The pandemic the world is currently in right now have not only affected all our lives drastically but also our hobbies. Games, Books, Anime, and even Events have unfortunately been either delayed or outright cancelled. As a result of the significant effect of COVID-19 all over the world, it’s no surprise quite a lot of media have been delayed. Here are some of the most significant so far.
My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax
The official Twitter account for My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU announced on April 7th that the third and final season of the anime would be delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, and the current State of Emergency occurring in Japan currently. My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax was initially scheduled to air from April 9th but is presently delayed until further notice, as a new release date is yet to be given.
この度、 今春から放送予定の『やはり俺の青春ラブコメはまちがっている。完』ですが
新型コロナウイルスの感染拡大の影響を受け、放送を延期させて頂くことになりました。
何卒、ご理解の程よろしくお願い申し上げます。— やはり俺の青春ラブコメはまちがっている。 (@anime_oregairu) April 7, 2020
The Millionaire Detective – Balance: UNLIMITED
The next on the list is the brand new The Millionaire Detective – Balance: UNLIMITED, which began earlier this season in April and released two episodes. Unfortunately, the anime series will be delayed from Episode 3 onward until further notice as well, from a recent post from Aniplex twitter account. This is a shame as the anime quickly gained traction and was on its way to being one of the seasons great.
UPDATE: Its been announced that the anime will resume airing on July 16th.
Due to COVID-19, the streaming of “The Millionaire Detective – Balance: UNLIMITED” has been postponed starting with episode 3.
Please stay tuned for more information on the future streaming schedule.
Thank you for understanding. pic.twitter.com/scMobdT1Xz
— Aniplex USA (@aniplexUSA) April 16, 2020
A Certain Scientific Railgun T
Next on the list is the fan-favorite A Certain Scientific Railgun T. The official Japanese website for the anime announced that its 13th episode “SYSTEM,” which was initially scheduled to be aired in Japan on April 24th, will sadly be pushed back due to the production problems caused by the continued influence of COVID-19 in Japan.
A Message on the official website from PROJECT-RAILGUN T can be seen below:
“Thank you very much for always watching ‘A Certain Scientific Railgun T.’
We have to postpone the broadcast of the 13th episode ‘SYSTEM,’ which was scheduled to be broadcast on April 24th (Friday), due to the production problems caused by the influence of ‘COVID-19,’ which has become a worldwide issue recently. Accordingly, we will change the original schedule and rebroadcast the 12th episode ‘Exterior’ broadcast last week. The new broadcast date for the 13th episode will be announced on the anime’s official website as soon as it is decided.
This is an unexpected situation that changes day by day. We are very sorry for the inconvenience and worry to our fans who have enjoyed the series. Thank you for your understanding.”
4月24日に放送を予定しておりましたTVアニメ「とある科学の超電磁砲T」#13「SYSTEM（神ならぬ身にて天上の意志に辿り着くもの）」のスケジュール変更についてお知らせがございます。詳しくはアニメ公式サイトをご覧ください。https://t.co/8ELcZXV7gp#超電磁砲T
— とあるプロジェクト公式 (@toaru_project) April 17, 2020
Food Wars! The Fifth Plate
The official Food Wars! (Shokugeki no Soma) website also recently announced that the broadcast of new episodes of Food Wars! The Fifth Plate would be delayed starting next week. The new broadcast schedule in Japan will air episodes from the previous season instead.
Appare-Ranman!
We also have the new anime Appare-Ranman! from PA Works.’ which premiered on April 10th, whose official website also announced on Friday that the broadcast of the series is delayed starting with the 4th episode.
The new broadcast schedule for the anime will be revealed at a later date on its official twitter account, and website once decided.
Bungo And Alchemist
Carrying on with new anime, we also received news from the official website for the Bungo and Alchemist TV anime announced on April 18th that the series, which premiered on April 3rd on TV Tokyo, will be delayed from its 4th episode until May 8th. The 2nd and 3rd episode will instead be rebroadcast on April 24th and May 1st.
We haven’t been given the exact reason for the anime series delay, but it’s safe to say the influence of COVID-19 IS At least a contributing factor.
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
The official website for the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations TV anime, which is currently in its “Mujina Bandits Arc, also announced that future episodes of the anime would be delayed starting May 3rd. Though the 154th episode is still scheduled to air on April 26th, the 155th will not and will instead be airing reruns from then on.
A new air date is yet to be announced.
The Promised Neverland
The official Twitter account for the popular anime series The Promised Neverland, recently announced that the anime second season which was supposed to air October 2020 has been pushed back to January 2021. The first season aired back in January 2019 and streamed on Crunchyroll and Funimation.
Sword Art Online Alicization
As a reminder, the popular Anime series SAO’s latest installment Sword Art Online Alicization, which is in its current “war of underworld arc”, was initially set to broadcast From April, but has also been postponed to an unspecified July 2020 release instead.
The first part of Sword Art Online Alicization initially aired between October and December 2019
【重要なお知らせ】
4月より放送・配信予定の「SAO アリシゼーション WoU」最終章(2ndクール)につきまして、新型コロナウイルス感染拡大の影響を受け、放送及び配信を延期させて頂くことをお知らせいたします。
4/18（土）からは1stクール再放送をお届け致します。
— アニメ ソードアート・オンライン 公式 (@sao_anime) April 10, 2020
Pokémon
Another popular anime to be delayed is the latest Pokémon series which revealed on Sunday through its official twitter account, that the staff would be temporarily suspending production of the series due to, you guessed it, the COVID-19 situation and the state of emergency declared in Japan.
A new release date is yet to be announced but will be once decided.
Digimon Adventure
Following Pokémon is the remaining episodes set to air for Toei Animation’s Digimon Adventure: reboot this was recently delayed before its scheduled fourth episode on April 26th.
Weekly Shonen Jump
The official Twitter account for the Japanese edition of Weekly Shonen Jump announced on April 8th that its 21st issue, which was to go on sale on April 20th, will be delayed and instead be combined into a double issue (issue 21/22) to be released on April 27th. This is due to a suspected case of the COVID-19 disease in one of the staff at the Weekly Shonen Jump office.
The announcement also stated that the entire editorial department had temporarily suspended work while awaiting the results of the PCR test of the affected staff member. The Weekly Shonen Jump staff has apologized to all its readers and promises a return soon.
「週刊少年ジャンプ２１号」発売延期のお知らせ pic.twitter.com/3DhDJNCa5t
— 少年ジャンプ編集部 (@jump_henshubu) April 8, 2020
One Piece
It also seems the ever-popular Shonen anime/Manga One Piece is set to take a break from releasing future episodes. This news confirmed by the Japanese voice of Monkey D. Luffy, Mayumi Tanaka. This is following the delay of the One Piece Manga due to Weekly Shonen Jump taking a week-long break. This is all to ensure the health and well-being of the voice actors and actresses as well as remaining staff.
新型コロナウイルス感染拡大に最大限の配慮をするべく、当面の間、「ワンピース」の新作の放送を休止することに致しました。
4月26日（日）より当面の間「ワンピース」（ワノ国編・892話〜）を再放送いたします。
「ワンピース」の放送再開（930話〜）は決まり次第お知らせさせていただきます。— ONE PIECE.com(ワンピース) (@OPcom_info) April 20, 2020
No Guns Life
Another earlier Anime delay was the second half of No Guns Life. The anime’s official Twitter account and website announced the postponement of the 13-episode 2nd half, which was initially scheduled to premiere on April 9th.
The anime’s website and Twitter account stated it would announce a new premiere date once it is decided.
4/9から放送予定のTVアニメ『ノー・ガンズ・ライフ』第2期ですが、新型コロナウイルスの感染拡大の影響を受け、放送及び配信を延期させて頂くことになりました。
新たなスタート日につきましては決まり次第、HP・Twitterでお知らせいたします。延期に伴い「第1話」からお送りします。 #ノーガンズ— TVアニメ「ノー・ガンズ・ライフ」公式 (@noguns_anime) April 7, 2020
Demon Slayer: Infinity Train
The first significant anime film to be delayed is the ever-popular Demon Slayer: Infinity Train TV JP has announced that the film will be delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The film, which already had an unknown 2020 release, will now also be possibly shifted to 2021, but this would be a worst-case scenario.
The official statement can be seen below:
“given the circumstances that occurred in Japan and the coronavirus, the film “Demon Slayer: Infinity Train” will be postponed. It will still be for 2020 at the moment, but everything can be changed at any time. everything will depend on the evolution of the epidemic”.
-(@animetv_jp)
Given
The next delayed film due to COVID-19 on this list is Given. Which was to serve as a sequel to the anime. The official website for the anime film, which was initially scheduled to open in Japan on May 16th, announced it would be delayed until further notice. A new release date will be revealed by the team at a later date.
Love Me, Love Me Not
We also have the beautiful romance anime film Love Me, Love Me Not which was set to release on May 29th, be delayed. Love Me, the Love Me Not film is based on the manga of the same name by Io Sakisaka and will be directed by Toshimasa Kuroyanagi of A-1 Pictures. So the film should be not only visually pleasing but also narratively entertaining.
Unfortunately, a new release date for the film hasn’t been provided yet either, but the studio has stated the tickets already purchased will still be valid once the film premieres.
Fate/stay night [Heaven’s Feel] III spring song
The next significant film delay is the third part of the Fate/stay night [Heaven’s Feel] anime film, Fate/stay night [Heaven’s Feel] iii spring song. The film, which was to release April 25th, was announced on April 8th to be postponed indefinitely.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, this is the second delay for the film, as it was originally set to launch on March 28th. Hopefully, we’ll get a final release date soon that won’t be delayed a third time.
新型コロナウイルス感染拡大に伴う政府や各行政機関の発表を鑑み、『劇場版「Fate/stay night[HF]」第三章』の公開を延期致します。楽しみにお待ち頂いていた皆様には誠に申し訳ありません。今後の公開予定につきましては、決定し次第お知らせいたします。https://t.co/lM6QGkytMV pic.twitter.com/bRt6QxUaZH
— Fate/stay night (@Fate_SN_Anime) April 8, 2020
Violet Evergarden The Movie
Kyoto Animation’s Violet Evergarden The Movie, is another victim of the pandemic and state of emergency on Japan currently. Similar to Heavens Feel, the movie has also been delayed twice. The anime film was postponed from its original release date of January 10th due to the tragic arson attack on the studio in July last year, to April 24th, to allow more time for the production of the film.
As it stands now, we have no new release date set for the film, but like the Given film, tickets already bought will be valid once the film finally premieres.
You can find the statement by the production committee below:
“After careful consideration of the announcement by the Japanese government on measures to limit the spread of coronavirus in Japan, we have decided to postpone the release of Violet Evergarden The Movie.” The entire staff has worked hard to create this film with extraordinary care and apologize for announcing the delay just before the release date.”
【公開延期のお知らせ】
この度、2020年4月24日(金)より公開を予定しておりました『劇場版 #ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン』につきまして、公開日を延期することを決定いたしました。
作品の公開を楽しみにお待ち頂いていた皆様には深くお詫び申し上げます。https://t.co/e1P6vOdkvH pic.twitter.com/ska5Cq9WPo— 「ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン」公式 (@Violet_Letter) April 6, 2020
Khara’s Evangelion 3.0+1.0
Another highly anticipated film to be delayed is Studio Khara’s Evangelion 3.0+1.0, from the highly influential and popular Evangelion franchise. Evangelion 3.0+1.0 is the sequel to Evangelion 3.0 and the final film in the rebuild series and was scheduled to release June 27th this year. The film was initially revealed in 2012 after the Evangelion 2.0. It was supposed to release way back in 2015 but was delayed due by Hideaki Anno due to several reasons.
As usual, we don’t have a new release date for now, but you can find the official announcement from Studio Khara below:
“First of all, we would like to extend our deepest sympathies to all of the victims of this new type of coronavirus infection (COVID-19).
Regarding the “Shin Evangelion Theater Version” that was scheduled to be released on Saturday, June 27th, 2020, due to the unprecedented situation in Japan and overseas due to the expansion of new coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19) As a result of careful examination, we decided to postpone the release date.
We have made every effort to deliver the work as scheduled to everyone who is looking forward to it, and we sincerely apologize for making such a report.
As for the future release schedule, as soon as it is decided, we will inform you immediately on the “Evangelion” official website and official SNS.”
Anime Expo 2020
As an unfortunate bonus to all the anime delays, Ray Chiang, CEO of The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA), announced on Friday that the Anime Expo 2020 convention, which was scheduled for July 2nd to 5th had been canceled due to the effects of the coronavirus.
With the COVID-19 situation continually changing, as well as more restrictions in place worldwide and in our host city Los Angeles, we can’t in good faith move forward with this year’s event. We know it will affect all of you differently, and we did not come to this decision lightly.
He added that owners of badges have the option to either opt for a refund or rollover to next year’s event, which is also scheduled for July 2nd to 5th. He added that buyers be patient as it’ll take time to process refunds. In addition, hotel rooms booked in the AX official hotel block will also automatically be canceled.
San Diego Comic-Con
In related news, the organizers of the San Diego Comic-Con convention also announced on Friday that the event this year has been canceled due to COVID-19 and statements from the California Governor Gavin Newsom, on large gatherings this year.
Final Thoughts
It’s unfortunate a lot of events and anime have been postponed due to COVID-19, and the state of emergency declared in Japan. However, its at least it’s good to know a lot of the producers, actors, and overall staff has their health and well-being in mind. Hopefully, we’ll see an end to all these delays soon, but until then, I’ll update this list whenever necessary.
Are you upset by all these delays? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.