When Japanese anime becomes a worldwide hit, it is easy to assume that the people who make it must also be earning well.
But the reality is not that simple. The large amount of money generated by a successful anime is not the same as the money that reaches the people actually making it.
Anime can earn money from streaming, movies, overseas licensing, merchandise, games, and many other sources. Production studios, however, may be working within a budget and schedule that were fixed in advance. Even if a title later becomes a global success, the studio and individual animators do not necessarily receive the same share of that success. It can also depend on whether the studio invested in the project and what rights it holds.
An anime series is also rarely made by just one company. Work such as animation, backgrounds, CG, and compositing may be divided among the main studio, subcontractors, specialist studios, and freelancers.
Then there is the pressure of deadlines. If a broadcast or streaming date has already been set, it may be difficult to move even when revisions increase or staff become stretched. The work requires a high level of skill, yet there may still be too little time and too few people to do it comfortably.
In Japan, manga and anime production have long had a reputation for long working hours, low pay, and tight deadlines. So when people hear that even a globally successful title was made under difficult conditions, they may think, “If it sells this much, why does so little seem to reach the people who actually made it?” At the same time, there can also be a sense that this sounds like the kind of thing that has long happened in the anime industry.
The idea that “people chose this work because they love it, so some hardship comes with the territory” has also remained part of the way creative work is sometimes viewed.
Things are changing, however. Earnings for younger creators have shown some improvement, and some studios employ creators as regular staff. Rules and industry practices are also being developed to make contract terms clearer and payments to freelancers fairer.
Even so, problems such as long hours, low rates, staff shortages, and tight production schedules have not disappeared. Freelancers may also be paid by the piece or by the cut, which means that simply working longer does not always lead to stable or higher income.
So Japan’s anime industry did not suddenly become a comfortable place to work simply because anime became a global success.
The market grew while many older production practices and working arrangements remained in place, and the industry is still in the process of changing them.
Global success and better working conditions for the people who make anime are still not the same thing.
References
- The Association of Japanese Animations, “Anime Industry Report”
- Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, materials on working conditions and workforce development in anime production
- Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Entertainment and Creative Industries Policy Study Group
- Japan Fair Trade Commission, guidelines on fair transactions in animation production
- Small and Medium Enterprise Agency, materials on transactions in anime production
