KPop Demon Hunters - Movie Review

I typically don't have Netflix, but every once in a while they release a movie that piques my interest enough to subscribe to it for a month. Most recently, that movie was KPop Demon Hunters. Granted, I would've much preferred to have seen this movie get a theatrical release, because it would've certainly made for a great theater experience, and one that I would've likely gone back to revisit multiple times at that, because this movie was absolutely fantastic.

First I want to discuss how this movie works as a musical. I always love it when musicals really integrate the musical aspect organically within the movie's world, and that's certainly the case here, as it's the power of our heroes voices while they sing that gives them the ability to fight off against the demons throughout. And not only that, but it's just really cool seeing full blown fight sequences play out during many of the musical numbers, which is something I've always wanted to see in a musical.

We follow a group known as Huntrix, who in addition to being demon hunters, are also a massively popular KPop group. As such, the music in the movie definitely has that KPop feel to it, but lyrically is where the movie really impresses me.

When you're listening to a regular song on the radio, its lyrics usually tend to be more poetic in nature, whereas in a musical, the lyrics are often more narrative- or dialogue-driven instead. Regular songs don't really translate well into musical form for this reason, since their lyrics don't always tell a straightforward story and can oftentimes be up for interpretation. They're more about creating a mood. But in a musical, the music serves to help either move the plot forward or tell us more about the characters, and so the lyrics have to be a little more straightforward in their storytelling as a result. This movie, however, manages to incorporate pop songs with lyrics that definitely work like regular songs, but which also tell a straightforward story and don't feel awkwardly out of place during the movie's various numbers. This is not an easy balance to achieve at all, but this movie finds that balance, and it works beautifully, and makes for an outstanding and unique (and incredibly catchy) soundtrack for the genre.

Oftentimes, foreign music will randomly insert English lyrics into their songs. Being an American made film, the movie is already in English, as are its songs. But it does the opposite with its songs, inserting random Korean here and there, which I thought was a nice touch.

I also appreciated how the movie handles the topic of using your art to make the world a better place. I have my thoughts on certain artists that put out very ugly and negative messages with their art, and I often find this practice pretty off-putting. This movie actually explores that direction though, as the group are putting together a takedown song, but its ugly lyrics and nasty message winds up driving a wedge between the group. Ultimately, it's a song that serves to divide as opposed to unite, and it's not until they come together to create a different song full of a more positive and uplifting message that they're able to rekindle things and pull their fans back in as well, and I think this is a wonderful message that speaks volumes.

Beyond its musical aspects, I also loved following this cast of characters. The movie is incredibly silly, with lots of visual gags that take full advantage of the animated medium. But there's also a serious depth to the characters, as they're each dealing with their own insecurities that they have learn to overcome. I liked how the demons in the film feed off of people's insecurities and shame, and it felt relatable in a way that was somewhat reminiscent to Frozen (though I wouldn't quite say this film goes to nearly such depths as those movies do). I was particularly drawn to the character of Rumi, and I liked the realistic ways in which the film shows how she goes about keeping her secrets hidden.

I was also a fan of the film's setting, and how the story plays out very similarly to a number of classic Eastern fantasy stories, but in a more modern backdrop. And being a huge fan of the band Babymetal, who get their origins from idol roots, I was certainly able to appreciate how that whole aspect and the fandom surrounding it was incorporated into the film as well, which certainly felt true to life.

Colorful, vibrant, beautiful, catchy, and clever, this movie has a lot going for it, and it delivers in spades. It features great music, great characters, and a great message that definitely hits home. It currently sits as my favorite movie I've seen this year so far, and I'd say that it's well worth subscribing to Netflix for at least a month to watch it.

Ninja Kitties – Now Available!

Sneaking up on you like a ninja, the new children's illustrated chapter book, Ninja Kitties, is now available!

Four sibling kittens are enamored by the stories of the legendary Velcro the Ninja Kat, and go out to play a game where they act out the Ninja Kat's adventures. But then the game becomes real when one of the kittens is catnapped by the villainous Fox Spirit, and it's up to the others to track their sister down and save her.

Pick up a copy for your little ones today!

www.VelcroTheNinjaKat.com

Babymetal - Live Review from Tampa, FL 2025

Going to a Babymetal show makes me feel like a kid on Christmas. Babymetal tour season truly is the most wonderful time of the year. And wouldn't you know it, it's that time of year again already, and I most recently caught them at their show at the Yuengling Center in Tampa, FL.

Going into the show, in addition to my typical tour t-shirt, I was planning to purchase a Babymetal hoodie as well. And so, I went to the show sporting one of their past tour shirts instead of my usual black hoodie, until all was well again after I secured my purchase.

I got my hoodie!

I had great seats, just off to the right of the stage. There were two opening bands this time around, and first up was the rap/metal band from New Delhi, Bloodywood, who put on a bloody fantastic show. Of all of Babymetal's openers that I've seen over the years, Bloodywood has got to be an easy favorite of mine, and they tore the house down in their allotted timeslot.

Next up was Black Veil Brides. Going into the show, I was unfamiliar with this band. And while I wouldn't say they were bad, their style just wasn't for me, and I personally found myself a little bored by their set. But there were plenty of fans in the crowd who knew them and were singing along to their songs, and for those fans it certainly appeared like they were left satisfied.

But now, onto the main show, Babymetal! And while the venue may not have been as big as The Forum, this would technically count as my second time seeing this band put on an arena show, and boy did they ever bring the spectacle. They started off with Babymetal Death, and we were treated to a show of fire that would continue throughout the evening. Even from my seat, you could feel the heat. They followed up with Megitsune next, and I was left dancing along in my seat with a stupid grin from ear to ear.

I may not have had a towel with me on hand for Pa Pa Ya, but I did have my new tour t-shirt I had bought before the show. So I folded it up and twirled it around as they performed the song next, and I saw at least one other person in my section who was also twirling something around in the air throughout.

BxMxC got the crowd pumped, and I had a great view during Metali of said audience getting low and hopping back up to their feet on Momometal's cue. (I also had a great view of one guy in the pit dressed as a shark, and another dressed as Spider-Man.) Then up next is when the big surprises of the evening started.

Babymetal may not have joined Bloodywood on stage earlier in the evening when they played Bekhauf, but that didn't stop Bloodywood from showing up during the band's other collaboration, Kon! Kon!, one of their new songs that has a more Indian vibe, and which has choreography that's reportedly inspired by the Naatu Naatu dance from RRR. And this was the first time the guys came out for this song on this tour (and, well, ever, for that matter), so seeing them be part of the live performance, as opposed to just seeing their faces plastered onto the big backing screen, was certainly a great treat.

But that's not all. We would be treated to an even bigger surprise up next, as Alex Terrible of Slaughter to Prevail came out on stage to perform Song 3 alongside Babymetal, which is perhaps the band's heaviest song to date. He wasn't even advertised as being a part of this show, so I don't think anyone expected him to show up on this evening. It was surreal seeing him there, but he brought the goods, and I really dug his two-step dance moves.

I was actually so excited by what had just transpired that I rushed online at this point to share in the excitement with fellow fans. I would've perhaps shared in the excitement with those around me, but my neighbors didn't appear too interested in mingling any. This has been a relatively common occurrence I've found from fans at their Florida shows, as opposed to the much more open and inviting fans I've met at shows elsewhere, so I sorta felt a little lonely, and just wanted someone to share the joy with. In doing so, I missed the very beginning of Headbanger, but it's okay, and they put on another banging performance.

One of the Babybones came on stage next, filming the crowd and hyping them up for Ratatata. Then from one fan favorite to the next, they teased a send off with Gimme Chocolate, which probably got the loudest ovation from the audience of the evening.

The band left the stage at this point, and we were left chanting their name, clapping our hands, and stomping our feet in anticipation of their inevitable return out. And some minutes later, return they did, with a performance of another one of their new hits, From Me To U. Given the surprise appearances earlier in the evening, I half-expected Poppy to show up for this performance. But this song has become a favorite of their new songs for me. I love the cheerleader-esque choreography, and I love the contrast between the song's melody and its lyrics, and it was awesome hearing everyone singing along with this rage inside of me. This was honestly one of the songs I was most excited to see in person, and it more than lived up to my hopes for it.

Karate has been brought back as a full-time staple for this tour, and it really is great hearing this song live again. And of course the moment where Su-metal asks the audience to shine their cell phone lights always makes for a beautiful sight to behold.

They ended things proper with an epic performance of Road of Resistance, and we were left pumping our fists in the air and singing along until their final note. They then busted out their flags featuring the American flag emblazoned over the band's logo, and waved them as they sent us off for real this time, and I couldn't have left on a higher note.

The Forum set a high standard to meet when I attended that show back in 2019, and though Babymetal has put on some excellent shows since then, none of the ones I've attended have ever come close to The Forum. Until this night. Babymetal live in Tampa may very well be the best show of theirs that I've seen live, from the spot on performances, to the awesome surprises, and every silly moment in-between, such as Moametal constantly coming over to our side of the venue and waving at fans (I waved back every time, though I doubt she saw me). They not only delivered, they managed to outdo themselves with this show, which is something I'm consistently amazed that they're still able to do at this point. But this show was excellent, and well worth the road trip down to see it.

Will they somehow be able to outdo themselves yet again still? There's only one way to find out, and I can't wait to see them again as soon as the happiest season of all rolls back around. And in the meantime, if you'd like to hear more of my Babymetal adventures, you can check out my new book Down the Fox Hole. See you!

Inside the Fox Hole

So I recently released my new book Down the Fox Hole. It's my first non-Ninja Kat book, and being a collection of short memoirs, it's certainly a departure from my usual fantasy fiction that I'm more known for writing. But it's so far been receiving a relatively positive reception, which I'm certainly relieved by, and so now I'd like to take a moment and give some creative insight that went into the project.

At it's core, the book was inspired by my passion for Babymetal. I initially started off with two primary stories, those being Beyond the Rising Sun, which chronicles my fall down the titular fox hole that is the Babymetal fandom, and the other being The Tattoo's Heat Haze. My initial inspiration for writing Beyond the Rising Sun actually goes back to 2019, when Babymetal held their return show titled The Sun Also Rises, which may or may not be a nod to the classic Hemingway novel by the same name. Well, I decided to give the novel a read, and I started toying with the idea of somewhat of a modern day update to it, only instead of following our cast of characters off to see the bullfights, we'd be joining our cast as they followed along Babymetal on tour. Cut to several years later when I was finally in a place where I was well enough to write again, and I finally sat down to work on this update.

I first played with a fictionalized version of the story, but there always felt like there was something missing in every iteration. So eventually, I just decided to write the true story instead, and base it on my own personal experience discovering the band and following them on tour. And it's been unanimous from those who have read all previous versions that the true story was the best one.

But seeing as I was telling the true story, I now had to decide what all to include, and where to cut it off. For instance, I technically followed them to one more show on their tour from where the book leaves off, that being their show at The Forum in L.A., but at what point am I just included details for the sake of it, and rendering the story redundant as such? Besides, I liked the place where it left off, and thought it made for a nice closing note that tells a concise story without perhaps overstaying its welcome.

This ties in to how I tried writing with Hemingway's “iceberg theory” in mind, where he theorizes that a story grows stronger by the details you leave out, just so long as you actually know what those details are. Those omissions represent what's submerged under water holding the rest of the iceberg afloat. Maybe there's something to it, and maybe the story was elevated by it? I don't know for sure, but it was certainly something I had in mind while I was writing it.

The other primary story in the collection is The Tattoo's Heat Haze. This story was quite literally inspired by my tattoo removal experience and everything that came with it. I went home later that night and thought it'd be cool to share the whole story of my tattoos, and how they all come together to help tell the story of my life and passions. And once again coming back to Babymetal, the band certainly played a big role in this story as well, and I wanted to reflect that through the story's title. This was one where I actually spent a lot of time thinking about what to call it, and had a number of working titles before finally landing on the final title. The Tattoo's Heat Haze actually came about by playing with one of the band's songs titled Kagerou. This song originally had the working title of Tattoo, and the word kagerou translates into heat haze, which also comes into play in the actual story. So, The Tattoo's Heat Haze came about as such, and I've been satisfied with it ever since.

So then, I had my two primary stories, and early drafts that I sent out to test readers contained just these two intact. However, feedback told me that something felt missing, and I was given the suggestion to round the book out with other short stories that explored some of my other fandom passions, such as those brought up in the tattoo story. And so I went to work doing just that. First, I had another short story titled A Memory of Snow, which was originally a fictionalized version of the story of me and my nephew building a snowman together, in which we were both portrayed as anthropomorphic elephants. I repurposed this story, once again telling the true version of it instead, and tying it in to the theme of the book, and it really came to life better than ever, and served as a perfect closure for the book as a whole.

As to the rest of the stories, I spent quite a bit of time thinking about what angle I should address each one. For Road to Mania, I had a number of options, but ultimately chose the time when myself and a friend made our venture out to see WrestleMania 23, as the journey there turned out being quite a story all its own. And then for both Anime Inspired and The Snow Queen Compilation, I wanted to focus on the impact that our passions can have on us, and so I told the stories of how not only I, but others, can be creatively inspired by our passions, which I think certainly shows in the finished book. So now that I had my other short stories to round the book out, my test readers read this new version, and they all agreed that this was the way to go, and that I had found what was missing from the prior version.

And this also leads into the final title of the full collection, Down the Fox Hole, sort of a play of the phrase falling down the rabbit hole. Like with the tattoo story, there were a number of working titles beforehand, but once I got the suggestion that reshaped my book into the collection it would become in its final form, the name just hit me all of a sudden. My friend who I was speaking with at the time loved it, and other test readers thought it worked well, too, seeing how even beyond Babymetal's fandom, foxes had a tendency to tie in to a number of other stories in the book as well.

So there you have it, and now with a little more insight, I hope you'll give Down the Fox Hole a read and experience the true stories within, and see if you can't find something you relate to as it regards your own passions and hobbies. Order your copy today.

My Top 5 Favorite Movies of All Time

Last week saw the 20th anniversary re-release of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. Shortly upon this movie's initial release, it had become my #1 favorite movie of all time, and to this day, it still remains in my Top 5 favorites. And seeing it again on the big screen for the first time in 20 years got me thinking, why not actually list out the rest of my Top 5 favorite movies? Sure, such a list is likely to change over the years, but my own Top 5 rankings have remained firmly in place for at least a good five years now, so even if something else does come along that manages to break through into the list someday, I feel pretty confident sharing my list as it currently stands now, all of which I've discussed quite a bit in depth over the years. Mind you, this isn't necessarily a list of the best movies I've seen, but rather those that have stuck with me as my all time favorites.

#5

The Dark Knight
(2008)

#4

Independence Day
(1996)

#3

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
(2005)

#2

Frozen II
(2019)

#1

Frozen
(2013)

So there you have it. What are your favorite movies of all time?

Down the Fox Hole - Now Available!

Down the Fox Hole is a collection of fanatical stories that look at some of my various fandom related passions within the realms of music, film, anime, and more. Take a journey down the fox hole of fandom with this memoir that was a blast to write, and which has been described as a fun read by those who've already taken that journey. Now available!

www.VelcroTheNinjaKat.com

New Short Story Collections Coming Soon...

When I'm in my groove, typing on a keyboard almost feels like playing the piano. There's a music to the words as I type them out. Writing a story feels like I'm performing a song, and the end result feels like an album full of music. And each story in my new books feel like an individual song, all collected on those albums.

I'm happy to say that I've spent the past year in quite a good groove, writing multiple different themed short story collections in the process, and soon I'll finally have something to share with you all. And it all starts this month with the first of those collections, titled Down the Fox Hole, a collection of fanatical stories that look at some of my various fandom related passions within the realms of music, film, anime, and more. Take a journey down the fox hole of fandom with this memoir that was a blast to write, and which has been described as a fun read by those who've already taken that journey.

And keep a look out for what other collections I've got lurking around the corner, too.

www.VelcroTheNinjaKat.com