MapleStory anime short DEAR MY HERO screens Japanese dub in Tokyo

A special screening of the Japanese-dubbed version of DEAR MY HERO, the first theatrical anime based on MapleStory, was held on November 7, 2026, at 109 Cinemas Premium Shinjuku in Tokyo. It was the first showing in Japan of the newly produced dub.

The film is an approximately 30-minute short. The director is Lee Sung-hwan, and the executive producer is Kim Chang-seop, MapleStory's director in Korea. Lee Kyung-jun, director of MapleStory Japan, spoke before the screening and thanked players for 23 years.

The Japanese dub cast includes Tomohiro Yamaguchi as Aidan, Kentaro Kumagai as Kurtz, Ayasa Ito as Roen, Riko Kohara as Sigmund, Takehiro Hasu as Kidan and Saki Yamakita as Belle.

The event is invitation-only and free, with screenings in Tokyo and Osaka. Attendees received goods including a cinema ticket and art card featuring protagonist Aidan, a film-style sticker, a leaflet, a coaster, a paper pick for popcorn and a paper charm for a drink straw.

Korean release and the Black Heaven battle

Nexon's MMORPG has welcomed adventurers for 23 years. In June 2026, DEAR MY HERO was released in about 100 Lotte Cinema screens in Korea to mark the service's 23rd anniversary, and drew high praise from local players. According to Korean media GAMEVU, Kim Chang-seop said he wanted to convey through a soldier's perspective that the adventures players have accumulated are also valuable stories; the project was originally planned to run about 17 minutes and grew to its current length during production. Black Heaven, the battle that forms the film's climax setting, appeared in the game as the first part of the large-scale story content Blockbuster.