The Real Reason Why Everybody is Quitting The Anime Industry

[@FoofyPenPan]

I mean, there is a reason why animators and manga artists are always shown half dead in anime. It’s not an exaggeration. It’s a depiction of their real life situation!

[@FGOboi]

Except if your name is Kishibe Rohan

[@David-k6v1i]

Do more research

[@drewhamre]

Zom 100 = least busy day at Mappa 🫡💀

[@gerhardaryawardana72]

@@David-k6v1i You do more research. Tons of animators are saying the same things, even star animators like the 2 in the video are quitting a very famous studio like Mappa, even the directors were not safe, multiple anime youtubers are reporting similar stories, and here you are telling people to do more research when it is YOU who needs to do more research and stop shilling the greedy old farts in the production committees that are treating the animators like slaves.

[@corrinflakes9659]

@@FGOboi I’m pretty sure Araki has stated that Rohan was intended as the mangaka that the public perceives, or I guess satire on the kind of guy the One Piece community thinks Oda is: a perfectionist workaholic. It is also shown Rohan is an anomaly exception even in the JJBA version of Jump and the manga industry. Araki brought up this intention to refute the self-insert claims, though I’m certain Araki still very projects in some ways; such as how Pink Dark Boy got published in Italian and French but not English (much to Part 4 Joseph's disappointment) as they didn't seem to get the appeal, and during Part 4, only Part 3 was having mild success in English-speaking regions, even then that part of JJBA was prominent more in APPP's OVA and Capcom's fighting game than the manga.

[@DoraKage]

And That's why I left Japan in 2009 and never looked back. My work schedule used to be Monday - Saturday, 9:00 AM - 2 AM on average. I didn't mistype the hours. Working there did a number on my health and destroyed my relationships. Not to mention the boss - Honma San - yes you. was a real prick. I had to stop working for a year to recover, and I couldn't look at Anime, or Japanese media for a while. Former 3D Animator for (Now Closed) Xebec Animation Studio 2007 - 2009

[@supsauce4]

I went through something similar but definitely not as bad as yours, and surely not as long as you have, and I already never wanted to go back to it. You went through some rough stuffs. I hope you're doing well over there and good luck to you wherever you're going to next!

[@zamasuaboveall]

yeah, i never understand jobs that force you to work the entire day and into the night. do they seriously expect you to sacrifice your social life, relationships, and identity to some company that couldn’t give two shits about your wellbeing? imagine how self centered you have to be to expect someone to happily fill a shift like that.

[@MrNajibrazak]

Malaysia and China. same amount of working hours. since 98. stopped working til 2am since 40 but making it a point to leave work before 10pm nowadays.

[@kingleoverse]

I thought I saw 2pm 😂

[@radenakbar]

And this East Asia work culture (Japan Korea China) is being estafet to the nearest cash cow market aka SE Asia...

[@4ksandknives]

When people are critical about Anime Animators and Manga Artists, I think about Yoshifumi Kondō, who was overworked by Hayao Miyazaki at Studio Ghibli, and he died from overwork. Really sad.

[@yashasvirallabandi9070]

I know Miyazaki's a visionary and all, but the more I hear about him, the more I think he's a dick.

[@oioio-yb9dw]

Wait, this is something new for me...😮😢 Rest in Peace: Yoshifumi Kondō✍️

[@zabeerfarid7687]

Correction likely Isao Takahata although yes Miyazaki is still to blame

[@oioio-yb9dw]

@zabeerfarid7687 I mean, just imagine how many abuses have happened in the industry against mangakas, animators, voice actors, and others. I think we, as people that at least once came to see the fruits of their efforts and art, should look for a way to contribute back to them, not or not just the companies that are abusing them, but this is really difficult to accomplish because we barely know all the people that are really involved in the process of every publication out there. I think there must be a way, but I don't know what it would be.

[@oioio-yb9dw]

@@zabeerfarid7687 btw, thanks for the correction

[@AlexanderFromTheStarDimension]

"If it results in animators struggling, losing sleep, losing their lives... and stepping away from it all... maybe anime deserves to die." - The Anime Man HIMSELF. Damn that quote is sad but goes incredibly hard.

[@nine_tails137]

To add to that, one thing I hate is when fans call every anime good, when they're clearly not. Plus one argument I've heard a lot when it comes to bad anime, is "because it was popular in Japan". Which to me is complete BS, because you could say that about ANY MEDIA, and it doesn't change the fact that it's objectively bad. Popular ≠ good.

[@stealthbrandon]

@@nine_tails137 eh good = subjective so you just said a whole lot of nothing lol good and bad by whos standard your personal taste and beliefs ?

[@nine_tails137]

@@stealthbrandon Then how come we keep getting Isekais with the same copy and paste medieval fantasy setting, OP main character and harem?

[@JusJapanCrazed2]

As someone who does both traditional and digital drawing it takes a lot of effort and time to create something great. I cannot imagine the stress and health issues these animators must be under. Hopefully this changes for the industry in a positive way, I really don't want the industry to die out nor harm the hardworking people.

[@Martin_Koepl]

They don't draw as much as you might think anymore, especially at Mappa. They mostly put some hand drawn 2d textures onto 3d models and create their animation that way. The guys over at Corridor Crew once made a video about it, that I am currently to stupid to find.

[@AllanWorks]

@@Martin_Koepl it is sad that in a couple years, AI will replace 2d animators and manga creators. a very smart cousin of mine showed me how you can write a story with AI, use AI to create the characters and background, and much more. she also showed me a video of a KZbinr who made an anime short using AI. it won't be long before you can feed an AI your idea for an anime and it will pump out episodes for you to watch on demand.

[@bxbydrxgxn]

people wont enjoy it. Sick of everyone acting like instincts and shit doesnt exist, no matter how good ai gets its not human. Also they wont as they will get sued for stealing as ai pulls from all websites.@@AllanWorks

[@sunrisevideosgamingandmuch7791]

​@@Martin_Koeplyou are completely fucking wrong bro.... only dorohedero was made that way 90% of the character animation in mappa shows is hand drawn .Cgi is only used for stuff like cars or mecha like things

[@emikochan13]

Your cousin is cooked, nothing quality will come from such a lazy method.@@AllanWorks

[@hunterxkiller8732]

I'm all for quality over quantity any day, better paid animators who have their workloads more manageable and with LITTLE risks to their personal health would increase their efficiency. Its like people don't realise that a company is only held up by those at the bottom doing the heavy lifting. Treating your employees well should be basic common sense.

[@misake]

My thoughts exactly. Sadly many businesses are like that all around the world, and not just anime.

[@fymale]

we should support studio like WIT they like to take time creates quality products especially before atttack on titan was robbed by MAPPA

[@killaknight12]

Right? There is more anime than people are able to watch, why not combine this workforce into fewer, high quality projects.

[@jaykay3512]

Exactly. Common sense. I'm really surprised the Japanese don't acknowledge this... It's like people don't believe in sleep or any form of rest whatsoever. Very strange.

[@ninyaninjabrifsanovichthes45]

@@jaykay3512 They need to unionize YESTERDAY

[@NDSno1]

Not an animator but a game developer here. I can say it's the same in the video game industry, where the people who actually make games out of passion don't get any control over the content and quality, but the higher up who only look at growth chart do everything they can to push shady practices to get money into the rushed end product

[@Bird-Birdy-Love]

If things keeps going to same as it does, it will lead to its own collapse. Japan has a serius problem clashing its culture with work ethics. To much abuse is going on and if they dont change, they will die out. the industry is peaking from here on out, it is all downhill unless it changes which it wont

[@MSCSage]

I will never understand this sentiment, that you just keep going with traditions just because it was like that 50 years ago. Japan has a serious problem of not changing its ways when there are clearly better ways to do things

[@Choochinc]

The scenario you talked about at 8:40 already happened in America, a long time ago, and it completely destroyed the 2D animation industry. It's the exact reason Disney/Pixar and Dreamworks don't make 2D animation anymore. The animators unionized and striked over horrible working conditions, so the corps just replaced all of them with 3D animators and abandoned 2D.

[@aJazzyFeel]

Yet, my friend who does work for Dreamworks as a 3D animator is half-dead from being overworked...

[@kubikim]

@@aJazzyFeel animation as a profession in such a massive scale is an impossible dream. Hayao miyazaki made a good point.

[@polrusstomakriss9001]

​@@kubikimIt all depends on what you set your limit or mind to remember it's possible and let the rest happen

[@Martin_Koepl]

One part of the story, the other one was that 3d animation got incredibly popular back then. If that wouldn't have been the case, if the marked would have rejected them, they for sure wouldn't have locked down the 2d studios.

[@RCXDerp]

@@kubikim Miyazaki may be a dick but damn he makes good movies, would reccomend the boy and the heron

[@silikeite]

I feel like conditions won't change as long as anime is only treated as marketing for the source material. Especially since the IP holders and merch people who benefit from the publicity are separate entities from the studios.

[@kamikaze00007]

The problem lies in the work culture. Which they can change if the workers actually pushed for change. They don't push hard enough and so they're stuck in the same situation.

[@silikeite]

​@@kamikaze00007ultimately though, the incentives in the industry will be to get away with spending as little as possible on the anime, esp. since the ppl who benefit (ip holders, merch ppl, etc.) are not the studios

[@jjj8317]

You go and tell them what's good, Richard from New York

[@kubikim]

@@kamikaze00007 this work culture is a japan-wide issue not exclusive to anime. The changes that need to be made are massive. Japan is a premium bundle for "how not to run a society".

[@dendrien]

Japan is thee nation that is in severe population decline because of the exact reason. Their work culture. Than again they did it to themselves so don’t feel sorry for em. If they wanted change than they need to pursue that change. It is democratic nation after all

[@telefrag.]

I remember listening to Ilya Kuvshinov's interview a couple of years ago where he said that for money he takes commissions and his full time job as an animator in Japan is basically for fun, it's what he wanted to do anyway. To this day I struggle to comprehend the absurdity - an artist has to consider a full time job as a hobby because it pays close to nothing. And he's just lucky to make a living by making illustrations elsewhere since his art is in demand.

[@Astrobun]

"If this was any other country like america this system would be gone" my experience with vfx industry says otherwise

[@913_Niyala]

Oh man, I miss having less anime. I could actually keep up with all of them and be an anime connoisseur while still having a life and other hobbies. But the last like 4 -5 years... there's just been too many. I ended up having to limit myself to 1 anime a season. 😔

[@thatsickmao]

Totally feel it.even in 2014 I don't think it was as bad...

[@southcoastinventors6583]

AI will eventually reduce work load

[@913_Niyala]

@@southcoastinventors6583Eventually I'll need AI to watch them all for me 😅

[@kentakunai]

Girl, you ong Last winter 2023, there was either almost 100 anime or over 100 anime. I can’t keep up with them all. I’ll pick like 3-5 and call it a season.

[@kubikim]

The root of the problem is the way Japanese society is structured. This isn't an issue that is exclusive to just the Anime industry. Overworking is an incredibly prominent part of Japan's work culture and nearly all of Japan's working force experience these things. Horrible treatment of workers and overall terrible working environment, borderline slavery. The only reason the anime industry's issues have become so vocalized is because Anime is Japan's no.1 cultural export and has become an imperative piece of culture for many even outside of Japan. Mind you, I'm not saying this to downplay the animators' burden. Like you said in the video, an animator's strike in Japan would be impossible because with the way Japan's society works atm, it would literally make things worse. The point is that the way Japan's society functions as a whole needs to make improvements and changes, or else it won't just be Anime that we will see disappearing in a decade or two.

[@thenonexistinghero]

They brainwash the people there from birth to become obedient little slaves. Young folks are starting to break out of it I noticed, but since the society is still structured mostly like it was, improvement will take quite a while. Don't worry though, while they are improving... we are quickly regressing.

[@thedrewster0408]

It’s also telling that just last year, China has overtopped Japan to become the world’s largest automobile exporter in the world just last year and Germany has actually overtopped Japan as well to become the third largest economy by nominal GDP in the world just only behind China and the USA.

[@faenethlorhalien]

Yeah. True. And unions are an absolute joke in Japan. They wield no power and if you unionize, you are basically blacklisted from working at any job of your industry, because the government does not extend any protections to workers, only companies.

[@faenethlorhalien]

Anime won't disappear because of what is already happening: see the anime credits for series in the last 15-20 years, more and more of them are being made by South Korean, Vietnamese or Indonesian animators. And quality suffers from it. I consider 1978-1997 the best in terms of animation quality and those anime were exclusively made by Japanese artists.

[@qfsrucjcmlzoey]

And after working all day, going overtime even, they're forced to go drinks with their colleagues, sheesh

[@mrduck6720]

The situation in Japan's animation industry is so bad that the JP Research Institute went ahead and came up with a plan that would mandate changes to payments, training, employment and insurance. They even suggested giving studios 30% ownership of IPs, regardless of their current investment within a production committee. They're looking to create a stable labour union in the mean time. This should've already happened 10-15 years ago, but better late than never.

[@nine_tails137]

If this is true, it's a start in the right direction. Cause I support the stuff I love, because I want the creators to be happy. Same with celebrities and actors. If they're happy, I'm happy. For example: when Kisimoto(the creator of Naruto), finished his manga, and took a long break to spend time with his family, All I can say it GG bro! You deserve a break after all the hard work you put in.😊👍

[@dhammanunthd.4387]

I used to work as a freelance 3d animators for various advertisement spots in my country. Unrealistic expectations and deadlines, never enough time to polish anything, the pay took forever to arrive, hard to satisfy clients and constant marathon from one project to the next burned me out of the industry in one year. None of the colleagues that I know sleeps at night, ever. They were always available 24/7 it’s mind boggling. My endurance cannot hold a candle to these Japanese animators, and it pains me to imagine the constant headaches they have to soldier through each day and still somehow retain a semblance of passion in their line of work. I love the art form. But there ain’t no way I’m trading my own lifespan for it.

[@itsaUSBline]

This sort of thing flies in the US *all the time*, saying this would never happen in America is a bizarre take. Look at the AAA games industry in the US, this situation is actually very comparable to that. It's corporate greed and capital doing what it does.

[@OkurkaBinLadin]

Basically, he expects, that Japense will be better and yet more humane at capitalism than Americans are. He is very romantic person...

[@luvhair255]

Yeah. There's a difference in a few ways, but it's very similar in the US. They're trying to get their hands into the Japanese market as well in a big way. USA has tried a couple times in the past 100 years to do major strikes involving inequality in the whole country. There were riots, assassinations, psyops, military prepared to face peaceful protesters, FBI/CIA meddling, and loss of life. Now we're back to being compliant again here. Given it's MLK weekend, people forget he was going to do a Washington DC sit-in with thousands of people fighting for fair wages. He was killed about a month before he could get everyone there and the tens of thousands of people never went to the Capital.

[@beccangavin]

I was going to point this out too. The Japanese are actually addressing the epidemic of people working themselves to death and as a result Japan has moved lower on the list of hours worked and America has moved up. It was only last year that strikes were a prominent feature in America’s labor scene after decades of declines in unionization. American’s don’t just accept poor working conditions, we celebrate the hustle. If you aren’t making your free time profitable, you’re a loser. If you aren’t coming in on your weekends and working for free, you aren’t driven enough. If you stay home when you’re sick, you’re weak.

[@zimzamzoom69]

Mappa wanting to reach the heights and fame of KyoAni and Ufotable, but refusing to follow their work ethic and instead just forces their animators to go from show to show to show is just horrendous. JJK0 started pre-production and ended post-production in 4 MONTHS! HOW are they allowed to do this

[@orion615]

4 months?!!?!? That's fucking disgusting

[@anhkduc7930]

It's scary because jjk0 animation is amazing, so MAPPA will think that if they can pull this off why can't they keep doing this with other animes.

[@WieldMyWord]

I mean its not hard to beat Kyoani and Ufotable, if they had given the animators 1 extra year on csm, jjk, vinland saga, AoT, etc it would have beaten everything else out there.

[@neonnwave1]

Because laws haven't caught up and cultural reasons. Japanese laws tend to be outdated and take a long to change or catch up (best example is how they made CP illegal in 2015). So this also applies to workforce laws. With nothing protecting the workers, and the government being very hands off, employers can pretty much do as they please. This has caused so many to never speak up or against their co-workers or bosses. There's also the cultural aspect where Japanese society prioritizes the people over the self, which is why so many people never speak their minds. Japan as a whole is currently drowned in fear. Barely anyone speaks up, barely anyone steps in to help or stop others, and barely anyone goes out to seek help or take care of themselves. Because the fear of punishment or being a burden is too great.

[@zimzamzoom69]

@@WieldMyWord True, but ufo and KyoSni never had work environment problems. They build that reputation up over the course of years and Mappa wants to achieve that in a matter of months, hence we get all of this

[@NanaLaEnana]

I worked in the animation industry in my country for 8 years. Absolutely loved it, but animators get treated like shit pretty much everywhere in the world. I quit a while ago after the government cut the budget allotted to help artists. I still consider myself an artist, but now that AI has come, we’re getting screwed all over again. We’re the first to go because we’re disposable in the big shot’s eyes. I’m glad I switched careers, because I see a lot of my animation and art circle of friends and coworkers suffering and really struggling due to this. Unfortunately, unless it’s a worldwide movement, and we have the back up of a worldwide audience, I see nothing changing for the better.

[@thehumus8688]

true, Me also work in Animation for like 2 years. Horrible pay, Horrible condition, Overtime everyday, and you dont get paid for overtime - but you expected to overtime even in sunday People that doing it is the one with burning passion, they kind of like true artist that like to step further into mastering their craft Animation and SFX industries is litteraly powered by artist Passion and love. also latter on, I find that the studio itself also aint brimming in money - the whole animation production industries is just broken

[@shutup1037]

​@@thehumus8688😔😔

[@Dave102693]

What industry are you in now, if you don't mind me asking?

[@NanaLaEnana]

@@Dave102693 I started my own business.

[@somebodythatiusetoknow2027]

Honestly they do deserve a strike because any anime animator deserves a right for a work/life balance. Also Twitter doesn’t help with fans being nit picky

[@nine_tails137]

For me, I want the creators/animators to have fun with their work. That means reasonable hours, regular breaks, and a friendly work environment. Sure they will have some bad days(It's happened to me as well), but death by overwork is just painful to watch.

[@QbertoaD]

Art and commerce always butts heads against each other. The executives never understand the real effort going into making quality artistic content, only in the money could generate and never appreciate the talent involved and how to compensate for their bloated salaries.

[@brandon-qc1ul]

Yup, but the animators are the ones always at the losing side. Until animators in the future starts quitting left & right and not tolerating with this kind of treatment and working conditions.

[@yourbasicninja]

Ita about time animators have the balls to stand up against their bosses and voice their horrible treatment within the studio. STAND UP FOR YOURSELF ANIMATORS! ✊️

[@ivorydragon]

As someone who's been looking to quit, this is really, really easier said than done.

[@shimigami92dk]

the faster they stand up the better

[@Paradox1012]

You don't know how that society works.

[@viviangarcia5696]

​​​​It'll take generations for things to change seeing how much power the old generations have in the Japanese society with the top positions, authority and traditional values by their side, if change does happen, it will be very slow and small due to the friction in respecting the established one. Im still rooting for the younger generations to fight for it now that theyre becoming more aware of the reality of the situations​@JaidenAnimationsSon

[@christianr.5868]

I dont think some random Twitter boso is influencing massive anime corporations

[@yaminogame7805]

may your year be better than it started. 💜 These creatives deserve so much better.

[@turq99]

Watching the writers and actors strike go on in LA sadly taught me that money and greed can be blinding. There is a rough balance between those who want to work for their passions and others wanting the passion to work for them. When the Disney writers walked out during the initial contract negotiations, the higher ups were convinced if they held out the workers would all crawl back in a couple months and meet their demands It was insane. The fact they would rather let them potentially get to the risk of going broke than just paying them better for their efforts was painful. And when the writers held out longer than expected, the top dogs were forced to renegotiate. I wish it was easier to educate people in the efforts varying jobs behind the scenes take. Just because one maynot get it doesn't mean it should be underestimated.

[@Parshwa_Nathwani]

Two minor corrections: Both hakuyu Go(the director) and Chandsard Vincent (My GOAT) are free lancers rather than being associated or employed under MAPPA productions! Anyways great video man! It's bringing awareness to the mainstream viewers as well!!

[@sarov7658]

I think Vincent now did a contract for 1 year with toei

[@Parshwa_Nathwani]

@@sarov7658 This is mappa production we are talking about, yes he did do a contract with toir

[@MissBat-p9p]

I grew up with 2000s anime. Today's anime is waaaay too fast paced and no wonder the animators are burnt out. I wish they would go back to traditional animation by drawing. It needs more time and we, as the consumer, needs to reduce our demand. It's a shame how they are treated and severely underpaid. This needs to change ASAP.

[@elimDBZ]

So basically samurai champloo quality vs jujutsu kaisen level of quality and pacing? Or am I wrong in that comparison?

[@marcorodriguez8792]

Honestly, yeah. I agree

[@BleachDemon707]

SILENCE USER STRING 🙄

[@fluidthought42]

I want worse looking anime that takes longer to make and pays its artists more, and I am not joking. I don't care if the fight scenes don't pop, I care that the people are treated right. Besides, it's an open secret that paying animators even just slightly more improves the quality of work, but that'd be against the status quo and there are vested interests, like funding committees, that would hate that.

[@Pepe-dq2ib]

​@@fluidthought42then only watch the anime by western studios.

[@Ketsumeiabarenbou]

On the other hands, I think people working in the anime industry being more and more present on social media and praised for their work has globally led to a slight increase in awareness of how things work in the production of anime which is great and may ultimately empower them enough to make a stand. Years back, they were in the shadows and now we have news article talking about them, how they feel about the bad working conditions and reknown youtubers reacting to these articles and trying to spread awareness even more. It's going in the right direction. There may be a lot of bad apples taking the chance to talk shit about said animation workers but more and more people realize how animators themselves are rarely at fault and how crucial decisions are made by ip holders way higher up in the production commitee. What we need to do is keep an eye on what happens in the industry, follow and listen to the workers and the way they share their opinion and globally keep talking about it. We are no longer in times where a severe crunch can happen in a widely known studio without fans hearing about it and we all need to make the most out of that for the industry to change as a whole

[@Fujiisamaa]

like 90% of MAPPA employees left after JJK

[@13sinra13]

Then again, MAPPA was apparently mistreating its workers to the point where KZbinrs started making skits about the situation.

[@WalkerSunriseChannel]

What strikes me is how long it’s been the case. Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, the lead animator on the original Mobile Suit Gundam, once shared the story of how he came down with pleurisy late on the show’s production (so early-mid 1980). He said that he collapsed in the middle of the night at the studio, and thought he was dying. He’s quoted (rough TL) “Back then animators used to drop dead all the time. Even younger guys. I just thought it was my turn. I was so very exhausted.”

[@rona_desu]

13 min gang 🙌 It's so bizarre how these amazing animators make our favorite animes happen, but suffer so much.. they deserve so much more then just credits.

[@ChainedThoughts]

OMG thank you! Thank you for calling these people out. When the new Kuroshitsuji trailer came out, so many people were shitting on the quality of the drawings like an entitled brat. They should be grateful we even got a new SEASON rather than a remake with all the seiyuus returning to their roles and it's literally so faithful to Yana-sensei's work. You are right on the money, these people don't deserve anime. I'm so proud of the animators finally realising that they are worth so much more and they deserve to be treated with respect by the people who need them. Those greedy big shots should learn that it's them who needs the animators to bring in their money, not the animators. They are doing it because they love what they do and are probably otakus themselves.

[@user-lh7mt7zo7l]

You're talking like anime is free or something lol if someone pays for product they expect quality.

[@stealthbrandon]

@@user-lh7mt7zo7l Most of these people don't pay shit for anime they pay a netflix subscriptions that subdize the cost of netflix paying for the license very little of there money contribute to the production or payment of anime

[@flamingpuppeteer]

As an amateur animator just doing this for fun, yes, please give animators time to breathe and rest and finish the project at a later date instead of rushing it for profit. I ended up hurting myself after rushing a 9-10 second short to be fully lined, colored, and shaded within 48 hours (I already had the sketch done the week before, but still OW). I had to take 2 weeks to rest because of that... and fellow amateur animators! Do yourself a favor and remember to rest and stretch! Please!

[@blue_rosa_art]

First it was the mangakas with insane schedules that cause lifelong health issues due to corporate greed and also the whole commercializing of art to keep up with societies inability to just wait, and their constant need to consume more and more media quicker and on top of that they don't pay mangakas much either. Now Animators are being hit hard as well. Maybe it's time for Corporations and us to realize that art isn't something to be placed on a standard like every other job. Like when is enough going to be enough, let the mangakas, animators and artists in general cook for gods sake.

[@chaitanyaanamay1157]

Mangaka depends on their stories they are not paid monthly lol 😂

[@torchlight1785]

I’m ok with waiting longer for things as long as I know the people behind whatever it is are passionate and not dead inside.

[@tree9171]

We have way too many anime per season nowadays anyway, i would love a change in the industry that puts more focus on quality although that is next to impossible

[@misake]

I completely agree with you. I think it's better to have less really good shows where there are more people working on it or the artists have more time to work on it. Also it's sad that they aren't paid what they deserve, I only recently heard that from another video you did a while back (I think it was to anime studio tour.) I used to want to be a 2D animator, glad I never did.

[@YellowBelles]

Thank you for talking about this

[@ShadowOfNos]

the best animes I've seen were always the ones made with passion & where the artists could express their artistic freedom. I wouldn't mind less anime if we get greater stories overall

[@drifter5875]

"If that's what it takes to save the world, it's better to let that world die" ~ Geralt of Rivia The closing line of the vid gave this vibe, just replace 'world' with the 'Anime industry', and if it requires Animators to sell their soul and make them be Overworked as hell and Underpaid for it, then maybe yeah the Anime industry deserves to die, maybe, be reborn in a new way! which might just be for the best...

[@kuroenekodemon]

Um Joey they do this shit in America and Canada and the only reason why they stop is usually due to a mixture of EEOC complaints, OSHA/OHSA complaints, lawsuits and unionization. I'm in Canada and an employer did this to me as well except now the bubble is bursting for these companies and time is running out

[@maryssamay2560]

Thank you for advocating and saying this!!

[@priyamkumar7417]

If you are wondering the mahoraga sequence especially the part where sukuna's hairs flow with wind, that sequence is done by Vincent chansard, he also did some of the iconic scenes for one piece like the gear 5 scenes

[@victorygardener379]

I’m old, old, old school. I’ve loved anime since it was called Japanation (in Canada), since I discovered Ghost In the Shell. And I agree. We should be waiting with bated breath and series should be shorter. It’s heart breaking to know that Animators aren’t honoured as artists. They deserve better and I can only hope things improve.

[@InsertArgumentHere]

I think the saddest part of being in the animation industry is that you are so replaceable no matter how good you are

[@emperorfaiz]

With AI becoming more prominent in the industries, it would be much worse.

[@user-lh7mt7zo7l]

@@emperorfaiz Don't you mean better? Now less people have to suffer the conditions required for animation in theory so long as AI continues to improve.

[@gokuwrightattorneyatlaw5227]

​@@user-lh7mt7zo7l i personally feel like art itself should be made by humans. Those of us who love art it gives us something worth living for than just being couch potatoes. However since companies like this treat humans like slaves im not sure what the future holds. However as long as small studios are around and treat their employees good I believe human artists will be ok. Just gotta adapt

[@NOMAD-_-]

As someone that grew up in the 90’s with some banger anime’s they will always hold a special place in my heart I do love the modern anime but yes the animators need to be paid more and have the time to do what they love they also need time off for mental health reasons and family they don’t get to see because there slaving over a desk for god knows how long ❤

[@blackdragonessgamer9252]

I wanted to join the anime industry for so long during my junior high school years as well as high school. Until I did research about it and my heart was crushed. You know when that was? 2004. In college.

[@pramana9175]

And THANK YOU for calling out those people that said the anime messed up the manga. Like, it's fine to compare. But you don't have to be an a-hole with it. Anime and manga are different media. One is still image, one is moving image. The delivery will be different. Enjoy both. Good god... Cheers to you Joey

[@suiken3149]

Best direction for animators, especially the veteran ones is crowd-sourcing. Worked well for some game developers. And we had a Muv Luv adaptation due to crowd sourcing too.

[@johnmartinez-valentin5427]

For me I don't mind waiting for an anime to be finished either if it took two three or even four years that's about the time it takes for a movie to come out I don't mind

[@thedrewster0408]

With how the working conditions of the anime industry are like behind the scenes, I’m surprised that the animators have not gone on strike yet or unionize their workforce.

[@bmanpura]

I think this is a sign of change. I watch news everywhere telling me everyone in America, in Japan, in Korea, all burnt out. It's insane. I don't know if there's a revolution incoming but there're less happy people today than yesterday, and I don't think it's stopping. Hoping for a good change. About quantity and quality: You don't have to trade quantity with quality to mistreat the employees. Management normally wants people to work their best, their hardest - this is normal. What isn't normal is chasing a myhtical number that comes from speculations and overconfidence. Anime have peaked imho - and it's going to go downhill from now. But something that goes downhill doesn't have to crash and burn; They can stabilize, and keep making good enjoyable content while providing a living for everyone in the industry. I'd like to see that happen.

[@friend3391]

Fans on Twitter are getting so much vocal about "SAKUGA" that they are going all the way to harass animators on their personal accounts recently it happened with Bleach TYBW cour 2 where few people harassed one of the animation directors because Bleach isn't getting high quality animation like Jjk s2 or Mob psycho s3 even though it was nowhere near bad and the drawings in each episode looked really crisp. Imagine working 12+ hours on a show which looks nowhere near bad and getting harassed cuz it didn't had high quality Sakuga like other shows really unfortunate situation:/

[@IndigoEuphonium]

I would be in favor of all media and entertainment taking an extra year or two before release

[@grayrook8637]

2 second gang still ain't bad. While it probably can never happen but imagine how much it would make the industry notice if people were actually boycotting these conditions. Ding, paper I gotta do idea: one on the anime dormitory project. Thanks AnimeMan.

[@fluidthought42]

We could also just pirate more. It's not like it'd make things worse for the actual animators and creatives, they don't make shit off of people watching their work. We need more of a push to not buy merch, which is what really greases the production committees' wheels. They make bank off of that, so we need to be aware of what happens when we buy into that shit.

[@Adraeth]

"Entitled", Joey. The word you were looking for is that the fans are getting entitled, and acting like Karens complaining about shit that has no reason to be complained about. And it's the animators who are paying the price.

[@clodes_sigdhart]

what do you mean this wouldn't happen in america? vfx artists at marvel are suffering the same unjust crunch and then getting roasted for their low-quality work all the time. The whole entertainment industry is being squeezed by high excecutives at the expense of the creative teams.

[@fluidthought42]

Luckily they're now going through a union push, hopefully they win out and bring some balance to it

[@catderune]

Hey Joey i totaly agree with you on every word you have said, it is a horrible and unfair situation for the Animators and if this continues than Anime really needs to die out...

[@isakwolff5491]

I just find it so ironic in a sad way, that Mappa was created because the founder hated the working condition over at Mappa, to then they became worse then Madhouse. Also, it seems like Toei is doing something right, considering he has only praised the One Piece team and is still working with them to the point that he is going to work in house at their studio until 2025 apparently according to a french podcast

[@sarov7658]

Toei is big and profits a lot from overseas without middlemen since they have their own company but small ones like mappa or A1 need western companies like sony who gets most proits for nothing

[@redpandai1]

I believe Toei is decent because they have an actual union and unionized and have working conditions. Used to be much worse apparently.

[@michelle-se7rk]

loving the frequent updates 😍

[@ConstantioMahardika]

They should let animator post their patreon or any donations site so people could give them tips based on their work.. It's stupid how VA payed 100 times more than the animator itself..

[@t.b.g.animation6185]

As a youtube animator i feel Bad for those talented animators .hell i work on my animation with no dead lines and i get burned out ...

[@Rootz2000]

The problem is with Japanese work culture as a whole. It isn't an anime industry problem specifically. As long as standing up for yourself at work is considered a social faux pas I don't expect anything to change sadly.

[@corneal35]

8:35 I dunno chief the amount of shady shit that goes on in warehouse work is pretty wild.

[@donney3389]

They deserve a massive raise for all animation staff. They've brought a lot of attention to Anime and I'd imagine that brought a lot of attention to figures based on anime. I don't compare shows My thoughts on the matter are to let them work to bring out their talents to the fullest I don't mind waiting for shows it might be disappointing if it's like Zom 100 and they're going on a hiatus after episode 9... I totally support them getting well-needed rest given it is a well-animated show for it being a new studio's first major project so I didn't mind the wait. My only concern was would kill the hype and attention for the show. If anime has to die to save animators then I'd support that, I'd be sad but I'd rather have that than the staff overworking themselves to death.

[@GagnierA]

In 2021, Anime overall worldwide generated nearly $30billion (USD) and is expected to be reaching a market value of $60billion by 2030...which, at the rate it's going, it'll probably hit that milestone before that estimate if you ask me. Work conditions being terrible for the people that create this value has been a known issue for ages. It's impossible for me to even wonder why an industry that's making so much money would treat it's bread and butter so poorly. Without the people doing the work, there would be no money coming in. It doesn't even take a lot either. Get them well lit offices in buildings that are properly maintained, comfortable desks and chairs, humane schedules and maybe paid lunch... The happier the worker, the better their work becomes. It truly is that simple.

[@offimatrix4897]

working conditions have always been horrible for anime and game creators in japan for years, Under payed, working day and night sleeping even on your desk till next day, You see that on small anime doodles people do of there daily life's.

[@LeverageGamingLi]

As a fellow anime enjoyer I appreciate the time and effort that the animators put into the animation but knowing how poorly they get treated by the higher ups is just disheartening.

[@kanchi21]

really missing the 80's and 90's anime era

[@birdwiththumbs]

I need animators to understand that as much as I love the medium, as long as I have been consuming the medium, I (and I hope many others) are here to support them. It's THEIR art we're appreciating. They need to take care of themselves to give their best and enjoy their jobs. I'm right next to them as an educator.

[@myliege8197]

Is it so hard to realize the fact that a CEO or higher ups are not where they are unless they be grateful to their subordinates?

[@brandon-qc1ul]

Don't forget to add they don't even understand the effort and sacrifice the animators have to make with their time & life just to produce good quality anime that is a movie budget. Quantity over quality or quality over quantity but they want both which is unrealistic and the ones that have to suffer in the end just to meet the public demand are the animators.

[@brandon-qc1ul]

And i always hate it when i hear other people say " Drawing is your PASSION right?" which sounds like they are taking advantage of people/animators passion. Really hate it when someone say's that word, which the word say's the person likes to draw & produce high quality anima work because it's their passion but in reality they end up getting minimal pay & no recognition for the effort put into the work, having to work with very tight deadline with little to no sleep/rest. Art is not free in the end of the day and it requires a lot of hard work and talent to produce it, if they are not willing to pay for the good quality then i can see why more animators are starting to quit the studio they are working in.

[@SwitchMaxFX]

Learning more and more about the ainme industry, its a absoulete miracle the industry had survived this long without some kind of large scale implosion.

[@FingonNarmolanya]

I really hope it's a prime case of fuck around and find out for the anime industry

[@jaredmacintyre6970]

I like videos like this. Not tier lists - no top 10 *blank* anime. It's simply talking about the industry as a whole. Good video Joey !

[@shimigami92dk]

I hope they try to do something about this soon before it's too late because AI is growing faster and faster the animators might not even have four years left before the executives see them as completely expendable. and will just use AI trained off of the animators hard work so they don't have to pay them at all

[@Phantom-ZER0]

I don't think that anime needs to die, but i do strongly believe that the system needs to re-structured. 3 simple options; -Increase workers wages or lower demand quantity -Stop requesting ridiculous quality every week, especially when producing multiple anime's or 2 cours shows. -Stop releasing like 40-50 anime's per season and go back to 20-30, even viewers don't have time to watch that many. I've been watching anime for a little over 23 years now, and i honestly gotta say that if they lower the amount of shows released per season, most people wouldn't mind. Sure younger children have the time to watch all of them, but working adults can barely fit 10-15 seasonal anime's in their free time. With 40-50 hour work schedules, school, family, etc. It's not like we even have the time to watch all these extra anime's that they're releasing with 1 or 2 high quality episodes out of 12-13 but same repeat recycle story. As awful as early Shonen anime's like Naruto and Bleach were with the filler hells and sometimes dogshit animation, the reason they worked so well was because no one had ridiculous expectations about the anime adaptation because they followed the same cycle. You got a good fight every few episodes with a few minutes of top-tier animation, a lot of talking and then proceeding to normal storytelling and average animation. This cycle never put any continuous stress on the workers because they knew that once they finished the hard part, they could rest and take it easy for a couple of weeks/months. With new Shonen shows like Kaguya-Sama, MHA, Jujutsu Kaisen, Doctor Stone, they keep giving fans extremely good animated fights/scenes every week with practically no breaks for 23-24 weeks straight with expectations set to maximum. It's not the younger generation of fans fault for being disappointed if quality drops, Studios set the bar too high for them and now the stress and burden falls on their animators. Gotta give them a break or reward them accordingly for their backbreaking work. As much as i like good anime and great quality fights/scenes, i'm okay with lower quality and lower quantity if it means workers can suffer from less stress and anxiety. A good story is more then just animation quality, look at Gintama for instance, low quality animation for months until action arc starts but top-tier anime with almost 500 episodes. Same goes for Isekai anime or other Light Novel adaptations, need more better stories that follow the source material rather than high quantity which skips content per season just to promote the books. No one is gonna buy it if the anime presented a shitty repeat/recycle story when it probably isn't and could have been better. Also, SAO's massive success alongside Re Zero and Konosuba just made the isekai genre desperate to promote every LN story in any way possible to up the sales and profit. But most of them suck (with the exception of Mushoku Tensei, Angel Next Door, and Eminence in Shadow) because they were poorly presented in anime format or overlooked due to the excessive quantity of LN stories released per season. Anime industry needs to change within this decade or it's heading towards ruin. Just my opinion, still love anime though :)

[@Drstrange3000]

I think it also helped that the writing (in my opinion) was good/serviceable. I never had too much issue with the pacing of something like Naruto. Sometimes it would be too slow and have some filler, but it is much, MUCH better than the super-fast pacing of a lot of the newer shows. I also like slow moments to complement the more action heavy scenes. I do like good animation though, but lately I find myself more entertained by shows like Aggrestsuko and The Way of the Househusband. Both aren't known for their stellar animation but have quality to make them entertaining but great characters. I think the anime industry is like the gaming industry where they try to milk a successful idea without understanding why it worked.

[@Acceleration50]

I think everyone should go checkout a video by the youtuber HitReg who made a video about the state of the anime industry titled, "This Anime exposed a $28,000,000,000 Sweatshop" he goes into a pretty in-depth reason as to why the anime industry is the way it is and how it can be fixed.

[@NOC-H]

One thing I hate is how they flood the market with so many different series anime of one genre and drop so many of them so quick. Some that should continue vanish. And some that are meh get second seasons. (Posted before finishing this episode). And I agree, I’m happy to accept a drastic reduction in anime releases. I mean, there’s plenty of anime in existence to watch anyway. Hell, cut back quantity and quality may skyrocket while providing a safe and effective work environment.

[@resurec8835]

Its not just the anime industry, Japan is well known to a saying "work to death" watched a lot of documentary about this and it's just heartbreaking.

[@BigTatasEnjoyerr]

Dude, Joey literally lived there for long time, ofc he knew about that.

[@mia3033]

​@@BigTatasEnjoyerrmaybe the comment is for us not specifically joey

[@sharm198g]

At this point, it's a competition between anime, movie sfx, video game industry on who's imploding first.

[@johnmartinez-valentin5427]

I would take Quality over Quantity any day 💯

[@cree_VI]

i remember one documentary where in some company, a bunch of very fresh animators were making their first anime. How tired and sleepless they were, one guy became so sad, that he started to think maybe he is not good for his job and needed to quit.

[@roach362]

I honestly don't know why the various anime studios in Japan haven't got together and created their own subbing streaming service. I am sure it would be far more beneficial than just selling streaming rights to western companies. You could have all the shows in one place, instead of the mish-mash of streaming services we have now, and they'd have more money to actually pay the people who work their ass off. If something looks awesome, great, but I'm more than happy to watch shows like Cromartie High if it means animators aren't going to get completely screwed.

[@fluidthought42]

That takes money and investment, and traditional investment would be incredibly risky. Besides, there needs to a structure like a union to ensure that the benefits of more direct funding actually go to the workers and not the higher ups/investors.

[@chanchaiken5522]

This is something we known for years and years, what I want to know is something gonna change at all and if these animators/employee able to get good jon after? Because these news always end at " anime studio treat their staff bad", but what after it?

[@scmarshtacky]

At the end of the day, it all comes back down to the fact that we, from a worldy perspective, are choking under capitalism. Everyone, everywhere wants more, faster. Anime is an easy one to point out, but this problem is out there in every big business. What needs to change the most, is how we, as consumers in a world market, consume produced materials. I think that in the next couple of decades, we will either have changed how we interact with the market, it will turn to AI, or it will collapse in on itself. Or perhaps, a combination of everything

[@wblebon]

They need to take there time people need to learn to be patient

[@WannabeGhost]

Dear animators, UNIONIZE. There is a reason why suits hate it when working people do that :D Oh and before you do, look up the history of unions in western 2d animation, so you dont make their mistake. And most important, you are great and worthy of proper compensation and treatment. Never forget that.

[@sarov7658]

Unions aren't always good like look at the recent shit shitt how unions backstabbed VA with AI shit

[@alphakowaclips]

Union in japan just get blacklisted and don't get hired

[@kissena3830]

I won't recommend Unionization (just yet)

[@UltimatePerfection]

Hopefully the new technology will automate the most annoying parts of doing animation (both anime and regular) such as inbetweening, etc. so people can focus on doing less work for the same quality and will have more time for themselves.

[@Driver01111]

When did Dr.jelly change his channel's pfp?💀

[@kpiaum]

I still remember when Mappa started to become popular, the PR was "An studio pro animator". And the greed turned the studio what it is today and what is happening at the studio.

[@Yamiletsgo]

This is happening in America and there hopefully will be a strike for animators this year

[@oboretaiwritingch.2077]

Thing is, imagine this. If smash hit multimillion franchise animes like Chainsaw Man and JJK are where you get the news of animators being treated like crap, I can't even ponder to imagine how animators would be treated on some random 3rd rate Isekai nobody remembers when their anime can't even make its own budget back. It's most likely the case that unless you're a star animator working on a smash hit project, any grievances an animator try to say online will just end up not being seen, not to mention likely to get them in trouble, if not outright fired and blacklisted, so not many animators would dare to voice their opinions. It's why the argument of "anime fans always want better anime more, more, more" strikes kinda off to me, because somehow, the anime industry also continues to churn out forgettable Isekais that nobody cares about every single season for the past 10 years. It's like the industry keeps pushing the self-destruct button over and over while pretending that's how business works. The issue with expecting fans to take action to change things is that, since many Japanese fans, the group of fans the industry is most likely going to give a shit about, also is raised up by Japanese "nobody talks about the elephant in the room" mentality, I feel it's kinda the same as how K-Pop fans treat their K-Pop stars. Many fans, *especially* the hardcore ones, already knew how god awful inhumane their industry is, but as long as the people working in the industry aren't speaking out and are still providing the fans with breads and circuses, then the fans too, are expected to just shut up and pretend everything is dandy. It's why I very much unironically hope AI-assist will become a thing to help animators lessen their loads in the future. Note that I say AI-assist, for something like in-betweens, not AI-generated because I don't forsee an AI being able to generate a coherent 23 minute animation any time soon, unless they also have someone who constantly have to go back and fix the countless mistakes the AI is bound to make, at which point it might as well be no different than having a human draw the whole thing.

[@Drstrange3000]

One of the few sensible comments here.

[@Pooky1991]

Yeah. And its interesting you bring up kpop, because the international appeal has made more nonkoreans vocal about the issues. From my observation it has caused multiple camps to pop up. You have the Korean fans who get annoyed at the international fans who bring up the issues due to the compliant issues you mentioned, but you also have those Korean fans who feel more comfortable discussing or learning about the issues because international fans are less afraid to talk about them. The international fame has also led to idols themselves caring less about image, steppjng out their comfort zones, or some actually are advocating more for changes. I think the fact there are many more Kpop groups with international members may be contributing to this slow change as well. The anime industry is an interesting case, because while anime has international appeal, Japan is still a pretty closed off and conservative country and we're talking about animators, not idols who have more of a presense/face people can see down to the least known. I feel like anime will probably have to go through the equivalent of the video game crash before any serious change will happen and even thats a stretch given the current state of todays video game industry. Japan as a whole will probably go through a major financial and social disaster before any actual change happens with how issues from the work culture is really beginning to cause serious internal and external harm to the country.

[@thanosandnobill3789]

China wins from this. They are hiring Japanese animators right now with waaaay better salaries that's why we had masterpieces like Link Click recently.

[@LittleSparklingStars]

If China is paying animators better then the world really got upside down.

[@thanosandnobill3789]

@@LittleSparklingStars Well it's happening already, not only for animators. As an example, a friend of mine with only 3 years of experience found a job as a front-end developer in Vietnam with exactly the same salary he had in France. But the cost of living is less than 1/3 relative to France.

[@ChirstInTheDistance]

Well, guys, if it all goes to crap, at least we still got years and years of anime/manga in the vaults; to fall back on. But I do hope the industry revolutionizes, when these people are putting so much passion and skill into there work; they deserve the fruit of there labor; and guy's if you aren't plz, learn to be more appreciative and considerate of the authors and animators. Animation is extremely hard, tedious, and very redundant. If we want this medium of entertainment to be maintained; we as the consumers need to play our part's and express our support; with our words and wallets.

[@sirbluelagoon7091]

Like to give a shoutout Ufotable and Kyoto Animations for bringing out bangers and treating your animators like VIPs.

[@sarov7658]

Nope ufotable ain't good either lol

[@inamorta47-playertwist]

This is why KyoAni and Ufotable are the best in the industry. They don't treat their animators as tools. Mappa is just Mappa.

[@DHJakon]

If this were in the US… that opens up a can of worms. At the very least the workers can apply for government assistance.

[@foxceles]

My partner is a story boarder, not anime, but for western animation, I think a lot of people who make those "this isn't exactly like the manga!" don't know what goes into it and that they have to change things for time, ease of animation ect.... I don't think anime will ever fully die out, but, A trend that is happening in western animation ( and western media in general) is self publishing or collab style . Viziepop ( helluva boss, Hazbin hotel) and Tracey butler (Lackadaisy), heck ever T Swift herself buying her own music and not going with a label. I wonder if animators in japan will be headed that way as well? And like what joey is saying, let things cook.

[@cadethumann8605]

What you wrote is interesting. Independent artists like Viziepop producing series in smaller collaborative efforts does seem like the way to go for them to express their passions with less poor working conditions. My question, though, is how they manage to treat and pay their animators and other folks working for them. What's it like working for those guys? Are the conditions fair?

[@kpskills7763]

Mappa squeezed them too hard

[@ishigamiyuu6]

I loved you in this video so much joey......those businessmen needed to hear this.

[@sanpedro1337]

Pay these talented people what they derserve!!