Alien Stage is an animated web series that takes place in a world run by aliens, and enslaved humans compete in a singing contest for their survival. “It may look like your standard, fun-to-watch idol battle show, but tangled in within it is stories of love, obsession, want, and remorse,” director VIVINOS described. Originally debuting in September 2022, the series has become a beloved fan favorite, even despite its short form episode format on YouTube.
Following last year’s Anime Expo appearance which featured both a live drawing and a Q&A, the team, comprised of producer KANG PD, animation director QMENG, and director VIVINOS, returned for a focused discussion to share two pieces of exciting news with the cheering crowd.
“It is my pleasure to say that the first ever 3D character concert with the Alien Stage characters has been confirmed. Alien Stage Museum in 2372 will bring HyunA, Ivan, Luka, Mizi, Sua, and Till to Tokyo, Seoul, and Los Angeles in 2027,” KANG PD shared. As soon as those words left the producer, the crowded room erupted into cheers. As the cheers settled, VIVINOS shared some further details, reigniting the cheers once again. “You may remember Alien Stage Museum was in the last episode of the Alien Stage YouTube series,” she began. “Museum developers were performing and competing, and Alien Stage was, for a short time, halted in production. But with the return of Luka, the alien, the Alien Stage Museum was opened and recorded as headline news. The live show will serve as an extension of the original stories.”
Seeing the characters they’ve worked so hard to develop over the years take on a new form has been surreal to the team. “I personally have been involved in creating the profiles for this project, and the first drafts of drawing out the characters in 3D,” QMENG shared. “With VIVINOS’ guidance, we created these images to make sure that each of our characters and their personalities could shine through, but still not look awkward. All of our characters have different heights, different bone structures, and builds, so it was a challenge to come up a way to make sure all the characters can show off their individual styles and charms.” Diving into the character design and development, QMENG honed in on Sua as an example. “All the characters we see on screen right now through the main series have changed and evolved as people, so the most important thing is that we can maintain all of their impressions and their different styles as much as possible. For Sua, she has always been thinner and her hips are located slightly lower than Mizi. As we designed, I was also cognizant enough to know that if I drew the hips too small, she might come across as too childish. Instead, I tried to add little curves here and there to make sure that she’s not a child, but still has the same youthful character.”
Another important aspect the two artists paid great attention to was each character’s facial expression. “I created a variety of different expressions that I think they would make on stage based on their individual personalities,” QMENG started. “We had very detailed feedback from the director even when we were working on the main series, literally down to the pixel. Expressions are really important because it’s the best way for the viewers to know the character’s personality, but also the kind of deep evolutions they might be offering inside, so I did my very best to draw as many drafts up as possible to make sure that these expressions have a chance to be shown.” QMENG shared that they usually create a model to mimic the initial sketches, and even look into details such as the length of the eyelashes, how many strands of hair went in the eyebrows, which direction each eye might be looking in, and more. “We have developed quite a camaraderie with the staff members who are working on the models, because they’re also doing their best to integrate our feedback in a very tight schedule.”
To prepare for this 3D live tour, VIVINOS and QMENG worked diligently to submit all drawings to the team as quickly as possible. While working on the 3D tour models, Ivan and Luka were great examples of the type of detail they were drilling down to. “For Ivan, the key point was that, although he has mostly black hair, we needed to make sure that the edges of the hair glowed a slight blue green, like velvet. Additionally, the way that shadows play during a performance are also very impactful,” QMENG revealed. “In Luka’s case, it was difficult because of the shadows. If he got too much of the stage lighting, it became really hard to see his face. In this case, we wanted to make sure that enough of the shadow from the hair was visible and that the styling of his model remained closest to the original flat animation style.”
Feeling a little sentimental thinking back on how this niche project became loved by so many fans around the world, KANG PD and VIVINOS took a moment to thank everyone before announcing the next piece of news. “There are a lot of people who are working on making this a success,” they shared in agreement. “We want to take the time to thank every member of staff who are on this right now. It’s our hope that the end product is something that we can all be proud of and be able to share with all of you.”
Next up was the announcement of the Alien Stage anime series entering production. “There’s so much of the story in this original series that we never really got to touch on, so we are so grateful to have this opportunity to have an anime series launch as Alien Stage‘s next step. There are many people working on this animated series of that I personally look up to and respect very much, and it’s my hope that one day I can tell you all about it,” VIVINOS revealed. “I’m so happy we will be able to show more of the story behind the stage. I also like to believe that this kind of intense support from the fans will also be exactly what the people working on production of the animated series at Alien Stage need to motivate us through the amount of work and production that we have ahead of us.” Continuing to speak candidly, she also made expectations clear for fans. “These new projects will be very demanding for our staff and production crew, so there will be a slight lull in uploads in terms of content.”
Wrapping things up during the panel, VIVINOS and KANG PD shared their well wishes for Alien Stage‘s team and fans. “Just like our slogan, it is our hope that we can continue to be here to produce content for you in whatever form going into the future.” The Alien Stage Museum in 2372 3D Live Tour will kick off next year, while the anime series is still a work in progress with no set release date.”
The 2027 Alien Stage Museum in 2372 tour will be preceded by a showcase in Tokyo from October 30 to November 1, starring Ivan, Sua, and Luka.
