EXO's Kai is real inspo behind Saja Boys' lead character? Animator spills tea
Kpop Demon Hunters
' has managed to garner a lot of love and praise from around the world ever since it was released a month ago. The director of the film, as well as the cast members, have been continuously vocal about the inspiration and thought that went behind creating the
Saja Boys
and HUNTRIX. Recent comments from one of the animators from the film have been going viral.
Animator from 'Kpop Demon Hunters' shares his inspo behind lead Jinu
While talking about his journey working as an animator for the film 'Kpop Demon Hunters', animator Min Hong revealed he used a reference to create the boy group from the film. As per reports from Hankyung Korea Market, he revealed that the popular song 'Soda Pop' choreography was inspired directly by
MONSTA X
and
SHINee
and their dance moves on stage.
While talking about creating the girl group and their clothes, the animator shared that the staff used to watch one Korean drama every week in order to get a better sense of what is more in trend and fashion in Korea and to represent everything accurately. According to the report, staff members even visited the country during the production stage in order to get a handle on how to represent everything on screen as authentically as possible.
While talking about the success of the film, Min quoted, "I was surprised that 'K-Pop Demon Hunters,' which was a working title, remained the official title. I thought it would be a gift to K-Pop fans, but I didn't know it would become such a hit'.
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The artist talks about his inspiration behind Jinu
Ever since the film's announcement, comments have been made time and time again, even by the director Maggie Kang herself, that ASTRO's
Cha Eun Woo
is the main inspiration behind the male lead
Jinu
, who has been voiced by
Ahn Hyo Seop
. Eun Woo even released a song cover of 'Free' alongside
Arden Cho
, who voiced the character of
Rumi
.
The animator's comments, however, contrasted this, as he revealed that EXO's
Kai
was a major influence over Jinu. He shared in his comment that, 'In order to bring to life the facial expressions of Jinwoo, the leader of Saja Boys, we referenced Kai, a member of the idol group EXO, a lot. We created scenes such as popcorn pouring out of the character's eyes so that it would be relatable in the West as well'.
Fans react to the revelation
As soon as the interview made its way online, fans of the idol started expressing their excitement over the matter. One fan commented, 'The fact everyone and their mothers have claimed this character being inspired by their idol', while another shared, 'love me right literally played when they walked in. anyone who didn't think they were inspired by exo is either a newer kpop stan or an exo anti'.
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