A pandemic is a global problem, and it affects life in Japan just as badly as it does here. Animated shows have been less affected by the shutdown of studios — when you’re creating imaginary worlds, you don’t need sets, you just need a Cintiq in a home office. It’s even possible
for the actors to record the dialogue from their houses, if they have the right equipment.
Even still, like any large production, there’s a lot of little parts that have to function in harmony, and any one element out of place can shut down the whole thing. We’re not sure what the full circumstances are, but Toei Animation
has announced it cannot go forward with new episodes of One Piece from this point, and the weekly Japanese airings of the series will go into reruns until it...
