Kyoto animation’s Violet Evergarden: The Movie film project opening has been delayed due to the ongoing coronavirus fears in Japan, the official website of the movie revealed on Monday. The movie does not have a new release date set as of now.

This is the second delay taking place in the release of the Violet Evergarden film. It was originally slated for release on January 10, 2020, and then got delayed to April 24, 2020. 

【ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン】
この度、2020年4月24日(金)より公開を予定しておりました『劇場版 #ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン』につきまして、公開日を延期することを決定いたしました。作品の公開を楽しみにお待ち頂いていた皆様には深くお詫び申し上げます。https://t.co/QDCgNDXGMu https://t.co/ac88UJu6Zo

— 京都アニメーション (@kyoani) April 6, 2020

“Following the announcement by the Government of Japan following the spread of the new coronavirus infectious disease in Japan, after careful consideration, it was decided to postpone the release date. We sincerely apologize to all those who have been looking forward to the release of the work,” the message on the official website read. The new date of release will be soon announced on the official website.

The news about the delay comes after earlier announcements that Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe intended to declare a nation wide state of emergency in Japan in order to control the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country. The declaration would primarily target the metropolitan areas of Japan namely Tokyo, Osaka etc.

A separate movie, titled  Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memories Doll (based on Violet Evergarden Gaiden: Eien to Jidō Shuki Ningyō) was released last September in Japan and ran for five weeks, earning more than 640 million yen. The movie was released on Netflix on April 2nd. 

Violet Evergarden is an adaptation of author Kana Akatsuki and illustrator Akiko Takase’s Violet Evergarden novels. The story follows Violet Evergarden’s journey of reintegrating back into society after the war is over and her search for her life’s purpose now that she is no longer a soldier in order to understand the last words her major, Gilbert, had told her: “I love you.”