KPop Demon Hunters has become a global sensation on Netflix, and for good reason. I’ve watched it multiple times, and I’m sure that I’m not alone in feeling like this is the kind of movie that I can continue re-watching without getting tired of it. It has a great blend of humor mixed into the seriousness that keeps the content from feeling too heavy, and the visuals alone are stunning. On top of that, the songs are incredible, and I can’t stop listening to the soundtrack on repeat. Yet in the middle of all the positive qualities, I have a question that only a prequel can fully answer.
While KPop Demon Hunters tells the story of Huntrix against Saja Boys and their plan to feed souls to Gwi-ma, it doesn’t tell the story of Rumi. Rather, it doesn’t explain the story that led to Rumi, namely, how her mother ended up having a half-demon child despite being a hunter. If I had to guess, it would be a situation similar to Rumi’s relationship with Jinu, albeit one that developed more and ended differently. With this in mind, I think that a prequel could reveal a lot about hunters overall by following Rumi’s mom.
We’re Left With Unanswered Questions About Rumi
It doesn’t take long for KPop Demon Hunters to reveal a crucial detail about Rumi: she has the patterns of a demon on her arms. We also see that her patterns are spreading, which is also shown with the help of a few flashbacks where her patterns cover a much smaller amount of skin. This is the result of Rumi’s dad being a demon. Since we also know that Rumi’s mom was a hunter, the revelation about her dad’s nature raises quite a few questions.
While Jinu and Rumi almost have a romantic arc, romance is far from the focus of KPop Demon Hunters, and it doesn’t come to fruition. I believe that making this part of the movie into more of a side plot was the right move, since keeping the focus on the bonds between Rumi, Mira, and Zoey creates a powerful narrative. However, this almost-romance gives us an important piece of information: some demons retain emotions. It might not be the same as when they were a human, but it’s clear that Jinu has a greater measure of humanity left in him compared to other demons.
With that in mind, I think we could reasonably say that there are other demons who have more humanity left compared to the majority of demons. Their memories that keep their humanity intact could vary greatly, but I suspect that Rumi’s dad was a demon like Jinu that still retained memories from his lifetime that kept him connected to his humanity. I would also be willing to bet that the demon who is (theoretically) Rumi’s dad ended up dying to the hunters, who would’ve been the Sunlight Sisters at that time. If KPop Demon Hunters had been a full anime series instead of a movie, then we could’ve had this as a flashback arc. Since that’s not the case, we need a prequel to explain it.
Rumi Could Have Led to Her Mother’s Death
KPop Demon Hunters doesn’t explain the cause of Rumi’s mother’s death. It just says that she died when Rumi was a baby, and Celine—having made a promise to protect what Rumi’s mom left behind—took in Rumi and raised her, apparently without knowing that Rumi is half-demon, as evidenced by Celine’s comment that she “didn’t know it would be a child like you.” Looking at these supernatural and fantasy elements included in the movie, it’s possible that Rumi led to her mother dying, but not in a way that was a direct fault of hers.
It’s common enough for stories that include multiple species, such as having both humans and demons, to include drawbacks unique to one species having a child with the other species. If that’s the case for KPop Demon Huntersthen a lot about the setup makes sense. Rumi’s mom would know that she wouldn’t have the chance to raise Rumi, and that other hunters would see Rumi as something wrong. So, she prepares ahead of time and makes Celine promise her that she’d protect what’s left behind, knowing that it would be Rumi.
I don’t have a way to prove if my theory is correct or not, but it feels plausible enough when I look at other fictional universes that have similar dynamics. Only a prequel or a sequel that includes flashbacks could provide the answers to what happened that led to Rumi being born with a demonic nature, and I certainly won’t be complaining when KPop Demon Hunters starts expanding its universe.
