HYBE to Adapt ENHYPEN’s Webtoon “Darkmoon” into Anime, Set for Release in January Next Year

HYBE’s original story webtoon “Darkmoon: Altar of the Moon” will be adapted into an anime in Japan and is scheduled to debut in January of the coming year. This work, created in collaboration with the group ENHYPEN, gained massive popularity among K-pop fans by surpassing 200 million views. The anime consists of 12 episodes in total and will air on four Japanese terrestrial channels—Tokyo MX, BS11, Gunma TV, and Tochigi TV—as well as on the global animation streaming platform Crunchyroll, starting on January 9 next year. It previously attracted attention when Aniplex, a comprehensive entertainment company under Japan’s Sony Music group, announced its adaptation last September. An official from Aniplex had previously stated, “With its story IP connected to K-pop artists, along with an exciting plot and a combination of diverse characters, we expect this outstanding work to appeal to a wider audience than the projects Aniplex has traditionally pursued when adapted into anime.” Ahead of its official release after over a year of production, a “preview screening” will be held on the 28th at TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku in central Tokyo. All ENHYPEN members and six popular voice actors who provided voices for the vampire boys in the series—Toya Kikunosuke, Shimizu Hiroto, Nakamura Shugo, Ogasawara Jin, Toki Shunichi, and Uemura Yuto—will appear on stage at this event. A HYBE official described the anime adaptation of “Darkmoon: Altar of the Moon” as an example that demonstrates the infinite potential of K-culture, as it shows how a story IP originating from K-pop expands into webtoon and anime formats before being completed in Japan, the homeland of anime. The official added, “For fans who have enjoyed the Darkmoon series through music and webtoons, the anime will offer a new experience that allows them to experience the narrative of Darkmoon in even more vivid ways.” The webtoon “Darkmoon: Altar of the Moon” is the first installment in HYBE’s original story IP series “Darkmoon,” a work in the urban fantasy teen romance genre that tells the fateful story of seven vampire boys and one girl. It is connected to ENHYPEN’s musical narrative, with the group’s own original soundtrack enhancing the immersion of the story.