KPop Demon Hunters is not the first time K-pop has been present in animated form. K-pop and cartoons have always had a strong link. David Ho looks at the real-life idols with their own toons
G-Dragon’s Zo & Friends
Big Bang’s G-Dragon has a loveable Scottish fold named Princess Zoa, which has become the basis for this cute cartoon. Zoa is a cool cat born from the clouds, with a best friend in the form of a fashionable daisy flower called A&ne. This is a real labour of love as G-Dragon spent two years designing this collaboration with Line Friends. There is a huge display and merchandise booth in Hong Kong’s Times Square running from now till the end of August 2025.
BTS’ Tiny Tan
Formerly known as BTS Characters, Tiny Tan is basically the animated forms of the BTS members. There have been two waves of looks for these cartoon characters, with the first being based on their “Idol” music video looks and the next taking cues from their “Mic Drop” music video.
BTS’ BT21
Making the list twice is BTS. BT21 is the boyband’s collaboration with Line Friends to create a more abstract and kawaii take on their beloved selves. Think of it as it being similar to Sanrio characters and you’d be on the right track. The boys of BTS had a lot of input into the creation of their BT21 avatars and the Army have bought up plenty of merchandise featuring them, from plushies to Tamagotchi virtual pets.
NJZ x Powerpuff Girls
Super, spice and everything nice. That’s what the Powerpuff Girls are made of (with the addition of Chemical X) as well as the girl group formerly known as New Jeans. This collaboration for NJZ’s second EP Get Up reimagines the girls as cartoons in the vein of Powerpuff Girls. It’s the perfect way to bring the attention of millennials to the K-pop idols and introduce Gen Z to the iconic cartoon series.
Stray Kids’ Skzoo
JYP Shop jumps on the animation bandwagon with Skzoo, where the Stray Kids guys get turned into cutesy animal characters. We have seen Stray Kids perform in Skzoo costumes, while life-sized Skzoo characters have also served up performances of their K-pop hits before. In 2024, Google even added an animation that featured a crowd holding Skzoo plushies for the birthday of the Stay fandom if one searches for ‘Stray Kids’ or ‘SKZ’ in the search engine.
Also see: #review: Stream or skip KPop Demon Hunters on Netflix?
