On the official site for the anime adaptation of the Momoko Sakura manga, Chibi Maruko-chan announced that the broadcast of new episodes has been suspended indefinitely.
The suspension decision responds to the recommendations of the Japanese government to prevent further infections of the new Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Starting on May 3, the special "Haru no Sakura Momoko Matsuri" will air, a recap of episodes based on the original Momoko Sakura manga.
About Chibi Maruko-chan
For its part, the Chibi Maruko-chan manga inspired an anime adaptation that consistently stayed in third place in the ranking on television, only behind Sazae-san and Detective Conan. The first series aired between 1990 and 1992, while the current series has been broadcast since 1995.
The manga's author, Momoko Sakura, passed away in August 2018 at the age of 53 from cancer. She serialized the manga in Shueisha's Ribon magazine between 1986 and 1996. The comedy story based on the daily life of a third-grade elementary school girl has sold more than 32 million copies on paper.
Recently, the Chibi Maruko-chan manga is having a new serialization by Sakura Production, a company with members who were Sakura's assistants. The series is published irregularly through Ribon magazine, with the first chapter published on October 3.
On April 2, voice actress Midori Kato stated that the voice recordings for the Sazae-san anime had been suspended due to the spread of COVID-19. However, he also noted that having already recorded episodes to date would not affect the transmission of the series at the moment.
Source: Official Site
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