It is already a well-known fact that the anime industry is constantly being accused of offering low salaries to its workers.and they are forced to either have a second job (if they have enough time), sell online (sell illustrations, then) or simply continue asking for support from their parents while they do their best to climb the ranks in the company. and get raises.
Although this is already known, rarely has an entertainer shown his payroll (that is, his payment receipts) and “ゆゆ (@ebinoyu)” decided to break the silence and show the money he raised by participating in an anime production. Obviously his publications were censored so as not to reveal the anime or the study in which he participated, since this would get him into trouble.
There is a lot to explain so that you understand how animators are paid, but in essence it is “per cut” or per frame.” Payment “per cut” means that the animator has to make a scene (i.e. a sequence of keyframes) to receive your payment. This is quite dynamic, since not all scenes require the same amount of work and are always paid equally.
The other method is “per frame”, and it is assumed that these are the lowest rates and on which the least salary increases have been made in recent decades. It is this type of work that newbies in the industry do while learning from their superiors, so they have become standardized as “a kind of low-paid internship.”
Seeing the number of deliveries that “ゆゆ (@ebinoyu)” made, we can realize that they are paying him by the second method. His paystub shows that he did “4 frames” for “Episode 1,” 63 frames for “Episode 8,” and 15 frames for “Ending.” With a payment of 220 yen each (about $1.46) plus tax, His first monthly payment was just 19,844 yen (about $132).
Depending on your country, you will probably think that it is “very little” or “a lot”, but in the case of Japan it is an insignificant figure. Just to give you an idea, the average monthly salary in 2023 was 471,000 yen. How does 20,000 yen compare against that? Furthermore, many of the studios are based in large Japanese cities, so the costs of living there are very high, this forces those who want to start in this industry to work elsewhere or continue asking their parents for support.
And how much did you earn in the second month? Well, he made 82 frames for “Episode 1”, 49 for “Episode 8” and 31 for “Episode 2”.at a rate of 220 yen each, totaling 35,640 yen (only $237).
And one month when he got sick and couldn’t work much? Well obviously there is no fixed salary, you are paid for what you do. In this case, “ゆゆ (@ebinoyu)” could only make 4 frames for “Episode 1” and 2 frames for “Episode 8”which at a rate of 220 yen each, It costs only 1,452 yen (almost $10).
If you think these receipts are very old, you will be surprised to know that they are from the year 2023, as confirmed by the animator. This is the reality that anime industry workers live every day, without unions to represent them before leaders and without a way to fight for better salaries because studios have the ability to hire foreign animators who accept any mediocre salary just for the opportunity to brag on social media that they “worked on a certain anime.”
And what did they think on social networks about it?
- «Well, they will have to continue living at the expense of their parents for a while.».
- «I guess only those who can still count on their parents can afford it.».
- «It is because of those who watch anime for free and illegally, animators do suffer a lot».
- «It means that you cannot make a living from this unless your family continues to support you financially. With the current times, you don’t even have the opportunity to have a part-time job.».
- «Well, they’ll have to fill their stomachs with dreams and hopes, right?».
- «That’s what it’s like to work on what you like, to work as an animator. Still, I guess the satisfaction is enough to mitigate the horrible salary, right?».
- «And from now on the AI will do part of the work, so they will earn less, what things!».
- «If you’ve only participated in three months, I think that’s fine. I hope he gets promotions and stuff soon.».
- «And eventually animators will be unnecessary with the rise of AIs, I guess».
- «Animators also have human and labor rights!».
- «The number of frames is very low, if you want to live on frames at least you have to make about 300 a month. If you are a good novice you will be able to do it eventually».
- «Entertainers, comedians and idols are jobs that are done by people whose parents have money to continue supporting them for a while.».
- «He is not an employee, therefore he does not have a fixed salary. Because if they hired him, the company would be obliged to set a rate, which is precisely why they don’t hire anyone.».
- «But it’s gratifying to have your work aired on television, isn’t that payment enough?».
- «First they ask you if you can move from your parents’ house, and obviously you have to pay rent if you can’t do it».
- «If you don’t finish your order in ten minutes, you’re in the red as an entertainer. Don’t complain about entering a poor industry if you already knew it was poor.».
- «But it’s challenging and fun, right?».
Fountain: Yaraon!
