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Every year, the anime industry tantalizes fans with announcements of new, exciting projects. Yet, aficionados of the genre are all too familiar with a notable omission: the release date. It’s become almost routine for anime titles to linger for years after their initial reveal, leaving fans to wonder when—or if—they will ever see the light of day. In the most disappointing scenarios, enthusiasm dwindles to the point of despair as patience goes unrewarded.
Creating an anime is a complex endeavor fraught with challenges. Fans are seldom privy to the intricate details of a series’ production journey. Delays are inevitable, financial issues abound, and the creative teams often face burnout. These hurdles have become so commonplace that even beloved franchises find themselves stuck in the dreaded development limbo. While announcements for adaptations of well-loved series like Akira and Genshin Impact bring excitement, the question remains whether these projects will eventually make it to our screens.
In this climate of anticipation and uncertainty, the anime adaptation of Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint was unveiled by Aniplex and Crunchyroll at Anime Expo 2024. The announcement came at a time when another Korean web novel turned anime, Solo Leveling, was capturing audiences’ attention. However, despite their shared origins, the narratives diverge significantly. Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint introduces us to Kim Dokja, an ordinary, somewhat disillusioned office worker. For years, he has been the sole reader of a niche web novel, Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World, a story that unexpectedly intersects with his reality.
Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Has All the Ingredients To Be a Must-Watch Hit
The announcement of the Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint anime by Aniplex and Crunchyroll came during Anime Expo 2024, right at the time another Korean web novel/webtoon anime adaptation, Solo Leveling, was at the peak of its popularity. However, despite their similar origins, the two series can hardly be compared. Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint follows the story of Kim Dokja, an ordinary and unfulfilled office worker who, for many years, has been the sole reader of a web novel titled Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World.
However, on the day the novel’s epilogue was set to release, reality turns into the world of Kim Dokja’s favorite story. As the only person aware of how the entire tale pans out, Kim Dokja decides to do whatever it takes to give his favorite characters the ending he wanted to see. In Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, thrilling urban fantasy storytelling merges with endlessly captivating worldbuilding and poignant, emotionally complex character work. And, if Kim Dokja’s story were to receive a faithful, completed adaptation, it has every chance to become a modern masterpiece.
Nonetheless, following the anime’s announcement, no updates followed. Even the studio that will handle the series has yet to be unveiled, making fans nervous, particularly in light of the 2025 live-action adaptation of Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, which has severely disappointed fans. Yet, hope is hardly lost for the Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint anime adaptation, and it’s unlikely to be fully abandoned — just delayed.
A New Akira Reboot Feels More Unlikely Every Year
1988’s Akira is rightfully revered as a masterwork of Japanese cyberpunk and one of the best anime films in the medium’s history. Even close to four decades after the movie’s premiere, it remains beloved and influential, withstanding the passage of time as a brilliant, one-of-a-kind gem of high-quality traditional animation, superb direction, and timelessly impactful storytelling. Considering Akira’s legacy, it’s not surprising that plans were made to expand the film into a bigger, more ambitious franchise.
Unfortunately, few of them ever bore fruit. Rumors of an Akira anime series have been circulating for multiple decades, and the closest fans got to an actual confirmation of this highly anticipated project was during Anime Expo 2019, when an adaptation by Studio Sunrise and Akira’s original creator, Katsuhiro Otomo, was announced. Otomo wasn’t just the director of the acclaimed Akira movie – he also wrote the source material manga back in 1982, which the series was set to adapt.
Differing from the film quite a bit, the manga is a significantly more thorough and in-depth version of the story, with the movie having to cut a lot of material out due to time constraints. An anime series would’ve been the perfect format to bring this version of Akira to life. However, after six years of virtually no news about the projects, most fans accepted that a new Akira anime is not happening.
Ufotable Hasn’t Given Up on the Genshin Impact Anime Project
Gaming fans were overjoyed when the collaboration between HoYoverse’s hit game Genshin Impact and Studio Ufotable was first announced back in 2022. Genshin Impact’s rich open world and engrossing, multifaceted storyline made it an excellent contender for an anime adaptation. And, with Ufotable, a studio known to produce nothing but top-notch anime adaptations, at the helm, fans didn’t have to worry about the anime’s quality.
The announcement was accompanied by a short concept teaser, which immediately made the project feel tangible. However, updates on the Genshin Impact anime, let alone a release date, didn’t follow, and the project was seemingly shelved for the foreseeable future. While some fans have started to get worried that the anime was quietly canceled, most assumed the delays were prompted by Ufotable’s substantial workload. After all, the studio was simultaneously handling the long-running Demon Slayer adaptation, and Ufotable isn’t known to take multiple big projects at a time.
Thankfully, just a few weeks back, the Genshin Impact fanbase was rewarded for their patience. In the recently released promotion reel, which highlighted Ufotable’s upcoming projects, Genshin Impact’s Travelers made a brief appearance, bringing the anime adaptation back into the spotlight. However, fans shouldn’t expect the Genshin Impact anime to air any time soon, given that Ufotable currently has its hands full with the Demon Slayer movies and doesn’t have a lot of resources to spare.
Girls’ Work Is the Lost Anime Fans Are Still Heartbroken Over
Another Ufotable anime that, unlike Genshin Impact, is unlikely to ever see the light of day, Girls’ Work is a project that has been causing fans heartache for nearly two decades. Girls’ Work was initially announced by Type-Moon, a company known for such projects as the Fate series and Tsukihime, back in 2008. It was supposed to be an all-ages visual novel set in Shinjuku, or a mysterious version of it that has, seemingly, merged with the city of Paris.
In 2010, however, Girls’ Work changed formats from a game to an anime series produced by Studio Ufotable, which had a history of adapting Type-Moon’s works. The studio’s president, Hikaru Kondo, described the project as dynamic but extremely challenging. Yet, at the time, it didn’t appear so difficult as to never turn into an actual anime. With character designs, story outline, setting, and even partial production staff already announced, Girls’ Work seemed only a few steps away from coming to life.
Nonetheless, years passed without any updates on Girls’ Work. Both Ufotable and Type-Moon have moved on to different projects, while the announced series was forgotten by everyone save for diehard fans. In 2026, 18 years after Girls’ Work was initially announced, it’s safe to assume that the series has been shelved for good, even though it was never officially canceled by either Ufotable or Type-Moon.
Uru in Blue Is Likely to Never Be Completed
Uru in Blue’s production history is, perhaps, the most complicated of all the “lost anime” that never got out of the development hell. Uru in Blue was meant to be a sequel to Gainax’s ambitious but questionably successful 1987 film Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise, its concept pitched during a very prolific period in the studio’s history. Royal Space Force’s director, Hiroyuki Yamaga, was in charge of the script, while the film’s direction was meant to be handled by Hideaki Anno (who had yet to create his hit magnum opus, Neon Genesis Evangelion at the time).
The project entered development in the early ‘90s, yet didn’t have much to show for it, only a partial script, some concept art, and nothing to speak of in terms of a secured budget. So, Uru in Blue was first put on hold in 1993, yet that was hardly the end of this long-winded saga. Over the years, Gainax made multiple attempts to start the work on Uru in Blue backup. False starts were announced, more information about Uru in Blue was revealed, the movie’s staff changed, yet nothing substantial ever came of this tumultuous production.
News about Uru in Blue surfaced as recently as 2022, and, at the time, the movie was still considered to be in production. In 2025, Studio Gainax was officially dissolved, and the rights to their projects, including Uru in Blue, were transferred to Hideaki Anno’s Studio Khara. While it doesn’t confirm Uru in Blue’s definitive cancellation, the film now has less than a ghost of a chance of ever being completed.