Being an Animator in Japan Is Brutal

Brian Griffin

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[video=youtube;Kfljf1xRvqs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kfljf1xRvqs[/video]

Animator Henry Thurlow is, as far he knows, the first American to work at one of Tokyo’s greatest anime studios. And he’s paying the price.
Henry Thurlow has also worked on Naruto the last movie.
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“Let’s just be clear: It’s not a ‘tough’ industry… It’s an ‘illegally harsh’ industry. They don’t pay you even remotely minimum wage, they overwork you to the point where people are vomiting at work and having to go to the hospital for medicine. They demand that you come in whenever they realize a deadline isn’t going to be met. That probably means about a month and a half of nonstop work without a single day off. Then you will be allowed to go back to your regular six-day workweeks of 10-hour days. No one talks, or gets lunch together or anything. They just sit and work in complete silence and seem uninterested in changing this.”

The amount of money you earn from day to day changes … since it’s based on how many frame you draw. On Monday I might draw simple corrections on a whole bunch of frame (adding effects that were forgotten by other animators, or “Kii energy” or something like that) resulting in me being able to draw 40 drawings in one day and make over $150 depending on the series. Tuesday-Thursday however, I might have to do the trace-back and inbetweens for a super detailed shot from Tokyo Ghoul (which is really fun btw)…but results in me only drawing 5 frames per day each of those days ($12 a day or so). Each month at Pierrot I earn about $1000. Each month at my previous “slave-labor” studio, I earned about $300 a month.

For a salary that’s been as low as $100 a month, the never-ending work schedule has landed Thurlow in the hospital three times for exhaustion and illness.

Is it true the pay is awful?


The pay/hours change depending on who you are and what your job is. The best position (which only the best of the best can manage) is "freelance genga-man aka freelance key-frame animator" ... you can demand your own prices and actually take time off after project if you want. For everyone else (and definitely for inbetween artists like me), its as bad as the rumors. I worked at a slave-labor-inbetween-studio called "nakamura pro" for 8 months before moving onto Pierrot which is where I am now. At Nakamura pro we were paid $1 per drawing, meaning you earned between $5 and $25 a day. At Pierrot it`s way better... but still pretty bad. 1 drawing = $2-$4 .... so on any given day I can earn about $40. (HORRIBLE by anyone's standards.... but, if you want to work on cool anime, there's not much choice.)


...Each month at Pierrot I earn about $1000. ...... each month at my previous "slave-labor" studio, I earned about $300 a month...




Its very sad to learn this.Japan is too harsh on its workers.:NO:
 

Gerkak

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How sad. Japan is an expensive place as well, I can only imagine how difficult it must have been.
 

Joon

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Never seen him before..... But this has been posted dozens of times.
 

NaNaNaaaaa

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If he worked on the last then I really, really, REALLY pity him
 

Venomous Cobra

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well 300 US dollar is equal to 35863.95 Japanese yen so..........:bdpf:
 

Pumpkin Ninja

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I agree that it's sad but he says they all still work for the sake of their art. They're the ones who pretty much allow their bosses to pay them so little.

well 300 US dollar is equal to 35863.95 Japanese yen so..........:bdpf:
Yeah, but in the end it doesn't make a difference because they adjust their prices.
 

Sokita Manki

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Well looks like I'm sticking to being a hooker...... :/ damn I really wanted to work at japan....oh well time for work. :takes clothes off and walks to corner: I feel so cheap :shy:
 

Venomous Cobra

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Barely can get you an apartment, but you good on food.

lol I got this from ]google,if this is really how high the prices are in japan, then I truly don't know how that guy is still living Lol
 

Joon

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lol I got this from ]google,if this is really how high the prices are in japan, then I truly don't know how that guy is still living Lol

I bunch of roommates and a lot of walking.
 

Callypigia

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Being anything in Japan is hard. They expect long work hours, many corporations require around 70-80 hours a week. It makes sense when your living space is the size of a postage stamp and your main source of entertainment is Pachinko.
 

Pumpkin Ninja

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Lol, Japan is closer to the Commies, in that case.
 

SIR HERDERP PRESIDERP SDO

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It's part of the Japanese working culture, they even have a term for literally working to death called "Karoushi."
 

SIR HERDERP PRESIDERP SDO

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I just meant that even though 300 US dollar are equal to 35863.95 Japanese yen, the prices in Japan are proportional as well, so it's pretty tough to live with 100$ per month

A small one-bedroom apartment in Tokyo costs around 200,000 Yen or $1700.
 
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