Confession, Reconciliation, and Hope in 'KPop Demon Hunters'

Come for the fun animation and catchy songs, stay for the deep theological resonance

Dear Readers, when KPop Demon Hunters first came out, none of our writers thought it would be very good, and thus we overlooked giving you a full review at the time. Given the popularity of this film in the months since, and its nomination for Best Animated Picture at the Oscars this weekend, we wanted to take this opportunity to rectify that mistake. Many thanks to Recess Hall of Famer for tackling this for us! Check out his Substack where he is attempting to watch all 100 films on our 100 Movies Every Catholic Should See list!

K Pop Demon Hunters exploded onto the scene in June 2025. It was far from my radar upon its release. I’m a 41-year-old married man who is unable to have kids; I never would have it on my radar. Plus, with the title K Pop Demon Hunters, it sounds like your typical Hollywood anime-copycat slop.

That was until Greg Owen, a YouTube media critic I follow, praised K Pop Demon Hunters to high heavens. So one random weeknight while my wife was busy with other things, I decided to check it out.

To my shock, I discovered a film that was not only an upbeat, fun animated feature, but one with deep theological meaning and a message that resonates across all ages.

K Pop Demon Hunters follows Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Chong), and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo), demon hunters whose cover is Korean Pop group Huntrix. When a new all-male group, the Saja Boys, shows up, Rumi discovers they are secretly demons trying to prevent Huntrix from sealing the Honmoon, a barrier keeping demons from invading the physical world. Rumi desperately tries to stop them while hiding the lines on her body that mark her as half-demon¹ from her friends Mira and Zoey.

Amidst the anime-inspired visuals and super catchy soundtrack, a story emerges about bringing your faults to light and sharing them before they take you over. Rumi fearfully hides her lines, expecting rejection from those closest to her for her shameful secret. What if my friends find out? What will they think of me? Will they remain my friends, or will they reject me? Those are questions most of us ask ourselves daily. We hide our deep rooted sins behind wall after wall, scared to break them down to show others for fear of what they will think.

The more Rumi tries to hide her lines, the more the lines spreads. The same goes with our sins. As we fight to conceal them, the more they leak out into our lives. Sin devours us. It never gets enough. Fighting it alone gets us nowhere. I’ve learned this the hard way and am only now starting to bring my faults to light. Part of that is thanks to my men’s group at my parish. Each week we ask each other where we have lied, either directly or indirectly. That question forces me to look back on my week and see where I’m trying to hide, what part of me I am keeping from my wife and family.

Those same men encourage the Sacrament of Reconciliation weekly. The Good Lord knew that if we hide our sins, they will fester inside us, causing damage to our bodies and souls. Some of you reading this may say, “well, I can go directly to God.” While that’s true, you are still keeping your sin to yourself. It still lingers inside. Only when we speak it to a priest in persona Christi that true healing happens.

In the final act of K Pop Demon Hunters, Rumi sings “Golden”, the final song to seal the Honmoon. During the one of the repeated verses, she sings:

Oh, I’m done hidin’, now I’m shinin’
Like I’m born to be
Oh, our time, no fears, no lies
That’s who we’re born to be

Rumi owns her faults. She has brought them to the light and is now like the newly baptized, cleansed of her sins. We need to follow her lead. Bring yourself to Reconciliation, receive His mercy, then find a group of trusted friends to continually bring your faults and failings to. Its only then that we can be in the Light and become golden.

1. Her mother was a demon hunter, her father was a demon.