I’m a sucker for a good mystery anime. Hell, I’ll even happily oblige a mediocre mystery anime. If it’s a cerebral series focusing on head-scratching crimes and unsolvable murder cases, I’m in. That’s why I was really looking forward to the July debut of Ikebukuro West Gate Park, an anime adaptation of the mystery novel series by Ira Ishida. Unfortunately, sleuth-anime fans like me will have to wait a little while longer to see the Doga Kobo production come to life, as the anime series has just been delayed all the way to October due to COVID-19.
Originally, Ikebukuro West Gate Park was set to debut in July alongside the rest of the upcoming anime season. As we all know, though, plenty of anime have had their broadcast dates shuffled around due to the effects that the COVID-19 virus has had on production. This anime is one such series to suffer that fate, as the official website for the series confirmed that the delay to October is due to COVID-19. Specifics on which day and what channels the show will now air on have yet to be revealed.
Ikebukuro West Gate Park is being produced by anime studio Doga Kobo, previously responsible for a bevy of adorable comedy series like Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, Kimouto! Umaru-chan, Gabriel DropOut, and Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru?. Tomoaki Koshida, who previously directed The Helpful Fox Senko-san and Zoku Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru, will be directing the anime. Fumihiko Shimo, who previously worked on Fairy Tail and Infinite Stratos, is in charge of series composition. Finally, Junichiro Taniguchi will be handling character designs, previously working on Prison School and Tada Never Falls in Love.
The story of Ikebukuro West Gate Park focuses on Makoto Majima, the son of a local fruit vendor who is lovingly known as the “Troubleshooter of Ikebukuro” He takes it upon himself to patrol the streets of Ikebukuro and help everyone in need, from friends and family to local street hoodlums, as they struggle with various problems and incidents. The novel series previously inspired a live-action television series in 2000, as well as a manga adaptation from Sena Aritou that ran in Young Champion magazine from 2001 to 2004.
Source: Anime News Network
