Kyoto Animation Studios did a great step forwards by paying their animators not by frame, but on a monthly fixed salary. And as we can see from Fumoffu! Clannad, Lucky Star and Kobayashi-san chi no maid dragon, it is too everyone's benefit. Also, Full Metal Alchemist is brilliant^^
Great point, though I would also mention the Kyoto Animation Awards as another reason why KyoAni continues to make successful anime. The most notable anime out there being Violet Evergarden who actually won one of these awards. I can't believe it has been nearly three years since the arson. I hope the survivors on that fateful day are recovering from the trauma they suffered and that the arsonist gets what he deserves for what he did.
I hear there's also an issue with merchandising too. When it comes to products and merch from an anime like figures and other goods, the team behind the anime doesn't see a lot of money from that. Just producers and the companies who make the merch themselves. I don't know for sure though. Only what I heard.
This can often be true. The best example you can identify is how sometimes the artstyle used in merch can be wildly different. This is bc they often subcontract artists outside the main project to do them, who only earn money from the contract of making the work. So, this leaves the artists in general out of the money loop. Of course, this is not always the case.
@@EvanTomiko At least is what they tell you, cause Saint Seiya for example, it was Bandai financing the animation to be a propaganda of their "cloth myths".
Common practice in industries in general. Working the folks who actually make the stuff to exhaustion while the folks who make the money are big execs. Not just anime and Games, either
"No matter how successful the anime is. The profit is not paid back to the production company or animators (and only to the investors)." Wait... What?! Investors should be paid last. They should pay their employees first before paying themselves.
You cant compare how Disney treats their animators to how Japan does, a budget for a entire season in Japan is the same as just 1 episode in USA. (And also who animates the show usually arent animators that live in USA in a lot of times they make people from other companies that are overseas to animate the show)
yes most of their history the animators were mainly young men, the women only did the tracing parts. they recently found a rejection letter that was sent to Disney by a young woman wanting to be part of the animation art school they had at the time
Hi Shogo! I'm a Manga Instructor over at Japan Society NY and I am really happy you touched upon this issue regarding the anime industry in Japan. Speaking as a manga artist, we really don't get paid what we work for(be it lining up jobs or drawing)and I do hope your proposals to improve animators' livelihood is taken into consideration from the higher ups🙏 We must see reform happen not just in anime, but also in manga. Thank You for bringing this issue into light on your channel!
It really didn't help the fact that ironically, the "father of anime" Osamu Tezuka (creator of Tetsuwan Atomu/Astro Boy), may have started this to snowball to what it is today... He was extremely inspired by Disney with his artwork and when given the opportunity to animate his own creations, he was gleeful enough to want to do it out of passion for the art and therefore accepted the meager pay he was initially offered. This unfortunately very likely started the standard of animators being paid table scraps as the seiyuu (voice actors) are paid handsomely in comparison as if they were akin to Hollywood actors... and also, ironically, this is the exact reverse of western animation where animators are paid a little better, but voice actors are paid poorly (especially in anime dubbing). I do like the idea of added income using crowdfunding as a method, though I imagine it ultimately depends on the popularity of the series and how much fans can afford to pitch in considering the economy worldwide. Also selling original art assets has been a thing for decades where original pencil sketches, character/prop references, as well as background paintings and animation cells (when it was the standard before digital took over) have been seen sold online, I can however imagine them still being sold to fans as an extension of their merchandising to help with the costs of animation production (better still if the money goes to the original artists of the art that were sold, but that's wishful thinking). I honestly hope a massive restructuring does occur sometime soon, but I can also imagine various large animation companies shutting down as eventually independent animation teams working remotely around the world gradually take over
Make no mistake, for actually, even the most famous/successful of seiyuus can often struggle financially and have to work side jobs to complete their months.
Seiyuus are also struggling as well. I recall an anime fan in Japan telling how Mai Nakahara took a part-time job at a bakery because she have not gotten a role in a season. There is a reason you see them running as radio hosts or other live shows.
I'm grateful for the hard work of all the people who produce anime. However, I agree that things must change so that those people don't have to burn themselves out working.
Right! I feel this is sort of a paradoxical problem when addressing about those who are within the industry, and those who are looking in. Sometimes cynicism can take the investment of labour for granted. That's why I love that Shojo provides solutions in his videos.
@@MiguelThinks I think that we're all looking at the results of hard work and admiring just that. However, the animators put so much effort in their work that it's truly admirable.
@@truck6859 anime is incredible. I love this form of entertainment. However, I do not believe that real people should be sacrificed for it. Human life is invaluable.
I knew that the manga industry was difficult to work in but I hadn't considered the challenges of creating anime. I had assumed that it had become easier with the change to more work being done on computers. Very informative.
Manga are high-risk, high-return. Video games don't pay that well either, but the average wage is much higher than anime. However, anime are high risk, low return. Herein lies the biggest problem.
Manga: author makes money by people buying the collected volumes. The publiaher makes money by people buying the magazines. Games: devs makes money by being paid by the company to make the game, publisher makes money by people buying the game, and dlcs, and merchandising, so if the game hit 1m sales, the devs doesn't get any of it. Anime: you got paid for animating. The studio makes money from tv ads, and people buying the DVDs and blu rays. This is why so many people just record the animes they like on tv when it's airing, and keep it for personal use. Is it considered piracy? No, because they're not making money out of it.
computer or paper, animation in japan is still on a frame by frame animation (where they draw out every frame as needed in one-s, two-s, or three-s), CGI is still mostly look upon unkindly, or just a BG or cheap animation aid, which also result in the cheap look of those CGI models most of the time. the only better CGI animation is in mecha, which greatly helped in speeding up the process, example anime : 86 (A-1 pictures)
My dad loves anime, and insists on paying for every episode he’s ever watched through crunchyroll. I showed him this video because he didn’t know the problems that came with the anime industry. It’s the literal least we can do as consumers.
Also to supplement your view, check out a video aptly named "How Funimation became the most hated dub studio" There's a lot of funny business that occurs within this company!!
People do not get the BRUTAL work loads of animation. Cause, like. 24 frames per second for film and animation. Often 60 frames per second in games, with games with 30 frames being low. Even with the advanced technology we have? That's still lots and LOTS of grunt work. "How can it be hard, you just draw all day?" Can you draw? Can you draw high quality visuals? Realistic or otherwise? Can you draw for hours and hours all day, without making mistakes, with your bosses breathing down your neck? And that's just the beginning.
I am not sure about in Japan, but in the west? You often have to go through years and years of expensive schooling JUST to be able to do the grunt work for some big companies. That's why many try to go independent, cause at least, then, they have more control over the hours they work and the content they make.
Hello Mr. Yamaguchi, anime fan here. Personally, after the KyoAni arson attack in 2019, I feel these problems (which you have already discussed) have garnered a lot more attention and seriously need to remedied as soon as possible.
Kyoto Animation supports Sony who now censors all mediums worldwide, which made anime fans lost support for Kyoto much more than the Endless Eight. Basically, changing dialogue against the Japanese-to-English translation is a problem since it is lying to the fans about what was said and made fans think the creators support US politics when the creators do not. Ufotable is much better since they paid people better as well.
Quality over quantity. I'd rather see options for anime reduce by half or more than see many mediocre titles. I also noticed that these days, character designers are beginning to forget that while character designs with many details are beautiful, they are also NOT FRIENDLY for frame-by-frame animation. I enjoy more a character with a simple design move smoothly than a character with a complex design move choppy.
@@speedeespeedboi9527 Some 8s and 9s have mediocre/standard effects though too. The 6s below ironically havr great effects sometimes that suffer from story or adaptation. It's a mixed bad. Sometimes quality focus, sometimes quantity focus which is why we get bad shows getting adapted and too many generic isekais and they don't have great effects just standard only
It's always great to learn more about the state of working in the art business in Japan. I understand it's greatly difficult there yet I still want to migrate and work there since 2012.
I like how the anime Shirobako gave viewers an insight on how brutal the process of producing anime is. I also once saw a graphic of the annual income of everyone involved in the production, with regular animators being at the far bottom of the table while top tier seiyuus can earn over 60 times what they make, which is kind of sick if you think about it
JP voice actors are "face" of the show they starred in, so they're popular enough to get auxiliary income sources. Top Tier VA makes money through various means outside of voice acting: Concert, Live Events, and TV appearances. Animators only can make their money through drawing animation and selling "personal" artworks or do illustration on the side and that's pretty much it.
I love anime so much and pray that the anime industry gets better for the animators. 1. Bleach, Fullmetal Alchemist 2. Assassination Classroom 3. Fruits Basket. My favorite anime that came out this year is the case study of Vanitas.
Considering the problem within the anime industry, what can be done to actually improve the animators' lifestyle without costing the quality of the anime?
I think the decline of a lot quality at the cot of forced many proects to just get by shows. You get better anime with animators actually being able to care about an anime. Alo yeah more worker instad overworking that much, might help.
as an animation student myself i've seen how rooted the overworking enviroment can be even from university. i had an idea how much difficult it is to have a steady income from animation, given im my country animation an arts in general is often seen as childlish and overlooked for other careers. im sure outside sources from around the world can help the industry to find another more steady platform to keep growing. your ideas to help the industry are really interesting and if aplyed correctly they can be a game changer for an industry i see as prosperous and inspiring. one of the reasons i love Japan is that they see animation and art as something worth investing for the betterment of their culture and use it to boost their reach. i think people around the world has seen this passionate expretion of culture to the point where they can understand to some extend some tropes or manerism often used in Japan. thank you a lot for sharing this info, i was aware but not completely undesrtood
Yea I was already sleeping under my desk back in animation school, workplace toxicity is literally expected from us, it's a problem of the entire animation industry and art as a whole.
This applies not only animators but CGI designers as well! They work 12-14 hrs a day on these big budget films and dont make that much compared to studio executives and talent.
i've heard a whole studio was made to work solely on mushoku tensei and the result was stunning. Not only is it stunning, but you can see how much love was poured into it
Hello Shogo, thanks for the new video for today, I've been anime lovers ever since I was still kid but only timeskip due to non logical local shows. Turns out I didn't notice that creating anime is really depressing, and I hope some of the studios can give justice to their staff
As a Paddy living in Japan I always recommend the works of Cartoon Saloon. They are an Irish studio but their art is worthy of any anime otaku's eyes 😉
I know companies see the vast majority of their employees as disposable, but animation studios are among the scariest I've seen with that mentality with how easily they kick out and replace their personnel. As for favorite anime, the 5 I feel more or less define what are my preferences in the medium are Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, K-ON, Cowboy Bebop, Mushishi and Violet Evergarden. There's a few more I really like, but I feel those are the most important and the one that have held up the most personal attachment over the years.
When you said animation quality was declining, I felt a title bad because there are great anime like Demon Slayer that I think look beautiful, and then you said their business model was different, and it made sense. It felt a little warm in my heart. You can tell talented people work in that anime.l From the animation to the voice acting to the music. It's the product of artist that love their jobs and not some product.
Not surprised. If you're not on the top of the manga/anime industry like Oda, Kishimoto, and Isayama, you shouldn't expect yourself to make a comfortable living. Same goes for musicians and book authors too.
In any country. Most book authors to my knowledge don't earn anything in Europe, and even loose money on publications, while most musician's I've known personally, and I know a few, even resort to work in retail to survive.
Crowdfunding/local funding I would agree but international partnership is where I would draw the line without a ironclad contract Since whenever someone from other countries invest into their business they tend overstep their boundries and bring their baggage with them and force their ideas into the medium and prob reducing the appeal so if u are able to work it such that the investors are only invested in money and creative have full control should be doable.
@@alpha-boss It has become a larger issue with localization in general. Recently westerners feel the need to plant their opinions in areas where they do not belong. (Especially if the source material has its author's own statements or opinions.) There have been a few controversial dubbing and subbing jobs in the past few years that brought the issue to light. In the past, localization was usually the company of origin's doing, or it was a passion project among fans in another country. Now the market is much larger and we have many people who should absolutely not be working in an official capacity doing "official" jobs for Funimation/Crunchyroll, often contradicting the author's work or outright censoring it.
@@alpha-boss Go to netflix and look at how they have mangled original novel works like the Lord of the Rings. If they funded anime they'd do that as well.
@@alpha-boss yes but not only agenda , since they come as fans they have higher tendency to interfere with studio and since they are guys funding the project some pull is there and they might end up writing bad fanfic is what I meant. He-Man Motu is what comes to mind if u want a ex , they had powerhouse work on it brillant animation and all but exec meddled in story ruining it for the old fans thats what I meant.
@@alpha-boss ah let me clarify on that I meant crowdfunded locally by jp natives not internationally that why I had mentioned crowdfunding and local funding together and international separate As for the other reply, ideally yes no one should be able to control the creatives but western side has one rule "one with money makes the rules and direction" that's why I was and am worried about external investment in any countries business.
Thank you again for another great video Shogo! It is so refreshing to see someone out there who is able to both give leveled criticism of their culture while still being able to fully love their culture.
Thank you for bringing attention to the plight of animators in Japan. I already knew that manga was a brutal industry. It makes me wonder if any big problems are underlying my other favorite bits of Japanese pop culture. Like tokusatsu TV shows for example.
The physically destructive journey that comes with animators and writers could most likely explain the reason for Morosawa Chiaki-san's illness during the airing of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny... It saddens me to see such brutality being the extent of others' entertainment.
They produce so many new shows each season most of which are bad and don’t do well, they need to reduce the amount of new shows produced each season by at least half to reduce the work load or else the whole of industry will collapse.
I am also a Big anime fan and I also just finished Assaination Classroom. I respect animators a lot I really hope that animators working conditions get better and they get credits and more salary. Its funny coming from 15yrs old but still.❤️
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Thanks for the video, I had already heard about this problem in the anime industry, but several details that escaped my knowledge were clarified. It's really hard to pick a personal anime top 3... so I'll give you my top 3 for decades: 1990-1999: 1. Neon Genesis Evangelion 2. Rurouni Kenshin 3. Saber Marionette J 2000-2009: 1.Bleach 2. Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood 3.Naruto 2010-2019: 1. Shingeki No Kyojin 2. Mob Psycho 100 3. Golden Kamuy It was quite difficult to make that list, since I had to leave out great works like Dragon Ball Z, One Punch Man, Death Note, Inuyasha, Hunter x Hunter, Vinland Saga, Haikyū, etc... But if I include all the ones that liked it would easily make a top 100 😂
I’m so grateful for Japanese anime,if it wasn’t for their hard work we wouldn’t have these great shows! My favorite shows right now are demon slayer and spy x family 😍
As an artist who have been invested heavily into Animation culture in Japan, I get so happy when people shine a light on this topic. Also educating me in the process!
Thank you for making a video on this topic and doing the research. Western fans of anime (even those who claim to be very knowledgeable and care a lot about the industry) will often spread misinformation simply because they "heard it from somewhere". I think it's a mixture of 1: Language Barriers, and 2: There are a lot of Rage-Baiting TH-camrs who have garnered themselves their very own cult of personalities. Their viewers are then inclined to believe what they have to say, and don't bother looking into it further. I know that you're speaking the truth, because what you said already lines up with what I've learned from the Animator Dormitory Project, and reading unbiased reports from reputable journalists. Anime has such a long and rich history and so far what you talked about in this video already checks out with the established timeline. It seems the anime industry is still reeling from the unsustainable workflow from the 1960's.
I watched some anime during my elementary and middle school years, but didn't really fall in love with it until college, primarily after watching Akira and Ghost in the Shell for the first time. The later got me hooked on stuff like Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and so much more. My brother and I have been really enjoying Demon Slayer as of late, and as an motorsport enthusiast, I absolutely love Initial D. The combination of action packed racing and interesting character dynamics makes it a very entertaining watch.
I'm an animation student graduating from college this Saturday (hello from Boston) and I heard about the working conditions for Japanese animators, I love their work and I hope that working conditions will be improved and there will be higher pay. I'm into 3D animation/3D work, I'm still learning and working on my skills. I am inspired by video games and movies growing up. Animation takes a lot of work especially if there's lots of details involved.
Thank you so much for making a video on this topic!!!! As an artist i really appreciate when people speak out for the ones in the industry, they are working so hard and deserve so much more❤
Very interesting video. I wish the solution will be followed more and the system will eventually change for the better... Bakuman showed quite well how the manga industry also stresses out and overworks the mangaka as well.
The animation industry here in the states is very hard to get into. Many don’t make it far while others do. Many toxic people run things sadly and makes the art of animation a living nightmare. I hope things get better soon for everyone
This is really interesting. I just finished taking a class on the history of cinema for a humanities credit, and I can't help but notice the similarities between this situation, and Hollywood in the 30s and 90s. In the 1930s, production costs skyrocketed with the introduction of sound and color. This lead to smaller studios going bankrupt, and getting bought out by larger ones. This was eventually fixed in two ways: the big studios eventually gained enough market share that economies of scale made them viable again, and color/sound technology became cheaper. in the 90s, profit margins dropped again, this time due to the rise of the big-budget blockbuster, as well as increasingly expensive special effects. The solution this time was for production companies to create a split in the division of funds between high budget, low risk films, and low budget, high risk films. This era also saw the rise of production companies which specialize in low budget productions, such as Miramax. I think the 1990s approach would be more relevant to today's anime industry, as I don't see animation becoming significantly cheaper anytime soon. Plus, the consolidation of studios in the 30s lead to some serious corporate censorship (the Motion Picture Production Code/Hays Code), and I don't think anyone wants that happening again.
This video was a great insight to the dark underbelly of the anime industry, something I still love watching since childhood but also acknowledging the terrible work environment. Will be helpful in researching the marketing perspective, as well as proposing a human centric work environment.
Here's an idea for crowdfunding. Put in a small investment into making a manga of the intended anime production. Make the manga available on the crowdfunding platform. But the hook is to only make the first couple of chapters as a manga. If the people who read it like it and want to see how it continues, they need to donate to the crowdfund. After the budget goals are reached, production of the manga into an anime is underway. And the production will also make episodes of the manga chapters that was released prior. I think the fans will be able to judge by reading a manga if they would like to see it being turned into animation or not, so it's easy for the production teams to see which projects would become hits and which might not be worth the invested time and effort.
Many US animator jobs have been shipped to Asian countries for cheaper labor and so, that high pay rate in US is deceiving. I think a lot of professional artists are struggling these days with low pay and long hours.
As an animator for Disney's shows such as Big Hero 6 and Ducktales, the pay rate's so low for each feet length of footage that I now work a second job in customer support to make ends meet
Hi Shogo, I for one really love to see and hear your take on Japanese culture as a whole and your inside takes on the many facets of daily life and cultural interaction throughout your time living and working in Japan. Keep up the great work for as long as you can physically because we as a community truly love your videos and takes on all things Japanese. We all hope your health stabilizes and you can live a long and happy life Shogo and thank you for everything you do to continually put out these videos.
I'm so glad your channel is growing I remember watching you when you first started and hoping you'd get your "15 minuets of fame" so to speak, and I hope you continue growing at this rate for the foreseeable future. Thanks for entertaining and educating us all. Much love shogo 🖤 also your videos have helped me through some very hard times lately and I look forward to your uploads ✌️
My favorite anime is Yuri on ice. It came out in 2017. The production committee was planning to release a movie in 2019 but the release date keeps being pushed back. A lot of fans are complaining and I was quite frustrated too. But after watching this video, I feel so terrible that we've been demanding them for the new movie/second season when they are in such poor working conditions and receive meager pay. Next time if I see someone in the fandom complaining about it, I will educate them on this matter too so the fandom is more supportive of the creative community.
Same thing is happening in Western comics, too! As a story-teller myself, thank you so much for explaining this and for shedding light on the state of anime.
Amazing video as always, Shogo! I was not aware of the issues facing animators in Japan! It makes me respect those dedicated teams even more! To answer, my top five Anime are: 0. Akira 1. Serial Experiments: Lain 2. Neon Genesis Evangelion [of course] 3. Jojo's Bizarre Adventure 4. Gunsmith Cats 5. Excel Saga
Hi, Shogo, nice to see you. Your point on the anime industry in Japan is strong and interesting as always. Oh, and my favourite anime is Neon Genesis Evangelion. The esthetic of this anime I love especially.
Great video Shogo! I came to enjoy anime later in life. I started with DB with my husband. We enjoy DB, One Punch Man, Hunter x Hunter and my fav One Piece.
This is very true as the demand in the Animation industry is steadily increasing, especially Japanese Anime. It has also gotten to the point where companies host career open days every year to new graduates animators. But because of the high demand, the competition is very strong not just for animators looking for jobs but for Companies trying to make more money than the other companies. . This can take a toll on some companies and animation staff working for them, in which does lead to a lot of problems. Luckily, there are smaller companies that do grow a lot simply because they went the more modern route and start exposing themselves to newer technology and ideas. I am fortunate enough to work for a small thriving video production company as a 3D Artist that is very open to new ideas and can openly share their creativity with other artists. The company offers freedom to their animators and artists that allows them to do more and express their creativity more. Yes, I do experience small structural problem that I don't think I can say, but it is to the point where it just doesn't effect me at all. Also, all I can say is that the offer I got is way more than the average I can get in the country I live in. So yes, majority of some Animation companies do have structural problems that can create harsh environments on animators and artist, but if smaller or modern companies can grow simply because of going the modern route, then any company who is willing to adapt can do so also. It is not a simple solution, but it is a much better solution fixing than sticking to the old ways.
Thank you for touching on this subject! I'm a freelance animator and I've always wanted to work on an anime that I can have fun on, but I already animate for western companies and I'm overworked so I can't even imagine what it would be like animating for an anime production T_T
Even knowing that I miss out on a lot of jokes due to the cultural and language barrier, no show has made me happier or more emotional than Gintama. I adore it with all my heart.
That explains a lot, when I was young I was blown away by japanese animation because my first contact was with it was with animes like Ghost in the Shell SAC, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Lain, .hack//SIGN and Cowboy Bebop; say what you will about the quality but those were very experimental and creative animations, now that you mention how many companies need to invest to produce an anime I can clearly picture a lot of suits that don't care about animation but have to make safe bets to get their money back, resulting in tons of 12 episodes average at best animations, and making some choices that to the consumer make no sense, what they did to Berserk in 2016-2017 was baffling, that had the potential to become a bigger phenomenon than Shingeki no Kyojin and Kimetsu no Yaiba combined if they hadn't made it unwatchable.
Nah Berserk cannot become more popular than Kny simply because of demographics. Kny's popularity ranges from children, teens and adults. I doubt berserk could even attract the younger demographic given how brutal it is.
We need to make a global union that protects all kinds of animators and creators in general. As hard as that would be it would protect people in many of those kind of industries.
That is why Kyoto Animation stands out as the best working environment to work with.They take on limited number of shows without overwork.They gave workers more benefits and they were paid actual salaries.I hope other studios follow these examples because the anime industry is getting worse and worse.Look at One Punch Man and Seven Deadly Sins.The second season has a terrible production schedule.Deen's SDS also suffered from that fate.
And also AoT.From what I have researched on Sakuga Brasil,they have a lot of production issues behind the scenes.It's just now that MAPPA has already overworked their employees to the point to where they quit and give up just like Mushiyo who hated working four shows at the same time.CloverWorks did that as well with WEP and Tokyo 24th Ward.Liden Films also,Madhouse and J.C STAFF and almost every other animation studios besides KyoAni and ufotable.
Anime should be put again in a risky state of production because animators deserved a lot of rest and breaks.After all, this is the most grueling thing to work with.
And also let them do in house animation not outsourcing to other companies.Let the other studios have their own training school to solve this issue of animator shortage and improve working conditions.
Your intro sounds like every corporate/freelance job in general. Work loads increasing, salaries/pay decreasing, min/maxing employee hires, work until you die because retirement is a maybe syndrome. I'm not even an animator and I really felt your intro statement here in America. Meanwhile, C-Suite staff seems to be making salaries and bonuses in the hundreds of thousands or millions.
I've been watching anime for 25 years. I've known a bit about this but not so many details. As always this is best channel when it comes to understand various aspects of Japanese culture.
Ay :o I had watched that movie (in this corner of the world) a long time ago, I didn't know it was that popular in Japan . Also, I'm grateful you've post this video because I'm aspiring artist but want make animation, now I know that in Japan, still has that animation industry issues for over years. Maybe, it's best that I stay in my own country to practice my art and animation. I remember there was this one article that Hayao Miyazaki said something about "focused more on workplace environment than box-office records".
9:48 I had forgotten all about this beautifully animated world. Stunning and yet so simple, like all things Japanese, I fell in love with it the first time I saw the trailer, and then was just mesmerized when I watched the movie. Thank you, Shogo-san, for reminding me about this lovely animation and its beautiful story, grounded in the bitter reality of history.
There need to be more production companies involved in funding anime. That way, they have to compete for talent. Let the executives compete, not the animators. Right now, only a few companies control the whole market, so they dictate all the terms to animators, and animators have to just take it. Overall, I've noticed that Japan prefers a few large corporations rather than smaller companies competing for talent. The US is headed in that direction, although I can see that the US regulators have noticed and have decided to take action against this trend.
That would requir to fundamentally change, well capitalism, or at last giving animators unions and leverage power, which is probably extremely hard too. The pice topay will be animators and staff, not executives, that just how capitalism expecially trickle down one works, i mean not work, but it accepted how it works, it doesnt work.
Thank you so much for all the content! Are you able to react to anime? For example, I watched something recently where someone tried to give a compliment, and the other person was too humble to receive the compliment. It would be fun to see how much anime reflects actual culture (even if really exaggerated 😅).
In This Corner of the World was so beautiful, I had no idea it was created thanks to crowdfunding. I'm so thankful that it exists. It was tragic but sooo stunning
Makes me want to support the artists and creators directly somehow. I love anime. A few years ago Tite Kubo had to take some time off for an unspecified medical issue. It was probably because he was working himself to death.
I am glad you talked abt this topic as it is one that i have been very concerned with for a long time. My fave anime is hikaru no go. Really old anime but so much love and so much growth! I also love detective conan (I miss it a lot if the anime skips a week). May I know what character do u like in boku no hero academia?
My favourite animé is the Precure franchise! I hope the animators in that franchise have a better work environment in there...I love Precure,as their message to the viewers are always healthy,never have toxic teachings,unlike the commonly seen scenes where characters forces their teammates to "man up", to "tough it out" when they are feeling down,never taking into consideration of their feelings...Some even go to the extreme of threatening to kill said teammates in a fight just to toughened them up,whereas in Precure,they only care about the bigger picture and solving problems,and will only seek more power if the situation calls for it...If a villain can be redeemed,they will leave said villain as s/he is,no need to still proceed to kick his/her ass...I hope the Precure franchise can keep continuing for an extended period of time,giving us the quality of entertainment that they have been giving us and better and the proper and healthy teachings that they have been delivering to us...
Never have thought about it, but crowdfunding seems to me now like it would be the perfect match for anime, mostly because many anime start off as manga or novels. Unlike many crowdfunding projects, some anime can even have a decently big fanbase before it is even made into the actual product, I know is not the case for all anime out there, but it could surely make the entire process less budget constrained for those that are.
You should definitely watch jujutsu kaisen if you haven't had the chance Shogo. The pacing/humor/fight sequences are phenomenal. Love the videos as always! Appreciate you bringing up serious issues like this.
Kyoto Animation Studios did a great step forwards by paying their animators not by frame, but on a monthly fixed salary. And as we can see from Fumoffu! Clannad, Lucky Star and Kobayashi-san chi no maid dragon, it is too everyone's benefit.
Also, Full Metal Alchemist is brilliant^^
Great point, though I would also mention the Kyoto Animation Awards as another reason why KyoAni continues to make successful anime. The most notable anime out there being Violet Evergarden who actually won one of these awards. I can't believe it has been nearly three years since the arson. I hope the survivors on that fateful day are recovering from the trauma they suffered and that the arsonist gets what he deserves for what he did.
Fumoffu? You mean full metal panic?
That’s great. Hopefully other studios do the same at some point
Japan has a lot of problems and people never pay attention to it. Every country has problems but Japan is different.
Then they got burnt down...
I hear there's also an issue with merchandising too. When it comes to products and merch from an anime like figures and other goods, the team behind the anime doesn't see a lot of money from that. Just producers and the companies who make the merch themselves. I don't know for sure though. Only what I heard.
This can often be true. The best example you can identify is how sometimes the artstyle used in merch can be wildly different. This is bc they often subcontract artists outside the main project to do them, who only earn money from the contract of making the work. So, this leaves the artists in general out of the money loop.
Of course, this is not always the case.
What?! I thought buying merchandise helped the anime franchise to build more budget.
@@EvanTomiko At least is what they tell you, cause Saint Seiya for example, it was Bandai financing the animation to be a propaganda of their "cloth myths".
Common practice in industries in general. Working the folks who actually make the stuff to exhaustion while the folks who make the money are big execs. Not just anime and Games, either
"No matter how successful the anime is. The profit is not paid back to the production company or animators (and only to the investors)."
Wait... What?! Investors should be paid last. They should pay their employees first before paying themselves.
I'm afraid this isn't a problem just for Japan. I heard Disney doesn't treat their animators super well either.
You cant compare how Disney treats their animators to how Japan does, a budget for a entire season in Japan is the same as just 1 episode in USA. (And also who animates the show usually arent animators that live in USA in a lot of times they make people from other companies that are overseas to animate the show)
There's been a push to unionize in the US right now!! ✊️
Oh its not the same at all
yes most of their history the animators were mainly young men, the women only did the tracing parts. they recently found a rejection letter that was sent to Disney by a young woman wanting to be part of the animation art school they had at the time
A walkout happened recently
Hi Shogo! I'm a Manga Instructor over at Japan Society NY and I am really happy you touched upon this issue regarding the anime industry in Japan. Speaking as a manga artist, we really don't get paid what we work for(be it lining up jobs or drawing)and I do hope your proposals to improve animators' livelihood is taken into consideration from the higher ups🙏 We must see reform happen not just in anime, but also in manga. Thank You for bringing this issue into light on your channel!
It really didn't help the fact that ironically, the "father of anime" Osamu Tezuka (creator of Tetsuwan Atomu/Astro Boy), may have started this to snowball to what it is today... He was extremely inspired by Disney with his artwork and when given the opportunity to animate his own creations, he was gleeful enough to want to do it out of passion for the art and therefore accepted the meager pay he was initially offered.
This unfortunately very likely started the standard of animators being paid table scraps as the seiyuu (voice actors) are paid handsomely in comparison as if they were akin to Hollywood actors... and also, ironically, this is the exact reverse of western animation where animators are paid a little better, but voice actors are paid poorly (especially in anime dubbing).
I do like the idea of added income using crowdfunding as a method, though I imagine it ultimately depends on the popularity of the series and how much fans can afford to pitch in considering the economy worldwide.
Also selling original art assets has been a thing for decades where original pencil sketches, character/prop references, as well as background paintings and animation cells (when it was the standard before digital took over) have been seen sold online, I can however imagine them still being sold to fans as an extension of their merchandising to help with the costs of animation production (better still if the money goes to the original artists of the art that were sold, but that's wishful thinking).
I honestly hope a massive restructuring does occur sometime soon, but I can also imagine various large animation companies shutting down as eventually independent animation teams working remotely around the world gradually take over
Disney animators are not paid well
Make no mistake, for actually, even the most famous/successful of seiyuus can often struggle financially and have to work side jobs to complete their months.
@@megapulsar9244 They even need to dub multiple characters for different anime to get out from that trouble
Seiyuus are also struggling as well. I recall an anime fan in Japan telling how Mai Nakahara took a part-time job at a bakery because she have not gotten a role in a season. There is a reason you see them running as radio hosts or other live shows.
I'm grateful for the hard work of all the people who produce anime. However, I agree that things must change so that those people don't have to burn themselves out working.
Right! I feel this is sort of a paradoxical problem when addressing about those who are within the industry, and those who are looking in. Sometimes cynicism can take the investment of labour for granted. That's why I love that Shojo provides solutions in his videos.
@@MiguelThinks I think that we're all looking at the results of hard work and admiring just that. However, the animators put so much effort in their work that it's truly admirable.
I also appreciate all the great works I've seen thanks to Japanese animators, and I hope their situation improves.
@@_nick.._.liachnis Right. We only see the wonderful finished product. Things that happen behind the scenes might tell a harsh and upsetting story.
@@truck6859 anime is incredible. I love this form of entertainment. However, I do not believe that real people should be sacrificed for it. Human life is invaluable.
I knew that the manga industry was difficult to work in but I hadn't considered the challenges of creating anime. I had assumed that it had become easier with the change to more work being done on computers. Very informative.
Manga are high-risk, high-return.
Video games don't pay that well either, but the average wage is much higher than anime.
However, anime are high risk, low return.
Herein lies the biggest problem.
Manga: author makes money by people buying the collected volumes. The publiaher makes money by people buying the magazines.
Games: devs makes money by being paid by the company to make the game, publisher makes money by people buying the game, and dlcs, and merchandising, so if the game hit 1m sales, the devs doesn't get any of it.
Anime: you got paid for animating. The studio makes money from tv ads, and people buying the DVDs and blu rays. This is why so many people just record the animes they like on tv when it's airing, and keep it for personal use. Is it considered piracy? No, because they're not making money out of it.
@@ravenousmask4159 you just described how game freak can be run my multi-billion dollar company and is still a small studio compared to other devs.
computer or paper, animation in japan is still on a frame by frame animation (where they draw out every frame as needed in one-s, two-s, or three-s), CGI is still mostly look upon unkindly, or just a BG or cheap animation aid, which also result in the cheap look of those CGI models most of the time.
the only better CGI animation is in mecha, which greatly helped in speeding up the process, example anime : 86 (A-1 pictures)
My dad loves anime, and insists on paying for every episode he’s ever watched through crunchyroll. I showed him this video because he didn’t know the problems that came with the anime industry. It’s the literal least we can do as consumers.
@@kamiko8021 and plus crunchyroll executives spend that money on woke BS we never need
Your dad's a TRASH WEEB!!!!!! HAHAAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!
Also to supplement your view, check out a video aptly named "How Funimation became the most hated dub studio"
There's a lot of funny business that occurs within this company!!
@@BBWahoo More hated than 4Kids?
Yes, more hated than 4Kids
People do not get the BRUTAL work loads of animation.
Cause, like.
24 frames per second for film and animation. Often 60 frames per second in games, with games with 30 frames being low.
Even with the advanced technology we have? That's still lots and LOTS of grunt work.
"How can it be hard, you just draw all day?"
Can you draw? Can you draw high quality visuals? Realistic or otherwise?
Can you draw for hours and hours all day, without making mistakes, with your bosses breathing down your neck?
And that's just the beginning.
I am not sure about in Japan, but in the west? You often have to go through years and years of expensive schooling JUST to be able to do the grunt work for some big companies. That's why many try to go independent, cause at least, then, they have more control over the hours they work and the content they make.
You can go 3D Modelling route.
But, the workflow is so counterproductive, it's hard to get it right without looking janky
Edit : for anime ofc
@@bocahdongo7769
And to make it less Janky means more work for the animators and that can be going back to square one
Wait ppll actually dismiss a job if it ain't hard? Theyd be surprised how ridiculously easy most jobs are compared to being an animator
game developing and film making are a whole different subject to animating
I’ve started sharing Japanese societal facts with my co-workers, and I’m coming to find out that I’ve learned a lot from this channel. Thanks, Shogo!
Animation frames be too crazy now a days ain’t no way they ain’t sleepin in the office with time crunching as well
Hello Mr. Yamaguchi, anime fan here. Personally, after the KyoAni arson attack in 2019, I feel these problems (which you have already discussed) have garnered a lot more attention and seriously need to remedied as soon as possible.
Kyoto Animation supports Sony who now censors all mediums worldwide, which made anime fans lost support for Kyoto much more than the Endless Eight. Basically, changing dialogue against the Japanese-to-English translation is a problem since it is lying to the fans about what was said and made fans think the creators support US politics when the creators do not. Ufotable is much better since they paid people better as well.
@@LuigiTheMetal64 Well, "win some, lose some" I guess. At least Japan is taking action to defend anime from this so-called "wokeness".
Quality over quantity. I'd rather see options for anime reduce by half or more than see many mediocre titles. I also noticed that these days, character designers are beginning to forget that while character designs with many details are beautiful, they are also NOT FRIENDLY for frame-by-frame animation. I enjoy more a character with a simple design move smoothly than a character with a complex design move choppy.
Nah i enjoy the 6s and 5s in mal more than the 8s and 9s
@@speedeespeedboi9527 Some 8s and 9s have mediocre/standard effects though too. The 6s below ironically havr great effects sometimes that suffer from story or adaptation. It's a mixed bad. Sometimes quality focus, sometimes quantity focus which is why we get bad shows getting adapted and too many generic isekais and they don't have great effects just standard only
It's always great to learn more about the state of working in the art business in Japan. I understand it's greatly difficult there yet I still want to migrate and work there since 2012.
I like how the anime Shirobako gave viewers an insight on how brutal the process of producing anime is.
I also once saw a graphic of the annual income of everyone involved in the production, with regular animators being at the far bottom of the table while top tier seiyuus can earn over 60 times what they make, which is kind of sick if you think about it
JP voice actors are "face" of the show they starred in, so they're popular enough to get auxiliary income sources. Top Tier VA makes money through various means outside of voice acting: Concert, Live Events, and TV appearances. Animators only can make their money through drawing animation and selling "personal" artworks or do illustration on the side and that's pretty much it.
I love anime so much and pray that the anime industry gets better for the animators. 1. Bleach, Fullmetal Alchemist 2. Assassination Classroom 3. Fruits Basket. My favorite anime that came out this year is the case study of Vanitas.
I recommend” A Silent Voice” for you to watch as well. I believe you’d like.
Considering the problem within the anime industry, what can be done to actually improve the animators' lifestyle without costing the quality of the anime?
There are around 70 different seasons produced each year, which Im sure only 30% are mainly watched.
Reduce quantity and improve quality is a go to.
Double the worker kamerad...
I think the decline of a lot quality at the cot of forced many proects to just get by shows.
You get better anime with animators actually being able to care about an anime.
Alo yeah more worker instad overworking that much, might help.
Government officials actually caring
Nothing, you can't do anything until the system that benefits the workers would be implemented.
as an animation student myself i've seen how rooted the overworking enviroment can be even from university. i had an idea how much difficult it is to have a steady income from animation, given im my country animation an arts in general is often seen as childlish and overlooked for other careers.
im sure outside sources from around the world can help the industry to find another more steady platform to keep growing. your ideas to help the industry are really interesting and if aplyed correctly they can be a game changer for an industry i see as prosperous and inspiring.
one of the reasons i love Japan is that they see animation and art as something worth investing for the betterment of their culture and use it to boost their reach. i think people around the world has seen this passionate expretion of culture to the point where they can understand to some extend some tropes or manerism often used in Japan.
thank you a lot for sharing this info, i was aware but not completely undesrtood
Yea I was already sleeping under my desk back in animation school, workplace toxicity is literally expected from us, it's a problem of the entire animation industry and art as a whole.
the Oscars 2022 Animation speech was the ultimate insult, and who typed that on the teleprompter should be fired.
This applies not only animators but CGI designers as well! They work 12-14 hrs a day on these big budget films and dont make that much compared to studio executives and talent.
i've heard a whole studio was made to work solely on mushoku tensei and the result was stunning. Not only is it stunning, but you can see how much love was poured into it
Hello Shogo, thanks for the new video for today, I've been anime lovers ever since I was still kid but only timeskip due to non logical local shows. Turns out I didn't notice that creating anime is really depressing, and I hope some of the studios can give justice to their staff
As a Paddy living in Japan I always recommend the works of Cartoon Saloon. They are an Irish studio but their art is worthy of any anime otaku's eyes 😉
Sir......u Irish people are so friendly and generous!!!...... i just got a free car from an Irish friend!!!
@@thepatriot47
Mustve been your Lucky day!! ☘️
checked it, and i think the quality is quite bad, no offense tho
@@HarumNasiku why?
@@HarumNasiku silence, weeb.
I know companies see the vast majority of their employees as disposable, but animation studios are among the scariest I've seen with that mentality with how easily they kick out and replace their personnel.
As for favorite anime, the 5 I feel more or less define what are my preferences in the medium are Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, K-ON, Cowboy Bebop, Mushishi and Violet Evergarden. There's a few more I really like, but I feel those are the most important and the one that have held up the most personal attachment over the years.
When you said animation quality was declining, I felt a title bad because there are great anime like Demon Slayer that I think look beautiful, and then you said their business model was different, and it made sense. It felt a little warm in my heart. You can tell talented people work in that anime.l From the animation to the voice acting to the music. It's the product of artist that love their jobs and not some product.
Not surprised. If you're not on the top of the manga/anime industry like Oda, Kishimoto, and Isayama, you shouldn't expect yourself to make a comfortable living. Same goes for musicians and book authors too.
In any country. Most book authors to my knowledge don't earn anything in Europe, and even loose money on publications, while most musician's I've known personally, and I know a few, even resort to work in retail to survive.
Crowdfunding/local funding I would agree but international partnership is where I would draw the line without a ironclad contract Since whenever someone from other countries invest into their business they tend overstep their boundries and bring their baggage with them and force their ideas into the medium and prob reducing the appeal so if u are able to work it such that the investors are only invested in money and creative have full control should be doable.
@@alpha-boss It has become a larger issue with localization in general. Recently westerners feel the need to plant their opinions in areas where they do not belong. (Especially if the source material has its author's own statements or opinions.) There have been a few controversial dubbing and subbing jobs in the past few years that brought the issue to light. In the past, localization was usually the company of origin's doing, or it was a passion project among fans in another country. Now the market is much larger and we have many people who should absolutely not be working in an official capacity doing "official" jobs for Funimation/Crunchyroll, often contradicting the author's work or outright censoring it.
@@alpha-boss Westerners love imposing their values on others.
@@alpha-boss Go to netflix and look at how they have mangled original novel works like the Lord of the Rings. If they funded anime they'd do that as well.
@@alpha-boss yes but not only agenda , since they come as fans they have higher tendency to interfere with studio and since they are guys funding the project some pull is there and they might end up writing bad fanfic is what I meant.
He-Man Motu is what comes to mind if u want a ex , they had powerhouse work on it brillant animation and all but exec meddled in story ruining it for the old fans thats what I meant.
@@alpha-boss ah let me clarify on that I meant crowdfunded locally by jp natives not internationally that why I had mentioned crowdfunding and local funding together and international separate
As for the other reply, ideally yes no one should be able to control the creatives but western side has one rule "one with money makes the rules and direction" that's why I was and am worried about external investment in any countries business.
Thank you again for another great video Shogo! It is so refreshing to see someone out there who is able to both give leveled criticism of their culture while still being able to fully love their culture.
I agree, I think if you truly love something you want it to be the best it can be and shogo really seems to!
Thank you for bringing attention to the plight of animators in Japan. I already knew that manga was a brutal industry. It makes me wonder if any big problems are underlying my other favorite bits of Japanese pop culture. Like tokusatsu TV shows for example.
as a fan of anime, animators are gods for creating it so they must be respected
The physically destructive journey that comes with animators and writers could most likely explain the reason for Morosawa Chiaki-san's illness during the airing of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny... It saddens me to see such brutality being the extent of others' entertainment.
Shogun Shogo back with another amazing video. Both polite yet addressing very deep topics with class.
Thank you so much! I'm really glad you say so✨
They produce so many new shows each season most of which are bad and don’t do well, they need to reduce the amount of new shows produced each season by at least half to reduce the work load or else the whole of industry will collapse.
What I like so much about your work, Shogo, is that not only are you fearless in stating the problems, you also provide solutions!
I am also a Big anime fan and I also just finished Assaination Classroom.
I respect animators a lot I really hope that animators working conditions get better and they get credits and more salary.
Its funny coming from 15yrs old but still.❤️
This is a hard one. Anime/cartoons make everyones lifes better.
Regardless of your age. You either grew with it or you're still watching it.
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02:03 the problem is that it's not even a salary, the vast majority of animators work as freelancers, especially young animators
Thanks for the video, I had already heard about this problem in the anime industry, but several details that escaped my knowledge were clarified. It's really hard to pick a personal anime top 3... so I'll give you my top 3 for decades:
1990-1999:
1. Neon Genesis Evangelion
2. Rurouni Kenshin
3. Saber Marionette J
2000-2009:
1.Bleach
2. Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood
3.Naruto
2010-2019:
1. Shingeki No Kyojin
2. Mob Psycho 100
3. Golden Kamuy
It was quite difficult to make that list, since I had to leave out great works like Dragon Ball Z, One Punch Man, Death Note, Inuyasha, Hunter x Hunter, Vinland Saga, Haikyū, etc... But if I include all the ones that liked it would easily make a top 100 😂
Love how you also give a very detailed disclaimer
ありがとうございます！
I’m so grateful for Japanese anime,if it wasn’t for their hard work we wouldn’t have these great shows! My favorite shows right now are demon slayer and spy x family 😍
I have Spy x Family on my que list which I’ll start after I finish My Dress Up Darling.
My favorite manga/anime is Kill La Kill I love Ryuko-chan ❤️
My favorite anime are the JoJo parts
In Second Code Geass, Hunter x Hunter and Yu Yu Hakusho
As an artist who have been invested heavily into Animation culture in Japan, I get so happy when people shine a light on this topic. Also educating me in the process!
1990's was pretty much peak animation era. no CGI on any mecha anime, all the 2D fighting games still uses frame by frame sprites.
Thank you for making a video on this topic and doing the research. Western fans of anime (even those who claim to be very knowledgeable and care a lot about the industry) will often spread misinformation simply because they "heard it from somewhere". I think it's a mixture of 1: Language Barriers, and 2: There are a lot of Rage-Baiting TH-camrs who have garnered themselves their very own cult of personalities. Their viewers are then inclined to believe what they have to say, and don't bother looking into it further.
I know that you're speaking the truth, because what you said already lines up with what I've learned from the Animator Dormitory Project, and reading unbiased reports from reputable journalists. Anime has such a long and rich history and so far what you talked about in this video already checks out with the established timeline. It seems the anime industry is still reeling from the unsustainable workflow from the 1960's.
I watched some anime during my elementary and middle school years, but didn't really fall in love with it until college, primarily after watching Akira and Ghost in the Shell for the first time. The later got me hooked on stuff like Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and so much more. My brother and I have been really enjoying Demon Slayer as of late, and as an motorsport enthusiast, I absolutely love Initial D. The combination of action packed racing and interesting character dynamics makes it a very entertaining watch.
I'm glad to see you bringing some attention to how over worked these animators are! More people should know.
I'm an animation student graduating from college this Saturday (hello from Boston) and I heard about the working conditions for Japanese animators, I love their work and I hope that working conditions will be improved and there will be higher pay. I'm into 3D animation/3D work, I'm still learning and working on my skills. I am inspired by video games and movies growing up. Animation takes a lot of work especially if there's lots of details involved.
Working for video games animation can pey you better then TV animation honestly
Thank you so much for making a video on this topic!!!! As an artist i really appreciate when people speak out for the ones in the industry, they are working so hard and deserve so much more❤
Mappa employees need justice
Not Studio BONES or Kyoto Animation or something?
@@TheOtakuDude Most of em but this year Mappa is suffering the most
@@Gaming_Hub_UK how do you know about that? Jujutsu Kaisen Zero Movie got a success in the Box Office since day 1 showing.
Very interesting video. I wish the solution will be followed more and the system will eventually change for the better...
Bakuman showed quite well how the manga industry also stresses out and overworks the mangaka as well.
The animation industry here in the states is very hard to get into. Many don’t make it far while others do. Many toxic people run things sadly and makes the art of animation a living nightmare. I hope things get better soon for everyone
Hope people in Japan will found a way to existing and growing of anime industry and respect work of animators.
Thank for your video Shogo!
This is really interesting. I just finished taking a class on the history of cinema for a humanities credit, and I can't help but notice the similarities between this situation, and Hollywood in the 30s and 90s.
In the 1930s, production costs skyrocketed with the introduction of sound and color. This lead to smaller studios going bankrupt, and getting bought out by larger ones. This was eventually fixed in two ways: the big studios eventually gained enough market share that economies of scale made them viable again, and color/sound technology became cheaper.
in the 90s, profit margins dropped again, this time due to the rise of the big-budget blockbuster, as well as increasingly expensive special effects. The solution this time was for production companies to create a split in the division of funds between high budget, low risk films, and low budget, high risk films. This era also saw the rise of production companies which specialize in low budget productions, such as Miramax.
I think the 1990s approach would be more relevant to today's anime industry, as I don't see animation becoming significantly cheaper anytime soon. Plus, the consolidation of studios in the 30s lead to some serious corporate censorship (the Motion Picture Production Code/Hays Code), and I don't think anyone wants that happening again.
This video was a great insight to the dark underbelly of the anime industry, something I still love watching since childhood but also acknowledging the terrible work environment. Will be helpful in researching the marketing perspective, as well as proposing a human centric work environment.
Here's an idea for crowdfunding. Put in a small investment into making a manga of the intended anime production.
Make the manga available on the crowdfunding platform. But the hook is to only make the first couple of chapters as a manga.
If the people who read it like it and want to see how it continues, they need to donate to the crowdfund. After the budget goals are reached, production of the manga into an anime is underway. And the production will also make episodes of the manga chapters that was released prior.
I think the fans will be able to judge by reading a manga if they would like to see it being turned into animation or not, so it's easy for the production teams to see which projects would become hits and which might not be worth the invested time and effort.
Many US animator jobs have been shipped to Asian countries for cheaper labor and so, that high pay rate in US is deceiving. I think a lot of professional artists are struggling these days with low pay and long hours.
I love this video! Very relevant and great content as usual :)❤❤
As an animator for Disney's shows such as Big Hero 6 and Ducktales, the pay rate's so low for each feet length of footage that I now work a second job in customer support to make ends meet
Hi Shogo, I for one really love to see and hear your take on Japanese culture as a whole and your inside takes on the many facets of daily life and cultural interaction throughout your time living and working in Japan. Keep up the great work for as long as you can physically because we as a community truly love your videos and takes on all things Japanese. We all hope your health stabilizes and you can live a long and happy life Shogo and thank you for everything you do to continually put out these videos.
I'm so glad your channel is growing I remember watching you when you first started and hoping you'd get your "15 minuets of fame" so to speak, and I hope you continue growing at this rate for the foreseeable future. Thanks for entertaining and educating us all. Much love shogo 🖤 also your videos have helped me through some very hard times lately and I look forward to your uploads ✌️
My favorite anime is Yuri on ice. It came out in 2017. The production committee was planning to release a movie in 2019 but the release date keeps being pushed back. A lot of fans are complaining and I was quite frustrated too. But after watching this video, I feel so terrible that we've been demanding them for the new movie/second season when they are in such poor working conditions and receive meager pay. Next time if I see someone in the fandom complaining about it, I will educate them on this matter too so the fandom is more supportive of the creative community.
Same thing is happening in Western comics, too!
As a story-teller myself, thank you so much for explaining this and for shedding light on the state of anime.
Amazing video as always, Shogo! I was not aware of the issues facing animators in Japan! It makes me respect those dedicated teams even more!
To answer, my top five Anime are:
0. Akira
1. Serial Experiments: Lain
2. Neon Genesis Evangelion [of course]
3. Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
4. Gunsmith Cats
5. Excel Saga
Hi, Shogo, nice to see you. Your point on the anime industry in Japan is strong and interesting as always. Oh, and my favourite anime is Neon Genesis Evangelion. The esthetic of this anime I love especially.
Great video Shogo! I came to enjoy anime later in life. I started with DB with my husband. We enjoy DB, One Punch Man, Hunter x Hunter and my fav One Piece.
Thank you for this knowledgeable video.
Huge anime and manga fan here too, and yes I’ve heard work conditions are pretty bad. Which is extremely unfortunate for anyone who loves this hobby.
This is very true as the demand in the Animation industry is steadily increasing, especially Japanese Anime. It has also gotten to the point where companies host career open days every year to new graduates animators. But because of the high demand, the competition is very strong not just for animators looking for jobs but for Companies trying to make more money than the other companies. . This can take a toll on some companies and animation staff working for them, in which does lead to a lot of problems. Luckily, there are smaller companies that do grow a lot simply because they went the more modern route and start exposing themselves to newer technology and ideas.
I am fortunate enough to work for a small thriving video production company as a 3D Artist that is very open to new ideas and can openly share their creativity with other artists. The company offers freedom to their animators and artists that allows them to do more and express their creativity more. Yes, I do experience small structural problem that I don't think I can say, but it is to the point where it just doesn't effect me at all. Also, all I can say is that the offer I got is way more than the average I can get in the country I live in.
So yes, majority of some Animation companies do have structural problems that can create harsh environments on animators and artist, but if smaller or modern companies can grow simply because of going the modern route, then any company who is willing to adapt can do so also. It is not a simple solution, but it is a much better solution fixing than sticking to the old ways.
Thank you for touching on this subject! I'm a freelance animator and I've always wanted to work on an anime that I can have fun on, but I already animate for western companies and I'm overworked so I can't even imagine what it would be like animating for an anime production T_T
Thank you for the information. That makes a lot of sense actually.
Even knowing that I miss out on a lot of jokes due to the cultural and language barrier, no show has made me happier or more emotional than Gintama. I adore it with all my heart.
That explains a lot, when I was young I was blown away by japanese animation because my first contact was with it was with animes like Ghost in the Shell SAC, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Lain, .hack//SIGN and Cowboy Bebop; say what you will about the quality but those were very experimental and creative animations, now that you mention how many companies need to invest to produce an anime I can clearly picture a lot of suits that don't care about animation but have to make safe bets to get their money back, resulting in tons of 12 episodes average at best animations, and making some choices that to the consumer make no sense, what they did to Berserk in 2016-2017 was baffling, that had the potential to become a bigger phenomenon than Shingeki no Kyojin and Kimetsu no Yaiba combined if they hadn't made it unwatchable.
Nah Berserk cannot become more popular than Kny simply because of demographics. Kny's popularity ranges from children, teens and adults. I doubt berserk could even attract the younger demographic given how brutal it is.
Love your videos! Always super informative, clear and well researched. You're truly a gem!
This is very informative. Thank you Shogo!
We need to make a global union that protects all kinds of animators and creators in general. As hard as that would be it would protect people in many of those kind of industries.
That is why Kyoto Animation stands out as the best working environment to work with.They take on limited number of shows without overwork.They gave workers more benefits and they were paid actual salaries.I hope other studios follow these examples because the anime industry is getting worse and worse.Look at One Punch Man and Seven Deadly Sins.The second season has a terrible production schedule.Deen's SDS also suffered from that fate.
And also AoT.From what I have researched on Sakuga Brasil,they have a lot of production issues behind the scenes.It's just now that MAPPA has already overworked their employees to the point to where they quit and give up just like Mushiyo who hated working four shows at the same time.CloverWorks did that as well with WEP and Tokyo 24th Ward.Liden Films also,Madhouse and J.C STAFF and almost every other animation studios besides KyoAni and ufotable.
Anime should be put again in a risky state of production because animators deserved a lot of rest and breaks.After all, this is the most grueling thing to work with.
And also let them do in house animation not outsourcing to other companies.Let the other studios have their own training school to solve this issue of animator shortage and improve working conditions.
Your intro sounds like every corporate/freelance job in general. Work loads increasing, salaries/pay decreasing, min/maxing employee hires, work until you die because retirement is a maybe syndrome. I'm not even an animator and I really felt your intro statement here in America. Meanwhile, C-Suite staff seems to be making salaries and bonuses in the hundreds of thousands or millions.
I've been watching anime for 25 years. I've known a bit about this but not so many details. As always this is best channel when it comes to understand various aspects of Japanese culture.
Thanks for talking about this topic
Ay :o
I had watched that movie (in this corner of the world) a long time ago, I didn't know it was that popular in Japan .
Also, I'm grateful you've post this video because I'm aspiring artist but want make animation, now I know that in Japan, still has that animation industry issues for over years. Maybe, it's best that I stay in my own country to practice my art and animation.
I remember there was this one article that Hayao Miyazaki said something about "focused more on workplace environment than box-office records".
really loving the look of the new logo! hoping to see some merch with it soon :D
G Force, Voltron, and Robotech, I was a Anime fan and did not realize it yet… places me in my Happy Place!
9:48 I had forgotten all about this beautifully animated world. Stunning and yet so simple, like all things Japanese, I fell in love with it the first time I saw the trailer, and then was just mesmerized when I watched the movie. Thank you, Shogo-san, for reminding me about this lovely animation and its beautiful story, grounded in the bitter reality of history.
INUYASHIKI last hero, was a favourite because we look down upon old people sometimes on what they can do. This Anime has a lot of morals in it.
There need to be more production companies involved in funding anime. That way, they have to compete for talent. Let the executives compete, not the animators. Right now, only a few companies control the whole market, so they dictate all the terms to animators, and animators have to just take it. Overall, I've noticed that Japan prefers a few large corporations rather than smaller companies competing for talent. The US is headed in that direction, although I can see that the US regulators have noticed and have decided to take action against this trend.
That would requir to fundamentally change, well capitalism, or at last giving animators unions and leverage power, which is probably extremely hard too. The pice topay will be animators and staff, not executives, that just how capitalism expecially trickle down one works, i mean not work, but it accepted how it works, it doesnt work.
Fortunately, Kyoto Animation is already doing most of the things you mentioned to improve the anime industry.
Ufotable did the same thing too. At least that is never going to be the… Endless Eight for the animators.
@@LuigiTheMetal64 Toei animation too.
Hey shogo, great video 👍 I cannot reccomend Berserk 97' enough. Thanks!
Thank you so much for all the content! Are you able to react to anime? For example, I watched something recently where someone tried to give a compliment, and the other person was too humble to receive the compliment. It would be fun to see how much anime reflects actual culture (even if really exaggerated 😅).
In This Corner of the World was so beautiful, I had no idea it was created thanks to crowdfunding. I'm so thankful that it exists. It was tragic but sooo stunning
Makes me want to support the artists and creators directly somehow. I love anime. A few years ago Tite Kubo had to take some time off for an unspecified medical issue. It was probably because he was working himself to death.
I am glad you talked abt this topic as it is one that i have been very concerned with for a long time. My fave anime is hikaru no go. Really old anime but so much love and so much growth! I also love detective conan (I miss it a lot if the anime skips a week). May I know what character do u like in boku no hero academia?
My favourite animé is the Precure franchise! I hope the animators in that franchise have a better work environment in there...I love Precure,as their message to the viewers are always healthy,never have toxic teachings,unlike the commonly seen scenes where characters forces their teammates to "man up", to "tough it out" when they are feeling down,never taking into consideration of their feelings...Some even go to the extreme of threatening to kill said teammates in a fight just to toughened them up,whereas in Precure,they only care about the bigger picture and solving problems,and will only seek more power if the situation calls for it...If a villain can be redeemed,they will leave said villain as s/he is,no need to still proceed to kick his/her ass...I hope the Precure franchise can keep continuing for an extended period of time,giving us the quality of entertainment that they have been giving us and better and the proper and healthy teachings that they have been delivering to us...
its not just the animators va's, writers and subtitlsts also get heavaly underpayed
I have a dream to become an animator in Japan in the future. So this video was useful for me. Thank you.
Huge respect for Shogo,Harumi,Tomoko,Cashew,Hinata and Nagi for putting so much effort in making deez videos 👍👏
Never have thought about it, but crowdfunding seems to me now like it would be the perfect match for anime, mostly because many anime start off as manga or novels. Unlike many crowdfunding projects, some anime can even have a decently big fanbase before it is even made into the actual product, I know is not the case for all anime out there, but it could surely make the entire process less budget constrained for those that are.
You should definitely watch jujutsu kaisen if you haven't had the chance Shogo. The pacing/humor/fight sequences are phenomenal. Love the videos as always! Appreciate you bringing up serious issues like this.
Can’t imagine watching an Anime knowing what goes behind the scenes.
I love watching animes but I never thought it would be that complicated to produce them. I must admit I didn't care about it. But I do now. 😬