Demon Slayer Voice Actor Opens Up On Seiyuu Ranking And Payment
With the anime industry booming, people have a popular misconception about the creators, cast, and staff salaries. However, the reality is quite different.
Even a massive success like Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba doesn’t do justice to the hard work of the people behind it. The anime industry is not a very well-paid area.
The creators often find it hard to make their ends meet, so is the case with the voice actors.
Hochu Otsuka, the voice actor of Sakonji Urokodaki from the Demon Slayer franchise, opened up about how the voice acting industry in anime works.
Through the Fuji TV variety show, Sono Neta, Neta ni Shite Ii Desu Ka?, Otsuka explained the ranking system of voice actors.
The payment of a voice actor is fixed even before the recording starts. The pay is decided according to the rank of the actor in the industry.
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How is the rank determined? Simple, it is based on experience, popularity, and past works. If their past jobs have been a huge hit, then that works in favor of the voice actor as well to increase their payment.
Voice actors can belong to agencies or can be freelancers. If a seiyu (the Japanese word for voice actor) belongs to an agency, their payment is also negotiated by the agency. Freelancer seiyuus are free to arrange their own fees.
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Thus, a particular anime’s popularity has nothing to do with how much a voice actor is being paid. In fact, being a seiyu for anime is one of the lowest-paying occupations for them.
Most voice actors have to rely on doing multiple shows at once to make a living. They also lend their voices for videogames, radios, and CDs, which give them more direct royalties. Western film dubs are also a well-paying job.
For a 30-minute anime episode, a seiyuu can get paid anywhere from $145 to $436. Film dubs earn them a bit more as the pay starts at $484.
However, if an anime is popular, it creates a ripple effect; the voice actor gets recognition and is booked for more series and shows. It raises the seiyuu’s rank and helps them negotiate for a better amount at their next work.
At the end of the interview:
If only I knew this from the beginning…: and gives a bitter laugh.
Otsuka
About Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Koyoharu Gotoge.
Its publication in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump began in February 2016 with 19 collected tankōbon volumes released as of present.
In a world filled with demons and demon slayers, Kimetsu no Yaiba follows the lives of two siblings Tanjiro and Nezuko Kamado, after— the murder of their family at the hands of a demon.
Their hardship does not end there, as Nezuko’s life is spared only for her to live as a demon.
As the oldest sibling, Tanjiro vows to protect and cure his sister. The story traces the bond of this brother-sister or, better yet, demon slayer and demon combo against the odds of an arch antagonist and the society.
Source: Daily
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