The Winter 2023 season has been going off with a hitch so far, until this weekend that is, as NieR: Automata Ver1.1a and Ayakashi Triangle announced delays for their next episodes.
Over the past couple of days, the official pages of both shows announced broadcast delays, citing COVID as the primary reason for the production issues.
These aren’t the only two anime shows to get delayed though as there have also been several anime titles affected, most of which are produced by Aniplex.
Nier Automata, Ayakashi Triangle Delays
The first to get delayed was NieR: Automata Ver1.1a. Following the broadcast of its third episode, it was announced via its official social media channels and website that Episode 4 and beyond will be delayed.
According to the show’s production committee, the delay is because of the increase in COVID-19 infections, which are causing production schedule issues.
Because of the delay, the first three episodes of the show will instead get rebroadcast on the show’s timeslot.
Soon after the Nier delay, Ayakashi Triangle was the next anime to get a delay announcement.
Specifically, Ayakashi Triangle Episode 5 and beyond will be delayed indefinitely.
While Episodes 3 and 4 will still air on schedule, the first four episodes will get rebroadcast beginning February 6, 2023.
Similar to Nier, the reason for this delay is the rise in COVID-19 infections which have caused issues in the anime’s production.
While Japan’s COVID cases have been on a downward trend over the past two weeks, the massive COVID wave in China may be the cause of the delays.
Such was the case with Uncle from Another World, which got delayed again in late December.
This is because support animation studios in China have been affected by the COVID spike.
RELATED: How Many Episodes Will NieR: Automata Ver1.1a Have?
Other Aniplex Shows Delayed, Fans Fear Production Issues
Of course, the official statements of both shows did not mention any other details aside from the rise in COVID-19 infections.
Because of the lack of details, as well as other delays, fans are now worried about possible Aniplex production issues.
On Twitter and Reddit, many fans noted how these two shows are produced partly by Aniplex and that other titles such as UniteUp! and Fate/strange Fake have also been delayed.
Because of this, there is a lot of speculation about chaos over at Aniplex, be it due to COVID or other unmentioned reasons.
Of course, these are just speculations at this point, as no official source has confirmed these.
It might also be just bad luck for the studios to get hit with COVID infections.
Right now, there’s no word yet on when the NieR: Automata Ver1.1a and Ayakashi Triangle anime shows will resume.
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Sources: NieR: Automata anime Twitter, Ayakashi Triangle Twitter
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