Yu-Gi-Oh Sevens to Go on Hiatus Due to Pandemic

With every day comes the announcement that another anime has been delayed due to the pandemic, and Yu-Gi-Oh Sevens is on the chopping block next. It turns out the brand-new series is headed for a major postponement. Like so many shows before it, the shonen series has been forced to push back episode releases as production halted all because of the novel coronavirus, but Yu-Gi-Oh hopes to return to TV soon.

News of this delay came courtesy of Nico Nico Douga, a popular Japanese website dedicated to all things entertainment (Beyond the Duel). It was there the team behind Yu-Gi-Oh Sevens confirmed the show will be going on a 5-week delay following the release of episode five. That means the show will tentatively return at the beginning of June, but that is subject to change.

After all, things are in flux around the world, and it is all because of the ongoing pandemic. From the retail sector to the entertainment sector, no business has been spared impact from the novel coronavirus. That is to be expected when official have mandated or requested more than a billion people to self-isolate to contain its spread. In order to do that, animators in Japan cannot get to work, so it is inevitable that delays are going to happen.

This postponement comes not long after some other big-name series stopped airing new episodes. It was announced the second season of Re:Zero would debut this summer rather than April as planned, and the announcement spurred other series like Sword Art Online to push back. Pokemon and Digimon have also gone on delays, so fans knew it was a matter of 'when' rather than 'if' for Yu-Gi-Oh's delay. This is a shame as the brand-new series has been received well by fans despite its colorful tone, but audiences won't have to go without Duel Monsters for too-too long.

Are you surprised at all by this announcement? Or did you expect Yu-Gi-Oh to join the club? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!