Alien Stage
| Alien Stage | |
|---|---|
| Also known as |
|
| Genre | Dystopian |
| Created by | Vivinos |
| Creative directors |
|
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Animator | Studio Lico |
| Original release | |
| Network | YouTube |
| Release | September 7, 2022 – June 27, 2025 |
Alien Stage (Korean: 에일리언 스테이지, stylized as ALIEN STAGE) is a 2022 South Korean dystopian musical web series created by South Korean animator Vivinos in collaboration with Naver Corporation-owned Studio Lico. An official anime adaptation has been announced.
Premise
[edit source]After aliens invaded Earth, humans have become the aliens' pets, slaves, and entertainment. Humans are raised in a facility where they are trained to sing and are experimented upon, in preparation for the Alien Stage competition, in which aliens pit them against each other in a series of music battles. The winner advances to the next 'round', while the loser is killed on stage for the audience to watch.[1][2]
The series contains very little spoken dialogue, except in Round 1, wiege and KARMA; instead, each episode features an original song by the characters as part of their performance, along with flashbacks to fill out their backstory interspersed through what is happening on stage.
Characters
[edit source]- Mizi (미지; Miji) (Voiced by: Rubyeye (singing)): Mizi is a 22-year-old pink-haired female contestant of Alien Stage. Described by VIVINOS in a deleted tweet, Mizi is the most outgoing and positive of the contestants. Raised in Anakt Garden, she became fast friends with Sua, until Sua's demise against her in the first round of Alien Stage. She is romantically paired with Sua.
- Sua (수아; Sua) (Voiced by: C!naH (singing)): Sua is a 23-year-old black-haired female contestant of Alien Stage. VIVINOS described her as an elusive yet "bold" participant. She and Mizi became fast friends, and eventually, lovers in Anakt Garden until Sua's death in her round against Mizi.
- Till (틸; Til) (Voiced by: AKUGETSU (singing)) Till is a 21 year old (in post timeskip 28) grey haired male contestant of Alien Stage. He has a mother called Io, deleted tweet by VIVINOS was mentioned that Till is the most sensitive, delicate and timid among all the participants. His shy mature was especially present in his childhood when Till admits to have drawn Ivan a lot but feeling to embarrassed to show it to him.
- Ivan (이반; Iban) (Voiced by: Park Byeong-hoon (singing)) Ivan is a 22 year old male contestant of alien stage. He has black hair with black eyes that sometimes have a red pupil in the centre. He is also the tallest character in Alien Stage, standing at 6'1ft tall. He is known for his charismatic and mysterious personality. Also having a very tragic story involving unrequited love related to his childhood best friend Till.
- Hyuna (현아; Hyeona) (Voiced by: 6FU (singing)) Hyuna is a 27 year old brown haired female contestant of Alien Stage. She had a brother named Hyunwoo, but he sadly passed away in the Anakt garden due to a incident with Luka when he was young.
- Luka (루카; Ruka) (Voiced by: BL8M (singing)) Luka is a 30 year old blonde male contestant of Alien Stage. He has won Alien Stage many times before, thus, becoming a fan favourite. He has a chronic heart condition which makes his fingertips purple.
Episodes
[edit source]The first teaser for Alien Stage was released on September 5, 2022.[3] Two days later, the first episode of Alien Stage was released.
| No. | Title | Original release date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Round 1" | September 7, 2022 | [4] |
| 2 | "ALIEN STAGE" | September 14, 2022 | [5] |
| 3 | "Round 2" | October 5, 2022 | [6] |
| 4 | "Round 3" | January 5, 2023 | [7] |
| 5 | "Round 5" | April 28, 2023 | [8] |
| 6 | "Top 3" | August 25, 2023 | [9] |
| 7 | "MIZISUA" | August 27, 2023 | [10] |
| 8 | "All-in" | December 9, 2023 | [11] |
| 9 | "Round 6" | April 5, 2024 | [12] |
| 10 | "Final" | October 25, 2024 | [13] |
| 11 | "wiege" | February 14, 2025 | [14] |
| 12 | "KARMA" | June 27, 2025 | [15] |
Production
[edit source]Development
[edit source]On September 7, 2022,[16] Vivinos premiered her short-form web animation series Alien Stage, where eight contestants are forced to participate in an intergalactic music competition with a death game format.[2] By June 2025, the series had been viewed millions of times on YouTube, with the then-latest episode receiving ten million alone.[17]
On July 2, 2026, it was announced during Anime Expo that the series would be getting an official anime adaptation.[18]
Animation
[edit source]While previous animations on VIVINOS' channel were made by VIVINOS herself, the series was announced to be produced in collaboration with QMeng of Studio Lico.
Music
[edit source]Studio Lico produced and released the soundtrack for every episode. Similar to VIVINOS' other self-made animations, the vocals for Alien Stage are entirely sourced from Korean youtaite singers for each character's track.
Additional content
Additional content regarding the characters and series including comics, text posts, and production logs are posted on VIVINOS' official YouTube, X, Instagram, and Patreon accounts.[citation needed]
An art book was released on South Korea, topping the bestselling charts.[19][20] Tokyopop released an English-language art book for the series, titled Alien Stage: The Art Book.[21]
Original soundtrack
[edit source]Parts 1 to 8, during Alien Stage
[edit source]| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "My Clematis" (Korean: 나의 클레마티스; RR: Naui Keullematiseu) | Kang Kyung-min | Team JL |
| 3:52 |
| 2. | "Sweet Dream" |
|
| C!naH | 1:43 |
| 3. | "Unknown (Till the End...)" |
|
| Akugetsu | 2:07 |
| 4. | "Black Sorrow" |
|
| Park Byeong-hoon | 3:14 |
| 5. | "Ruler of My Heart" | Yeom Su-ji |
|
| 3:39 |
| 6. | "All-In" | Yeom Su-ji |
| 6FU; | 2:56 |
| 7. | "Cure" |
|
|
| 4:08 |
| 8. | "Blink Gone" |
|
|
| 3:09 |
Parts 9 and 10, after Alien Stage
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Wiege" | Kapoo | Whisty |
| 3:56 |
| 2. | "KARMA" | Manju | Choi Yongsu | Rubyeye, C!naH | 05:36 |
Remix albums
[edit source]| Album | Details |
|---|---|
| Alien Stage 1st Anniversary Remix Pt. 1 |
Track listing
|
| Alien Stage 1st Anniversary Remix Pt. 2 |
Track listing
|
| Alien Stage 2nd Anniversary Remix Pt. 1 |
Track listing
|
| Alien Stage 2nd Anniversary Remix Pt. 2 |
Track listing
|
| Alien Stage 2nd Anniversary Remix Pt. 3 |
Track listing
|
Singles
[edit source]| Title | Year | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|
| "My Clematis" | 2022 | Rubyeye & C!naH |
| "Sweet Dream" | C!naH | |
| "Unknown (Till the End...)" | Akugetsu | |
| "Black Sorrow" | 2023 | Park Byeong-hoon |
| "Ruler of My Heart" | BL8M & Rubyeye | |
| "All-In" | 6FU; | |
| "Cure" | 2024 | Akugetsu & Park Byeong-hoon |
| "Love & Peace" | 6FU; | |
| "Drunk & Party" | ||
| "Blink Gone" | BL8M & Akugetsu | |
| "Wiege" | 2025 | 6FU & BL8M |
Notes
[edit source]References
[edit source]- ↑ "Trending now: an alien singing competition, animation memes, on-the-go makeup & more". YouTube Official Blog. March 10, 2025. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
- 1 2 Dennison, Kara (February 27, 2023). "Alien Stage: An Indie Idol Anime That Will Break Your Heart". Otaku USA Magazine. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
- ↑ Vivinos (September 5, 2022). TEASER (in Korean). Retrieved October 25, 2024.
- ↑ Vivinos (September 7, 2022). ROUND 1 | Alien Stage (in Korean). Retrieved October 25, 2024.
- ↑ Vivinos. ALIEN STAGE (in Korean). Retrieved October 25, 2024.
- ↑ Vivinos. ROUND 2 | Alien Stage (in Korean). Retrieved October 25, 2024.
- ↑ Vivinos. ROUND 3 | Alien Stage (in Korean). Retrieved October 25, 2024.
- ↑ Vivinos. ROUND 5 | Alien Stage (in Korean). Retrieved October 25, 2024.
- ↑ Vivinos. TOP 3 | Alien Stage (in Korean). Retrieved October 25, 2024.
- ↑ Vivinos. MIZISUA | Alien Stage (in Korean). Retrieved October 25, 2024.
- ↑ Vivinos. All-in | Alien Stage (in Korean). Retrieved October 25, 2024.
- ↑ Vivinos. ROUND 6 | Alien Stage (in Korean). Retrieved October 25, 2024.
- ↑ Vivinos. FINAL | Alien Stage (in Korean). Retrieved October 25, 2024.
- ↑ VIVINOS (February 14, 2025). wiege｜Alien Stage. Retrieved February 21, 2025 – via YouTube.
- ↑ VIVINOS (June 27, 2025). KARMA. Retrieved November 14, 2025 – via Youtube.
- ↑ "R O U N D 1 ｜ Alien Stage". YouTube. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
Premiered Sep 7, 2022
- ↑ Leung, Hilary (June 2, 2025). "AX '25: ALIEN STAGE touches down at Anime Expo 2025 with live drawing panel". K-Comics Beat. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
- ↑ Ronning, Casandra (July 3, 2026). "It's Official: Viral Web Series Alien Stage Is Finally Getting an Anime". ScreenRant. Retrieved July 3, 2026.
- ↑ Shin, Yeon-su (September 27, 2024). "[책마을] 유튜브서 인기 끈 한국 만화…'에일리언 스테이지' 아트북 1위". plus.hankyung.com (in Korean). Retrieved July 21, 2025.
- ↑ Team Format Nine (September 20, 2024). 에일리언 스테이지 아트북 [Alien Stage Artbook] (in Korean). South Korea: Dasan Comics. ISBN 9791130656816.
- ↑ Tantimedh, Adi (February 28, 2026). "Alien Stage: The Art Book Gets English Edition from TOKYOPOP". bleedingcool.com. Retrieved March 23, 2026.