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Spring 2020 Precure Anime Film Delayed Due to Coronavirus COVID-19 Concerns
posted on by Egan Loo
The production committee for the Eiga Precure Miracle Leap: Minna to Fushigi na 1-nichi (Everyone and the Mysterious 1 Day) anime film announced on Saturday that it has delayed the film from March 20 until further notice. The committee cited the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak and the policies of the government and organizations to stem COVID-19's spread. In particular, the film encourages audience members to cheer and dance along with the characters.
The film's official website and Twitter account will announce the new opening date as soon as it is decided. People can use their advance ticket passes after the delayed opening date. The official Precure YouTube channel posted a video in which Cure Grace explains the delay and encourages people to take measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19:
The new film features characters from both Hugtto! Precure and Star ☆ Twinkle Precure. Rie Kitagawa performs the theme song "Healin' Good ❤ Precure Touch !!."
Healin' Good Precure, Toei Animation's 17th Precure magical girl television anime series, premiered in Japan on ABC TV, TV Asahi, and their affiliates on February 2 at 8:30 a.m.
Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe said on February 27 that the government is asking elementary, junior high, and high schools to close until the end of spring break in early April to contain the spread of COVID-19. The government is also encouraging children and others to stay home and avoid large gatherings for the next few weeks. In March, venues and events such as Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea, Universal Studios Japan, Ghibli Museum, Sanrio Puro Land, Namjatown, and AnimeJapan are canceled, downscaled, or temporarily closed.
Japanese distributors have already delayed the release of such films as Shimajirō to Sora Tobu Fune (Shimajirō and the Flying Ship), Eiga Doraemon: Nobita no Shin Kyoryū, (Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's New Dinosaur), Gekijō-ban Ultraman Taiga: New Gene Climax (Ultraman Taiga The Movie: New Generation Climax), Onward, Dolittle, Sonic the Hedgehog, Little Women, No Time to Die, Mulan, and Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway.
The first reported cases of COVID-19 were in Wuhan, China in December, and then the disease began to spread in varying rates and intensities across many parts of the globe through incubation in human hosts. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a world health emergency on January 30, and announced on Wednesday that it is classifying the outbreak as a pandemic. As of Friday, the WHO reported that there are 132,758 infected individuals worldwide, including 51,767 outside China. 4,955 individuals have died from the disease, including 1,775 outside China.
As of Friday, the WHO reported that Japan has 675 cases of COVID-19 with 19 deaths. These numbers do not include the number of cases from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Yokohama. That cruise ship had 696 infected passengers with seven deaths.
Source: Press release, Eiga Precure Miracle Leap: Minna to Fushigi na 1-nichi film's website
