Anime Industry Finished? Anonymous comment from a former employee

An anonymous comment from a former anime industry worker in Japan was recently shared on the Hatelabo service’s comment forum. In his comment, herevealed all the problems that exist, noting that ” currently the anime industry is finished “

Being an anonymous comment, it took the opportunity to reveal all the dark truths that exist within the anime industry that very few are willing to tell. He talks about quitting his job in the anime industry saying that the anime industry is not only in decline but over and that anyone trying to get into it now should think twice because he mentions that there is no money to be made. Even though all the anime marketing exists, the so-called “production committees” are the ones that take most of the money and the animation studio only earns what the committee gives them.

He also mentions that the money that is earned with original anime is very limited, although it is the best option since the original property belongs to the animation studio, so all the products derived from the anime are from the studio, this is like “earning an extra ” Kimetsu no Yaiba” mangaka Koyoharu Gotouge receives part of the money the anime earns for being the author.

So is it best to make your own original anime? Many might think that, but the truth is that they don’t care about original anime. No one pays attention until it is broadcast. Making an anime is more expensive since the scripts must be prepared by the studio’s employees, and this often does not give a guarantee that these expenses can be covered in the future. And then if the original anime fails, that’s the end.

In his animation work, he mentions that he sometimes called other companies in his industry, but when he looked in the company’s phone book, he saw that many of them were already bankrupt. Of 10 animation companies, at least one of them will have disappeared.

There are a lot of small animation companies and it’s a time when streaming distribution is at its peak. Physical distribution does not sell well so we have no choice but to go for original works, which are not very profitable even if they are successful, but can generate some income just for the studio .

He also mentions that he is now working on several well-known titles for various companies, but the reality is not that different everywhere. Naturally, the production process is exhausting and animation is a job that is made up of animators who do the drawings and illustrations, but are paid a ridiculous salary to start with.

He says that people in this environment usually earn about 250 yen for each painting they make, so doing calculations, how long does it normally take to draw a man or a girl dressed and talking? If it were done by an amateur, he wouldn’t be able to draw a decent line even if he spent an hour. But if you do eight frames in eight hours a day, 250 x 8 would be 2,000 yen (almost $13)

“It’s a salary that would make a konbini worker laugh” since they earn 800 to 1,000 yen an hour. With the rent, and often without social assistance or insurance paid by the company, it is difficult for them to make ends meet.

“A lot of the paintings and illustrations must be of very good quality. If you spend a whole day on just a few paintings, maybe they’ll give you a few thousand yen but it’s still not much. So what should you do? Get out. “

He also mentions that those who managed to overcome all this hard and painful work of this process became animation directors or project directors and may already earn a little more.

Currently there are no people willing to do this so there is no budget because there is no prospect of making money. You can’t get good people without a budget, so a few good people waste their time fixing bad guys’ drawings and leave the industry when they get fed up . This is the current state of the animation industry.

He also mentions that the managers have already abandoned the idea of ​​training the staff and if the cartoonists leave they just say “Replace them”. Kyoto Animation by a man who accused the studios of plagiarizing his works.

And he says goodbye saying that for his part he resigns and that he will return to being a normal person. “Let only the crazy ones stay working in that hell. Yes, this is “the proud Japanese animation”. When you’ve been through there, you can only laugh about it. I think the experience is valuable, but I don’t recommend it. Think twice if you want to get in here.”