Anime Artist “Forbids” Hopeful Animators From Working Full-Time In Japan

The industries of anime and manga has a big problem and that problem is “burnout”. Though this can be technically called a “Golden Age” for both mediums, with profits skyrocketing and the sheer number of releases staggering audiences, the stress and shoddy work conditions for many artists is just too much to bear. One animator for the series of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations gave his thoughts on animating the series and implored future animators to not work full-time in Japan.

Twitter User Evandro_Pedro96 took the interview with animator, Ida Bagus Yoga, for the Indonesian Anime Times and displayed the sections that highlighted the awful work conditions and why Yoga believes animators should think of other options outside of Japan:

Ida, or Guzzu as he’s sometimes called, discussed in detail the terrible conditions that came about from having to animate an intricate fight scene in Boruto with little time to do so. The animator stated that himself and his co-workers were given just under three weeks to animate the fight scene, which included not just the character movement, but the background environments, “clean-ups”, explosions, and everything else necessary to bring the battle to life.

So with these awful conditions that Ida went through, what was his advice for others looking to join his industry? Guzzu stated that animators should work on one or two projects a year as freelancers and hope that the experience added to their resumes will allow them to transfer into positions with “better conditions”. Ida also adds that if animators truly want to work in this industry, they must have “masochistic” and/or “strong” souls.

The seemingly torturous environments created to hit deadlines is transparent not just in the animated field, but also in several other artistic mediums, such as video games. It’s a sad state of affairs and it’s worth bringing into the light of day to hopefully alleviate the problems that are mounting for the mediums of anime and manga.

What do you think of the advice that Ida has for fellow future animators looking to work in anime in Japan? What can the industry do moving forward to create better work environments? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.

Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto for Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999, Naruto follows a young ninja, with a sealed demon within him, that wishes to become the leader of his home village. The series ran for 700 chapters overall, and was adapted into an anime series by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex that ran from 2002 to 2017. The series was popular enough to warrant a sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations which is set several years after the events of the original Naruto story and features the children of many of its key characters such as Naruto and Hinata.