DARK MOON: THE BLOOD ALTAR – Episode 1

What’s it about? Decelis Academy sits on the shores of a city hiding one secret: seven boys who are vampires with secretive pasts. So naturally, when Sooha, a vampire hater and new coed, encounters them, they find themselves drawn to her and to the chaos surrounding their meeting…

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I have to say, I haven’t had many chances to review Korean media here at Anifem, but here we are with a K-pop universe webcomic following…ENHYPEN? Okay, this has gotten weird—these are real boys, but not real boys because real boys aren’t vampires; but these are already like, real adult musician boys who are actually men?

This is all very meta and I’m going to push it aside because VAMPIRES. And let me tell you, I’m back on my urban fantasy kick recently, so hopefully this will give me something visual to enjoy alongside my Kobo ereader. Question is, will this feed the teen in me that loved Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, or will I have to find something new to sink my teeth into?

Episode 1 starts with vampires being known entities, much the same way ghouls are in Tokyo Ghoul: they’re beings who hide as humans, masquerading as part of the mortals around them. They are as threatening as nightshade, as hauntingly beautiful as a spider lily, and in this setting, distinctly K-POP BOYS.

For you see, not only is this a fantasy story focused on k-pop, it’s focused on secrets, including the fact that protagonist Sooha’s new school has vampires—beings it’s not supposed to have despite being a night school. But it’s not just the hidden vampires who have secrets: Sooha’s running from her own past and the childhood trauma that haunts her.

But this is a new beginning for Sooha, and as she steps into the hallowed halls of Decelis Academy, she hopes to find friends. Imagine her surprise when she finds a cadre of boys hiding their own backstories…

Imma be real, this is why I got back into K-pop heavy in 2025: I love the concept of a boy group being turned into vampires who also got them pipes. And while I don’t stan ENHYPEN (I’m more of an XLOV dude) I do completely understand the immediate appeal of the webcomic this adaptation was borne from, because it’s so indulgent. However… that’s not exactly what happens here. So far, these are just vampires: they’re not singing in the night, they’re not flashing fangs while belting vocal runs. They’re just kind of…dudes with cool designs based off of real life musicians.

I also want to point out that this has a really curious English dub (I watch these with premieres whenever I can for the added benefit) because everyone has the “back when Xenoblade was super niche” treatment: that is, they’re all inexplicably English, which I didn’t expect. What I’ll say is that it made me laugh in a way I don’t think I was supposed to, given the more dramatic side of the story, largely because some of the voice acting is so stilted.

It’s a shame because it undercuts the drama of Sooha’s reason for coming to Decelis: to kill vampires with her supernatural strength. It’s proper dramatic, fitting the exact kind of story I seek out from Korean webcomics. Here, however, it gets marred by some of the strangest directing I’ve listened to in a while.

With a title like DARK MOON: THE BLOOD ALTAR you’d think I’d be taken in, but unlike Visual Prison, these vampires are all fang and no bite, leaving me just kind of wanting to rewatch that instead of continuing on to episode two of this anime. I really think that’s a shame because this has Cy-bait written all over it: hell, there’s even a vampire with heterochromia and blue hair! That’s tailor made for someone like me!

But in the end, DARK MOON is just kind of…meh. It’s well-trod vampire tropes with pretty boys that, so far, offer very little substance past the hint of trauma as youngbloods that clearly affects the fang boys (that’s what I’m calling the seven not-ENHYPHEN boys, who all have immediate chemistry with Sooha) but leaves much to be desired. One could say that’s because there’s a larger story to develop, but I say it’s just not compelling enough to make me want to see that story develop at all. Like I said, I’d rather be watching Visual Prison: I suppose that’s ultimately my verdict.