Delays in manga and anime dates in Japan due to the Coronavirus

09-02-2021 HowHow Team

Today, we are discussing the delay in anime and manga release dates in Japan due to the coronavirus.

With great regret, we are here to educate everyone about the effects of COVID-19 and the impact of the Global Quarantine on the release dates of current and future anime and manga titles.

Japan, in particular, has not been greatly affected. Compared to countries like the United States, China, Italy and Spain, which have had an immense number of people affected and deceased, Japan has had a much smaller distribution, with less than 100 deaths in the world.

This epidemic, along with the quarantine, brought many industries to a standstill and the anime industry suffered a severe blow. Lets take a look at the consequences.

Effect of COVID-19 on the manga industry

Overall manga sales have dropped. Compared to normal figures, volumes are selling for much less. For example, the latest One Piece volume 96 was released; While One Piece sells for around 1.5 million in its first week, sales have dropped to 1.1 million.

Other manga titles like Black Clover and Boruto face the same problem. However, it does not end there. Lets take a look at the two biggest manga companies: Shueisha and Kodansha.

Shueisha

An employee of the Weekly Shonen Jump department has been diagnosed with COVID-19. Shueisha posted this notice.

This roughly translates to:

An editor in his 40s has been diagnosed with COVID-19. So the company left the soil and began its disinfection. They also monitor the health of all employees and their contacts.

Additionally, most employees began working from home on April 6.

Today, most Shueisha employees work from home. It wont be a serious problem, but it has had repercussions.

It was decided to delay the launch of number 21 of the magazine (print and digital) from April 20 to April 27 and change the name to Number 21 • 22. The launch of number 20 is still scheduled for April 13.

Although this is a double topic, different titles will not post double chapters. Each version will contain 1 chapter per title. This is basically a week break.

Thus, the final version of the problem is the following:

-The number 20 will go on sale on April 12, 2020

-The issue 21/22 will be released on April 26, 2020

-The number 23 will go on sale on May 10, 2020

KODANSHA

While Kodansha, the company behind Weekly Shonen Magazine, hasnt announced any delays or immediate effects, it has also suffered. Employees have been working from home since the last week of March. They have been ordered to self-quarantine until April 10, but this has been increased indefinitely.

Weekly Shonen Magazine has yet to report any delays or issues, it will launch as scheduled. However, their sales fell, as did Shueishas titles.

However, Kodansha has given various discounts on its manga volumes so that people can participate during this quarantine period.

Anime industry

Now lets look at the anime side of things. Several anime titles have been delayed. The 2020 spring season has been very successful. According to the current pattern, the Summer 2020 season will not be normal either.

List of animes that have been postponed indefinitely:

Re Zero Season 2: the first to be delayed. He has a large following. It was scheduled to start on April 2. The new release date will be announced before June.

Detective Conan Movie 17 - Has a moderate number of followers. Its release date was pushed back to April 19.

Violet Evergarden Movie: It was released in January. The first carry put him in the April slot. The second postponement is due to this COVID-19 epidemic. Pre-purchased tickets will be valid.

Oregairu Season 3: It was the second most anticipated title of this season. Fans have waited years for its release and now have to settle for a repeat of its second season.

No Guns Life Season 2: The first season received positive reviews, so they didnt wait long to get to the next one. Unfortunately, the streaming and Blu-ray release of season 2 was postponed.

Dounika Naru Hibi - A new anime for this season. He had aroused a moderate interest in opinions.

Ore Wo Suki - His full name is 'Ore wo Suki nano wa Omae dake ka yo: Oretachi no Game Set'. He is the second latecomer this season.

Fate Heavens Feel Movie 3 - The last installment of the Fate / Stay Night Heavens Feel series and the last film of the third part of the main story of the Fate universe. Not only is it extremely famous with fans, but its prequels have been able to get high marks as well. The Fate franchise is an integral part of the anime fandom.

SAO Alicialization Season 2 - Sword Art Online is the anime that launched the isekai trope to an anime universe. It was wildly popular in 2016. Since then it has released several sequels. Unfortunately, fans will have to wait longer for this new season. On April 10, it was announced that Sao was being postponed to July.

However, lets not end this on a sour note. Heres great news for people.

Kimetsu no Yaiba Movie: Mugen Ressha-Hen will premiere on October 16, 2020. Its cast and staff have been finalized.

The film will cover the Infinity Train arc from the Demon Slayer manga. Due to this news release, on October 16 it was all the rage on Twitter with more than 20,000 tweets worldwide.

As we wrap up our article here, we ask all of our readers to keep visiting our site for more anime news and updates. We also ask all of our readers to stay home and follow the quarantine rules.