches, wacky hijinks, flamethrowers at tea parties, or questionable Sonic songs. Okay, the flamethrower was a one-off.
00:00:59
Speaker
I promised I would never do it again. But other than that, nope. It's just us and a nice, totally normal film review. Oh, uh, did I forget to mention the demon from the depths of K-pop hell? Depths of what now? No!
00:01:11
Speaker
God damn it, Morth. Welcome to Chatsunami. welcome to chat
00:01:21
Speaker
Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of Chatsunami. My name's Satsunami and joining me is none other than the one, the only, the mothiness, it Wisteria Moth.
00:01:34
Speaker
Welcome back to Chatsunami. Thank you for having me back, it's so good to be here. Listen, it feels like it's been a minute since I've been here. Yeah, ah to be honest, we have been going back and forth that for, as it says to say, a few months being like, yeah, let's do this, let's do that. And obviously life finds a way to get in the way and you're like, okay, well, put it off, put it off. But there's one film that has brought us together.
00:01:58
Speaker
again and yeah it's gonna be a fun review isn't it absolutely absolutely it just seems to be that way it doesn't it it's just one of those things it's kind of like the hey let's record a podcast episode oh dang it let's record a podcast episode oh dang it Oh, dang it.
00:02:15
Speaker
Just all sorts of things just keep popping up. But no, honestly, if there was anything that was going to bring us back together, I'm genuinely surprised it wasn't Sonic's birthday, but we'll get back to that. I mean, he's 35 next year. Come on. Oh, God. Yeah, we might have to put that one off for a little bit. we'll do the milestone birthday. It'll be fine. It'll be fine, Sonic. We haven't forgotten you. I promise. Please, Sega, call us back.
00:02:37
Speaker
So they're not answering your calls, no? No. but No. Did you try the boombox method? No, but that's next. Anyway. If it didn't work for me, I mean, you might have some better luck, but yeah, that's neither here nor there. Anyway, my broken dreams aside, today but we're going to be talking about someone else's broken
Film Animation and Plot Discussion
00:02:57
Speaker
dreams.
00:02:57
Speaker
Yeah! I do find it really funny that of all the things to bring us back together for a podcast... It's vaguely related to K-dramas, which is something that we sort of share anyway.
00:03:08
Speaker
It pretty much was just the equivalent of the Big Bird meme, but we did it to each other. It's just like, what if we just both kicked the door in on each other just kind of went, K-pop demon hunters. Yeah, because we were supposed to start recording like an hour ago, and we have spent the last hour talking about K-dramas from Squid Game to...
00:03:27
Speaker
apparently business proposal which i have to say neither of us i don't think there's a reason why i bring that up by the way so just randomly but yeah of course as you said there today we are indeed going to be reviewing the surprising and i'm gonna say that in the nicest way possible surprising k-pop demon hunters film which i have to say I remember flicking through Netflix, and obviously it was a good couple of weeks ago, and I saw that it was advertised, that it was going to come out. I'm not going to lie, see, initially when I saw the film, or I saw, you know, the poster and bits of the action and things, it didn't really entice me to begin with. But there was one part of that trailer that utterly sold me in a second. But before I go on to that, what was your exposure to this film? Did you know it was coming out, or...? believe it or not i did really i did yeah and the place that i found them out the most about it was tiktok of all places they pushed so much advertising on tiktok like pretty much every other video i felt like i was getting somebody talking about k-pop demon hunters or an ad from the official tiktok page itself multiple different netflix accounts from multiple different countries I'm just like, damn, they are really saying that this is aggressively me-shaped. And you know what? They were correct. They were entirely correct. They got me hook, line, and sinker.
00:04:47
Speaker
I have to say, when I saw the trailer for it, at the very beginning of it, I thought, all right, this is kind of cool. And it was very much that Sony animation type animation, which I know sounds very weird to say. It was that, and I don't know the official name for this type of animation, but you know the end Into the Spider-Verse type animation? Yes, I know exactly what you're talking about. It's like the delayed frames, isn't it? It's just like everybody's animated at a different FPS. And don't get me wrong, I live for that.
00:05:16
Speaker
Easily one of my favorite aesthetics to come out of these last few years. And it really started with the Into the Spider-Verse films. That's the first time that I can think about it anyway. But then you saw it again. It started happening in games as well. The most recent example I can think of for the games being the animation styles in South of Midnight, which if you haven't But yeah, saw the and everything, thought it was a good looking film, but just seemed like came out.
00:05:48
Speaker
came out of nowhere. And again, I was not sold on it. I was like, ah, right, it seems like a generic, these idols fighting demons probably finding their way in life, which they do in the film. But it wasn't until, ironically enough, the Sazha boys came on screen and the idea of a demon boy band popping up and fighting them was just so hilarious to me. I was like, this is actually the greatest idea I think I've ever seen. I have to watch this.
00:06:15
Speaker
So yeah, I ended up sitting down watching it with my partner and it was just such a surprising film to me because I did not expect it to be as good as it was and B, the music was absolutely stellar. I did not expect the music to, I'm not going to slap the table here, but I did not expect the music to slap as it did. No, it absolutely did. And the fact is, is that it felt like Huntrix and the Saja Boys outdid IRL K-pop groups.
00:06:45
Speaker
It's seven songs total between the two of them. And that's wild when you think about it. Because, I mean, I don't know if you've seen the TikToks and the reels and things of the IRL K-pop idols and artists copying the dances and things, which is amazing. I mean, you've even got some of the artists from the band Twice in here. Oh, but yeah. I didn't realise that until I looked up and I was like, oh my god, no wonder I'm bopping the along.
00:07:11
Speaker
but Yeah, and the thing is, I'm not a K-pop girly. I listen to a few errant songs here and there. Like, I listen to a little bit of SHINee. I guess you could say the closest thing that I've actually gotten to listening to quite a bit of K-pop, of all things, is KDA, which again, is not a real idol group. It's just League of Legends at that point. So I was never much of a K-pop girly, so I don't know a lot of the names attached to it. But holy shit, the soundtrack slaps.
00:07:37
Speaker
Oh, 100%. It's so good. And for what? for k-pop demon hunters quite literally like they didn't have to go that hard but they did holy yeah because it's surprising that we now live in an age where disney's animation and especially pixar is taking an almost back seat compared to other studios coming out because you've got dreamworks coming out with some bangers you've got sony coming out as well elimination it's just it's kind of surreal to see because usually you would be expecting pixar to come out with something like this but how's elio doing by the way oh Uh, Ely who? Ely Ely, oh no. Oh no.
00:08:16
Speaker
Sorry, was that too cruel? God damn it. That was my takedown.
00:08:25
Speaker
Oh god, no, it's begun. oh it's going to be a long episode, Oh, it's going to be a real long episode. Have fun editing this later, by the way. oh I can't wait. I'm a visual editor. I just see the audio peaking and I'm like, right, turn down the audio. Oh!
00:08:41
Speaker
Oh, I'm so sorry. I've got to be held at it then. Look, all saying is it's my own fault for making friends with people who have the heartiest of laughs, okay? The um amount of peaks and valleys. It's like the Mount Everest of audio peaks here. are like The fact is, I'm looking at my own audio track right now and I'm already seeing the peaks and I'm like, oh, have fun. It's going to be great. to Have and fun, my guy. That's all you enjoy. Can't wait. On that note, though, shall we dive into... I was going to make a joke and say dive out of this plane and see K-pop Demon Hunters is so good, but I wouldn't recommend doing that. So let's just strap a parachute on.
00:09:19
Speaker
but Yeah, it was going to say, don't try this at home, kids. We're trained professionals, kind of. Speak for yourself. Jesus. I've been doing this for five years and I'm still like, I don't know what I'm doing. Father help. Father help. But yeah, let's get to it. Let's get to it.
Podcast Topics and Promotion
00:09:35
Speaker
And yeah, as always, we'll be right back after these messages. Welcome to Chatsunami, a variety of podcasts that discusses topics from gaming and films to anime and general interests.
00:09:46
Speaker
Previously on Chatsunami, we've analysed what makes a good horror game, conducted a retrospective on Pierce Brosnan's run as James Bond, and listened to us take deep dives into both the Sonic and Halo franchises. Also, if you're an anime fan, then don't forget to check us out on our sub-series, Chatsunani, where we dive into the world of anime. So far, we've reviewed things like Death Note, Princess Mononoke, and the hit Beyblade series. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then you can check us out on Spotify, iTunes, and all good podcast apps.
00:10:15
Speaker
As always, stay safe, stay awesome, and most importantly, stay hydrated. Greetings! My name is RoboticBattletoaster. You can find me over on Twitch and Discord. More social media platforms to follow. I play a wide variety of both multiplayer and single-player games on PC. You can even pick what games I play over on my Discord channel. My channel is a place to chill out, nerd out over video games, and have some fun back-and-forth banter. I hope to see you there!
00:10:40
Speaker
Now, without any further ado, back to Chatsunami. Ta-da! Not gonna lie, I genuinely thought that was a parachute. I didn't realise that was a backpack. My neck and my legs are hurt. Oh, sorry, we're back. Listen, to be fair, to be fair, it's a really easy mistake to make. They look very similar anyway. Yeah, I mean, very true. But the snacks are gone. and They kind of broke my fault. Oh, dang it. You've got no more snacks for the rest of this review. Damn it.
00:11:05
Speaker
Whatever shall I do? You can start by reviewing K-pop demon hunters. Yeah, actually, let's get to it. Seeing as you are the resident expert of this film, would you like to summarise for the Pandalurians listening at home wondering what the heck a K-pop demon hunter actually is?
Huntrix and Character Development
00:11:21
Speaker
Okay, I didn't know that I was the resident expert here, but you know what? I will do my best to enlighten the masses. Right, so i have to figure out how to explain this in such a way that doesn't go into all the nitty gritty of it. So baseline, right? Demons, real, bad, take souls, hurt people, not very nice.
00:11:40
Speaker
Magical girls appear, pretty voices. No, I'm not gonna do that. Are you slapping a whiteboard right now? That's pretty much it. I'm like just drawing a flow chart of events.
00:11:50
Speaker
Be it like, fire, bed, water, good. Okay, Avatar. Oh, God. No, so pretty much the premise of the film is, again, you know, demons are real. And they pretty much forced people to live in fear and tyranny. Their souls were in peril until some magical songstresses appeared. With the power of their voices, they created a barrier known as the Hone Moon. And that sealed the demons away so that way people could live in peace.
00:12:12
Speaker
Now, every generation has a trio of songstresses that come in different methods and different genres and that sort of thing that appeal to the times to rally and to make the souls of those who hear their song resonate to strengthen the whole moon and make sure that the demons stay at bay. So that is where we come up to our main trio now, our K-pop idol group known as Huntrix. Huntrix.
00:12:34
Speaker
fitting name isn't it and they are the current trio that has to ensure that the whole moon remains intact a humanity is safe and the baddies don't come through from the other side but there is trouble in the trio and there is danger on the horizon in the form of a handful of extremely hot demon guys that have really good voices demon boy band if you will i mean iceland that's all i'm saying right oh my god But yeah, it's popcorn eyes. We'll get to that in a second. But now our intrepid heroes have to find a way to not only connect the hearts and souls of the people around them to make sure that the Hon Moon stays intact, but also connect with each other to understand each other better as friends.
00:13:15
Speaker
Yeah, couldn't I summarise that better myself? That's why I asked you. I've really got to stop saying that, you know? Well, no, I mean, one day, one day, but not today. Yeah, I think this is actually something that I brought up in our animation month when my good friend Martin McAllison and I talked about the Puss in Boots movie, which iron ironically enough has a very similar animation style, where I talked about a thing, and I genuinely don't know the official term for this, but... the idea of something called scaffolding storytelling. And what I mean by that is, on the outset, the film has quite a basic plot in terms of there's three heroines, they have to stop the bad demons from coming through. And, you know, it's like a very basic plot, but it's what's around it that actually builds it up and makes it so un impactful because you've got the characterisation, you've got the
00:14:09
Speaker
gorgeous animation and visuals you've got the twists and turns and things and it builds upon itself so damn well i was genuinely so taken aback it's one of those films that you know the way when you watch something and you go oh that was a great film and then you allow it to ruminate in your mind and you go actually i'm not really sure if it was that great to begin with whereas this one of course is the complete opposite you're sitting there going yeah my soul double yeah It quite literally haunts you. It literally just sort of gets into your brain, doesn't it? Oh, 100% does. And as I said, it's a film that is inherently silly, but it leans so much into that that, I don't know, I just i love it for it. Because one thing that you brought up, and briefly touching on the animation here when you talked about the popcorn eyes, is the fact that they don't really shy away, even though they've got some very serious topics that they address in the film. They don't really shy away from the fact that this is an animation. So they have the amazing choreography with the fight scenes. It's very fast, fluid.
00:15:16
Speaker
You're always seeing something new every time you watch it. Same with the dancing and whatnot. And then there's even the kind of silly anime-esque where it's like the big eyes sparkling. Oh, yeah. you said, the popcorn eyes. Oh, yeah. Like there is so much silly references. There's much references there is so much inspiration you can tell just from the way that the characters are animated and how they emote and how they express themselves. There's a lot of inspiration from things like anime and I'm so sorry. The name for the Chinese animation nickname is Dongguo. Dongguo. Yeah, thanks I think the name of it leaves me at the moment, but there's just so much clear inspiration for how especially the expressions are handled in K-pop Demon Hunters. And it's almost like a love letter to the style of animation that the creators no doubt grew up watching. And it's so fun and refreshing.
00:16:11
Speaker
Another thing that I see quite often is in the sort of webtoon. The expression sort of reminds me of when you would read your webtoon comics and that sort of thing and your different manhwa and that sort of thing. Your e-comics, your webcomics you would read. A lot of them, especially, i read a lot of Korean romance webcomics. I mean a lot And a lot of the expressions handled in K-pop demon hunters reminds me a lot of the more the comedic stylings for some of those.
00:16:36
Speaker
It cracks me up. And I love the fact that they lean into it that our main trio are definitely beautiful girls, but they are definitely the girlies. I can tell you right now for real, the friendship between Rumi, Mira, and Zoe is so authentic girlhood. And I love that. It's just so good the way that they can be absolutely gremlins and drop dead gorgeous divas at the same time. Because that is something that I was genuinely, again, I was surprised at because it could have been so easy just to blend all three of them into the same character, but with slight variations.
00:17:10
Speaker
The fact you have Rumi, who is the leader of the group, and you kind of think, oh, are they going to do the same with the other ones? But you have Mira, who is very stoic, and oh, I don't care about anybody else, kind of. attitude although obviously she does which makes her such a great character later on and then you've got zoe who is just the cutesy and the eyes of the huntrix fandom in the film you know she's the cutesy one the one with all the filters and the faces and things like that and she is just adorable straight out i mean come on oh yeah It's just, it's amazing how distinct they all are. And not just because of the hairstyles, because I'm going to be honest, and I'm asking your opinion on this, how difficult would Rumi's hairstyle be to maintain? Because Jesus Christ.
00:17:57
Speaker
All I'm going to say is that she's far stronger than I ever could be.
00:18:02
Speaker
Hair that, like, listen, I have some pretty long hair. i could not imagine having hair that long. It's no wonder she keeps it in a braid 24-7. But ironically, it is no wonder she keeps it in a braid 24-7, because my god, how else would you handle it? Because one of my favourite TikToks that i saw of that was a lot of people who, of course, because of the popularity of the film, they are cosplaying as the characters, and one person was saying, oh, how do you keep the hair together as Rumi?
00:18:30
Speaker
Ha ha ha. and it was just a picture of you all these hairpins and it was like one two three and then it was just the whole pile of them sitting in their own it's like yeah lots and lots of hairpins there is no way that's coming out natural yeah it's just it's absolutely wild how each character and i suppose this is a good point to talk about the characters in this film but yeah what are your thoughts about the trio that was the main trio of characters Like I said, I love Huntrix.
00:18:58
Speaker
And ironically, not only do I love them as a trio, but the fact that all of them are just such really carefully thought out characters, right? Each of them have their own personality, their own distinct... Okay, it feels silly to put it this way, but they all have the distinct voice, right? Not only voices in the characters, the voice acting performances...
00:19:17
Speaker
peak loved them like all three of their actresses did a great job but i think each of them have their own distinct presence that's a good word presence in the trio and again they don't blend into each other if you look at their three main colors like you know you've got pink purple and green right these are all colors that could very easily just sort end up blending into each other they are cohesive but they are distinct and i think that's really cool that they were able to achieve that Even with the amount of time that they have, because I will stand on this hill. yeah i think that K-pop Demon Hunters easily could have been another half hour long and i wouldve still watched it.
00:19:47
Speaker
Like an extra half hour would have only benefited the film. But even then, we still got something amazing and I'm still pleased with that. But going back to Huntrix, again, it just baffles me that we ended up with just such three genuinely lovable characters and nobody felt left out. Rumi definitely was the focus here because, again, she's a sort of leader character. She's our main character. But Mira and Zoe still felt important. You could still see the role that each of them played in the trio, what they provide for each other as friends, and you understand their friendship and why it works.
00:20:22
Speaker
And I think that's just so cool that they were able to achieve that. I mean, is genuinely no wonder that there are so many cosplays and artworks and tributes and things. Because I'm not going to lie, I think I might have saw one video of K-pop Demon Hunters on TikTok. And then all of a sudden, as soon as I liked that video, the floodgates opened. And it was just, it was everybody. There was even one guy who cosplays as Bobby, you know, the manager. Oh yeah, Bobby. We love Bobby.
00:20:54
Speaker
Somebody actually brought this up, which, and i have to say, maybe I've got too much perfect blue on the mind here, but they praised the fact that he was a positive manager, that he cared about the Huntrix's well-being rather than being quite pushy manager, you know, which they easily could have done. They could have been like stuck up and, oh, you have to do this or else you're off the tour, blah, blah, blah. But he was genuinely a sweetheart to them, wasn't he? Oh, I know. He was legitimately just, unironically, just a genuinely good manager. And that's rare, you know, totally. And he cared about the girls. And I think that was what's important. He genuinely cared about his girls. And I love that.
00:21:31
Speaker
Yeah, which brings us onto the flip side of that coin, which of course is the Saja boys. Oh, the Saja boys.
Cultural and Thematic Humor
00:21:42
Speaker
They are the reason that I cannot get that damn song out my head, and I'm speaking as if they're real, but you know what I mean.
00:21:49
Speaker
I mean, at this point, they may not be real physical men, but they are a movement. They were real to me. They were real to me. But no, unironically, what a way to enter. And I think the Saja boys were just such a great juxtaposition to Huntrix, right? And i love that. Something different. that I found quite interesting when I was comparing them. And it's something that we're both talking about there that you can see how developed the Huntrix trio is. You know, you've got Rumi with her insecurities, you've got Meera with her stoicism, and then you've got Zoe with her bubbly nature. Funny enough, with the Saja boys, there's not really much to development in terms of characterization, all with the exception, of course, with Jinyu, who is the leader of the pack and obviously has the most development because he is the primary, i don't want to say antagonist, but, you know, the kind of anti-hero, as it were. Whereas the other ones don't get as much development.
00:22:55
Speaker
There was even a famous YouTuber called ProdZD. Yeah, I think so, yeah. He voiced the abs-sazer, apparently, because he said he was in the film and he voiced like a prolific character. I mean, he's done a lot because I think he did the, oh, I can't remember his name, but you know the dwarf in Delicious and Dungeon? Yes. Oh my God. Senshi, my beloved. That's the one. Thank you. I'm glad you're here.
00:23:21
Speaker
also delicious and dungeon pod win anyway yes adding to the list but they don't get a lot of characterization they're kind of just there is the lackeys the henchmen with some very noticeable attributes you know like literally he's credited as abs sajah he's not got a real name or anything abby his name is abby excuse you oh okay I mean, see what I mean? no But here's the thing. I'm sorry. I literally don't mean to talk over you here. But I think, hear me out. I'm certain that was intentional. Yeah, totally agree with you there. Because the thing is, right, is that I genuinely, genuinely, genuinely think that... The rest of the Sasha boys not having personalities, well, not having, I should say, distinct personalities outside of hot man is entirely intentional because each of them fulfill an archetype.
00:24:16
Speaker
And it's something that you see a lot in boy band culture, not only just in K-pop boy groups, But even in a huge wave of Western boy bands, like, you know, NSYNC, Boys to Men, Backstreet Boys, right? You see that there are these different archetypes of, oh, this is the cool one. Or, oh, this is the sexy one. This was the buff one. This is the soft, sensitive one, you know? All of them filled a different archetype. And they didn't need to do much more beyond that.
00:24:46
Speaker
Because they weren't actually trying to be a K-pop group. They were just trying to appeal to what humans wanted to see so that way they could win the fans over to take their souls and to defeat Huntrix.
00:24:57
Speaker
They didn't need to be anything else. All they needed to be, essentially, was marketable. Which, if there's anything more devilish coming out of hell, it's marketability. Oh.
00:25:08
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, the PR department down there must have been stellar. That's all I'll say. Just stellar being like, as you said, okay, we've got the soft, sensitive one. We've got the sexy one. We've got this one, that one. All of the archetypes. And of course, they have the leader to counter Rumi with Ginyu. wouldn't even necessarily call Ginyu an antagonist in this case. To me, he feels more like a foil. Yes.
00:25:35
Speaker
Mm-hmm. He is the sort of opposite of Rumi because, well, I think that we probably get into more of the plot about this later, but Jinyu, even from the start, never felt like a villain. He felt like somebody who was very clearly in for himself. Even Jima, the main villain, expressed doubt in Jinyu's idea, saying like, you've never done anything that wasn't benefiting you. What's the point here? That's That to me doesn't necessarily make somebody a villain. Again, it makes them more of an anti-hero.
00:26:04
Speaker
And in this case, again, I do think that Jinny was literally there to be a foil for Rumi. And it worked out swimmingly. I have to say, i absolutely adore to see the relationship between Jinny and Rumi. I mean, that is the romantic inside of me. All those K-dramas that I've watched that have very, well, I say happy endings, but they take a millennia to actually get to that point where they're just holding hands. Ugh, the slow burns are gonna be the death of me. Yeah, same. Without spoiling the end, i was reading some of the negative reviews of this on IMDb. See if you want to laugh, genuinely go read them. It's literally things like, that was it? An hour and a half just for that to happen at the end? Oh god, it's just one of those things is like, people who sort of know the genre already just kind of like... First time?
00:26:51
Speaker
Yeah. It's like, you're lucky they didn't spend half an hour on an amnesia arc or something. Oh, God, not the... Oh, and the misunderstanding arc, the miscommunication. Ugh. Yeah.
00:27:03
Speaker
You okay there, Chief? Ugh. No, listen, I've dropped so many manhwa because of a miscommunication arc that goes on for like 30 episodes. It's so true though. I'm like my brother in Christ, please. Get to the point. Talk to each other. we just need to edit you into all these dramas. There's like, come on. Quite literally.
00:27:24
Speaker
I will just get in there just like, you. is not what he said at all. you Stop being so down on yourself. No keys. No keys.
00:27:33
Speaker
No. I'm bad. but Just go in just with the squirt pedal. You're both being stupid. Talk to each other. why am I moving in slow motion? Why am I sponsored by Subway all of sudden?
00:27:48
Speaker
Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.
00:27:53
Speaker
Pandaloonians at home. This is no laughing matter. It really isn't. This is a very serious topic. Someone close to you may be sponsored by Subway. Please check on your loved ones to make sure they aren't sponsored by Subway.
00:28:04
Speaker
Pandor about to get into a tragic accident in slow motion. Please go check on them. This disclaimer was brought to you by the apparent K-drama subseries of Chatsunami. Also, never go across the crosswalk when you're having an emotional crisis.
00:28:20
Speaker
Don't do that in real life. Why literally? Listen, you can absolutely cross the street, but make sure that the lights are red for traffic and the lights for crossing is green.
00:28:30
Speaker
Look both ways, please. I beg. Out of curiosity, have you ever seen the British advert? It was years and years ago for road safety and it was like two hedgehogs.
00:28:41
Speaker
No, I haven't. I think it would be right up your street, and not just because you're a Sonic fan. Oh, God. I'm going to have to look this up. It's been drummed into us as kids to look both ways. So if we can do these characters in a South Korean drama can definitely look both ways before being hit and lingering in the air for about 20 years. But anyway, back to K-pop Demon Hunters. Unfortunately, there is none of that and that is something that swear to god, it's like a long way for a shortcut with this point here, but there is none of that, which I absolutely love. It's so good. Honestly, they just cut the fat off of it. They're just like, okay, here's the point and although they do the back and forth of I like you, i don't like you, there's a reason behind it that it leads on to this perfect smorgasbord of conflict between them. And can I
00:29:32
Speaker
just honestly another thing that go on here between like those sort of romance thing right can i just say that i love the fact that genu is a goofy mother yes can i just say that i love the fact that genu is just so damn goofy and awkward at times it's so refreshing to have a male lead who is visually attractive but also an absolute goober i love that and that's the thing right genu and rumi both feel so painfully human. And I say painfully human in the best way because at their core, they are human. Rumi is human. Jinnu was human. And you get that. You get that in the progression of their relationship. It's so good. and the Thing is, I never felt that any part of this film was slow.
00:30:21
Speaker
As we kind of joked about there, whenever you watch a k-drama romance, and trust me, if you haven't seen one, watch a compilation on YouTube, trust me, life is short. But you have so many moments where it just drags along and then you get to the semi-satisfying conclusion at the end and like, oh, okay, this is why I spent 36 hours hours of watching this, oh, okay. But with K-pop Demon Hunters, I am so surprised that between the musical scores, which I never thought were egregious, between the action scenes, which are fantastic, and again, just the K-pop chemistry between Rumi and Jin-yu, which I genuinely didn't expect to feel so invested in them. One of my favourite bits, have to say, is see when they turn up to the signing? Oh! It's so funny. When they turn up in the sleeping bags and they share a table and everything and... It's so funny because obviously the fans are just being fans, but they are such a proxy for the audience when they're like, oh my God, they're touching feet and they're shipping them together. Oh, the fan culture. If anything, they got the fan culture correct.
00:31:30
Speaker
Oh, a hundred percent. Yeah. Honestly, it was spot on I was so surprised, you know. but Especially when you had, you know, the older women doing the TikTok dance and everything. It was everybody.
00:31:43
Speaker
And that's what I loved about it. It wasn't just the young people they had in. It was young, it was old, it was men, it was women. oh there's just It was such a spectrum of different representation there. And it was fantastic to actually see the male, as you said, male, the fan aspect of I suppose this is a good point to deep dive more into why Rumi and Jin-yu are so compelling as characters. And that is, of course, because, as you said, Jin-yu is a former human who sold his soul to the devil. Funnily enough, not in Georgia with a banjo, but that's another film. No, it was in ah Korea with a beeper. Anyway. Yes, true.
00:32:22
Speaker
Was it a golden one, but still. No, wasn't a golden B-pop, but still. Also, okay, I am the whitest of white. I have little to no culture of my own. But one thing that I absolutely love, and it's part of the reason why I enjoy things like K-dramas, C-dramas. I watch a lot of anime. I've been recently trying to find some telenovelas to watch, you know, just for Finding Rings. Because the thing is, K-pop Demon Hunters, at its core, was a passion project.
00:32:47
Speaker
And you can see that it was a passion project. And the way the culture is depicted in the film is just so beautiful. And if anything, it makes me want to learn more about it all, especially the cultural dress, a lot of the ornaments that they would wear and that sort of thing. Again, just the historical value that comes from it as well. Because one thing that I really appreciate the fact that they were just so clearly invested with portraying the culture, their culture, so beautifully that by extension, a lot of the K-pop Demon Hunters content that I've been seeing on places like TikTok and Reels and that sort of thing is people bringing up references to Korean history and talking about how certain things in the film could definitely be references to actual Korean groups that had great influence in that sort of thing. Musical groups that had great influence. And then of course, G-New's character being greatly influenced by the fact of who he was in the time period in which he was born, you know? And that to me is just such a beautiful way to display a culture
00:33:47
Speaker
that not a lot of people would have been exposed to before. And I think it's just such a beautiful way to just look at it all and to really just absorb it and to be exposed to it, right? It's just, ugh, I could talk about that for hours, but I'm not going to do that to you. yeah On a podcast. Oh, pettish the thought.
00:34:06
Speaker
Listen, I'm trying to spare you the editing time, okay? Okay, true. Let's move on. Okay. That is actually really good point. Thinking back to all the K-dramas and, you know, shows that I've watched, you always have to try and find that one show that is quite accessible. If I was introducing someone to K-dramas or, your know, romance, that kind of thing... Maybe something more at entry level like Crash Landing on You or something like that, but for K-pop demon hunters this is definitely the perfect entry point because as you said it showcases the culture of South Korea wonderfully. it doesn't do it in a way that it seems like you can't relate to any of it i feel as if everybody watching this can relate to the characters their struggles the fact that it feels so universal yet so unique it's like you know it's set in Korea you know that a lot the iconography that they use like for example the goofy lion spirit and the crow that they use because they are very much rooted in mythology and something that I genuinely didn't know until looked up the trivia was the fact that the Saja boys are based on Korean folklore of these Grim Reaper type figures who escort the souls of the dead back to the afterlife and of course the way that they're depicted is exactly how they're depicted without their boy bandiness because if they looked like the Saja boys many Hundreds of years ago, I think there would be some very thirsty historians out there.
00:35:44
Speaker
Oh. They're gonna Oh yeah. But I think it's also really funny is the fact that the Saja boy's name, just from what I understand and what I've sort of gleaned from the content that I've consumed, is that the Saja boy's name is a pun. And it sort of dually references the fact that I don't remember the root word, unfortunately. But that's why the Saja boys is fan group is called the Pride. Join the Pride is because Saja is in reference to a lion. But then, of course, Saja is also used to be in reference, like you said, the Grim Reaper spirits.
00:36:11
Speaker
And I think that that's just such a clever, clever way to sort of tell you exactly who you're dealing with. If you are Korean and you're familiar with the language and the culture, then you're going to get the pun immediately, which I think is so damn clever. And if you're like us, if you're not Korean and you're not really immersed in the culture and that sort of thing, it can be a fun little bit trivia for you to find out for you to learn about it. Also, fun little aside, did you know that the tiger and the magpie have names? Really? They do.
00:36:38
Speaker
Wow. They do actually have Do you to know what they are? Do you want to save that for later in the segment? No, no.
Character Trivia and Dynamics
00:36:43
Speaker
Go for it. Okay. So the tiger is Derpy and the magpie is Sussy. Oh, that's cute. Yeah, they're really cute because, of course, the tiger is Derpy and the magpie is always suspicious.
00:36:52
Speaker
So he's not a fan of Among Us then? No. They call him out. The bird vented. I saw it. I saw him go through the portal. Raise the horn moon.
00:37:03
Speaker
Raise the horn moon. Anyway, my fan fiction, this idea. Oh, God. Thank God I wasn't writing this song. anyway Oh, my God. Right, right. Holy. Honestly, the designs and the thought that they actually put into them. As you said, you know, they could have easily had very generic old look.
00:37:21
Speaker
queer demons and everything in a very surface level just got a very generic design of these demons or korean demons as a whole but the fact that they actually put in the work to say right we want it to be but relatively authentic because again i don't think there's any history of korean demons creating a boy band but at the same time I laugh and think oh it's such a silly premise but that's what hooked me in in the first place the fact that it is something that you think I want to see how this goes I want to see where they're going to go with this I just absolutely love the complexity and the depth of this film because as you said Genu is
00:38:03
Speaker
practically a bard, isn't he? He's an unsuccessful bard, he makes a deal with the literal devil, and again, this is going into spoiler territories for the last bit this review, but he makes a deal with the devil, and initially and when he's opening up to Rumi, he says how, oh, he had a family and everything, but then because of the deal he had to leave his family behind, which was a big old porky, and He practically traded his old life of poverty and misery for a life of luxury and the palace and everything, which is an absolute gut punch when you find out about it. Oh, yeah. And the fact is, yeah, Jinu lied to Rumi. But one thing that I think that's so masterful about that decision, that character decision that he made, is the fact that Chima gains control over demons by exploiting their shame. Jinu is ashamed of what he did. So of course he's going to lie to Rumi when he meets her.
00:39:03
Speaker
Of course he's going to paint himself in a more pitiable light. Because one, at the beginning at the very least, he is inadvertently or intentionally manipulating her. But as they get closer and as they get to know each other and he starts to realize, wait, being around her is actually helping me, that shame starts to ebb. But the new shame that replaces it is the fact that he's not being honest with her. And I think that the decision that he made to tell her the truth, as it were, afterward, the way he went about it makes an entire sense. Because, you know, again, he is fully expecting her to be angry. And she is. But the fact that he did deceive her at the start, his story wasn't entirely incorrect.
00:39:43
Speaker
Just one minor detail changed. And that was the source of his downfall. It was the source of what made Jinu, Jinu. It was just one of those things that's like, what a masterful choice that was.
00:39:54
Speaker
Just one small lie of omission tells so much about Genu's character as well as Gima's influence. And again, they've kind of brought it up earlier to say they could have easily just made this very generic.
00:40:07
Speaker
k-pop demon hunters versus the demons of hell and things like that and that's honestly what i thought we were gonna get in this film i genuinely thought that's all it was gonna be it was gonna be quite generic and oh believe in yourself at the end but what i loved about it was the fact that i mean not even genuine although that is absolutely fantastic that they took the time to develop that antagonist Not antagonist, but you know what i mean, that foil, as you said perfectly, that Rumi and her friends as well begin to develop develop these complicated feelings of, are we doing the right thing by approaching it in this particular way? Because we find out, and this is something we haven't mentioned yet, but
00:40:49
Speaker
We find out throughout the film that the reason that Rumi seems so distant at times from her fellow huntresses is because she is part demon, which I have to say I didn't expect that initially. and I was like, ooh, spicy drama coming in here. But can I just say I'm actually really happy that they introduced that so early in the film. Yes. ah i I love the fact that Rumi is half demon. I love the fact that we got that pretty much from the jump.
00:41:17
Speaker
They're like, okay, so this is something that Rumi has been sitting on pretty much the entire time that she has known Mira and Zoe and has been a part of Huntrix. This has been something that she has been having to deal with all this time. And now when it's finally so close to getting the golden home moon, because that's the goal he I don't think we've talked about what the ultimate goalie is here. So Huntrix was formed because they need to unite the souls of the fans to strengthen and perfect the Hon Moon into the golden Hon Moon, which is supposed to be like the ultimate protection. the fact that they were so close to getting the golden home moon, Rumi's desperation to finally just be able to embrace Mira and Zoe as what she believes is her true self, her human self, absolutely pushes everything into motion here. If you think about it, her desire is and entirely justified. Understandable, dare I say. Her whole life she's been told that there's a whole part of her that is incorrect, that she just has to cover it up. She wasn't allowed to let this part of her be known. She wasn't allowed to trust her friends to love her anyway. Never gave them the chance to. And I think that it just puts into, this was quite early into the start of the film as well, that we got all of this groundwork laid. And I think that i only benefited the film that had happened that early. because that saved a lot of exposition and backstory building that takes up quite a bit of the second act of the film, as it were. Again, it just sort of sets up Rumi's development in this, because the thing is, Mira and Zoe have always been resolute. They always knew what they were supposed to do. They had no problems. They had no qualms because they didn't know. Rumi was the one that wasn't resonating. She was the one that wasn't completely on board. If anything, before she met Genu, the reason and learned his story, the reason why she was so gung-ho about everything and pushing forward like the release of the new song, Golden, that was supposed to give them the golden home moon and everything like that, right? It's because her voice started to break.
00:43:15
Speaker
In her desperation, she wanted to push forward and to get everything done just so that way she could finally feel like she wasn't lying to her friends. And in that situation, it puts Rumi and Genu a very similar boat.
00:43:29
Speaker
Oh 100%, they're two sides of the same coin. They're both ashamed of the perceived negative aspects of their lives, because Rumi thinks that she is imperfect because of her half-demon heritage, and is obviously not helped by her mentor, Selene, who keeps saying, oh don't worry, the golden horn moon, that'll get rid of those marks and everything just fine. And all will be swell!
00:43:55
Speaker
Yeah, and that is a horrible thing to say to anyone, especially a child growing up. Especially your niece. Your own niece. Like, that is your sister's daughter. And you can barely look at her without her covering up her marks. Like, holy. I think I think it's quite a serious topic as a real life topic to address in something that seems so inherently silly. You know, this idea about identity and people growing up with parts that they don't like about themselves, you know, and again, it's that idea that this message is so universal. Obviously, we don't run around with demon tattoos around us, but not as far as I know anyway. Some people do. I mean, true, but everybody has that part of them that they don't like, they want to be better, and they've had people in their life telling them that they should act a particular way, they should hide that aspect. You know, especially if you're a geeky person, let's say, and someone says, oh, you shouldn't be doing that because you're too old, or oh, because you should be serious, or this and that. And you'll always get people who are going to judge you for things, or or they're going to just... throw these complete preconceptions at you and especially it's heartbreaking when mira and zoe find out that she's part demon because they're just absolutely heartbroken and i think they're more heartbroken than the fact that she wasn't open with them but it's that idea again that they are running around saying yeah demons let's kill them like doom characters and she's like oh yeah yeah let's go kill the demons Yeah. And of course, her being part demon. And can I just say, by the way, I don't know how you felt about this scene, but see the scene where she fights Jin-yu for the first time in the bathhouse. Uh-huh. Oh my God. Oh, the bathhouse scene was so good. But just. See that scene where he's taunting her and obviously she doesn't stand a hell of a chance against him. And then it's not until he realizes that she's got demon marks.
00:45:53
Speaker
And you know that scene where he just embraces her and he hides her thing? And honestly, the K-drama side of me, I was just swooning. I was like, oh my God, ah they're so in love. No, listen, okay. The way that they animated that man's face and his hair is just like...
00:46:11
Speaker
Another! It's so good. It's so good. and it's just, again, my K-drama heart was just going off. I'm just like, yes, male lead moment. As do you know from our past episodes, especially from My Happy Marriage that we reviewed as well, we stand at a compassionate male lead, okay? Oh, yes.
00:46:31
Speaker
Any male leads out there who are like, oh yes, we're going to look after the main female love interest. Absolutely. 10 out of 10 in our book. And I know obviously later on in the film that gets flipped on its head when we find out the reason for his shame is because he abandoned his family. And see on the one hand, you know, dick move. Let's face it. Bit of a dick move. Oh yeah.
00:46:49
Speaker
Horrific. Terrible choice. On the other hand though, if you think about it back then, and I'm not justifying this at all, but it was probably pretty horrific for Jun Yu and his family. And if he saw an out and got those was whispers in his ears that, oh, he could have a better life and everything, then it's easy to see why he did it. Again, not morally right, but desperate times call for desperate measures. And let's be honest with ourselves here. His whole family was starving. Yeah. Right? He, his mother, his sister were constantly hungry. And Jima, no doubt, because the thing is, right, and you see this later on in the film as well, Jima takes you at your weakest.
00:47:31
Speaker
And spins a whole narrative in your mind. It's like those inner demons. It's like the demon in your ear, the devil on your shoulder that's there talking about, oh, well, you know, it's not going to get any better, but it could be. You have a chance.
00:47:46
Speaker
You've been seen. Why don't you take it? Want to hear wonderful? de No, literally. Oh, God. Free bird. No. So the thing is, if Jima becomes powerful from shame, then of course he's going to orchestrate shame. Of course he's going to encourage people to make those decisions that he knows will spawn his sustenance.
00:48:06
Speaker
And Jinu, in that moment, was at his weakest. And Jinu, in that moment, caved. to Gene Munn's will, as any person in his position likely would have done as well.
00:48:17
Speaker
And that is something that I love about this film, that iron ironically enough for a film that is all about demons and hunters and things like that, it's a very human film. Exactly, it's so grounded, isn't it? Because one of the things that I was genuinely shocked at was when they're writing the takedown
Empathy and Demon Representation
00:48:35
Speaker
song. One of those songs that you're listening to to the lyrics and it's saying, ooh, you're terrible, ooh, it's a diss track, essentially. And Rumi starts sticking to kind of say, well, hold on a second, should we be so harsh on these people? And Zulia. Zoe and Mira can't understand that. They're like, well, we've been fighting demons all our lives. Why all of a sudden are you turning around saying, oh, we should be nice to demons? And that is just such a fascinating insight into it that by contributing more hatred and shame towards these demons, that it's like a never-ending perpetual cycle.
00:49:09
Speaker
That, and it also sort of brings up the idea, right? And this is a message that now is probably really important more than ever, is the fact that Ruby switched up. Her desire switched up, right? Because, you know, she wants to be accepted. She wants to be seen. She wants to be finally, what again, is herself. But what's really interesting about this whole thing is that when Rumi was given new information, when she was offered a new perspective, that's when the shift started. Before, when she was able to be all gung-ho about killing the demons, maybe you even see that in the start of the film, and the very opening of the film, you know, she immediately calls on the demons like, yeah, we're going to kill you. You have the patterns and everything like that. You're all terrible. We're just going to go ahead and be done with you. Because in her mind, once the golden home moon is in effect, she'll be free of that. She won't have to worry about that anymore.
00:49:52
Speaker
But then suddenly she has this new perspective. She's been given new information. And with that new information, with that new perspective, her view shifts. Now, do I think that there's something to be said here that are most demons like that? You can see that most demons are definitely afraid of Chima. But on the other hand, there's also a good chunk of demons in the film alone that do seem to relish. on those more hostile tendencies that a lot of them have. One of the biggest criticisms I've seen from the show is, okay, so then why would they introduce this idea that, you know, maybe the demons are prisoners, but then have most of them just seem to enjoy it? Well, the thing is, at that point, it's just Genu very well could be a minority, even amongst his peers, right? He very well could be just somebody who genuinely just wasn't happy with where he was.
00:50:39
Speaker
And when you're a demon in and the underworld being held down by magical barrier, who's actually going to be happy? But he doesn't relish in taking souls like the others do. And in that case, that makes him an outsider. But the fact is, Rumi has learned now that at least one demon like that exists.
00:50:56
Speaker
So now she doesn't know which demons are ones who relish in hurting people and taking souls and which demons aren't and are only doing it to survive. And that's where her hesitation comes from. And again, I think that that sort of message of it's okay for your worldview to change when you get new information is so big right now.
00:51:13
Speaker
Because, I mean, it does reflect real life as well. The fact that you are going to get groups out there that are very hateful and things and to suddenly turn around and meet hate with hate and everything. And, you know, this is a very basic thing.
00:51:28
Speaker
summary of a very complicated issue about meeting hate with hate and things and there's no middle ground for understanding don't get me wrong obviously in this one they do it in a very fantastical way and everything and as you said genio is the somewhat outsider but it's almost a perfect stepping stone for them and especially the audience and I'm going to be honest I think a lot of kids are going to be watching this film and see that it's such an important thing to prioritise understanding over just plainly saying we should just have a very black and white view of the world we should have a very firm stance and blah blah blah but for them to be encouraged to empathise with others to be able to say yeah think about this and obviously you know you're not going to have a literal genie out there. Yeah, unfortunately. Yeah, unfortunately, but... but Swoon. But at the same time, it is just such an important message that I think for both young people and older people as well, it's something that you don't really see as much of in lot of films, that you usually see the hero go in, they vanquish the enemy, and then that's it, the enemy are just there to be gunned down, do you know what I mean? Yeah, it's pretty black and white in a lot of storytelling. So it is really refreshing to have a story with a message like that, that also offers nuance as well. And don't get me wrong. And the thing is, I think is really important in that sort of idea is that you always want to encourage understanding where you can. You don't have to agree with everything, with every worldview that comes on your plate. You don't have to agree with everything that comes your way. But if you can at least come from a place of understanding, i think that it can absolutely help people connect and make life just a little bit easier for everyone. But having said that, even considering the nuance of that thing, of those things, there are still things that are just entirely unacceptable, unredeemable. Evil exists.
00:53:24
Speaker
Jima is an example of that. And there's only so much good that offering understanding and that sort of thing can do when faced with somebody who does not want it. Because it is. It's that idea you exercise empathy and understanding where you can, but when you're essentially faced with a brick wall of evil as it were something that can't be reasoned with or is just i mean because i know jima's the representation of pure evil and that idea that you have to stand up against that that you have to just stand there and say well if they won't understand this then it has to be stopped it's honestly such an important message that i think that especially nowadays when the world is little bit toasty and i don't just mean the weather i'm just being It is very toasty and that is a very hostile world recently. And to have a film like this, that as we said before, you know, it's a goofy premise and oh, it's funny animation. And the more you sit down and you watch it and you listen to what the characters have to say, the themes, the basically message of
00:54:28
Speaker
It is just such an important message, I think, nowadays. And I'm not going to pretend that K-pop Demon Hunters is the first one to do this, because, you know, we've had a hundred Disney and Pixar films, you know, you've got your Frozen, your Beauty and the Beast, that kind thing, where, you know, you've got, oh, the misunderstood villain who becomes good at the end. But at the same time, i don't think, just because it's been done before, i don't think that people should stop doing films like this.
00:54:56
Speaker
because is an important message. I feel as if it is something that they have to, again, I'm not saying they have to keep doing the same thing over and over again, but it doesn't hurt having the same film again once in a while. Again, it's not an original concept.
00:55:09
Speaker
Like you said, it's an idea that's been discussed before. But I think that, again, this is where I feel like that the film would have benefited from having more runtime. Even with the time that they had, you were still able to understand everyone's point of view, where everyone's coming from.
00:55:26
Speaker
And again, this idea of this idea of trying to bridge a gap of understanding is just such a great message. It really is just such a great message. And it's one, again, that's so direly needed, especially nowadays. It's just so good. It's just so good. I'm sorry, my thoughts were a little bit jumbled there. But for a film with such, again, like you were saying, such a fantastical concept, you look at it and its core, it's a fantasy concept, a little bit goofy in practice and that sort of thing. But at the same time, it's still so rounded. And for a film to be able to do that is just remarkable. It's so good. So what you're saying is you can't wait for K-pop Demon Hunters 2. Exactly. at the same time, kind of hope it doesn't get one. Yeah, same to be honest. If they did expand on the story, I'd rather a spinoff. Because I kind of hope that they don't do a sequel because i was left off at the perfect moment, I feel. As you said, it'd it be cool to go into the past, maybe, for a different group or even in the future or or whatever. I would love to know the story about Rumi's parents.
00:56:27
Speaker
I would love to know what happened there. because they say that her dad is a demon. If Rumi's mother loved a demon, then there's really only one of two logical explanations there, right? So either Selene and her grief is going through some major cognitive dissonance and doubling down on the idea that all demons are bad, where Rumi's father was like Jinu, or Rumi's father deceived her mother and didn't tell her she was a demon until Rumi was born with the patterns. And those are two very different outcomes.
00:56:58
Speaker
And I would be really interested to know how it happened. Because either way, on one hand, if it's the latter option, then Celine's hatred is very much justified because her sister likely lost her life because of that. But then if it's the former and it's the cognitive dissonance, then it's just like it kind of shows how grief can really skew someone's worldview and how that can end up influencing and affecting the people around them. There's definitely a story there.
00:57:26
Speaker
And that's the thing, though. It's like the more you look at these characters, the more, on and the one hand, you do want to know more, but on the other hand, you don't want there to be like a... can't believe this is where I'm referencing this, but you know that Megaminds TV show where it was a weird, to very cheaply made spin-off? There was a TV show? I'm so sorry this is the episode you had to find out about this. You've ruined my life!
00:57:50
Speaker
ah You're welcome. Oh!
00:57:54
Speaker
It's what i do. I'm going have to look this up now. I'm going to have to look this up.
Film Depth and Themes
00:57:57
Speaker
See, and you see, the worst about it is if if it's bad, that makes me really sad because I know that DreamWorks can have really good spinoffs.
00:58:04
Speaker
Like the How to Train Your Dragon spinoff series were really good. yeah the Megamind one was not that in a bag of chips, no. From what I saw of it or heard of it from reviewers and things, it just looks very cheaply done. And obviously Sony is a completely different company and whatnot, but it worries me. And ironically enough, this is something we were talking about before we came on tonight about K-dramas and things like that. And we were talking about Squid Game, which trust me, there will be an episode coming in the pipeline.
00:58:36
Speaker
But the idea that because the first season of that got so popular that all of a sudden they decided to bring it back and there's obviously good parts of it and bad parts of it that's kind of what worries me with k-pop demon hunters that because it's so good i think they could do a good job of a sequel if they had the time to write a good script a story that needed to be told that kind of thing then absolutely go for it pop off But if not, then that is my worry that there's going to be like a cheap or very rushed sequel that ruins the impact of the first film.
00:59:12
Speaker
If you haven't seen this film and you've listened to the end of this episode, genuinely, it is probably one of the best animated films I've seen all year, if not the last couple of years. As I said, i love the fact, and this is something I genuinely love, when they take advantage of the fact that it's an animation, that they have the big bombastic set pieces, they have the bright, vibrant colours, they have the inspiration, as you said, from Donghua's and... anime and whatnot it is absolutely fantastically done and see if you want to enjoy it in its kind of surface level as three hunters are hunting down demons and they come to a realization about themselves yeah you're going to enjoy it in the basic level but you're also going to enjoy it in that deeper level as well with the messaging of it honestly i cannot recommend this film enough what about yourself though well the thing is like i don't know why you're asking for my thoughts because i could absolutely yap about this for way longer Like said, I think it could have benefited from having more runtime, but it's not so much because I'm like, oh, it was bad and it needed more explanation. I just think that there were some things that you could have had more time to flesh out, but on their own, were still fine. And I thoroughly, thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed the film overall. Like I said, I watched it about five to six times.
01:00:32
Speaker
It became like a comfort film for me because God, the ending, God, the ending, because we haven't even covered the music yet. True, actually. No, the music is absolutely incredible though, because as I said, it was some of the artists from Twikes who did it. You've got Golden, which is absolutely spectacular. You've got Soda Pop, as we half joking earlier and about. You've got Takedown. Honestly, there is not one single song in this film that I would say is bad. You know what?
01:01:02
Speaker
going to put you in the hot seat for a second. Tear list. Tear list. For the music, for the songs. Do you know, i would probably put Take Down relatively at the bottom. And again, when I say at the bottom, that's not saying that it's a terrible song, because all of these are, ironically enough, golden. Yeah, they are. Because, I mean, my top two are definitely golden and Soda Pop, because Soda Pop is just an earworm song. It's that very stereotypical boy band song. Yeah, it sure is.
01:01:33
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. It's amazing. I love it. but This is what it sounds like. That is a great one as well. I love Free as well because that is just such a beautiful song and a beautiful sequence of them running over the rooftops and things. Oh, the Free sequence is just so good. Beautifully animated as well. That would be my tier list, I would say. I mean, there's How It's Done, the very first song. What an opening, man. What an opening. Oh, it's great. As much as we, well, I say we, I joked about jumping out the plane.
01:02:06
Speaker
It is such a un impactful beginning that they've got the lower dump and then the like. Anyway, here's three amazing idols kicking ass off. Just casually aura farming. Pretty much. Being just so effortlessly cool. Like they're literally on a plane that's falling apart. I'm like, oh, this is just Tuesday. Eating the ramyun and just, yeah. Pre-show ramyun is such a mood as well. And unironically, can we just say that we need Huntrix ramyun cups? Like, please. Merch. Do it. Do the thing. Give it a couple of months.
01:02:36
Speaker
Please. I'm sure they will be. It'll be like the popcorn buckets now my god as like huge but heat your arm young of out of Jin-yu? Well, I mean, some people would, but let's not get into that. Some people absolutely would.
01:02:48
Speaker
And to be fair, I would love to see what each of the flavors would sound like because I'm already like an instant noodle girly anyway. i would love to see what the flavors are like. Well, I mean, that and ramhyang was just absolutely fantastic. you know, I've never had ramen and I really want to try it. But the problem is, is like, I'm a little bit of a piss baby and I can't do really spicy stuff. So I would eat mild. Yeah, it's definitely a lot more spicy because my girlfriend is one of these people who can handle her spices no problem. And when she's struggling with it, I know it's going to kill me. yeah It's like, that that's it. I'm just done. I'm cooked.
01:03:17
Speaker
I'm finished. Because what I do is I always try, and maybe this is very futile and very blasphemous to Ram Yun eaters out there, but I usually try to add some greens in there, like either spinach or lettuce. Oh, absolutely not. I do the same thing. Yeah, just to try and soak up the spices.
01:03:36
Speaker
mitigates it but I wouldn't say overly because see as soon as you drink some of the broth and it goes down the wrong way and it just flames up your throat you're like my time has come I'm done the thing about it is a lot of the instant noodles that I have are usually yakisoba based so they don't have a broth so much as they have a sauce that you're supposed to cook the water down into a sauce which is really really good I really do want to try Ramyeon though, because there was a time when I was making ramen and I would put a little less water in just to cook the noodles, but then I would make broth predominantly. It's mostly water, but then I'd also have a lot of milk. I'd add a lot of milk, but add a little bit of milk, add some greens, cheese as well. I see cheese as a popular additive in Ramyeon as well to sort of help like the dairy sort of help the spicy. See, I know that people do that. Again, my girlfriend is good, but I know that's a red line for me. I don't why. I tried it once.
01:04:28
Speaker
Cheesy noodles. I mean. Yes. No. What the heck? Okay, are you going sit here and tell me you've never had mac and cheese a day in your life? I've had mac and cheese, but that is not the same. Exactly, cheese. No. Listen, it cheese and carbs go together, okay?
01:04:41
Speaker
It doesn't matter if there's sloshy stuff in there as well. It works. Also, what kind of cheese did you put in there? Would you expect me to break out the Wensleydale for it? No, unironically, unironically, what kind of cheese did you put in your ramyun? What, like cheddar?
01:04:53
Speaker
No, mozzarella! There's your problem! You put cheddar in! It's gotta be mozzarella! So how does this feel to be your last episode of Shotsunami?
01:05:03
Speaker
No, listen, I'm going out swinging.
01:05:08
Speaker
Listen, everybody's allowed to have an opinion, even if it's wrong. So what you're saying is you want to come back for a Chow Tsunami episode where we just tear less ramen. No, honestly, unironically.
01:05:18
Speaker
Okay, listen, actually, that would actually be some pretty peak content. It would be, yeah. That would actually be peak content. You're lucky that we don't live closer together where we can buy all these noodles and be like, okay, take I mean, that would actually be really kind of fun, I can't lie. Yeah, true, true. have to get Toaster involved as well. No, for real though, for real.
01:05:38
Speaker
So kind of going back to the music a little bit as well, like I mentioned a tier list for you. You're going to be disappointed by mine already. I can already feel it. Can't be any worse than the cheese and the noodles, so if you're fine. Oh my god.
01:05:52
Speaker
so cool I'm about to break your heart. Okay, so, and then your legs. Anyway, um, but for legal reasons, that was a joke. I don't think it was.
01:06:02
Speaker
Guys, this is a serious threat. but I can already feel the red panda lawyer in the corner going, mm-mm-mm. No, he left ages ago. Oh, dang. Did you stop paying him? No, I think he's eating my ramyun.
01:06:14
Speaker
Oh, shit. Oh, dang it. but Anyway, sorry. a Tear list. Go. oh Yeah, seven songs. Seven songs, right? Number seven, takedown. I don't get it. I don't like super aggressive music like that anyway. i don't understand the mindset of it. And it's just like, I don't really care for it. Number six, soda pop. Ah. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's a catchy song. It's same disclaimer that you had for yours as well, right? None of the music in the film is bad, right? There's not a single bad song. It's just what's my least favorite.
01:06:44
Speaker
Soda Pop is one of them because again, it's it's catchy. It's really nice, but it's just not the sort of genre of music I really like. That's fair. The super bubbly, poppy sound and that sort of thing is is not really what I'm into. Yeah, I'm the opposite. I'm a poppy boy. That's all i'm saying. No.
01:06:59
Speaker
let me have some joy in the life. Let me have some whimsy, damn it. Number five for me is Golden. Ooh, spicy. It's not my favorite. It's good song. Don't get me wrong. It's really good. The message is really inspiring, but it also feels a little superficial, which is sort of, it's because like that's exactly what it was. Golden was the story of Huntrix with Rumi's mask on. And in that way, it's like while it's inspiring and things like that, it's disingenuous.
01:07:28
Speaker
And so that's why for me, it's like it's a Bob. It's absolute Bob and I'll listen to it. But still number five, right? Number four is going to be Your Idol, the villain song. It's so good. I love the iconography. The fact that it starts with a Dies Irae. Are you kidding me?
01:07:45
Speaker
It's leaning so hard into that Grim Reaper aesthetic and it's just like, oh, I eat it up. I eat it up. So just I'm no i'm delicious. It's so good. Again, hook, line, and sinker. If you want me to s simp over the Saja boys, that's the way to do it. all right, now top three. Top three is how it's done. Because again, absolute bop. Still listen to that one on loop. It's so good. Number two is free.
01:08:07
Speaker
Free is just such a lovely song and the lyricism that goes into it as well. is It just flows so beautifully. has a beautiful cadence to it. And again, it's just one of those songs that just helps me instantly mellow out. It's so good. Now, my number one song then, of course, is the finale song. And that is what it sounds like. That song broke me. I'm not even joking. I cried so hard at the end of this film because i resonated so much with Rumi's actualization. wanting to be seen for who she was rather than who she's supposed to be. And I think that the finale song is just so great and it's just so good. And it's just, it's such a great film and what a great song to end the film on as well.
01:08:50
Speaker
And again, it's going back to that point of it's not a diss track, it's not a song that is trying to speed down to anybody. It's a song that, as you said, it's about self-realisation, it's about them coming to terms with who they are, embracing the things that they were initially ashamed of, and coming together as one united force to basically banish the demons and create the golden horn moon. It's a fantastic song to end the film on.
01:09:19
Speaker
As we said before, you know, even though we've said, oh, this is probably the worst one for me, or this one's probably better, it doesn't mean that any of these songs are bad. See, objectively, they are all really good. I will agree with you, I am not a big fan of Takedown, because I agree, maybe it's just because I don't like conflict. but I don't like songs where it's like, that person smells, you know, it's like, why would you put that into a song?
01:09:44
Speaker
um Why would you do that? But I do think that the other ones are just so either catchy or just so poignant in their delivery. Just to reiterate what you were saying there, this film is absolutely fantastic. In a way, and this will sound really weird to say because I brought it up before, but in a way this film reminds me a lot of the Puss in Boots film.
Emotional Themes and Impact
01:10:05
Speaker
Purely in the sense of, not just because of the animation, but purely in the sense of this was a film that I think a lot of people watched the trailers and said all right this is going to be a goofy kids film it's over the top it's silly and then as soon as you sat down and watched it absolutely fantastic it is film that is lot deeper than i think a lot of people gave it credit for before it came out it a film with such an important message again just touching the something you said i do agree i feel as if maybe a couple more minutes here or there could have helped the film I never felt bored, but maybe that is a slight problem that because it was so fast paced and it constantly had to keep moving that you think, oh, well, they could have maybe dived into the idea of, well, are all demons bad or is it just Jin Yu? And then Jin Yu pulling out the Piccolo move at the end by blocking the big energy blast.
01:10:58
Speaker
Oh God, listen again, the amount of, again, i was sobbing. I was sobbing. It was so bad, but at the same time it was so good. The whole thing was just, oh.
01:11:10
Speaker
And the fact is that it makes sense. At that point, Gini's sacrifice is the ultimate redemption. And I think there's also just such a poignant message that comes with this idea that the old had to be broken down before the new could be established. The old home moon had to be destroyed before Rumi, Mira, and Zoe could rebuild it. This time with no deception. Everything on the table. And I think that's just such a great allegory for healing. Emotional healing. And that sort of thing. Because now it's like Rumi can just live now. She doesn't have to constantly live with this worry over her head that something is going to go wrong, that she's going to be perceived in a wrong way and something is going to harm her. What it sounds like quite literally is what it sounds like is her, Rumi and Zoe's friendship in its most authentic form.
01:12:01
Speaker
And it's also an anthem for people who feel broken, who have these parts of themselves they don't like. They want to hide from the world these shadows of themselves. The shame. Shame is such a powerful, powerful negative influence for people dulling their own light and dulling themselves that people don't ever want to talk about what's real for them because they're afraid of being judged for it. Rumi was afraid she was going to lose everything if her friends knew the truth.
01:12:29
Speaker
And in a way she did. but look at what she gained in turn. The whole moon wasn't golden. It was iridescent like her patterns turned out to be when she accepted that part of herself. Honestly, I know I said it jokingly earlier, but I couldn't have said it better myself. And that's probably, a the perfect point to end the episode, but of course, also to say that anybody listening listening to this episode going through very similar things, potentially, saying that, oh, they don't like this about themselves, that they're quite ashamed and whatnot. know ah know that K-pop demon hunters is probably a band-aid or plaster on top of a very serious issue of course, but at the same time ah is so important to see that being represented in mainstream media and to be able to see that there is such a massive community of fans of this film. There's huge fans of the Saja boys, Huntrix, again I'm saying that as if they're real people which technically If we're talking about the real people behind the film, obviously, but the fact is that it just goes to show how much this film has resonated with people, that people have gone through their own struggles of feeling ashamed about certain parts of themselves or being able to see these characters persevere through these issues. And even though they're using these characters as a proxy, i still think it is fantastic that this film is here. It has created such an impact. And as you were saying for yourself, it such a good comfort movie for a lot of people. It encourages people to look at the better side of themselves, to say that you're not going to fight hate with hate, you're not going to fight eat these things by hiding yourself away and being somebody that you're not. You should be true to yourself. And again, while that's not the first film to do it, I still think it does it fantastically. I think the only other addendum that I would make to that as well is the fact that it's like you don't always have to be the best version of yourself.
01:14:21
Speaker
It's okay to have marks that you're ashamed of. It's okay to have parts of you that are less than perfect because no one's perfect. The reason why the ending of the film got me so bad is again, because I'm somebody who grapples with my faults and that sort of thing. I desperately want to be better and I want to do better. And therapy has definitely helped with that. But what has helped with it more is coming to terms with the idea that I don't have to be perfect.
01:14:45
Speaker
And people will see me as I am imperfect and love me anyway. That's a massive, massive thing to give someone. And I just think it's so, it's such an important message. It's always one of those things like, yeah, just be yourself, just be yourself. But a lot of these messages of this sort of be yourself idea is just like, oh, you know, you always want the best version of yourself. Okay. You don't always have to be the best version of yourself.
01:15:06
Speaker
You're worthy of love anyway. And I think that that's just so important. I always wrap up these episodes by saying stay safe, awesome and hydrated to the fantastic Pandalurians listening at home. But I feel as if, as much as sometimes we say it facetiously, like, oh, stay safe, stay awesome, hydrated. That is something that I genuinely always wish for people listening to this podcast, that while they're going through these personal issues, that we're able to, again, I don't have a voice anywhere near, like the Huntrixes or Stadja boys. Or the body, but that's another thing. But the fact is that as long as this podcast can at least shed a little bit of light on somebody's life and to be able to encourage them and say, even though they're going through these issues that they're not alone, they can find solace in communities who will either accept them or basically not shame them for who
Community Support and Farewell
01:16:00
Speaker
they are. So honestly, you don't really need to hear me say that. Just go watch K-pop Demon Hunter. Because they'll say the message in a lot more of a better animated way and better singing voices. I mean, I can sing soda pop right now, but I don't think you'll want to hear that. I think that'll send the Pandalurians more into a depression, so maybe not.
01:16:19
Speaker
ah All joking aside, if you're listening to this, you don't need me saying that you're all fantastic Pandalurians and of course you as well, Moth, but... That is the thing though, just always remember that you've got a community there and K-pop demon hunters especially and surprisingly was not in the bingo card for me realizing the strength of community as a player for something like this. But honestly, go check this film out because you will not regret it. But on that note, Moth, thank you so much for joining me in this discussion. Well no, thank you for having me. It's always a pleasure to sit here and yap and take up your time.
01:16:54
Speaker
Absolutely. As I look at the editing before me, like, oh boy. Thank you for having me. It's always a pleasure and everything like that. And see the lovely Pandalorians out there, remember that you are loved.
01:17:08
Speaker
100%. we wrap up where can the lovely listeners at home find your content, Moth? Right. Well, I am most active on the purple website, Twitch Shot TV at Wisteria Moth. And I'm also active on my blue sky once again with the handle Wisteria Moth is EP now.
01:17:26
Speaker
So if you want to come find me at these locations, that's the best way to find me. I also have a TikTok. I haven't really posted on much. I really should get back into that. But you know, potato, but potato. Really just got the Twitch. I've got my blue sky and I've got my ticky talky. I'm not really a social media girly. I should really branch out. if you want to listen to more episodes from ourselves, as well as, well, extended E-app sessions all about things like Sonic, anime, and, yeah, general interest stuff, then indeed you can check us out at our website, chatzanami.com, as well as all good podcast apps. I also want to thank our amazing Pandalorian patrons, Robotic Battletoaster, Sonya, Ghosty, and Cryptic 1991. Thank you all so, so much for supporting the show. But if you would like access to exclusive episodes, commentary tracks, behind the scenes bloopers and such, as well as our full album, where both of us cover all of the songs in K-pop Demon Hunters, for legal reasons, that last one is 110% a joke. For you, maybe.
01:18:25
Speaker
Well, true, yeah. I'm still waiting for your mixtape. it might be coming sooner than you think true true then of course you can check us out our patreon page patreon.com forward slash chat tsunami this podcast is of course a member of the pod pack collective for more information check us out on our twitter slash x page pod pack collect and before we wrap up i just want to say that next week of course we'll be diving into the wonderful and crazy world of bioshock for bioshock month which i cannot
01:18:57
Speaker
wait for you guys to hear. We have got amazing guests such as Dan from Casting Views. Robotic Battle Toaster of course. I think you know that person Moth. Yeah he's pretty neat. Yeah pretty neat. Yeah he's alright.
01:19:11
Speaker
ah We've got Luke from the Howdy Beans podcast. We've got Alex from the Game Club pod. And then we've got a round table to just put a cherry on top of it. So cannot wait for you guys to hear it. It might actually be our longest episode yet, which I know when you hear that, Moth, you hear that as a challenge. So I'm going to wrap up the episode as soon as possible. That's a wise decision. And as always, Pandalorians, thank you all so, so much for listening. You're all so amazing.
01:19:39
Speaker
Stay safe, stay awesome, and most importantly, stay hydrated.