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…
That’s 100 USD more than my salary, and I’m a programmer.
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…
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.
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….