HUNTR/X was almost perfect - they were just hindered by a 90-minute runtime

The whole premise of KPOP Demon Hunters is a demon hunter girlgroup singing songs and pulling out magical weapons to beat the living shit out of the demon boy group that serves as their main competition on the battlefield and the charts. And while the movie does a good job at delivering on that premise, by the end of the movie it feels as though something is just....missing.

The thing that hindered KPDH from being even greater than it already is is its short runtime. The movie only runs for around 90 minutes, which you'd think is enough to sell its premise, but its clear that a good chunk of the worldbuilding and character development was sacrificed to fit the entire plot into its runtime.

The worst sacrifice of all is how Zoey and Mira's personal conflicts were explored much less than that of Rumi's. The main dynamic of HUNTR/X revolves around acceptance - Rumi's a half-demon-half-hunter, Zoey's a Korean-American who feels out of place in both countries, and Mira's the black sheep of her family. But despite these weird quirks that would've turned off other people, the three girls learn to accept each other and treat each other as the family that they never really had. But this dynamic falls apart when only one girl gets to have her time in the spotlight, while the other two barely get any exposition on their conflicts (aside from Gwi-Ma taunting them for 5 seconds each at the start of the final fight).

When I dived into KPDH my assumption was that all three girls were the protagonists of the story and each would have their own time in the spotlight, since they were the main heroes of the story and operate under a singular kpop group. But as the movie went on it started to feel like Rumi was the real protagonist, while Zoey and Mira were the comedic relief side characters. And it's a shame, because I think Rumi would've shined even more as a character if the other two girls had a chance to be in that spotlight of vulnerability. 

The main conflict that all three girls share is how they "stand out" and feel isolated from society, and how they find their true family with HUNTR/X because of their shared feelings of loneliness.

Mira was introduced as the 'black sheep' of her family, with her cutthroat, rebellious nature deviating from the prim and proper attitude that her rich family expects from her. This leads to her being essentially disowned and being seen as a disgrace, up until she ends up with HUNTR/X. But this deviation can also be seen within the group - while Zoey and Rumi are more soft-hearted and "sweet", Mira looks cold and talks bluntly, serving as the more 'serious' conterpart to them. This contrast ends up (unintentionally) leading to Mira further driving a wedge between the group. She's someone who sticks to her own code no matter how other people think/feel, which on it's own is a great trait to have, but this leads to her being unable to sympathize with Rumi's hesitations. She confronts Rumi about her sudden doubts about 'Takedown' and what HUNTR/X does but doesn't try to figure out why Rumi suddenly acts that way, because her main concern is about Rumi getting in the way of how SHE wants things to be done. Mira can get unintentionally 'difficult' or overbearing without realizing it, and I wish that the plot gave us more time to see her grow past that attitude and become more empathetic/understanding to her groupmates.

Zoey was introduced as the girl living between two worlds - America and Korea. Despite seemingly being confident about her wild and strange personality on the surface, deep down inside she feels like she can never truly fit in no matter where she goes. She loves writing songs, journals, notes, and posts, but feels as though nobody will understand or care about the things she jots down. They'll be too "Korean" to her American side of life, and too "American" to her Korean side of life. But when she joins HUNTR/X the other two happily take in her lyric suggestions and strange findings from the Internet (such as the tonic guy, that neither Rumi nor Mira trust but visit anyway). The interesting part about Zoey's dynamic with the other two is that she acts as the unintentional glue that holds the group together. When Rumi and Mira get distracted by arguing on top of the train, Zoey is the one that snaps them out of it and points them towards their real enemies. When Rumi and Mira start to panic from Rumi suddenly losing her voice, it's Zoey who tries to find a cure for it, despite not really knowing how Rumi got it in the first place. And who keeps inviting the other two to the bathhouse? That's right, it's Zoey. Unlike Mira who's personality ends up with her unintentionally casuing rifts in the group, Zoey's personality (maybe unintentionally) brings the group closer together. She can sympathize with both Mira's overbearing nature and Rumi's closed off nature and find the perfect balance that brings them together BECAUSE of her own conflict of being "between two worlds" and honestly I wish we got to see more of our cute maknae being the mom friend of the three. 

Rumi's conflict revolves around her being half-demon half-human while working as a demon hunter. Celine forces her to hide away the demon part of her, and that leads to Rumi feeling like a "fake" amongst the hunters. There is a dissonance between the values she was taught and the identity that she has - if all demons are sinners that should be killed, does that make her a mistake as well? She feels as though she can never be truly genuine to anyone and her patterns prevent her from forming deeper connections with her fellow hunters. It's why she latches onto Jinu so desperately - he's the only person who understood that feeling of loneliness and guilt because of his patterns, and he gave her the space to fully be who she really is. However, unlike Mira and Zoey who can at least admit their insecurities without fear of being judged, Rumi is afraid that they will end up being afraid of her or even killing her if they discover her true identity. Rumi's conflict is already resolved well by the end of the movie, so I have no hard comments on what they've should done with her. 

All in all, I'm actually quite satisfied with how HUNTR/X was written, but I wish they all got the chance to grow together as one unit rather than mostly focusing on Rumi's conflict. To me, the final scene felt less impactful because at the end of it, only Rumi's conflict was truly resolved, while we're left to assume that Zoey and Mira were also satisfied at the end without any true indicator that they've also grown past their insecurities. If the team behind KPDH ever plans on making a miniseries, or better yet a movie sequel, I'd love to see Zoey and Mira have the spotlight with their conflicts, and with Rumi serving as their pillar of support. 

And lastly, despite the flaws in the plot and writing, I still think that KPOP Demon Hunters is a worthwhile watch! HUNTR/X is such a cute group and I loved watching those moments of bonding and vulnerability shared between the girls. They just feel so real and human, and I was able to relate to many of their struggles and find some peace/satisfaction from the movie's ending.

I might make a second post talking about the Saja Boys, particularly Jinu, but that's for another time. I might also make posts analyzing the movie's songs (especially 'Takedown' and 'Your Idol') but again, that's for another time. Thanks for reading!