the japanese portal myjitsu shared an article noting that the recent suspensions of Anime productions by COVID-19 are the result of studios in Japan are relying too heavily on labor generally outsourced from China.
«The Anime industry in Japan has been hit again by the COVID-19 pandemic, but by its effects in China. In particular, the Winter-2023 (January-March) season has seen one blackout after another, and SILVER LINK studios seem to be standing out in this regard. On February 13, SILVER LINK studios announced that the seventh episode of the second season of “BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense” would be delayed by two weeks.».
«The reason was that, and we quote, “since the end of last year, production has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Consequently, we made the decision to postpone the airing of new episodes.” And the statement continued: “After the resumption, the episodes will be broadcast regularly until the tenth episode. However, regarding the last two episodes (eleventh and twelfth), their status will be confirmed soon”, which gives indications that this second season could be suspended again.».
«Additionally, the second season of “Maou Gakuin no Futekigousha” has also been delayed when it was already on the air. On the other hand, “Ayakashi Triangle” is another series that has also been suspended. And although it is produced by CONNECT studios, it should be noted that it is a subsidiary of SILVER LINK. With this, the three series produced by SILVER LINK and its subsidiaries this season have disappeared from television.».
«SILVER LINK’s problems have caught the attention of fans, with comments like: “Is SILVER LINK defeated this season?“; “We are depending too much on China” and “Oh god, SILVER LINK is finished“. Not only SILVER LINK works, projects like “NieR: Automata Ver.1.1a“, “UniteUp!” and “Kubo-san wa Mob wo Yurusanai” have been suspended one after another. In addition, other projects such as “Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence” and “Masamune-kun no Revenge 2nd Season“, which were due to premiere in April, have been delayed until July, and the Anime industry continues to reel in a series of suspensions that will likely continue.».
«And in all the communications, mention has been made of the same cause: “the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Depending on the Anime, the mention of China is omitted, but in fact, many studios in Japan outsource animation staff from China, but are now disabled by the return of the pandemic to the Asian giant. The Anime industry in Japan is paying the “bill” for its decisions to produce massive amounts of content relying heavily on a workforce from China. The quality of foreign animators has been improving in recent years, but it seems that Japan does not care about training its own people».
Fountain: myjitsu
