Anime Producer Reveals Why Long Awaited Sequel Was Canceled: “There Was a Situation”

Despite anime’s skyrocketing success, not every project in the medium manages to hit the screen. Such is the case with a major franchise that was brought to life by none other than Studio MAPPA, the legendary anime studio responsible for the likes of Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, Attack on Titan, and more. Even with the studio’s pedigree, there is one major anime film that was cancelled that still has anime fans reeling to this day. In a recent interview, anime producer Hideo Katsumata discussed why MAPPA never returned to the ice rink.

In 2024, MAPPA announced that they had canceled the anime film, Yuri On Ice The Movie: Ice Adolescence. Acting as a follow-up to the original anime series, Ice Adolescence was originally announced in 2017, set to release in 2019, but was surrounded by mysterious delays. In a new interview with outlet Anime Hunch, Katsumata dodged the specific reasons as to why the movie was canceled but hinted at the ultimate decision, “I can’t talk about the details, as that includes some very private matters, but if you ask whether it’s a creative or business issue, the reasons stem from the creative side. Since it was an original animation, the people involved—including the creators and the animation studio, MAPPA—among the creators, on the creative side, a situation arose where it just became impossible to proceed with production.”

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Ice Adolsence R.I.P.

For those who wanted a refresher on the original events that ended the Yuri on Ice movie, the original announcement released by MAPPA last year read, “Thank you very much for always supporting “Yuri!!! on ICE”. Regarding the postponed release of “YURI!!! on ICE the movie: ICE ADOLESCENCE”, we have come to the decision to unfortunately cancel its production. We deeply apologize for not being able to meet the expectations of all those who have been waiting and have continued to support us throughout these years.
The production committee and staff have been in constant discussions to create and to deliver the movie, but due to various circumstances, we have had to make the difficult decision to stop the production. We sincerely apologize to everyone who has been anticipating its release and thank you once again for your continued support.
Yuri!!! on ICE PROJECT
MAPPA Co., Ltd.”

While MAPPA CEO Manabu Otsuka had confirmed that Yuri on Ice was a success for the studio, said success apparently had not translated to revenue. Otsuka stated in a previous interview, “The anime ‘Yuri on Ice‘ produced by our company was a huge hit, but the revenue generated for the studio was minimal compared to its success. We realized that studios that have accepted this structure also bear responsibility and started to think about increasing what we can do on our own. Hit works cannot be controlled and created at will, so to grow as a company, we must make the most of the limited opportunities.“

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