Toei Implements Controversial System To Improve Its Animation

If you have been around the anime fandom for awhile, then there is a truth you surely know already. While anime is growing in popularity around the world, the industry has found itself plagued with on-going issues regarding quality. And, thanks to a recent report, netizens have learned how Toei Animation is hoping to alter that trend.

However, if everything is as it looks, then the company may not have thought its plan through too well.

Recently, Sakuga Blog dove into the state of Toei Animation and its recent internal restructuring. The company is one of the most well-known animation studios in Japan thanks to its work on titles like Dragon Ball and One Piece. However, if you dig into its reputation, you will find plenty of fans who've submitted complaints about its animation quality.

According to reports, Toei Animation has tried to combat these complaints by enforcing its time off for employees.

"As decided by their executives, Toei is enforcing an overarching plan to achieve more reasonable working schedules, starting by making overtime work less viable and especially by forcing holidays on their staff. What in theory sounds like a nice idea, more so considering anime's usually outrageous working schedule, quickly falls apart when you realize there was nothing more to their plan," Sakuga Blog explains. And, while that may sound nice, it sours once you realize nothing else changed to make that time off easier to manage.

As the report details, Toei Animation employees are more disgruntled than ever because their work flow hasn't been decreased yet their time off has. The same load with less time to work on it cannot be a good recipe for quality animation. So, should Toei Animation really want to alter the way people see it, then it seems something more than paid-time off is needed to change fans' minds.

What do you think Toei Animation needs to do to get a handle on its quality? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!

Dragon Ball Super is currently airing its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on Funimation, VRV, and Crunchyroll.