Written by: Jei Beltrano | Published on: March 29, 2021 at 11:32 AM PHT (GMT+8)
The official website for the TV anime series adaptation of CLAMP's "Tokyo Babylon" manga series has announced on Monday through a public notice that the anime "Tokyo Babylon 2021" has been officially called-off. This is due to the unresolved imitation plagiarism issue concerning the production committee. The series was originally scheduled to premiere last October 2020 but was later postponed indefinitely to April 2021.
The production committee stated on the announcement that after several internal discussions regarding the issue, they have decided to completely cancel the project due to 'lack of trust with the current production company'.
CLAMP and the committee also stated that they will 'restart' a completely new production system in the future.
The announcement concluded with apologies for those who have been affected by the project most particularly those who are involved in the work. CLAMP and the committee asks for the continuous support for their future project.
Last December 2020, we reported that it has been discovered that the anime's production committee 'allegedly' referenced the characters' costume designs to be used in the series without permission from an undisclosed party.
To address the issue, the production committee has decided to postpone the airing of the anime series in April 2021 and expressed their public apology to the series' creator CLAMP and to everyone who were affected by the issue.
The production committee's announcement posted through the anime's official website reads (Translated via Google Translate):
We would like to express our sincere gratitude for your continued patronage.
The [Tokyo BABYLON 2021] committee will take the issue of imitation seriously, reflect deeply on it, and set up a compliance team within the committee to take stricter measures, and will work on further legal compliance. ..
Therefore, we will postpone the broadcast of this work, which is currently scheduled to be broadcast in April 2021.
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused to CLAMP, everyone who loves the original "Tokyo BABYLON", everyone who is looking forward to and supporting the TV anime "Tokyo BABYLON 2021", and everyone involved. ..
We pledge to deliver entertainment that fans can enjoy with peace of mind, and the production committee will work together to produce it.
We will seriously and sincerely create works that everyone truly loves, so thank you for your cooperation.
GoHands is in charge of the animation production with K: Project's Shingo Suzuki and Susumu Kudo serving the anime's series director. The series' script is written by Jun Kumagai with character designs by Makoto Furuta and as the chief animation director along with Keiji Tani.
The first 3 main cast was revealed including Shouta Aoi as Subaru Sumeragi, Nana Mizuki as Hokuto Sumeragi, and Yuichiro Umehara as Seishirō Sakurazuka.
The series is based on the Japanese shōjo manga series of the same title also known as "Tokyo Babylon: A Save Tokyo City Story", which is created by CLAMP, with story by Nanase Ohkawa and illustration by Mokona. It is also based on a dōjinshi also written by CLAMP but the company decided to add dark social themes in the serialization as a result of the chapters' length. The manga were published by Shinshokan in Japan from 1990 to 1993 and collected total of seven tankōbon volumes. The English-language version of the manga was first distributed by Tokyopop and is now in possession of Dark Horse Comics.
The series was adapted into a two-part original video animation series by the studio Madhouse between 1992 and 1994 and PDS also produced a live-action feature film sequel, Tokyo Babylon 1999, which was released on August 21, 1993.
The story follows Subaru Sumeragi, the head of the Sumeragi clan, and his sister Hokuto as they work to protect Tokyo from a myriad of supernatural perils. With Subaru's character development reflected in the series, Tokyo Babylon has been well received for its focus on occultism and social themes. The manga is also notorious for its open and tragic ending which is followed in Clamp's manga X.
Source: Tokyo Babylon TV anime Official Site, Comic Natalie
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