1 Year Later, KPop Demon Hunters Is Officially the Greatest American Anime Ever

KPop Demon Hunters shattered records across the globe when it debuted on Netflix on June 20, 2025. Its loveable characters and amazing soundtrack make it a shining example of American anime and prove that incredible anime stories can come from studios like Sony Pictures Animation.

One year after its debut, it’s clear that KPop Demon Hunters has real staying power, and its popularity wasn’t just a flash in the pan. With a pile of awards under its belt and a sequel in development, KPop Demon Hunters has become a modern classic that’s reshaped pop culture in major ways.

KPop Demon Hunters Was the Defining Movie and Anime of 2025

KPop Demon Hunters was neither the most financially successful movie of 2025 nor the most well-reviewed. However, there is no movie released in the last several years, especially among films not based on existing IPs, to have organically built up such a massive, passionate audience in such a short time. There are numerous reasons as to why it was able to accomplish this, but they all stem from the sheer quality of the movie.

In only 95 minutes, writer and director Maggie Kang effortlessly draws viewers into a world where humanity’s negative emotions cause them to be plagued by demons, and where only three heroines in each generation are naturally gifted with the magical voices needed to combat them.

Through its detailed and expressive animation that makes every frame memorable, its sharp dialogue, its strong understanding of the K-pop culture that’s integral to the film’s narrative and themes, and its seven 10/10 main songs, KPop Demon Hunters achieves a level of immersion that movies with twice its length never do.

Rumi is a masterfully crafted protagonist, one whose personal struggle and journey to self-acceptance are relatable to people everywhere, and who’s guaranteed to be the most common Halloween costume for the next decade. Zoey and Mira don’t get nearly as much focus, and yet they’re just as beloved due to their equally lovable personalities and sympathetic backgrounds.

Through HUNTR/X, through the Saja Boys, and through the characters’ relationships with each other and the girls’ conflict with Gwi-Ma, KPop Demon Hunters proves itself to be just as much an exploration of shame, generational trauma, idol culture, the societal pressures placed on all women, the warmth and power that comes from female friendships, and the pain of hiding one’s status as something they’ve been taught to hate as it is an endlessly quotable and rewatchable musical that anyone can enjoy.

KPop Demon Hunters Is the Biggest American Anime of All Time

Even some fans of KPop Demon Hunters may balk at the idea of it being superior to something like Avatar: The Last Airbender, but it’s simply the truth. While ATLA is often praised as the best Western animated series ever, and it continues to receive sequels and remakes to this day, it took years for it to achieve the status it now holds; KPop Demon Hunters took over the culture immediately, and made the whole world play HUNTR/X’s sound.

In the months following its release, KPop Demon Hunters became the most-watched movie or television series in Netflix history, beating out even Squid Game, Wednesday, and Stranger Things, and beating them by nearly 100 million views at that. Its soundtrack topped charts and broke records for months on end, with the film’s signature song, “Golden,” becoming completely inescapable, and having been streamed billions of times by early 2026.

The singing voices behind HUNTR/X, EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami, have become global superstars and household names, EJAE in particular having risen to be one of the biggest stars on Earth, off the back of both her remarkable talent and her empowering personal story. The three have already reunited several times for major live performances, including at the Super Bowl halftime show and the Oscars, and plans are reportedly in the works to turn them into a real Kpop group.

Despite no merchandise being released alongside the movie initially, as Sony shortsightedly doubted the film would be successful at all, the last year has seen more and more of it coming out, from costumes, to toys, to even recreations HUNTR/X’s in-universe Ramyun cups.

Most recently, KPop Demon Hunters has even gotten a McDonald’s Happy Meal promotion, demonstrating that fans are still as in love with the movie now as they were in Summer 2025. Naturally, KPop Demon Hunters 2 is in production, and Netflix has been considering all the ways they can blow the film up into a billion-dollar franchise.

KPop Demon Hunters may seem simple and mainly for kids on the surface, but it’s a generational film that will have its impact felt for decades to come. In the world of American anime, it’s simply on another level compared to all its competition.