Despite our shared love for anime, we often fail to recognize the immense effort and dedication that goes into producing these animations. The alluring art style, charming characters, and enthralling scenes are all contributing factors to its popularity. Nevertheless, the process of creating these animations involves a considerable amount of pain and hard work that often goes unnoticed.
Despite its widespread popularity, the Japanese anime industry is plagued by numerous dark secrets that are often kept hidden. Many animators are forced to work tirelessly without any breaks, only to receive meager compensation and suffer from mental health issues.
Look Back Anime Director Revealed His Tight Work Schedule
Look Back is an upcoming anime film that follows the story of a young elementary school student with a natural ability for creating manga. The movie is scheduled to debut in Japanese theaters on June 28, but it will have an early premiere on June 1 at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
The movie director, Kiyotaka Oshiyama, revealed that he had been diligently working on the film until the day before its early premiere and had not taken a single day off for more than 2 months.
‘Look Back’ movie director Kiyotaka Oshiyama revealed that he had been working on the movie until yesterday, one day before the early premiere today and hasn’t left the office in over 2 months byu/Freidehr inanime
Despite the tight deadline, the director did not have the opportunity to go home and rest. Fans are unsure whether to label it as dedication or simply poor working conditions.
Despite some believing he has been solely responsible for all his efforts and pushing himself to his maximum capacity, others view him as devoted and enthusiastic towards his work and putting in hard work.
Comment byu/Freidehr from discussionanimated
Comment byu/Freidehr from discussionanimated
Despite the director’s silence on whether he was compelled to work overtime, it is common for Japanese animators, like him, to face difficulties with their work conditions. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident.
Studios with Reported Poor Work Conditions
MAP
Despite being the largest anime studio in the Japanese industry, MAPPA has faced criticism for the treatment of its animators. While the studio has produced acclaimed works such as Jujutsu Kaisen and Attack on Titan, the animators responsible for bringing these stories to life have reportedly been subjected to a toxic work environment, with low pay and excessive workloads.
The animators reported that MAPPA has a tendency to overwork their staff, resulting in them having to work through the night to fix drawings until sunrise. In 2022, the episode director and animator for AOT gained notoriety for tweeting that he was unable to leave work for three consecutive days.
The place I’m at now is basically messy and not worth it, so if you want to work hard, you’d better not get involved. It might be a good place if you want to do things casually and get paid casually. On the other hand, it’s messy, but there are plenty of opportunities and they’re doing some noteworthy works, so it might be good for newcomers to make a name for themselves. But it seems like it’s best not to get involved if you want to work hard.
— Mo (@vflmsppe) September 30, 2023
The place I’m at now is basically messy and not worth it, so if you want to work hard, you’d better not get involved. It might be a good place if you want to do things casually and get paid casually. On the other hand, it’s messy, but there are plenty of opportunities and they’re doing some noteworthy works, so it might be good for newcomers to make a name for themselves. But it seems like it’s best not to get involved if you want to work hard.
During the middle of JJK season 2, tensions rose as numerous animators came forward to confirm that MAPPA was pressuring them to complete a substantial workload for minimal compensation.
It was in episode 14 that the animation quality took a noticeable downturn, which proved to be a turning point. Despite requesting a delay, they were ultimately denied. This resulted in episode 17 being released with only 30% of the animation completed.
Madhouse
A production assistant working at Madhouse, an anime production company affiliated with Nippon Television Network Corporation known for “Summer Wars” and “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time,” has joined the Black Company Union, seeking unpaid overtime wages, improvements to long working hours, and an apology for power harassment by staff. Today, we requested collective bargaining! pic.twitter.com/YhtI62W2J7
— Shohei Sakakura @ “Adult Bullying” (Kodansha Gendai Shinsho) / General Support Union / NPO POSSE (@magazine_posse) April 5, 2019
A production assistant working at Madhouse, an anime production company affiliated with Nippon Television Network Corporation, known for such works as “Summer Wars” and “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time,” has joined the Black Company Union, seeking unpaid overtime wages, improvements to long working hours, and an apology for power harassment by staff. Today, we have requested collective bargaining!
Although Madhouse is well-known for producing popular anime such as One Punch Man and Death Note, the studio is not exempt from facing criticism for its poor working conditions, much like MAPPA.
The animators reported that they were required to work overtime for approximately 393 hours without receiving any compensation. Furthermore, they faced harassment and mistreatment when they were unable to meet the project deadline. The intense pressure and heavy workload resulted in one of the animators being hospitalized.
Conclusion
Despite the anime industry’s record profits, the working conditions for animators have seen little improvement. In Japan, while job security is stable, it remains challenging for animators to change jobs.
In this society, there is a prevalent culture of working excessively, and failure to do so can lead to mistreatment. The unyielding nature of this system requires transformation, but achieving this in a rigid society can be difficult.
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