Toei Animation abruptly postponed the season three finale of the World Trigger anime series. The episode was initially scheduled for 1:30 a.m. Japan Time on January 16, 2022. Toei put the airing on hold after the Japan Meteorological Agency issued tsunami warnings earlier in the night. Toei will update fans on the situation at a later date. [Thanks, ryokutya]
An underwater volcano off of the coast of the Pacific island nation of Tonga erupted at around 5 p.m. local time on January 15, 2022. While initially reported as harmless, the eruption formed a tsunami that made its way towards the Japanese coast. The JMA warned that the tsunami could create waves as high as three meters tall, and urged coastal residents to evacuate.
A tidal surge of approximately 1.2 meters was recorded at Amami Island at 11:55 p.m. Japan Time. The JMA later downgraded these warnings to advisories, but as many as 220,000 people evacuated across eight prefectures. Fortunately, there are no reports of tsunami-related casualties or injuries.
During this time, many networks postponed television broadcasts in order to prioritize breaking news alerts. This included Asahi TV, the channel on which World Trigger airs. 23 minutes after the planned broadcast time, the official World Trigger anime Twitter account announced that it would postpone the airing of the season finale. Crunchyroll later followed with an announcement that it would also delay its airing of the show.
Due to special programming in Japan covering the volcanic activity in Tonga, World Trigger episode 14 has been delayed. The new broadcast date will be shared once available.
— Crunchyroll (@Crunchyroll) January 15, 2022
On a similar note, Japanese elections recently delayed the fourth episode of Demon Slayer‘s Mugen Train arc. The episode aired a week after its original planned airing date.
Toei Animation will update fans on when the World Trigger finale will air via Twitter and its official website. At the time of writing, there is no confirmed return date.
