A Deep Dive into Salaries Of Japan’s Animators In Popular Studios

Behind the rosy pictures of anime hides the dark conditions of the animators. For a country that is well known for its animation culture, it is a shock that the ones responsible for the bulk work are so frequently mistreated.

Let’s take a detailed look at the salary system, working conditions, and bonuses of some of the significant anime studios in Japan.

First, let’s have a small discussion about the types of animators out there before diving into the workings of studios.

An animator can be working for a studio under any of the following positions:

• Full-time Employee
• Contractual Employee
• Freelancer

Animators can enter through a contractual agreement and later become a full-time employee, but that factor also depends on the studio.

They also have to work overtime most of the time for which they are paid, but the wage is too little for the amount of work that is required of them.

There are also different salary systems for different studios like hourly, monthly, or wages per drawing.

Enough waiting! Now let’s start examining the studios that we all love. Do they treat their employees as beautifully as the anime they produce?

• Kyoto Animation

Contractual Employee:  $9.61 (¥1000) / hour

Full-time Employee: $ 1, 941 (¥ 202,000) / month (includes overtime: $288 (¥30,000) )

Insurance: Health insurance, welfare pension, employment insurance, workers’ accident compensation insurance.

• Gaina

Contractual Employee: $1730 ( ¥180,000) / month (includes 12 hours overtime: $143 (¥14,900) )

Insurance: Health insurance, welfare pension & insurance, employment insurance, workers’ accident compensation insurance, housing preferential treatment system, and hair salon discount.

• MAPPA

Full-time Employee: $1799 (¥187,148) ( includes 45 hour overtime)

Insurance: Social insurance, welfare pension, employment insurance, commuting allowance, housing allowance, family allowance, and regular health examination.

• Trigger

Business Consignment: The salary is in the volume system, i.e., animators get paid according to the drawings.

The animator also needs to choose the insurance option.

• Khara

Business consignment: Volume system + $384 (¥40,000)

• Studio 3Hz

Business Consignment: Volume system ( based on an assumption of 300 drawings per day: $190 (¥198,00) /month

No matter how pretty the animation culture of Japan looks to outsiders, the reality is quite different. From excessive overtime work to low wages and poor working conditions, the anime industry is fraught with difficulties.

Source: Twitter

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