Enhypen’s webtoon 'Dark Moon: The Blood Altar' set for animated adaptation by Aniplex

Japanese production company Aniplex will adapt boy band Enhypen's alter-universe webtoon series "Dark Moon: The Blood Altar" into an animated series, HYBE said Thursday.

A promotion image for the ″Dark Moon: The Blood Altar″ animation series [HYBE]

Japanese production company Aniplex will adapt boy band Enhypen's alter-universe webtoon series, "Dark Moon: The Blood Altar," into an animated series, HYBE said Thursday.

The announcement was first made on Monday during the Aniplex Online Fest 2024, hosted by the Japanese studio, which is a subsidiary of Sony Music Japan. Details such as the release date and broadcast platform have yet to be confirmed.

"We expect to see a wider range of audience compared to other works by Aniplex, thanks to the story and intellectual property related to K-pop artists, the intriguing plot and the harmony of various characters," Aniplex said in a press release.

"This will also be an exciting challenge for Aniplex, as it brings together Korean webtoons, HYBE artists and Japanese animation to create a new form of entertainment."

Written and illustrated by renowned webtoon artists Rangddo and Henie, “Dark Moon: The Blood Altar” ran from January 2022 to October 2023 as a teenage romance webtoon, with characters designed by Enhypen members themselves. The boy band also contributed to the original soundtrack for the webtoon, including the track “One in a Billion” (2022).

The webtoon is part of the HYBE Original Story initiative, where stories in various formats are produced in collaboration with HYBE artists. Other examples include “7Fates: Chakho” based on BTS, “The Star Seekers” based on Tomorrow X Together, "Crimson Heart" based on Le Sserafim and "Dark Moon: The Grey City" based on &Team.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]