After suffering a delay in December 2020 as a result of costume imitation issues, Tokyo Babylon 2021‘s current production has now been cancelled following an investigation that unearthed even more plagiarism cases.
An update provided on the anime’s website announced that the plagiarism incident had caused the production committee to lose trust in Tokyo Babylon 2021‘s current animation production company. Because of that, the production committee felt that that it would not be possible for the anime’s production to continue. An apology was also issued in the update.
However, plans for the making of the anime have not been abandoned, with the update also revealing that Tokyo Babylon 2021‘s production will receive a fresh start. There was no announcement yet on which animation production company will take over.
An adaptation of the manga series by CLAMP, Tokyo Babylon 2021 was first announced in October 2020 and was originally set to release in April 2021. GoHands, which the update did not directly name, was in charge of the animation production, with the staff including Shingo Suzuki (K series, Handshakers, W’z) and Susumu Kudou (Mardock Scramble trilogy) as co-directors, Jun Kumagai (Persona4 the Golden ANIMATION) as series composer, and Makoto Furuta (Seitokai Yakuindomo) as character designer.
The plagiarism incident stemmed from the discovery that some character costumes were referenced from outside sources without permission, resulting in the aforementioned delay and the establishment of a “compliance team.” On December 5, 2020, Anime News Network reported that the Tokyo Babylon 2021 staff had apologized for referencing costume designs for characters Subaru and Hokuto Sumeragi from outside sources without permission. According to ANN, the staff also took down all images and videos from the anime’s website and announced that the costume designs would be changed immediately.
Source: Tokyo Babylon 2021 website
