How ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ inspires all, through the eyes of Planet Anime KC
Planet Anime Kansas City’s short history has brought together fans of the once-niche Japanese-based art form under one roof to celebrate its long history of characters and culture. It’s only grown since its inception in 2022, and 2025’s edition brought its biggest celebrity yet.
The Netflix original animated movie “KPop Demon Hunters,” has captivated the world, staying atop the streaming service’s most-watched movie rankings since its release Aug. 23 and earning Grammy Award nominations for its original song “Golden,” which also topped the Billboard Hot 100 charts for eight weeks and the Billboard Global 200 chart for 16 weeks.
As a part of this year’s convention, Planet Anime secured a visit from May Hong, who provides the speaking voice of Mira, a member of HUNTR/X, the star K-Pop girl group made for the film. Her impact reached the Midwest, drawing guests from all over Kansas and Missouri to the Kansas City Convention Center.
Staple animes like “Sailor Moon,” “One Piece” and “Naruto,” and modern favorites like “Dandadan,” “Jujutsu Kaisen” and “My Hero Academia” were well represented on the showroom floor, but none had a greater presence than “KPop Demon Hunters.”
Scattered across Bartle Hall were vendors with drawings, keychains and other artwork featuring the characters. It was easy to lose count of how many people were wearing T-shirts or other merchandise from the movie.
The lines to meet Hong and get her autograph were some of the longest at the event, and her booth was nearly double the amount the other voice actors had in celebrity row. But fans just seemed happy to have the chance to celebrate their love for the movie.
The film has captured the hearts from people of all ages, inspiring family, friends and couples to dress up as characters from the movie, like Mira’s bandmates, Zoey and Rumi; the enemy K-pop boy band Saja Boys; obsessed fans, or a cat. It’s given them another way to strengthen their bonds with each other, which is one of the key themes from the movie.
Such was the case with Wichita native Cassandra Wheeler. She, her husband, Josh, and their children, Cortana, Meadow, Prudence and Persephone, wore costumes hand-made for Halloween, and they were able to break them it out one more time.
Cassandra Wheeler said it was the children’s idea to dress up as characters from the movie. Persephone took the reigns of Derpy, the oversized demon cat in the movie, while Cortana, Meadow and Prudence took the stage as the K-pop group in their final performance during the movie. This left Mom and Dad with a fitting option — the demon form of the Saja Boys.
The popularity of the movie can be attributed to its relatability, Cassandra Wheeler said. Audiences of all ages can connect with it, and she said it helps that the music is catchy.
“It reaches young audiences, middle-aged audiences, older audiences, those that are into anime, those that are into K-pop,” Cassandra Wheeler said. “It’s just a broad thing, and it helps bring everybody together.”
A diminishing stigma around the anime genre
The movie’s vibrant advertisements on Netflix also grabbed the attention of Olathe natives Jon and Anne McKim and their daughter, Emily.
The McKims placed the blame on the repeat watch parties on their daughter, but they were able to successfully convince friend Kylie Wilbur to watch, along with a bunch of their friends taking part in their Dungeons and Dragons strategy game.
“We didn’t realize it was coming out, and then we were like ‘oh this seems new and cool, we haven’t watched this yet,’” Jon McKim said. “Now, we haven’t stopped watching it.”
Wilbur tagged along with the group costume as a fan, like Anne McKim, while Jon McKim was Abs Saja in his human form, and Emily McKim got to reuse her Rumi costume from Halloween.
The journey the McKim family has went on with “KPop Demon Hunters” inspired them to show their daughter some of the classic anime series they grew up watching, like “Pokémon” and “Dragon Ball Z.” It’s part of their goal to raise her right, Jon McKim said.
The stigma of being into anime has disappeared, like what the McKims and Wilbur noticed when they were in middle and high school. It certainly helps that animes like “KPop Demon Hunters” have been embraced by celebrities and athletes across the world.
“It’s cool to see it all come back out and come back around,” Wilbur said. “It’s like, ‘Ha, see, I told you guys this stuff was great,’ and now we’re adults, and you believe me.”
They’re also regulars to Planet Anime and Planet Comicon Kansas City, both of which are run by Planet Promotions. Seeing the anime-centered convention land big-name talent long Hong speaks to Planet Anime’s growth in such a short time, Jon McKim said. They can’t wait to see what next year brings.
Music igniting the soul and bringing people together
Kansas City-area natives Kai Pugh and Ez McLaughlin met three years ago through dating app Tinder. How’d they know they’d match? They both had pictures of themselves in different cosplays on their profiles.
Fast-forward past numerous couples’ costumes at other conventions, and the two are also dressed as the Saja Boys in demon form, with the demon markings and purple skin tone . The characters hit right in the middle of their interests, since McLaughlin has an affinity for attractive male anime characters and Pugh is a K-pop superfan (Pugh said she also finds the Saja Boys attractive).
Looks might’ve been what led them in this direction, but they both fell in love with the story’s message of being true to yourself and that embracing your inner “demon” isn’t always a bad thing. McLaughlin reiterated a point made by Cassandra Wheeler in that anyone can relate to it, as McLaughlin’s trying to get her younger cousins to watch it.
It’s a similar journey Kansas City native Mackenna Haney is on, although she said she was more successful with her 3-year-old nephew, who now sings “Golden.” Haney dressed as Rumi from the movie’s opening scene, and was there with childhood friend Cyn Thompson, who’s was dressed as Zoey from the same scene.
“It’s beautiful, and there’s a heartfelt story about accepting yourself and not feeling ashamed,” Haney said.
Thompson, despite having a movie-accurate attire, has yet to watch it. She fell in love with the music and was able to convince Haney to join her after finding the costumes. While not having watched the movie, Thompson said she loves what the movie represents, and that it’s another signifier of how Asian culture has planted its flag in the United States.
Haney and Thompson are also both in their late 20s, and seeing women represented in their age range, like the singing voices of HUNTR/X, is inspiring.
“It’s nice seeing powerful women, even with the people behind the camera (Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami),” Haney said. “It’s really satisfying to see women in their late 20s, early 30s doing well and being cool.”
