Webtoon 'Dark Moon' Created by HYBE to Be Adapted into Japanese Anime

Japanese Animation Studio 'Aniplex' Decides to Produce, Recognizing Artistic and Commercial Success

Webtoon "Dark Moon: Altar of the Moon" created by HYBE will be adapted into an animation in Japan.

On the 19th, HYBE announced that Aniplex, a comprehensive entertainment company under Sony Music Japan, will be producing the animation adaptation of "Dark Moon: Altar of the Moon."

"Dark Moon: Altar of the Moon" is a HYBE original story collaborated with the group ENHYPEN. It is an urban fantasy romance genre work that tells the fateful story of a female student named Suha who transfers to Descelis Academy and seven vampire boys.

With 190 million views worldwide, the popularity of this webtoon led to offline collaboration marketing with the clothing brand SPAO and the theme park Lotte World. In September last year, SPAO launched the "Dark Moon" collection, and Lotte World held festivals applying the "Dark Moon" IP in various places including Magic Castle. Although the webtoon concluded in October last year, Lotte World continues the festival for two months starting from September this year, boasting its popularity as a steady seller IP.

On the 16th, Aniplex revealed the teaser image, title logo, and video of the animation for the first time at the "Aniplex Online Fest 2024," which was live-streamed on YouTube in Japan.

This is the first time that Aniplex, a major Japanese production company, collaborates with an IP from a company other than a leading domestic platform's webtoon IP. Hwang Bo-sangwoo, head of HYBE's Story Business Division, said, "This joint animation production with Aniplex is an opportunity to showcase the value of story IPs directly planned and produced by HYBE to the world," adding, "It is a meaningful first step in discovering the potential of original stories as super IPs with infinite scalability, extending from web novels and webtoons to animation."

HYBE Original Story refers to unique story IPs directly planned and developed by HYBE. While connected to artists' brands and musical messages, it is not limited to musical grammar but has expanded story-based IPs across genres and formats such as webtoons and web novels.

Hwang said, "We will present a high-quality work that can be widely enjoyed not only by fans who loved the original Dark Moon: Altar of the Moon webtoon but also by animation enthusiasts."