Mom, buy it: where did the fashion for "K-pop demon hunters" come from in Russia
Russian marketplaces have been captured by a new fashion — fan products based on the cartoon "K-pop Demon Hunters". Izvestia found a large number of various merchandise, primarily T-shirts with images of the three main characters. The animation itself has already set several world records, becoming the most watched movie in the history of Netflix. Naturally, the sellers of paraphernalia decided not to stay away from such success. About how an ordinary cartoon turned into a pop cultural phenomenon - in the material of Izvestia.
What is the new super hit from Netflix famous for?
The animated film "K-pop Demon Hunters" launched online on June 20 and quickly became a real super hit - first as the most popular animated film on Netflix in the history of the platform, and then as the most watched film in the main category after the first four weeks of online distribution. According to this indicator, he beat the movie "Red Notice" with Hollywood stars Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot. The film held the lead for almost four years, with a new record of 236 million views.
Then the animated musical switched to music lovers: four songs from the cartoon hit the Billboard Hot 100 world top chart at once, setting an absolute record for the number of musical hits from one work of art that hit the prestigious charts. All tracks are in the top ten, albums have not achieved such results before. Thanks to the powerful success of Netflix, it even timidly decided to release the movie a month and a half after the online premiere of the cartoon, the result exceeded expectations: packed halls and numerous short videos in which Americans jump up from their seats, dance and sing along to Korean pop idols on the screen.
The film was released in Russian cinemas in the second half of August as part of a pre-screening service. At the same time, products with the attributes of the series began to appear on domestic marketplaces. T—shirts and mugs are among the leaders, and key rings are in third place in popularity. Then there are figurines, photo curtains, pillows and other souvenirs.
According to the search query "demon hunters", the largest marketplaces give out dozens (in some cases, hundreds) of pages with various souvenirs. The last time such a stir was observed on the trading floors of the Russian Federation was during the first season of the "Squid Game", dated September 2021. Interestingly, both cultural phenomena are united by one actor: Lee Byeong-hong played the master of ceremonies in all three seasons of "The Squid Game," and voiced the demon lord Gwi-Ma for "Huntress."
The film received a full-fledged Russian dubbing with the adaptation of the songs for the Russian audience. Sofia Chudnovskaya voiced the main character Rumi, Anna Boyko and Yulia Marycheva took on the roles of Zoya and Mira, respectively. The number of listeners of Russian versions of tracks from "K-pop Demon Hunters" on popular sites such as Rutube, VK Video and YouTube is in the hundreds of thousands. For example, on YouTube, the Russian-language version of the song "What we have" has collected over 877 thousand views, and its cover version — 1.2 million.
What are the characters of the new film singing about?
The billion-dollar global K-pop fanbase, fueled by YouTube, TikTok and Spotify platforms, forms the foundation of the film. The focus on the idol group immediately resonates with fans who follow the music, choreography, and images of their idols. However, the animation format expands the audience beyond the core of K-pop: it overcomes language barriers and attracts young people (generation Z and millennials) who prefer visual content.
For K-pop fans, the project offers a new dimension to their idols.: They fight demons, fight fate, and demonstrate not only vocal and dancing skills, but also combat skills. For animation lovers, this is a fresh look at the supernatural genre, steeped in the brightness and storytelling of Korean music. This double charge turns the film into a symbiosis of two worlds: k-pop fans discover animation, and animation fans discover k—pop. The film's popularity reflects the growing demand for hybrid content that speaks to multiple audiences at the same time.
Kristina Antsupova, the administrator of the thematic community for the film on the VK platform, told Izvestia that active discussions about the life of the film's dubbing actors do not subside even two months after the premiere. And recent information about the upcoming sequel has rekindled the interest of the fan base. According to rumors, Netflix, together with Sony Pictures, is preparing a television series, a short film, two sequels with different protagonists and a musical production. It is not yet known which of these will be realized, but it is obvious that the franchise has a great future.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
