The Telegraph talk up anime

Paul

Paul

Ghost of Animes
Administrator
UK newspaper The Telegraph have produced a very informative article about Japanese animation. While naturally talking up the latest Miyazaki record breaker Howl's Moving Castle, the article also features quotes from UK anime enhusiast Jonathan Clements and includes an image of Rei from "Anime classic" Neon Genesis Evangelion.

There is an interesting slant on the current state of the anime industry in Japan, especially highlighting the financial plight of many Japanese animators who are often under-payed and forced to leave the industry before reaching middle-age.
[Telegraph Article]
 
OMG! that's terrible :( Just goes to show how wrong you can be, I always thought Japanese animators were paid well. I guess it's just the creators and studios that are raking it in then :?
I thought there was loadsa money to be made in anime, as it's not just the TV screening but the toys etc that are released to accompany an anime, but £10,000 budget per episode?! The American VA who does Bart Simpson gets something like $40,000 per episode! makes you wonder exactly who it is that is getting all those profits :|

Must admit that article made me stop and think.

Does anyone know if CG is cheaper than the cels way of making anime?
 
Yeah, it's quite worrying. Anime is finally starting to become known around the world, yet the people behind it are being stifled by low budgets and poor wages.

The fact a lot of animation is being outsourced to cheaper labour in other Asian countries is the most concerning. If it keeps going this way, surely 'the beating heart' of Japanese anime will become diluted and souless?

Ahh well, all we can hope that is that the continued success of anime in places like the US and the UK will help keep many animators afloat. Losing potentially outstanding talents like Satoshi Kon would be terrible.
 
Oh yes, this has been like it for a while now. I think it is something to do with the fact that the companies involved in sponsering, distribution and the like end up taking away huge chunks of studio money, or something like that. Although I did read that the Japanese government was, at one point, trying to prevent this, and protect the income of artists. Don't know what happened to it, though.

Not sure about the CG thing, although I might imagine that it is cheaper/becoming cheaper as it's usage increases. Not totally sure though. As for the Simpsons VA thing, I wonder how much seiyuus are paid on average? Because that would TOTALLY suck if the people giving characters voices earn more than the people designing them.
 
I remember seeing Chinese type names credited to the painters (i.e. people who colour the cels) from as far back as some of the Ranma 1/2 videos, so I don't think that side of it has changed much. Poor Chinese woman have always been slaving away for about 30p an hour :cry:

To have not seen a pay rise for 20 years though is disgusting, it makes you wonder what would happen if they all went on strike for decent pay and conditions :shock:

I think it's only Americans that could get away with demanding $40,000 to VA a cartoon. I suppose the really popular Japanese VAs would command a reasonable wage per episode but nothing like that kind of money!!
 
To the best of my knowledge, most anime is still made in Japan with Japanese workers, and despite the Torygraph's lamenting about anime moving to China and Korea, if anything I can see an increase in great anime in current times.

The plight of the artists, of course, is disheartening. But remember (this may sound cruel) that the animators, while forming the backbone of a project, don't form the core of it - these are the directors, the character designers and the storyline writers. These, are very, very well paid and one of the advantages of being an animator is that if you're really good you can be promoted to a creative position.

Finally, it's inevitable that animation is moving to poorer Eastern countries. I feel, however, that anime is not influenced by this as much as Western animation, which, I think, for a few years now has used Korean artists. If anything, instead of anime starting to move to poorer countries, it has influenced them, spawning the fledgeling genres of Manhwa and Manhua.

Still, nice to see an article about anime in a quality newspaper and one that doesn't blame it for all the ills in the world.

^Yay! My first pretentious rant on the board!
 
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