While the SEGA-inspired Uncle from Another World may not be everyone's cup of tea, many fans quickly became invested in Ojisan's adventures, however, they are having a significantly tough time completing the first season.
Unfortunately, Atelier Pontdarc Studios have halted their production for a second time after only distributing 3 episodes since their recent hiatus during the July/August period. The show's grand finale is scheduled to air six months (or more) after the first episode's debut, essentially making Isekai Ojisan the longest-running anime season on record with barely more than ten episodes altogether.
COVID-19: Still on a Warpath
Not negating the disastrous effects that COVID-19 has had on the world, the subsequent universal isolation did result in a significant increase in interest in anime. This sudden success is rather bitter-sweet, as many studios have suffered from countless delays every time this brutal illness infects their staff. More than two years since the pandemic began, postponements are still rampant as this creative industry struggles to safeguard its workers. The infection rate seems highest among voice actors and anime/manga artists, whose unique skills often cannot be replicated via outsourcing, and so popular anime such as Demon Slayer, Pokemon Journeys, Rent-a-Girlfriend, and more have been forced to disappoint their fandoms at one point or another.
Here are just some of the anime affected by delays due to COVID-19 infections (only since May 2022):
- Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie
- SHINEPOST
- Sword Art Online: Progressive – Scherzo of Deep Night (delayed indefinitely.)
- Love Live! Superstar!!
- Uzumaki
- In/Spectre
- Technoroid Overmind
Isekai Ojisan's Staggered Timeline
The broadcasting structure of Uncle From Another World seems to be following the same chaotic incoherent path as the narrative within the anime, which severely diverts from the standard linear timeline. The first episode aired internationally on 6 July 2022 and didn't take long to join the Netflix line-up on 20 July, with a new episode "supposedly" releasing every Wednesday. This plan was running smoothly until just one week after Ojisan's Netflix debut when things got complicated. Uncle From Another World received its first delay after only accumulating a little over an hour's screentime, as episode 5 could only air on 3 August.
Strangely enough, even though Netflix was technically already two weeks behind Japan's schedule, this postponement could have narrowed the gap between global viewers, essentially negating the waiting period for its Ojisan fans. Instead, Netflix followed suit by delaying episode 5's release date too, however, they were possibly stalled due to the subtitling process.
One disgruntled reddit fan had this to say:
"In theory, it would catch up to the Japanese broadcast.
I am certainly not willing to give Netflix the benefit of the doubt here."
Just two weeks later, Ojisan's adventures were pushed back once again when Atelier Pontdarc Studios announced a second delay on 31 August. This time around they are not taking any chances, and are giving their staff adequate time to recover and complete the production process without the added stress of an impossible deadline. Fans will have to patiently wait for the end of the year for the last six adventures of Ojisan and Takafumi, with a total of 13 episodes expected from this Isekai. That equates to about 300 minutes of screentime spanning across a six (with Netflix, possibly seven) month period, that surely breaks some kind of record!
Affecting Streaming Services
Netflix has quite an extensive anime collection making them one of the top streaming sites in the industry, however, they are known for releasing large batches of episodes simultaneously. For a change, Netflix decided to take the semi-simulcast route with Uncle From Another World, but they quickly lost their near-synchronicity with Japan after only four episodes had been released. And now fans have to wait even longer for the final few installments to be available. Chances are whoever took the leap of faith to broadcast Isekai Ojisan is facing some backlash, as Netflix doesn't have much of a reputation for postponing shows so regularly.
Even Crunchyroll has put the breaks on many of their simulcast shows due to the pressure that COVID-19 is still heavily applying to the anime industry. Many of their dubbed broadcasts will also be significantly affected, so best get used to subtitles if the plan is to stay up-to-date!
Episode 8 of Uncle From Another World is expected to air on November 24, although it is unclear if Netflix will share this international release date.
Source: reddit/PacoTaco321