Key Points:
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KPop Demon Hunters features a K-pop girl group who also fight demons, with character designs inspired by real-life idols.
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Director Maggie Kang and her team used digital inspiration boards filled with K-pop idols and actors to shape the looks of both groups in the film.
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The animation team referenced groups like BTS, BLACKPINK, TWICE, and ATEEZ to design the film’s iconic characters.
Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters, releasing this Friday, blends supernatural action with K-pop glamor. The film follows Huntrix, a girl group doubling as demon hunters, who face off against the Saja Boys, a rival boy band revealed to be demons.
Which K-pop Groups Inspired the Saja Boys in KPop Demon Hunters?
The male demon boy band Saja Boys in KPop Demon Hunters are designed to reflect common K-pop group archetypes. Director Maggie Kang and co-director Chris Appelhans assembled a digital board filled with references from Korean pop culture. Groups such as BTS, BIGBANG, Monsta X, ATEEZ, Tomorrow X Together, and Stray Kids were among the strongest influences.
Each of the Saja Boys—Jinu, Abby, Mystery, Romance, and Baby—fills a particular K-pop trope. For example, Abby Saja is the muscular member with visible abs and a stronger build; he was bulked up by about 20% during animation. Romance is the soft-hearted heartthrob, given bangs styled into a heart shape. Baby Saja plays the group’s maknae (youngest), and embodies the classic rapper persona common in many idol groups.
Director Kang noted that Mystery was the only member not visually based on a specific artist. His face is largely obscured by purple hair, a creative decision that served both narrative and animation production needs.
The only character explicitly tied to K-drama actors is Jinu. His look was inspired by leading men like Cha Eun-woo and Nam Joo-hyuk, aiming for a clean-cut, timeless Korean aesthetic. Actor Ahn Hyo-seop, who voices Jinu, was cast after the character’s creation but shares visual similarities with his role in Business Proposal.
Despite their different faces and roles, all the Saja Boys except Abby share the same CG body base, a choice that helped streamline the animation process while maintaining character uniformity.
READ MORE: KPop Demon Hunters Complete Voice Cast
Which Idols Shaped the Looks of Huntrix in KPop Demon Hunters?
The girl group Huntrix consists of Rumi, Mira, and Zoey. Their character designs were heavily influenced by iconic female K-pop idols and Korean fashion models. Maggie Kang aimed for strong visual diversity among the members, focusing on more than just hair color to differentiate them.
Rumi carries the traditional Korean beauty standard, a look Kang nurtured over several years of development. Mira, meanwhile, was modeled after Korean fashion icon Ahn So Yeon, known for her stylish and elongated silhouette. Zoey was given a “cutesy” design, incorporating facial features popular among younger idols.
The animation team used physical attributes and expressions to further distinguish the characters. Zoey, for instance, has a heart-shaped mouth when she smiles. Mira’s tall and lean body type contrasts with the other members. These details were animated intentionally to ensure each member of Huntrix stood out.
To create their looks, the team referenced visuals from girl groups like BLACKPINK, ITZY, and TWICE. The idea was to blend distinct style elements while making sure none of the characters appeared visually redundant.
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What Was the Creative Process Behind the Character Designs?
Kang allowed her art department full access to the digital inspiration board. It became a collaborative effort, with artists adding their favorite idols, actors, and even anime references to guide character creation. This participatory process allowed for a broad range of styles and archetypes to emerge across both the Huntrix and Saja Boys lineups.
For the Saja Boys, visual archetypes were drawn from common boy band dynamics—the romantic, the mysterious, the youngest, the muscular, and the charismatic leader. This made the characters instantly recognizable to K-pop fans, who have compared the designs to real-life idols on social media.
On the Huntrix side, the animation team also ensured their movement and expressions were individualized. Kang emphasized that each girl’s “look” included facial animations that reflected personality—whether it was a subtle smile shape or a particular body type.
Kang says she enjoys seeing the accuracy of those fan-made comparisons. She encourages the conversation, noting that most viewers are aligning characters with the correct archetypes and idol counterparts.
KPop Demon Hunters premieres this Friday, June 21, 2025, and will be available exclusively on Netflix.
Source: Forbes
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