Japanese Animators Get Slave Wages: $11,000 A Year
- Categories: Anime, News
- Date: May 23, 2009 13:32 JST
- Tags: Animation, Bizarre, Business, Otaku, Production Controversy, Statistics
Anybody aspiring to contribute towards Japan’s colossal animation industry will likely be having second thoughts on seeing the latest statistics on their pay; the average annual salary paid to an animator in their twenties is a pathetic ¥1,100,000, rising to an even more shocking ¥2,140,000 in their thirties.
The average salary for a Japanese worker is approximately ¥4,500,000, with the average for those in their twenties being some ¥3,500,000, and for those in their thirties it is ¥4,800,000.
The figures for animators comes from an industry survey of 700 people working in the field, and caused no small surprise when it was reported on national news.
Just how these wretched slaves survive on such meager recompense is quite the mystery, though doubtless anyone earning so little must have additional sources of income. However they may scrape by, some of the deficiencies of animation visible in less well funded or overseen anime suddenly swim into focus…
Not only this, but as we heard before, seiyuu also have trouble making ends meet. Anime seems not to be such a lucrative business for its more replaceable workers.
Via Itai News.
Japan has in the post war period adopted a highly age dependent salary structure in many industries, which rewards company loyalty and long service, but does little to motivate highly talented workers to excel or push their careers forward at a faster pace.
This structure is showing signs of breaking down in some areas, but clearly the animation industry is not such an area.
Many are wondering just how this industry expects to retain and grow talent domestically when it forces its future star production staff into impossible wage competition with low cost producers such as Korea, China or South East Asia.
On the other hand, many of these employees are irrepressible otaku who could scarcely be prevented from working in the field; in these cases, employers can hardly be blamed for not paying them over the odds.
Whatever the case with salaried animators, the creative talent which is the greatest impetus towards the production of quality titles is comprised of mangaka, novelists and game studios, all of whom generally exist in conditions of pure meritocracy, and so sink or swim based solely on the success of their work in the market, an unpredictable existence which animators are insulated from.
That more of the pie is left over for creators is perhaps not a bad thing…
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I currently work in Japan - Assistant English Teacher (ALT) - and I earn 3.6 million yen per year: about three times that of the average animator.
Through happy and fortuitous circumstance, I was able to become friends with a director and producer at AIC Studios. They took me on a tour of the place . . . at one o'clock in the morning, when all the animators were working. They explained that all of them had to work at night because they had jobs at places like 7-11 and Lawson's or McDonald's.
I've known for a long time that their pay was only about 10,000 dollars a year. I think it's despicable and makes all the worse their extortion-like prices for DVDs.
Yeah, it really is disgusting. They work for practically nothing and have to have a second job just so they can do the animation work. I couldn't imagine doing that.
Hell, even here in the U.S. if you are an Animator you're going to end up pulling a ton of all nighters... but at least the pay is DECENT even for a beginner animator. At least 35-40k starting salary and you can work up to 90k if you stick with it and are amazing.
i work in the industry myself so i already knew pay was low, but that salary's just for the anime stuff, cartoon stuff pay a whole lot more than that.
if someone's planning to get into the anime industry but still want a decent salary then your best bet is to get hired in an american company that have an anime division.
They must truly love that work...
On my standards that's actually a lot. But when you take the cost of living in Japan into account it obviously isn't enough. I'm not surprised, i've heard a while ago that anime staff were underpaid and overworked because of tight deadlines.
"On the other hand, many of these employees are irrepressible otaku who could scarcely be prevented from working in the field; in these cases, employers can hardly be blamed for not paying them over the odds."
That's exploiting the employee's interests for personal gain. Just because they really want to work as an animator regardless of the shitty pay doesn't mean that you don't have to abide by the laws and regulations and of course, business ethics. *Sigh*
I suppose you can call this the animation otaku's Plato's Cave?
honestly 90% of the people reading this are shocked that their dreams were crushed so easily, yet none of you wouldn't hesitate at the chance to tell a stupid girl that it'd be impossible for her to get a job as top model and actress because she doesn't have that stand out beauty. this is karma telling you that your art sucks.
Geerie, you kinda reminded me of how American cities like New York City don't want people filming amateur videos to protect people's privacy, yet they allow paparazzi to follow celebrities around.
*sob sob* What loyalty they show towards our favorite cartoons *sob sob*
Anyway it's teh producers fault, for coming up with stupid ideas that wont bring money. Even I could pickup an awesome manga to animate, that'll be much more popular than the shit theese days.
According to my knowledge, generally when you have a word starting with a vowel (I know there are exceptions) you have to use 'an'. So "a unpredictable existence" is incorrect.
and accdg to my common sense, you're a grammar nazi faggot..so gtfo!
If I was an animator I'd love to draw stuff like the old Tex Avery shorts. It looks like stuff like that would be easier on the animators, especially today. It's too bad that kind of animation doesn't fly anymore. IMO, it's still the best animation I've ever seen, despite the simplistic characters. They seem to have all the tricks and shortcuts in and out of the book to make simple characters look 100% alive. Now-a-days, in america, that stuff's been replaced by flash animations and 3D crap.
it does on the internet you can do shorts as a hobby. a lot of people enjoy donating too upcoming animators and if you're really good you can be recruited though you really need to stand out above the crowd.
Wow, anon, that animation is shit. You have no taste.
then please tell me what ISN'T shit so that I may correct myself. Especially in the classic sense.
Or at least prove to me why it's shit.
$11,000 a year?
good enough for me
I only eat once per day
you prolly shouldn't waste your money on buying a computer, then..
I went for 2 years straight on almost exclusively oatmeal, peanut butter, jam, whey protein powder, tap water, and multivitamins. Sometimes rice or noodles when I needed something different. Only ate once or twice a day.
As long as you do still splurge on rare occasions it's not so bad.
Just watch your macro and micro-nutrients (complex carbs over simple sugars, enough fiber, reasonable amino acids ratio in your protein, enough electrolytes particularly potassium, calcium, magnesium), see to it caloric intake is still over 1000/day (I'm 135 pounds), and you'll be fine.
Monthly bill for food was about $25.00
These days I'm working slave hours (IMO) at my job (48 hrs/week, including transit time), so when I scrape myself out of debt again I'll cut the hours and reclaim some free time.
But that means living meekly once more.
Some people are so spoiled with how much money they make... (Artefact included, judging from his narrative bent on the article)
Switching which jam I used every few weeks was one of my greatest joys...
The world of animation is a very small market, therefore people who work in the animation industry are obviously going to get paid minimum wage. Its sad, but if they were to pay people more then companies that produce animation wouldn't last long, such a harsh reality for those pursuing their dreams in animation. Companies these days aren't making much money off of Anime and such and when their shows are broadcasted on television, the broadcasting companies are pretty much reaping most of the profits.
This would be the reason why quality is so hard to focus on when it comes to producing a show, is it worth the effort? Are you the kind of person who doesn't mind living off a minimum wage and want to produce the best quality animation? Do you, an animator, have the time to put quality in your work? Let's be thorough here people!
orz
you use the illustration of my friend -口-...........her name is Sayori....
Don't these guys have a UNION -- or start forming one? That's MANDATORY in cases like this, and requesting not flat wages but _percentages_ of the profits. George Lucas does this with his actors and it worked damn well.
These guys gives us our animation...they need more "CREDIT" in the financial way.
I am willing to pay for the animes i like. I don't mind paying the price if the quality of the subbing and the videos are good.
Except for the fact that, hey~ Student does not have lots of money for them. At my side, one dvd set can cost up to 70 bucks and more. >_> How can we even pay that? Know what I mean? Moreover, anime here are like a few years ago thingy? Takes about 4-8 years before it starts appearing....
Economics 101: if the wages are low, it's because there are too many animators. The market is trying to tell you to look elsewhere. If that's all you can do, you're stuck. If you have any other skills, move on. As far as buying new cars for CEOs, remember that with super taxes on the rich, the pay scales adjust UPWARDs to make up for it. Be it a CEO or a ball player, if you want a million take home, you may have to be paid two or three million in "salary". Politicians will make hay, but generally speaking every move by governments to "punish" rich just jacks up their pay scales.
The market says the pay is only worth 11k a year right now (and maybe forever). You might wish to look elsewhere, or go back to school to learn a better paying trade. The market is screaming this to people, but few listen...
That's 100 USD more than my salary, and I'm a programmer.
If there is anything positive to say, is that this weeds out all the fakes , wannabes , and mediocres and the people that have a true heart for it go thru despite the storm . I remember when anime fans in America had to higher translators and watch raw anime and stop every 5 min to ask what was said . I give a toast to the animators . Anime means alot good times or bad .
get a part time job. I have one and I only work once every 2 weeks and I'm able to buy literally all the anime I want.
how much does a fairly successful manga artsts make?
Well, define successful.
The really rich guys are the ones who have long going series running. And those whose works are adapted to anime. So yes, the riches ones would Rumiko (Inuyasha), Kishimoto (Naruto), Kubo Tite (Bleach) etc.. and they are very rich. I remember reading somewhere that Rumiko Takahashi was one of the highest tax payers in Japan!
If i convert 11k buck to our currency....
Thats 900$ a month right? Thats ~175k HUF, with the pre-crisis conv.rates, it'd be ~120-130k... that is just an average monthly salary here. But hey, I'm living in a post-communist country, who is NO1 in failing at economics, our nation debt in GDP% is the highest etc.....
You wanna see anime that complain about tight budget and actually protest against it in the show, try seeing gintama :) that was priceless, that was..
Oh damn, not that weird shaped cellphone again. D=
It's paint tool SAI :3
It's not always better when you make more...When you make a lot then IRS will come after you like wolf pack on lamb chops. On the book you can make a lot but what you get into your pocket is next to nil. Whenever April comes I get headaches...
Well, shit.
I could easily live with that kind of money. At least here I could, can't say about Japan. But that's as long as I don't have to provide for a family.
I want to applaud the OP pic's author's taste in the choice of the tablet. <3
DAmn them..Damn them all!!!!Animators should live in the lavishness of luxury..lolz
now all of you weaboos saw reality -- how does it feel?
Good, obviously ^_^'''''
master plan is to make money in america then go to a country where america dollars are worth more.
If I were you, I'd stay put here. This nation seems to be in the best conditions amongst other nations (gas in the EU is about twice as high as it is here) and other countries are less developed. Not to mention that we have the strongest military force in the world. When other countries get pushed around, who they gonna call? The US of course! We lend our naval troops and marine force to other countries, to fight against the evils of oppression and terrorism. And we have freedom of religion, and our citizens are free to do whatever they want (except of course, raep, pillage, and plunder; anything immoral basically) and we have a surplus of food and a free enterprise economy.
Be glad you're livin' in America :3
First of all just stop cause to know the "TRUTH" you have to go back to your "ROOTS" or your history, correct me if I'm wrong on that one. You say this country fights and I quote "against the evils of oppression and terrorism. And we have freedom of religion, and our citizens are free to do whatever they want (except of course, raep (oh and it's spelled " rape "), pillage, and plunder; anything immoral basically)" I'll give you that this country did a lot for us in...well when they first got here, but the same people you say "protect" us from evils of oppression and terrorism, well remember who was here first, The Mayans, The Aztecs, The Incas, the "Natives" were here first. This whole country is pretty much Mexico. But yet this country is known as The "United" States of America. This country is no way shaped or formed of unity. The only way this place is united is by the working class, the middle and poor class and some upper class men who understand our struggle. This country is a false system. The ancestors of this countries leaders came here and "raped" the natives freedom. They came here and took what they think now as "theirs" and hid their secrets and false systems here just to gain more money to "try" and "Police" the world. (They will fail) Do you know that "everyone's" money goes into The National Bank Of The United States? Do you know who owns that bank? Not the United States. I'll tell you, it's the UN that owns that bank. The US is in dept, I'm sure that everyone is aware of that. The US is "Still" paying the dept that the UN loaned to the ancestors of this countries leaders, to come to this country and take over. Read a book before you start praising some false country.
You guys mentioned freedom of religion, but no one ever mentions freedom "from" religion. Despite popular belief, Our founding Fathers didn't create a Christian nation, and many of them were pessimistic towards all religions, including some of our most important historical figures. But, ask most Christians and they'll take credit for this nation's freedoms.
Most don't know this, but in several states, you cant run for high positions in public office if you're an atheist. Also, "one nation under god" and "in god we trust" were added to our pledge and our paper money in the 1950s by the Christian majority in the government for the sole purpose of boosting Christian morale During the cold war, and adding to the propaganda against the "godless" communists.Fighting these clear violations of the constitution is extremely difficult, because most higher up politicians are religious, and would dismiss your claims. The separation of church and state doesn't mean crap when few in the government enforce it.
About something else that was brought up, America has one of the most corrupt governments in the world. I say this because they go to such tremendous lengths to hide this from other countries. While other countries perform more "improper" activities, or do it in greater volume, no other country puts up such a large cloak to shield itself from onlooking eyes while claiming to be "free" and "moral"
Back to the main topic:
$11,000 in their 20s? Turning passion into slave labor is a crime.
Slaves aren't paid.
While that statement is a poorly misconstrued generalization, I do have to point out that young Natives are assimilating into American culture more and more. While the struggle to maintain their culture and traditions rages on, the younger generation seems to be more accepting of the American lifestyle. It's only a matter of time before they fall in with the rest of us. Tragic, but inevitable. Besides, American culture isn't horrible, it's just a different way of life.
dude...young natives just like to drink and waste away with recreational drugs.
Yes, the government does a lot of crazy shit. It pisses me off because everyone else seems to think "Oh, American government is corrupt, therefore America itself is a nation of corruption and deceit". This is the government's doing, not the American people. We, the citizens, are a normal people. We like when we're treated nice, and we like doing nice things for other people. But the image that many people have is that we Americans are a hostile nation, who's only goal is world domination, and we will do anything to reach our ends, be it drug trafficking or weapons trading. Look, all governments have things to hide, and like it or not, the citizens have no say as to what the government chooses to show them or does behind the scenes. Just be glad for the freedoms you are allowed to have. You wouldn't be so lucky in other countries. Unless you'd rather live in a communist, impoverished country.
Wow you seem to think america is at the pinnacle of freedom. Yet you only have a two party system.
And slaves aren't free...
I only hate the government. My target is not the American citizens themselves but all corrupted, self serves government.
oh and to me, USA government is a hostile one, just like China. But i do like real socialist countries.
I live in America, and i love it. I don't really care about the past neither since Yangth is right. What i don't like about US is how government lie, how they sell drugs and alcohol to Native American with cheap price so the young native just die off. I hate US for fighting every war for profit and using justice as an excuse. And how the government control the people secretly. How the capitalist use their power to gain control over lower class. But at least, the people sometime are nice. And the land is beautiful.
Chill man. What's past is simply that. Past. Whatever feelings you may have about how the forefathers of the nation wrongfully obtained this land is based on things that happened centuries ago. It may seem heartless to think that the lives and peoples then are nothing, but without those events transpiring, America would not even exist. While I do very much agree with you that America's history was an ugly, bloody past, it is a country who's greatest selling point is freedom and equality. And did I mention freedom? Freedom of religion, of speech, of the way of life. While some of those freedoms are mildly limited, can you say that any other country is freer than America?
Also, please do YOUR research. America was founded in 1776, the UN was established about the mid 1900's. Nowhere in this timeline is the UN able to borrow out money to fund the voyage to the New World or to fund the establishment of the earliest colonies. True, the US is in debt, but it is in less debt in comparison to countries such as Japan, Germany, and France. On top of that, most of our government's debt is owed to....itself. That is, Social Security and other government agencies.
(and raep is simply in reference to an urban slang used on the internet)
true, Yangth always speaks words of wisdom. (not being sarcastic here, I read his previous comments too, and he's right)
Considering Japan has High Cost of living, this is indeed not enough for them.. but for me, this is more than I can have... My parent's annual income is only 25% of that.. wth...
Are you sure it's 25%? I make over 40% of what these animators make at an entry-level part-time position. In the government. I thought annual wages here in our foreign land couldn't be lower than mine (at least for white-collar work).
Then again minimum wage in the PI is $7. Per day. You read that right. Day. So I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
And now you know why your jobs get outsourced to us.
Your parents make less than a high-schooler working part-time at a McDonalds...? I wish you the best of luck in life, and remind you that the greater the struggle, the greater the reward. Work hard, and work smart.
yah, Im working...
Hikikomori style...
U failed to mention the part about futile struggling that leads to well...futile effort and inevitable pathetic death/life.Gd luck anyways!
depends on the country and one's currency you can't compare a high school student working part time earning 350$ a week to a 3rd world country that can fit that 350$ a week for the whole month
25 percent of 1.1M yens?.... I dont even want to imagine that... daaayum.
And I wonder what you mean by working hikikomori style, contradiction much?
you can get paid for work you do at home.
I believe they manage would be rationing their meals. A steady diet on some delicious burgers can take you a long way indeed...
I still ponder at how Otaku get their funds to gather all of those pricey goods plastered with anime characters... even a diet solely on fast food wouldn't accommodate their high budgets.
Does this take into account that animation is usually a seasonal job?
My brother works in animation (albeit in Canada) and his paycheques are about the same amount as anyone working $30,000/year job, but since it's only six months he only gets half that as a yearly salary.
If I got paid $11,000 for a years worth of work, I'd be looking for another industry to work in...
a cost of living in japan : $11.000
Enjoyment while drawing boobs between in queens blade anime : Priceless
Enjoyment while doing tweens: LIVING HELL.
You have to be some sort of masochist to like doing inbetweens.
Not so surpising, but it's still kinda sad for them.
btw the OP pic is cute~ >.<
I like how she's drawing herself... Go with what you know, I always say!
OT, it's not surprising to me. Kinda like the US video game industry. Crap wages, inSANE hours, but damn you get to make video games. At least that's what they say in the paper, until you find out that you have to spend 30 years in the industry to actually get to be a game designer...
People should feel bad for thinking that "game designer" is viable straight out of school. Would you hand the reigns to a unproven unexperienced kid when millions are on the line in both development and profits? Hell no. Learn something useful to the team by going through the grunt stages of life as a modeler, animator, rigger, whatever the fuck. The last thing a development team needs is a kid with ideas thinking way too far beyond what people are able to do and with little idea of how things are actually done.
I work in the industry as a "game designer" although in my particular field it means taking the design of someone else, modify it a bit to suit my own ends while still fulfilling the overall idea, and doing the technical aspect of putting it into the game.
But still I was able to secure the job with just 2 years of college and only a few years doing grunt work in customer service.
sad but true things u said there wise Anon... =(
Thankfully you have a sense of implementation as you noted with the "technical aspect of putting it into the game."
Not to mention that all that hard work could be for naught if you have a lousy release for your game, usually caused by general lack of hype for a game that might not be under a famous series or being overshadowed by another more hyped release...
Makes me feel better that i work
at a fucking shitty job with minimum wage.
And with this fucked up economy in the
states, having a job is good enough.
underpaided is the reason i quited as animator XD
Not only in japan, but in my country too is underpaided.
we gotta give big thanks to all artists who worked for our enjoyment... i'm also happy that i'm a body builder, not an artist =]
Probably got a stock of supplements and anabolic steroids to replenish each time he should be buying anime.
yeah right. You probably just download the torrent and add to their misery.
Gah.
and here, I thought my job is "A-Okay".
Japan, I'll be there...
I'll be there...
I Hear That...
Shwarzy once said "I'll be back"...
Funny thing;
Freddy, Ganon and lots of other bad guys used the exactly same phrase.
No wai! They bring joy to the world!
PLEASE BE BUYING YOUR FAVOURITE ANIMES! T_T
Would not matter if everybody did. They are paid a set wage, not a commission based one. Also DVD sales account for crap all of an anime series profit, it comes from channels paying to be allowed to broadcast the show.
Personally I think most of the industry should go and die, only moe crap is pumped out mostly nowadays. Quality has declined as the years have went on Eventually studios will wise up and produce decent content again but alot will die, I say good riddance.
And yet they take anti depressants for themselves.
they forgot to save some for themselves
I wish more weeaboo kids who think
WEN I GROW UP I AM GOIN 2 JAPAN 2 MAKE ANIME ADN BE ACEPTED BY EVERY1!!!! ^_____^ <3
would read this article.
dont worry, usually they try to draw their anime character and fail countless times, that is enough to make them quit. weak sauce mother fuckers
Don't forget how those kids would study the language and fail miserably. AGAIN.
Hence, them, only using common words like Kawaii and such.
Not to mention learning things like the principles of animation and applying it to actual work. 2D animation is a whole different beast compared to still pieces. Not only do you have to contend with the drawing itself but you have to figure out how you will make something seem like it's alive during keys and tweens.
yep im animating for my final college film as we speak getting acharacter to look alive is indeed very difficult i find what helps is to film yourself or somone else acting out what you are animating more often then not you will notice something small you wouldnt have thought of
Animator here. Oh God, tell me about it.
It pisses me off that kids these days think that they can just go out and do anything. They have to learn that these things involve WORK! The animation industry is a very demanding field. You have to put in lots of overtime work, it's repetitive, you don't get to choose the projects you work on, and you have to meet very strict deadlines. But even before that, you have to be able to DRAW! Go to art school, learn different art styles, and polish your work. Talent can only take you so far.
although its true you have to work hard to be good enough in the industry its supprising how much is based on talent than acedemic i have asked several animators who have been in the business for about 20 years and a lot have never been asked to produce credentials when applying for a job its all been based on their showreelsi my self have had several jobs without them even asking if i went to college
Getting a job in the industry is a) knowing people (go to cons, talk to motherfuckers even if you don't want to, go to other events, talk to motherfuckers. Why is networking important? Because it gives you a hiring edge. There's a shitload of artists out there and a company will go with artist X if someone can vouch for him or say they know him instead of artist Y if both are roughly equal) and b) having a portfolio/demo reel. That's all that matters. You can practically buy your way to a degree given determination so that piece of paper means shit. A resume is there merely as a formality in the event someone wants to know more about you but your reel will be a better example of your abilities and infinitely more interesting.
Oh, I agree completely with you on that topic. The game design industry is very social-network driven. You have to have an amazing portfolio with your best work, and your chances are much better if you get to know some people in the business. Being around, networking, and keeping an up-to-date portfolio are important aspects of this industry because it shows you have a strong interest in what you do. Another reason that networking is very important is because development companies are very team-driven. You have to be able to communicate very strongly with other people, and working with them gets very involved. If you're not one to go out and say hi to the project lead of a game in development or work on improving or maintaining your own skills outside of work, then you might as well just opt out of this career.
Agreed.
The creative industry in general is very tedious indeed. The deadlines killed many people out there, even the experienced ones. In fact, it's more ruthless than the other science fields.
The creative industry is for those who are willing to take big risks, accept often failures, and being lowly paid in return for getting to do something they're passionate about.
Die trying or try dying.
And they say that most people die before they turn 30. You just bury them when they stop moving.
Don't forget to live!
The situation is the same here in TOEI studios Philippines. Salary is shit, management is shit, corruption is everywhere, etc etc.