Animation "Dark Moon: altar of the moon" has drawn praise from animation fans from the early broadcasts, proving the global impact of the HYBE original story IP.
HYBE said on the 23rd that the animation "Dark Moon: altar of the moon" has been appearing on popularity rankings on major domestic and overseas animation broadcast channels and OTT platforms, showing its presence in the global animation market.
Domestically, on the animation-dedicated channel Anibox (ANIBOX), episode 1 and episode 2 were broadcast on the 10th and 17th, respectively, and at the time of the first broadcast it recorded the highest animation viewership rating in the paid broadcasting and satellite TV category for the same time slot. Also, during the broadcast week (Jan. 5–11), it ranked No. 1 in viewership among women in their 20s among all programs aired on Anibox, and it ranked third among domestic paid broadcast channels in the animation genre.
On the OTT platform TVING, the Anibox channel rose to No. 2 in "popular channels at this time" at the time of the first broadcast, and after the broadcast it ranked No. 10 in real-time popular animations and No. 2 in the animation adventure·fantasy genre on TVING, and in the second week after broadcast it was No. 7 among all animations. On the animation-dedicated OTT platform Laftel (LAFTEL), it ranked No. 4 in real-time popularity in the first week and No. 8 in the second week. On the Japanese streaming platform Abema (ABEMA), it took No. 13 in the daily ranking of popular animations at the time of the first broadcast, showing it is performing well even in the Japanese market, where many other notable works were released.
Based on a solid storyline and artistic quality, it has received high ratings on major global platforms and animation-focused communities, earning praise from animation fans around the world. On the world's largest animation streaming platform Crunchyroll, it scored 4.8 out of 5, and on Bahamut, the largest animation and pop culture community in Greater China, it scored 4.6. Also, on MyAnimeList, the world's largest English-language community aggregating global animation and manga information, it ranked No. 10 on the "Now Watching" list indicating works currently being watched immediately after episode 1 was released and No. 10 on the trending indicator, and after episode 2 it ranked No. 7 on trending, drawing attention. Rankings on MyAnimeList are regarded as the "standard of indicators" that animation fans check first and are evaluated as a measure of popular success.
A Crunchyroll representative said, "Because 'Dark Moon: altar of the moon' had already secured a broad global fandom as a webtoon, we are pleased to present this animation on Crunchyroll in eight languages and with subtitles so fans around the world can enjoy it," and said, "We hope viewers will continue to watch this captivating story."
Online, fans around the world have continued to respond enthusiastically to the animation. On social media channels such as X (formerly Twitter), impressions of each scene, such as the first meeting between the protagonists Suha and Heli and the scene where Suha's monstrous strength appears, were posted in real time, and posts saying, "Dark Moon was too good to end as a webtoon only, and I'm so glad I can watch it as an animation," and "I usually prefer comics to animation, but Dark Moon is so well produced as an animation that it's a pleasure to watch," were uploaded one after another. Positive reactions to ENHYPEN's OST, which enhanced the immersion of the work, as well as praise for the voice actors who handled the dubbing, such as "I love that Heli's voice was done by Toya Kikunosuke," also continued.
As the animation's success has led more fans to seek out the original work, the webtoon "Dark Moon: altar of the moon" is climbing back up global charts about two years after its completion. According to Naver Webtoon's language-specific platforms, the webtoon "Dark Moon: altar of the moon" ranked No. 1 overall in Japan, LATAM, Indonesia and Germany based on peak ranking from the animation's first broadcast day through the 20th, ranked No. 2 in France, and entered No. 3 in Thailand and North America. Domestically, it ranked No. 4 among women's popular webtoons in the fantasy genre and No. 10 in the fantasy genre.
A HYBE representative said, "Not only did global search trends for 'Dark Moon: altar of the moon' surge tenfold at the time of the first broadcast, but the original webtoon even climbed the charts, bringing in many new fans who enjoy the 'Dark Moon' story through the animation," and said, "Based on the positive early response to the animation, we plan to actively expand the HYBE original story IP area in the global market."
[Photo] key visual of the animation "Dark Moon: altar of the moon"
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