Are Fans Partially Responsible for the Terrible Working Conditions for Animators?

Summary:

• The treatment of animators by the industry is a big problem.
• Jun Arai, who worked on Kingdom recently, said that unrealistic expectations from fans make the issue much worse.
• The high demand for anime and the lack of knowledge about the conditions in the anime industry contribute to the problem as well.

It seems that in the past year, more and more attention is directed towards the treatment of animators by the anime industry. With the controversy involving MAPPA and the second season of Jujutsu Kaisen, it seems like the issue is going to get worse. From low wages to terrible working conditions, it is obvious that the situation is quite grim.

While many fans are wondering how they can help the people working on their favorite shows, a new question has arisen: aren’t fans responsible for the situation in the first place?

A take from inside the industry

Jun Arai is an industry veteran who has been working on anime for almost 30 years. Most recently, some of his famous contributions include being an animation director for multiple episodes of Seasons 3 and 4 of Kingdom.

Arai states that many anime fans will bash the creators who work on the anime if the quality does not meet their expectations. With such inadequate demands from the fandom, and the studios demanding animators to work overtime for lower wages, the animators can’t help but feel pressured from both sides, which exacerbates the issue.

High demand for anime makes the treatment of animators worse

Arai also links the popularity of the anime to lower wages. If the series is popular, he says, then the studios can get away with paying less. The anime has to be made either way, after all. This leaves animators with essentially no choice — and in some ways, the demand for the anime being made is also the fault of the fans.

Many otaku also point out that most anime viewers are not aware of the situation in the industry at all — especially in the West. For them, anime is simply something they watch, and this silent majority is definitely not helping with the problem — as long as the demand for anime is high, the treatment of animators won’t improve much.

Fans aren’t the only ones responsible

Of course, it’s not just the fault of the fans — the Japanese work culture and the higher-ups are, in the end, the ones who are responsible the most. Arai never stated it’s only the fans’ fault, either.

However, blaming the creators is unacceptable behavior — and perhaps more otaku should educate themselves on how bad the situation in the industry really is. Without the anime viewers recognizing the issue and making it widely known, not much is going to change.