Chinese Studio Huahan Working 'Intensively' on New Naruto Animation, Official Update Reveals

A local government website in China provided an unexpected production update this week, confirming that Huahan (Dongying) Animation Co., Ltd. is currently handling outsourced animation work for both the Naruto and One Piece franchises. The official post from Lijin County emphasized that the local animation house is pushing hard to meet tight deadlines on these high-profile projects.

Huahan operates out of the Lijin Data (Content) Industrial Park and is noted as the first South Korean-funded entity established there. The studio specializes in outsourcing for Japanese and Korean clients, employing over 100 staff, including animators, colorists, and original artists who utilize high-end production technology.

This confirmation lends weight to circulating promotional material reportedly showing assets for the upcoming One Piece remake, which is known to be staffed by WIT Studio this year. What exactly Huahan is animating for the Naruto franchise remains unconfirmed at the time of reporting.

Fans are immediately speculating whether this work relates to the long-delayed 20th-anniversary specials. Studio Pierrot announced these four anniversary episodes back in 2022, intending them to cover young Naruto and Team 7’s early missions for a 2023 release. However, the specials were indefinitely postponed due to quality control issues.

Alternatively, the outsourced work might involve animation for Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, the follow-up manga series to the 293-episode Boruto: Naruto Next Generations anime, which concluded last year.

Outsourcing animation tasks to Chinese studios like Huahan is increasingly common for major Japanese franchises, especially given Studio Pierrot's heavy commitments to ongoing series such as Black Clover and BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War. While this leak from a local government source offers a glimmer of hope following the extended silence on the anniversary special hold-up, no concrete release window or specific project confirmation has been provided yet.