Kodoani.com – You may already know the difficulties of being a new animator in Japan. Many painters suffer poor wages and working conditions. But due to the huge demand for anime, the industry is still thriving with annual net sales of more than 2.74 trillion yen.
With that in mind, it would be natural to think that animators would get paid well, wouldn’t it? But this only applies to artists who have established themselves and become the main staff in the production team, while things are much more difficult for newcomers.
THE DIFFICULTY OF ENTERPRISE IN JAPANESE ANIMATION DRAWING
Even with the hardships and struggles of being a rookie animator in Japan, there are people who want above all to become an animator, because passion is paramount.
“When I was in college, I attended a job fair for a large anime production company. They explained to us that the salary is commission-based and the minimum guarantee is 50,000 yen a month, but in most cases that’s all the people earn in the first year” – a new animator 3 years in the profession in Japan shared.
Another animator said: “This means we do other part-time jobs while we work in our early years. Otherwise, it will be difficult to make ends meet.”
Such is the difficulty of being a new animator in the Japanese anime industry. According to statistics on average salaries in anime companies, animators earn a monthly income of 50,000 yen, but according to a survey by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the average monthly salary month for fresh graduates is 226,000 yen for college graduates and 255,600 yen for graduate students.
Taking into account the cost of living in Japan, the minimum amount guaranteed by the anime company is unacceptable. But despite this, Japanese anime companies require staff to work both on weekends and on holidays, once again showing how difficult it is to be a novice animator in Japan.
Other animators also talked about the difficulties of getting into the anime industry in Japan, mentioning that they were also asked if they lived with their parents and if they had tuition or scholarships to pay back. interviews or not. These conditions set the standard for entering the anime industry:
“After graduating, I worked at a certain studio as a production assistant for 3 years. The fee for the animator is 200 yen for one half. Most newbies can only draw about 10 frames a day for the first year.”
If they become the main painter, they can make about 3 cuts a day, for about 2000 yen per cut. As an employee, the production assistant earns about 150,000 yen a month, with the condition that he works all night and has two days off a month,” said a longtime animator who did not want to be named.
Just below you will get an overview of the average annual earnings in the anime industry showing the difference in earnings between different positions.
LOW-INCOME OF ANIMATORS CREATES A GRAY BLOOD WATER IN JAPANESE ANIME INDUSTRY IN JAPAN ANIME INDUSTRY
According to anime producer Masuo Ueda, the answer may lie in the so-called production committee. The Production Committee is a temporary alliance formed to finance specific anime projects consisting of marketing agencies, sales companies, etc.
Since these companies are able to make the biggest investments in projects, they also reap the bulk of the profits, leaving anime studios to bear the brunt of the consequences.
In turn, production studios secure their own profits by cutting wages and putting even more pressure on their employees, thus being a rookie animator in Japan is very challenging. many difficulties.
Chinese and Korean companies clearly see that, so they continuously recruit Japanese animators to work for them with attractive salaries and more comfortable working conditions. From 2019 until now, many animated films produced by China and Korea have had the contribution of Japanese staff.
Even Chinese companies join the Japanese anime production committee with a core of Japanese animators recruited by themselves. The wave of anime gacha games that broke out in Asia has made Chinese and Korean companies more aggressively recruiting human resources from Japan. In 2022, Hoyoverse company recruited nearly 1,000 animators and designers in Japan to work on the titles Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail.
And if this situation persists, the Japanese anime industry will be severely affected and gradually become dependent on foreign companies. Be aware that the huge revenue of the Japanese anime industry is just the tip of the iceberg.
However, the failure of Japanese animators to improve their income continues and only those motivated by passion can continue with the work.
[Theo Livedoor, Crazy for Anime Trivia, Automaton và Yaraon! Blog] and Kodoani.com
