It’s been a month since Netflix’s Ok-Pop Demon Hunters took the web by storm, thrusting us right into a world of, properly, demon-hunting Ok-Pop music. The fever isn’t subsiding; on the time of writing, the movie remains to be primary on the streaming platform’s prime 10 most-streamed films listing, whereas the fictional bands that present its music, HUNTR/X and Saja Boys, are dominating international music charts on companies like Spotify and Apple Music, full with a spot on Billboard’s High 100. So when’s the sequel? We will solely hope, however there’s no official phrase simply but.
Within the meantime, followers have already gotten to work — notably fanfiction writers. In only a month, the fanfic group has managed to supply an eye-watering variety of Ok-Pop Demon Hunters fics: 3,638 on Archive of Our Personal as of this writing.
Whereas it might be a rookie mistake to look to fanfiction as a definitive meter of what’s and isn’t standard, it might be a fair graver error to not give it some credence. As an enormous Star Wars fan — and a purveyor of all of the fanfics, thanks very a lot — I discovered dipping my toe into Ok-Pop Demon Hunters’ fic group overwhelming compared to related communities dedicated to far greater model names. , say, Andor, a Star Wars present that returned for a second season in April, solely a month earlier than Ok-Pop Demon Hunters got here out, that fanfic group solely has round 1,854 fics. And that’s after practically two and a half years, as Andor’s first season was launched again in 2022. Even with Andor’s crucial acclaim and the Star Wars title behind it, it doesn’t come near touching KPop Demon Hunters.
Now, the 2 have vastly totally different audiences: Andor is an adult-oriented present, whereas Ok-Pop Demon Hunters’ viewers undoubtedly skews youthful. Those that may write by the Andor lens are more likely to have extra obligations and fewer free time as compared. Ok-Pop Demon Hunters can be way more digestible, and never simply because it’s an animated movie. Ok-Pop is an enormous, booming business, with mega-stars like BTS, Blackpink, and TWICE dominating the charts worldwide. The music is only one angle of the style’s enchantment: The singers’ persona and stylings, and the parasocial relationships they’ve with their followers, are a wholly totally different story, certainly one of admiration, attraction, and aesthetic enchantment.
However even given Ok-Pop’s reputation, it’s spectacular how a lot fanfic is being written round an animated movie that Netflix just about dropped with minimal fanfare. It had sparked practically 600 fics lower than per week after its launch. Hundreds of fan tales have been written about it in only a few weeks. And whereas I don’t doubt that ChatGPT and different AI instruments helped develop that progress, the variety of individuals pushed so as to add to the Ok-Pop Demon Hunters story ultimately nonetheless makes it a legit phenomenon.
This may occasionally have been future. Ok-Pop Demon Hunters hits all these essential tropes that fanfic writers love: feminine friendships, an enemies-to-lovers arc, and my private favourite tag: “unresolved emotions.” These tropes are catnip for a lot of fanfic writers, and Ok-Pop Demon Hunters has all of the setup these writers want. From exploring the potential polyamorous relationship between the three protagonists, Rumi, Zoey, and Mira and the way romance impacts them within the Ok-Pop business to demon bad-boy Jinu and half-demon Rumi fake-dating and the repercussions of their relationship, there’s a fanfic on the market for anybody and everybody.
It doesn’t appear to be the inventive juices for Ok-Pop Demon Hunters fan artists and fanfic writers are drying up anytime quickly. In the mean time, I’ve greater than 3,600 fics to make amends for. I even have zero complaints.
Ok-Pop Demon Hunters is obtainable to observe now on Netflix.
