While out trick-or-treating tonight, you will definitely see several Rumis and Jinus from Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters, a big step for Asian representation on this spooky holiday.
Netflix’s animated film KPop Demon Hunters is the most popular Netflix film of all time, with more than 325 million views to date, according to the streaming service. It is about an all-female K-pop group called Huntrix who are secretly demon hunters. They face a rival demon boy band, the Saja Boys, who are sent to steal Huntrix’s fans and destroy the Honmoon, a magical barrier that separates human and demon worlds.
This Halloween, kids can’t wait to dress up as their favorite characters from the movie.
The five most searched-for costumes this season are all from KPop Demon Hunters, according to Google’s Frightgeist, which tracks Halloween search trends.
Netflix even partnered with Spirit Halloween to create officially licensed costumes; however, the demand has been overwhelming, the New York Times reported.
The popularity of KPop Demon Hunter costumes has many in the Asian American community excited to see themselves represented on Halloween.
The actual model for Spirit Halloween’s Rumi costume, Ella Pereya, a Filipina American girl from New Jersey, said she feels proud to see herself in pop culture.
She told NBC News, “I feel very grateful that they made a movie about people that looked like me. I feel lucky to play Rumi because not a lot of people can do that.”
Similarly, Jean Wang, a fashion blogger who posted a viral tutorial of a Rumi-inspired hairstyle that she did on her daughter, told NBC News, “My daughter is definitely aware that the characters ‘look more like her.’ But at the end of the day, Rumi is a brave, talented and fierce character who also shows vulnerability in a very relatable way.”
KPop Demon Hunters not only features Asian characters but also adds a level of depth to each one that children can analyze. The popularity of the film’s costumes this Halloween may reflect how kids have embraced this representation, which not many Asian-centered films have done at such a scale.
suggested meta description: Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters brings Asian representation to the forefront this Halloween as kids dress up as their favorite characters from the hit film.
