The anime industry has seen delays for a number of shows meant for this season. The staff behind Ayakashi Triangle, NieR:Automata, and UniteUp! announced postponements after their current episodes have aired, as reported by Otaku USA. Even more recently, it was announced that Pine Jam’s Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible will similarly be pushed back until April following the release of episode six. In all these cases, the same cause is given: COVID-19.
"Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible" will be postponed after episode 6 due to the impact of COVID.
The series is scheduled to restart broadcasting beginning with the first episode in April. https://t.co/oBTt1vTrDL
— A.I.R (Anime Intelligence (and) Research) (@AIR_News01) January 24, 2023
It is yet another reminder of how echoes of the pandemic still reverberate even as we try to go back to normal. Still, these developments have raised a lot of speculation online, given how COVID-19 isn’t breaking news any longer. Recurring comments on social media tend to fall under two trains of thought:
- One suspicion is that the delays are highly related to the outbreaks in the People’s Republic of China. Some believe that the ensuing turmoil has inevitably wreaked havoc on the logistics pipeline of certain anime companies, due to their outsourcing being crippled.
- Another is that the official line is more of an excuse. Instead, it’s production mismanagement in the industry. Studios and resources have been stretched too thin by producing too much in a short timeframe, echoing familiar refrains about the anime industry’s issues.
The million-dollar question now, is, which is more accurate? Or perhaps, it’s a bit of both?
Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way. Since the Chinese government began loosening up its notoriously stringent lockdowns last December, there’s been a surge in cases throughout the country, the true scale of which is said to be underreported according to the World Health Organization. Amidst such a tumultuous backdrop, it would make sense that this would impact any firm with outsourcing activities there, and the anime industry is no exception. The observation that the majority of shows affected are under Aniplex (which is known to outsource work to China), while Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible is a Bilibili and Kadokawa co-production, seems to give such speculation credence. At the same time, these delays don’t seem to be across the board, suggesting that these issues aren’t as endemic to the industry as they might appear.
https://twitter.com/SugoiLITE/status/1602649478410166272?s=20&t=5SbydBP8iGBB9EG3jaPrBQ
This raises the question of whether the COVID-19 explanation is more of a smokescreen than anything, which isn’t without merit either. As I previously touched upon in my piece on the modern anime industry, the recurring stories of animators working long hours for less reward continue to be a glaring blemish on a scene seemingly in a golden age, and while there are less anime being made in raw numbers compared to 2018 (which would theoretically mean less pressure on studios), the general strain to get quality works out remains an issue. In the case of Aniplex, however, such issues seem to be amplified considerably. As recounted by Epicstream.com’s Nicolo Manaloto, the company has been accused of mismanagement by other industry figures, and it’s not the first time either. SaeKano director Kanta Kamei, in particular, quoted the following in light of the recent delays, lending further weight to suspicions that the official line might be an attempt at plausible deniability:
昔、アニプレックスのプロデューサーに「1月番作るの止めない？年末年始で動き鈍くなる上に、スタッフがまともに新年迎えられない。
2月には春節あるから動仕止まるし」って意見言ったけど相手にされなかったよ。— 亀井幹太 (@kantakamei) January 23, 2023
In the past, I asked by a producer at Aniplex, “Why don’t you stop making the January number? Not only will the New Year’s holidays slow things down, but the staff won’t be able to greet the New Year properly.
And in February, the Chinese New Year is coming, so we’ll have to stop working,” but they didn’t take me seriously.
で春節の時期になると、制作会社のプロデューサーは「動画単価５倍出しても請けてくれない」って嘆いてる。そりゃそうでしょ、あちらは年初の大事な休暇だもの。
単価で3倍や５倍だすのは、もう少しで終わるっていう残り数カットくらいの時ね、全部じゃないよ。— 亀井幹太 (@kantakamei) January 23, 2023
And around the time of Chinese New Year, the producers of the production companies lament, “They won’t take on our projects even if we pay five times the unit price per video. That’s right, it’s an important vacation at the beginning of the year over there.
The only time they will pay 3 or 5 times the unit price is when there are only a few cuts left to be completed, not all of them.
While we could hope that things do get better in China, there are silver linings amidst this unwelcome news. For one, despite the impact on anime produced by Aniplex and concerns regarding other series under its wing, the impact on the current season isn’t nearly as severe or widespread as the discussions online might lead you to believe. Meanwhile, the fact that more fans and people within the industry are openly shedding light on the mismanagement suggests that there’s growing awareness of the need to rein in excesses. With or without a pandemic. At any rate, we’re not short on decently-made content, and other studios might step up to take advantage of the growing vacuum. One thing’s for sure: things could have been done a lot better.
What are your thoughts on this issue? Feel free to leave your comments below!
