Masashi Kishimoto’s acclaimed Weekly Shonen Jump series, Naruto, gained global recognition during the 2000s when the anime adaptation was released. Although Studio Pierrot’s adaptation was far from perfect, given how they made changes to the story, including Sakura Haruno’s character, it did help the series reach unprecedented heights of popularity. The series centered around a young ninja ostracized by his entire village who wanted nothing more than to gain their recognition by becoming a Hokage, the village leader. The story follows his journey as he fights powerful opponents and unravels the truth behind a mysterious power hiding within him. The anime commemorated its 20th anniversary in 2022, during which a special four-episode anime series was announced to be released on September 3rd, 2023.
Fans couldn’t be more excited, considering that the anime was supposed to follow the beloved Team 7 after several years. However, on August 29th, 2023, less than a week before the anime’s premiere, the official website of Naruto confirmed an indefinite delay. The studio needed more time to prepare for the anime to ensure great animation quality, especially considering the importance of the project. Almost three years have passed since the delay, and there hasn’t been any word from the studio on the matter. However, a recent update from China confirms that a local studio there is currently working on major anime projects such as One Piece and Naruto.
Naruto’s Anime Has Been Outsourced to a Chinese Animation Studio
Image Courtesy of Studio Pierrot
The update comes from the official government website of Lijin County in Shandong province, China, which shared that a local Huahan Animation is currently working on major anime projects. The website stated, “In recent days, the animation team of Huahan (Dongying) Animation Co., Ltd., the first South Korean-funded enterprise located in the Lijin Data (Content) Industrial Park, has been busy working on animation orders for several projects, including One Piece and Naruto.”
The report further added, “The company brings together international high-end original animation and production technologies and talents, mainly engaged in Japanese and Korean service outsourcing and original animation production. Currently, the company has built a professional animation team of over one hundred people, including original artists, animators, and colorists.”
While only One Piece and Naruto have been mentioned, it’s clear that the studio is working on more projects. It also shared a major update on WIT Studio’s One Piece anime remake, which was announced during Jump Festa 2024, which took place in December 2023. While the details regarding Naruto‘s anime haven’t been confirmed, the studio may be working on the anniversary project, considering how it’s the only delayed anime the franchise has under production. We also can’t rule out the possibility that they wanted to mention Boruto instead of Naruto, since the anime series ended in 2023 without confirming a sequel adaptation of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex. Since there haven’t been any updates from Studio Pierrot, it’s also difficult to determine when the anime series will be released.
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