Poor working conditions and labor shortages．．．The industry group is in the red to pass on the skills of anime production， a field Japan is proud of． They have launched a “certification” system with the aim of developing human resources．
0001Shogun of the Expeditionary Forces★.Sep. 26, 2024 (Thu) 11:39:59.07ID:q7x7JKIG9
47news September 26, 2024 11:00am Japanese anime is highly regarded overseas. The market size is said to be expected to reach 3 trillion yen, but poor working conditions at production sites are a problem. While the number of films produced has more than tripled in the past 30 years (according to the Association of Japanese Animations), the number of staff has not increased significantly, and the labor shortage is becoming more serious. There is no capacity on the ground to train new talent, and it is becoming difficult to pass on the skills that the Japanese anime industry has cultivated up to now. If things continue like this, the technology for anime production will disappear. The industry group “The Federation of Animation Film Culture Associations of Japan (NAFCA),” which felt a strong sense of crisis, created the “Animator Skills Certification” with the aim of attracting and developing talent. I started the application process. We spoke in detail with Yamato Naomichi, a director of the organization and an anime director, and Fukui Tomoko, also a director and video director, about the current state of the industry, problems it faces, and expectations for the certification. (Kyodo News = Takasaki Makiko) ▽ I can’t devote my time to mentoring my juniors Yamato Naomichi –I heard that the “Animator Skills Examination” involves practical tests on “moving animation,” which is the foundation of an animator’s skills. Could you tell us about the background to the establishment of this type of examination and the environment surrounding the anime industry? Fukui (since the late 1990s) The digitalization of the production environment has led to greater efficiency and shorter production times, which has resulted in a significant increase in the amount of work produced. Originally, animators passed down their skills through a master-apprentice system, but due to a shortage of manpower, more and more work was entrusted to newcomers, and if they didn’t do it well, the more experienced animators had to correct it… This increased the burden on the seniors, and they were no longer able to mentor their juniors. Another factor that has had an impact is that, due to a shortage of manpower, Yamato is increasingly outsourcing the “animation” work, which is the foundation of its technology and which expresses movement, to overseas companies. Fukui: Usually, you learn about animation before you start, but I’ve been assigned to do more key animation work without having much experience in animation. ▽ Not a “ranking” Overview of the Animator Skills Test (provided by the Japan Anime Film Cultural Federation) – According to NAFCA, the number of productions is increasing, but the number of animators is not increasing significantly. Fukui: In a vicious cycle where technology transfer was not going well, many people without the necessary skills continued to do the work. This situation has continued for about 20 years, and even among those in a position to correct it, an increasing number are doing it the wrong way. Although it appears to be working properly at first glance, strange things are happening because there is no theoretical understanding of the movement of people and objects. On the other hand, many of the veterans who have been active until now will also retire. –So you’re saying that you don’t want the test to be a “ranking” system where people are told “it’s amazing because you have a certain level.” Fukui: Yes. The goal is to get people interested in anime production as early as possible and to have them become aware of the necessary skills. I think that right now, all of the technology that has been passed down (by the Japanese anime industry) is heading in the direction of being wasted. I want to do something, but just teaching a few people on-site won’t be enough. Through this test, I would like to pass on my skills to more people. *The following sources are cited. c Kyodo News.
>>1 Even though there is a shortage of manpower and human resources in technical positions, the number of producers is so high that I wonder if there has ever been such a large number of them. Even the anime nerds and netizens who bash everything don’t understand this, so they don’t criticize, but it’s usually these people who are killing content by cutting out the middlemen or making it worse.
It’s because Dentsu, TV stations and publishers have stopped taking shitty cuts and not letting sponsors’ money go to the production companies properly, right? How many decades have they been saying the same thing?
>>5 So true Can’t a talented animator take the lead and create an independent body? Or it should just flow to Netflix or something. There are too many people who don’t do anything but take out the middle part.
They say it’s a tough schedule with no time to sleep, but strangely enough, if you have plenty of time to make it, it doesn’t necessarily mean that an interesting work will be produced, but with the content known as anime, that’s not the case.
It seems that salaries are improving for animators with a certain level of skill. The problem is that animation companies are run like a business, with no regard for whether they can go bankrupt at any time.
If the anime industry is serious about it, they should work to train animators at Tokyo University of the Arts while Hayao Miyazaki is still alive and well.
>>19 It’s the same for all video content. In the case of live-action, rather than a labor shortage, even production companies are rampant with people getting hired through connections. And now that editing software can be run on PCs, there are a lot of directors who mistakenly think, “Even I can make it!” → “I can make it!” The quality is declining rapidly.
Why not give newbies a take-home pay of around 250,000 yen? They’ll just be filled with Nihon University graduates who won’t be able to become artists anyway.
Unless restrictions on middlemen are enacted, the production staff won’t get paid. Of course, if there are violations, the company’s name must be made public and severe penalties must be imposed.
>>37 The reason they don’t do that is because not only agencies but also broadcasting stations are exploiting them. In other words, it is also linked to collusion with the ruling party. This is a structure that is not limited to anime. Many children of politicians are in the major broadcasting stations and production companies.
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