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Ikebukuro West Gate Park TV Anime Delayed to October Due to COVID-19
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
The official website for the television anime of Ira Ishida's Ikebukuro West Gate Park novel series unveiled a new visual and character designs for the anime, and announced that the anime's premiere has been delayed to October due to the effects of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on the production. The anime was previously scheduled to premiere in July.
The anime's cast includes Kentarō Kumagai as Makoto, Kōki Uchiyama as Takashi, and Reiō Tsuchida as Kyōichi.
Tomoaki Koshida (The Helpful Fox Senko-san, Zoku Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru.) is directing the anime at Doga Kobo. Fumihiko Shimo (Fairy Tail, Infinite Stratos) is in charge of series composition. Junichirō Taniguchi (Prison School, Tada Never Falls in Love) is designing the characters.
The mystery novel series is set in Tokyo's Ikebukuro ward, in the eponymous Ikebukuro Nishiguchi Kōen (known by locals as "Ikebukuro West Gate Park," the place's English name). The story centers on Makoto Majima, the son of a local fruit vendor, and known as the "Troubleshooter of Ikebukuro." He helps everyone from his friends to local street toughs in solving various incidents.
Ishida's 13th novel shipped on September 3. The series inspired a popular live-action television series in 2000, as well as a live-action special titled Ikebukuro West Gate Park Soup no Kai in 2003. Sena Aritou serialized a manga adaptation in Akita Shoten's Young Champion magazine from 2001 to 2004, and it received four volumes. Masashi Asaki also drew the IWGP: Denshi no Hoshi manga, and Shō Kitagawa also drew another manga adaptation in 2015. Digital Manga Publishing released all four volumes of Aritou's manga in English.
Sources: Ikebukuro West Gate Park anime's website, The Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web