The state of the anime industry nowadays raises a lot of questions, and Kazuya Masumoto is here to comment.
Summary:
- Kazuya Masumoto addressed some of the anime industry issues.
- The increase in budget has influenced the industry a lot.
- There are still some worries, though.
The Japanese news website Gigazine released a report of a talk by Kazuya Masumoto, a producer of the studio Trigger, that brought us such series as Kill la Kill and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.
Concerns about the state of the anime industry
Discussions about the state of the anime industry have become quite frequent recently. We’ve mentioned fans talking about the working conditions at MAPPA before, and it’s getting more difficult to ignore the issues, so someone had to address the situation.
Masumoto started his speech by discussing the news about the state of the industry, that’s been on the radar for some time. He mentions that such news, although not necessarily wrong, is almost always incomplete, and it’s impossible to base your entire opinion on some internet rumors.
There’s some good news
Looks like the producer has got some good news; he mentions positive changes in the industry. The budget issue is one of these changes, as it seems. Masumoto says that around ten years ago an episode of an anime was limited to $100,000, and now it’s around $200,000 and even more. This was highly influenced by various streaming services such as Netflix. It doesn’t fully cover the costs of production studios, but it’s a significant development.
Along with the budget, salaries are also increasing, and it’s definitely a good thing for all animators, producers, directors and other people working in the anime industry.
This budget increase has also affected the production choice. Studios tend to go with anime adaptations of manga instead of creating original series, since such shows have got a big fan base already and thus will be more in demand.
Streaming services have also helped a great deal with distributing anime and decreasing the level of piracy. However, they have also brought some negative aspects such as stricter schedules. Platforms like Netflix expect production studios to deliver the finished project in advance (sometimes even up to 3 months before the airing date), otherwise the companies are to pay a big fine.
There are still a lot of worries in the industry, though. A significant number of companies operate at a loss. The amount of money spent on the production of anime is bigger than the income the studios are getting. Masumoto speculates that this may lead to some companies merging in the future.
Masumoto is overall positive about the direction in which the industry is going. He doesn’t deny that there are still some things to deal with, but his predictions are favorable.
Source: gigazine.net