MAPPA: A Tale of Criticism, Crunch... and Hope? ft @animangasis
Summary
TLDRThe video script delves into the evolution of MAPPA, a leading Japanese animation studio, highlighting its rapid growth and impact on the anime industry. It explores the studio's challenges, including financial struggles, tight deadlines, and poor working conditions that have affected employees. The script also discusses the broader industry issues, such as production committees' influence and the need for sustainable practices to ensure quality and support for animators, concluding with a call for recognition and improvement in the industry.
Takeaways
- 🎨 MAPPA's rapid growth since its inception in 2011 reflects the studio's commitment to high-quality animation and innovation in the anime industry.
- 📚 The studio was founded by Masayo Maruyama, who was also a co-founder of Madhouse, and was created in response to Madhouse's financial struggles.
- 🌟 MAPPA's breakthrough hit 'Yuri on Ice' gained international popularity, highlighting the studio's ability to produce globally successful anime.
- 🕊️ Despite success, MAPPA's work environment has been criticized, with reports of tight deadlines, poor working conditions, and low pay for animators.
- 📈 The increase in MAPPA's size and number of projects has led to a reliance on freelance animators and outsourcing, which is unsustainable and stressful for employees.
- 💼 Production committees, which fund anime projects, often prioritize low investment and quick returns, leading to constraints on the studio's management and creative freedom.
- 💰 Low pay for animators is a significant issue, with some receiving as little as 3,800 to 7,000 yen per cut, affecting the quality of work and animator retention.
- 🛠️ The lack of proper training and development for in-house animators, coupled with a focus on meeting deadlines, results in a cycle of constant rework and dissatisfaction.
- 🚫 MAPPA's management has been criticized for not addressing the issues raised by employees, leading to a lack of trust and a negative work culture.
- 🌐 The global success of anime and the influx of investors, including China, is changing the landscape of the industry, with potential implications for production practices and quality.
- 🏗️ MAPPA has made efforts to improve the workplace environment, such as creating a studio annex, but challenges remain in balancing production demands with employee well-being.
Q & A
What is the significance of MAPPA's establishment in the anime industry?
-MAPPA's establishment is significant as it quickly became a notable force in the anime industry, reflecting innovation and dedication to high-quality animation. It was founded by Masayo Maruyama, who was also a co-founder of Madhouse, another renowned anime studio.
Why was MAPPA created by Masayo Maruyama?
-MAPPA was created because Madhouse, where Maruyama was a co-founder and producer, was facing financial difficulties that hindered his plans to produce a movie called 'In This Corner of the World.' He believed moving to a new studio would provide the opportunity to work on the film.
What was MAPPA's first debut work and when did it air?
-MAPPA's first debut work was an adaptation of the manga 'Kids on Slope,' which aired from April to June of 2012.
How did Yuri on Ice contribute to MAPPA's success?
-Yuri on Ice was a breakthrough hit for MAPPA in 2016, gaining not only popularity in Japan but also becoming an international sensation, with its theme song being widely recognized and appreciated.
What changes in the work environment did MAPPA's employees start to notice after the studio's success?
-After MAPPA's success, employees began to notice tighter deadlines and less than ideal working conditions, indicating a shift in the studio's work environment.
What is a production committee in the context of anime production?
-A production committee is a group of companies that fund an anime project. The studio making the anime often holds little to no stake in the committee, which can lead to issues such as lack of control over their own projects.
How has the increase in MAPPA's size and number of ongoing projects affected its operations?
-The increase in size and projects has led to a reliance on freelance animators and outsourcing, which is unsustainable and puts additional strain on employees, affecting the quality of work and working conditions.
What are the implications of low pay for MAPPA's animators?
-Low pay for animators at MAPPA, especially when working on high-profile projects like those with Netflix, leads to dissatisfaction and challenges in maintaining a motivated and skilled workforce.
Why did MAPPA's director Ryu Nakayama leave to create his own studio?
-Ryu Nakayama left MAPPA to create his own studio with the aim of building a better working environment free from harassment and unnecessary stress, with financial and time stability, indicating dissatisfaction with MAPPA's work conditions.
How did the production of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 highlight issues within MAPPA?
-The production of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 brought to light issues such as impossible deadlines, low pay, and poor working conditions, as animators expressed their frustration on social media and requested improvements.
What steps has MAPPA taken to improve the workplace environment and animator retention?
-MAPPA has made efforts to improve the workplace environment by creating a studio annex building equipped with quality drawing tools and an animator's village, and has increased pay for full-time animators to be more competitive with industry standards.
What is the broader context of the anime industry's impact on its workers?
-The anime industry as a whole faces issues such as poor working conditions, tight deadlines, and low pay, which affect the well-being of its workers and the quality of the final product. Studios like Kyoto Animation are highlighted as exceptions with better practices.
Outlines
🎨 The Evolution and Challenges of MAPPA Studio
This paragraph delves into the history and growth of MAPPA, a prominent Japanese animation studio, highlighting its inception by Masayo Maruyama, a former Madhouse producer. The narrative discusses MAPPA's early projects, including 'Kids on Slope' and 'Terror in Resonance,' leading to its international breakthrough with 'Yuri on Ice.' It also touches on the increasing work pressure and deteriorating conditions faced by employees, with a spotlight on the studio's reliance on freelance animators and outsourcing, which has contributed to a strained work environment.
🛠️ The Impact of Production Committees and Financial Constraints on MAPPA
The second paragraph examines the influence of production committees on MAPPA's operations and the financial pressures affecting the studio. It explains how the committees' desire for minimal investment and quick returns creates a challenging environment for the studio, often leading to tight deadlines and low pay for animators. The summary also covers the departure of key personnel, such as director Ryu Nakayama, and the internal struggles animators face, including the lack of training and the need to fix issues arising from outsourcing and inadequate budgets.
🌐 The State of the Anime Industry and MAPPA's Future
The final paragraph reflects on the broader implications of the challenges faced by MAPPA, considering the state of the anime industry as a whole. It contrasts MAPPA's situation with more sustainable practices observed at Kyoto Animation, which prioritizes staff training and quality over quantity. The summary acknowledges MAPPA's efforts to improve working conditions, such as the creation of a studio annex, and discusses the potential for the industry to evolve, with a note on the increasing role of Chinese investment. It concludes by emphasizing the importance of recognizing the human effort behind anime production and the need for change to ensure the well-being of the artists who create it.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡MAPPA
💡Anime Production
💡Production Committees
💡Work Environment
💡Outsourcing
💡Animators
💡Financial Difficulties
💡In-House Animators
💡Quality vs. Quota
💡Industry Practices
💡Sustainability
Highlights
Studio MAPPA's history reflects rapid growth and dedication to high-quality animation since its inception in 2011.
MAPPA was founded by Masayo Maruyama, also a co-founder of Madhouse, after facing financial difficulties there.
The studio's first work was 'Kids on Slope', and its first original anime was 'Terror in Resonance'.
MAPPA's international breakthrough came with the hit anime 'Yuri on Ice'.
Reports indicate a shift in work environment at MAPPA with tighter deadlines and poor working conditions.
MAPPA's reliance on freelance animators and outsourcing has led to unsustainable practices and employee strain.
Production committees' investment strategies and demands for quick returns put pressure on studios like MAPPA.
Animators at MAPPA report low pay, with some receiving half of what was promised for their work.
The production of 'Attack on Titan' saw animators leave due to unhealthy work conditions.
MAPPA's attempt to improve the workplace environment included creating a studio annex building.
The absence of a production committee for 'Chainsaw Man' exposed issues with MAPPA's management.
Directors leaving MAPPA to create their own studios indicate issues with employee retention and work culture.
Animators have expressed frustration with the unrealistic deadlines and poor pay during 'Jujutsu Kaisen' production.
MAPPA's CEO acknowledges the need to improve work conditions and training for long-term employee retention.
The anime industry's boom is attracting investors, but the state of the industry as a whole remains poor.
Kyoto Animation serves as an example of a studio that prioritizes training and nurturing staff with a better work environment.
MAPPA's modern efforts include paying full-time animators more, with entry-level positions offering competitive wages.
Transcripts
The production history of this string of
anime reveals a lot, not just about MAPPA,
but the current state of anime production,
where it's going, and maybe even a thing
or two about the complexity of the world
economy. Let's dive in. Studio MAPPA, a
renowned Japanese animation studio, has
become a significant force in the anime
industry since its inception. Its history
is marked by rapid growth and notable
contributions to the field, reflecting
both innovation and dedication to high
-quality animation. The studio was first
established on June 14, 2011 by Masayo
Maruyama at the age of 70. If his name
sounds familiar to you, that's because
this man was also the co-founder and
former producer of Madhouse, another anime
studio known for adaptations of works like
Nana, Death Note, and Monster. You see,
the reason why MAPPA was created was
because around this time, Madhouse was
facing financial difficulties, which was
getting in the way of Maruyama's plans of
producing a movie called In This Corner of
a World. By moving studios, they felt
they'd be given the opportunity to work on
it, which is ironic because the film is
released years later due to more financial
issues. Still a great film, though.
Definitely check it out. While this movie
was taking its time in development, it
gave MAPPA time to work on other projects.
Their first debut work was an adaptation
of a manga called Kids on Slope, which
aired from April to June of 2012. Their
first original anime was Terror in
Resonance, released in 2014. Eventually,
though, in 2016, they had their
breakthrough hit with the anime Yuri on
Ice. This anime wasn't just popular in
Japan, it was an international hit. Like,
low-key, you could not escape the theme
song around its time. I'm speaking from
experience. Another hit anime, Banana
Fish, was released in 2018. Now, while the
success was great for the company, its
workers would soon start to notice a shift
in change of the work environment. Reports
were stating that deadlines were becoming
much tighter, and working conditions were
not exactly ideal. However, it would be
nothing compared to the later works the
studio would put out. With works like
Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on
Titan Season 4, Hell's Paradise, and more
being released by the studio, the stress
only grew more for the workers. The tight
deadlines, the high expectations, the poor
working conditions, and not-so-good pay.
So how are employees affected by this?
We'll let Corvu explain this for you guys.
Looking at MAPPA as if we were an
employee is the best way to get an
understanding of the workplace culture and
identify what their biggest concerns are.
Many of the claims I'll mention were made
by actual members of the anime industry.
Most of them were deleted shortly after,
but keep in mind that several animators
have periodically made similar claims.
The way MAPPA operates has been changing over
time, but the point where we saw the most
dramatic shift starts around early 2017.
This loosely coincides with the rapid
increase in size and number of ongoing
projects. It also follows a change in
management, with Maruyama stepping down
from being president the year before. They
had around 80 full-time employees back
then, but just 11 of those were animators
and 26 worked on CGI, compositing, and
other similar roles. This means the
company had to rely on freelance animators
and outsourcing, potentially more
convenient for the company in the short
run, but it's unsustainable and puts added
strain on employees. By 2020, MAPPA's
staff count was over 200 and it was now
one of the largest anime studios. Work
output more than doubled at the same time.
Despite their size and reputation, MAPPA
doesn't usually have much control over
their own projects. To explain this, I
need to introduce the idea of production
committees. This is the group of companies
that are actually funding an anime
project. It isn't uncommon in the industry
to see the actual anime studio making the
thing hold little to no stake in the
committee, which can cause some problems.
The ownership of the project isn't equal.
The first company listed in the committee
has the largest stake. They funded the
project the most. In 2017, MAPPA was on
the committee for one of their anime, one
again in 2018, two in 2019, and three in
2020. Note where they rank in these lists
as well. This is where the problem comes
in. Production committees want to invest
as little as possible in order to maximize
their profits. They also want their
product as soon as possible. At the same
time, the studios are accepting the
smaller investments so that they actually
have a job to do. Therefore, MAPPA is
usually constrained in terms of their
management concerns with their projects.
Which brings us to the low pay problem.
According to animator Ippei Ichii, a MAPPA
animator working on a Netflix anime gets
around 3,800 to 7,000 yen per cut. They
clarify that the problem they have is with
Netflix. They don't like that they've
started to place orders at such low rates,
which is interesting. For the longest
time, Netflix was the only producer who
didn't budget so low. They're now par for
the course, alongside all of the other
Japanese investors. This also extends to
senior members. Veteran Hisashi Iguchi
reportedly made a series of complaints
about low wages, and was even paid half of
what he was promised for one of his
projects. Such a tight budget has major
implications for workloads. Add in some
strict deadlines, and we're looking at an
incredibly painful situation. Enter Attack
on Titan. These accounts come from
freelance animator Mushiyo, who had to
leave AOT's production due to unhealthy
work conditions mid-run. I'm really
feeling this. It made me question why I
even worked so hard to join the company.
Why do we as employees have to fix the
messy keyframes and animations that seem
to come from random overseas sources every
single week until morning? This was one of
the reasons I considered quitting. I'm
here if they really focus on developing in
-house animators, but of course, there's
no time or leeway for that. I mean, with
four projects happening at once, there's
no time to teach, right? It feels like all
that the juniors do is retakes, like
fixing button patterns or smoothing out
jagged lines in 3D CG. It's more like
factory work, and I started to question
why I'm even here. The higher-ups always
talk about having pride and so on, which
feels like brainwashing to me. I don't
think everyone feels this way, but from
what I've heard, about 80% of employees
were complaining like this back then.
Mushio described a cycle where they're
constantly fixing issues due to lack of
proper training and outsourcing, but they
don't have time to properly train since
they're short on staff just trying to
complete the demanding schedule on a lower
budget than appropriate. The problem only
got worse with Jujutsu Kaisen Zero.
According to animator HoneHone, the worst
thing is that the staff works hard to
complete a schedule that would be
impossible to meet in time normally, then
the higher-ups look at the results and
fail to make any improvements. I guess the
behaviour began when we completed a movie
in four months. Note that this is also
talking about JJK Season 2.
What if we
gave MAPPA more control? Chainsaw Man is
actually a good example of this. This
anime had no production committee, which
means 100% of the cost was on MAPPA. This
scenario exposes some other issues. The
reasons are kind of vague, but Chainsaw
Man's director, Ryu Nakayama, left MAPPA
to create his own studio. He posted this
to Twitter.
The mission this year is to build a better working
environment free from power harassment and
moral harassment, without unnecessary stress
and with financial and time stability.
It's still on a small scale, but we're gradually
shaping it.
Gives an idea as to why he left at least.
This was actually the second time a
director left MAPPA to make their
own studio. They can't retain employees
and freelancers across multiple
levels of their company.
What makes this worse is that Nakayama was
the guy MAPPA wanted to help change things
for the better, from one of his blog
posts:
Originally, I personally intended to
recruit freelance staff, but after discussing
it with MAPPA, and to create an environment where
applicants can relax and dig into their work,
we decided to officially recruit employees,
what we want to recruit this time is digital
animators that want to work on the Nakayama Ryu
production line for the long term.
Also, this is not for animators that live overseas.
Those can work as freelance animators,
so please send in your portfolio or reel.
If Nakayama eventually said this and ended
up leaving, things went really wrong
somewhere. Animator Shinsaku Kozuma gives
us a little bit more info on Chainsaw
Man's production.
This version of Chainsaw Man wasn't what we
wanted to create, that's the real truth.
I'm saying this as the guy who lost his temper
and got into an argument during episode one
We've now seen comments about mistreating
employees, impossible deadlines and bad pay.
As MAPPA continued to make anime under these conditions
an inevitable twitter meltdown occured
partway through JJK Season 2's airing,
tons of MAPPA animators came out to
express their frustration with their
circumstances. Bad news has come in and
it's made me feel suddenly deflated. The
most boring ending I can think of. Ah, the
festival's over. Okay, let's disband. The
famous "It's Over" tweet. Prominent animator
Itsuki Tsuchigami: I didn't think so much
about the previous work, but it makes me
really uncomfortable to hear people praise
the company's name for good things about
the current work. Those who should be
praised are the director, who moved around
to gather outside contractors and people,
and each department within the company,
including production and filming, who
persevered. Episode 13 director and
storyboarder Arai Kazuto revealed that the
episode staff requested a delay from the
production committee, but it was obviously
denied. Several episodes were reportedly
finished just a few hours before they
aired on TV. This is just progressively
getting worse. One of these future
productions could end up being an even
bigger animation disaster.
I feel like we
have normalized talking down on other
people's works so much on social media
that criticism and straight up harassment
are no longer separate things. If you've
been in places like Twitter, you've most
likely witnessed animators venting about
how they are treated, and it's honestly
heartbreaking. People complain about the
quality of animation when they forget that
anime is not being produced by one giant
computer. No, these are people with lives,
people with families who they want to
provide for, people paying taxes just like
you and me, people going out of their way
in comfort zone to make sure you get your
weekly entertainment, and they are losing
sleep over it. As an artist myself, I
think it's important to acknowledge the
disrespect that these people constantly
have to hear and take every day. I mean,
it's not easy going on social media and
probably seeing someone trash talk your
work. Let's remember that anime would not
be here without these guys. You would not
have these amazing works like Chainsaw Man
and Jujutsu Kaisen, no. You would not have
them if it weren't for these people who
are once again spending their lives making
entertainment for you. And while I know
supporting these workers means you do have
to support MAPPA technically, let's just
acknowledge what they go through and let's
acknowledge that stuff like this really
does take time to make.
MAPPA is just one
example of how anime industry practices
hurt people and the product. But does it
have to be like this? Some studios have
been able to avoid major issues actually.
Kyoto Animation might be the best example.
They can produce high quality animation,
they have a work environment that
prioritizes training and nurturing staff,
and their animators are salaried in an
effort to focus on quality rather than
quota. We can't ignore their standings in
their production committees too. They're
usually near the top, giving them more
control over their own projects. But they
obviously don't produce anime at the rate
MAPPA does. Interestingly enough, MAPPA's
CEO has said they want to keep up their
rate of production while trying to match
the quality of studios like KyoAni and
Ufotable. But actually remaining
competitive would require sustainability.
You need to attract skilled animators, get
them to stay with the company, and nurture
those with potential. Something that
doesn't look possible without proper
training programs and better pay. To
MAPPA's credit, they do seem to be aware
of this. In 2021, they created their
studio annex building in an effort to
improve the workplace environment. This
approach feels very similar to what Big
Tech does, if you know what I mean. MAPPA
equipped this place with quality drawing
tools, an open lounge space, and something
they call an animator's village, which
includes shops and cafes. Chainsaw Man was
made there, and you know how that went.
But they're not giving up. Modern day
MAPPA actually pays their full-time
animators more. New listings from late
2023 revealed that entry-level animators
are offered a monthly wage of about 240k
yen. This is on the higher end of what the
industry pays. While the whole JJK season
2 thing was not reassuring at all, there
was an attempt to train employees for long
-term retention with Chainsaw Man. They
could and should try again. MAPPA could go
either way when it comes to improving
management and work conditions, but it's a
complicated problem with many external
factors acting on the system. Anime is
making money, and this boom is attracting
more investors. MAPPA founder Maruyama
thinks China could overtake Japan in this
business. In the end, improvement is sort
of capped by the state of the industry as
a whole, and the industry is poor.
Problems at MAPPA aren't exclusive to
MAPPA. There's a video by the Animator
Dormitory channel I highly recommend
checking out. It's a translation of a
statement made by Toshio Okada, the co
-founder of Gainax. He talks about the
issues with production committees that
I've discussed here in more depth. And
thank you to Emi-chan for collaborating on
this video. We did a previous collab
that's on screen now. Check out her
channel too, and stay tuned for more.
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