Anime’s Global Growth Sparks Backlash Against Industry’s Wages

The world of anime has seen some big growth these last few years, with the likes of My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, Dragon Ball Super, Pokemon, and One Piece helping to lead the charge in profits when it comes to both anime and manga, though controversy has been roaring online with regards to stagnant wages of the animators that bring these series to life. With streaming services such as Netflix, Crunchyroll, Funimation, and HBO Max attempting to corner the market by adding new and old anime franchises to their respective rosters, animators and fans alike are rallying behind this cause.

Twitter Animator Zombie Fish shared details about their time as an animator working in the industry of anime, stating that wages for the creative work could often be lower than the wages of retail store workers:

This year alone, we have seen controversies arise over animator wages from the likes of Studio MAPPA, Netflix, and a few of the creative minds behind the upcoming Disney+ series, Star Wars: Visions. Animator for MAPPA, Ippei Ichii, went into detail regarding the controversy that arose between Netflix and the studio responsible for their original series Yasuka, aka Studio MAPPA, and why “netizens” were up in arms when it came to how much animators were being paid on the project:

“To avoid misunderstanding, I have to say that my issue is with Netflix. For all the exorbitant amount of capital they have, it’s a problem that they’ve started to place orders with such low rates. There is a possibility that the prices are even lower than a TV series,” he wrote. Other freelance animators went on to bolster Ichii’s anger as this pay is already lower than the industry’s meager average of $40+ per cut. And if Netflix oversaw the budget for the project, well – you can see why netizens are upset.”

What do you think about the current controversy when it comes to animator wages? Do you think we’ll see changes made to the industry in the near future? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.