Rakuten Viki is moving beyond live-action Korean drama with an exclusive animated title, and it is being explicit that this is a format bet, not a one-off acquisition. The Painted Soul, a fantasy romance from Mouse director Choi Junbae, launches Oct. 21 across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Oceania, India and Southeast Asia. Viki and Seoul-based Imaginus co-produced the series.
The title and the team
The story centres on Yun Hwa, a trainee painter who unwittingly releases a stranger trapped in a painting for 50 years. Legend warns that anyone who looks him in the eye meets a grim fate; as the pair grow closer, she must decide whether what she feels is fear or something deeper.
Choi is known for Mouse and Stealer: The Treasure Keeper. Imaginus was founded in December 2021 by Choi Jinnie, former CEO of Studio Dragon, and its earlier credit Cinderella at 2AM is already on Viki. That existing relationship makes the new co-production a deeper partnership, not a cold start.
The platform math
Viki’s chief content officer Hong Jaehee said the audience had asked for animation and promised more of it.
We plan to bring more animation to our platform, and ‘The Painted Soul’ is just the start.
That wording positions the title as the first release in a category expansion.
The addressable base is large: more than 127 million registered users across over 190 countries and territories. Viki runs a free ad-supported tier alongside two ad-free plans, Viki Pass Standard and Viki Pass Plus. For media planners, an exclusive animated premiere is a rare content window that can be packaged across both ad-supported reach and subscription environments.
Why the AI note matters
Imaginus chief creative officer Lee Hyunjung said the studio used new technologies to make the storytelling more compelling, and Viki describes the production as AI-assisted. The distinction is commercial: it signals that the technology supports the creative process rather than replacing it. That is useful framing at a time when AI’s role in entertainment remains a sensitive point for creators, platforms and audiences.
- Launch date: Oct. 21 in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Oceania, India and Southeast Asia.
- Format: AI-assisted animated K-drama, co-produced by Viki and Imaginus.
- Platform reach: 127 million registered users across 190-plus territories.
- Monetisation: free ad-supported tier plus Viki Pass Standard and Viki Pass Plus.
What to watch next
The launch was announced ahead of the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Contents & Film Market, so it doubles as a market statement. The template to monitor is clear: pair a known Korean director with a platform that can distribute globally, then use animation and AI-assisted production as a format differentiator. For planners, the practical takeaways are to treat this as a simultaneous global window, frame AI as an enhancement story, and track whether the title converts free-tier viewers into Viki Pass subscribers or mainly adds ad-supported inventory.
Source: Variety
