Before KPop Demon Hunters became an awards-season juggernaut, the creative team found themselves locked in some surprisingly intense debates—over abs, nipples, and how far animated anatomy should go.
The Netflix hit, which has quickly emerged as one of 2025’s biggest blockbusters and a serious Oscar contender, may center on the fierce girl group Huntr/x, but behind the scenes, the Saja Boys sparked some of the most heated discussions.
According to animation director Joshua Beveridge, one seemingly small detail turned into a full-blown creative saga.
He revealed that the team held countless meetings over whether the animated K-pop heartthrobs should have nipples at all—and if so, exactly where they should be placed. While many animated characters skip that level of anatomical detail entirely, the filmmakers felt that for a shirtless K-pop boy band, realism mattered.
In the end, they opted for a subtle approach. Producer Michelle Wong explained that the final look used the lightest possible texture, adding just enough definition without overpowering the design. One art director reportedly kept pushing for more shine on the abs, jokingly demanding “more spec” to make the six-packs pop on screen.
And those abs were no small feat.
Arden Cho, who voices Rumi, shared that co-director Maggie Kang told her it took six months to perfect the Saja Boys’ sculpted torsos. In animation terms, that is a serious commitment to detail.
The payoff appears to be worth it. KPop Demon Hunters is now a frontrunner for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song at the upcoming Academy Awards, and it is set to perform at the ceremony. Beyond awards buzz, the film has already laid the groundwork for a larger franchise, with sequels reportedly in development.
So while audiences may have been mesmerized by the music and demon-slaying action, behind the scenes, it was digital anatomy that nearly stole the show.
