New Article Breaks Down Japan’s Growing Anime Dilemma

Anime and manga right now are as popular as ever, with a torrent of selections available. With a constant stream of new television series and a seemingly never ending wave of new manga for readers, there’s a crisis that is looming over the industry. Even with the amount of money that is being produced thanks to the mediums of anime and manga, what could possibly be troubling the industry that could potentially lead to a catastrophic future? One article broke down the medium’s troubles, giving audiences a new look into the mounting problems for these creative endeavors.

Japan Today broke down the problems inherent in the anime/manga system, with “low pay, long hours, and a serious shortage of artists” looking to join the industry. It’s seemingly a tale as long as time, with workers being pushed to their limits to hit a deadline or create the best product possible, and in doing so, are creating additional stress for themselves that may be too difficult to handle.

So few new artists are available, that the article even makes note of the fact that Studio Ghibli’s founder, Hayao Miyazaki, is coming out of retirement to offset the lack of talent. The article also mentions that terrible hours that face artists of both anime and manga alike, with standard “12 to 18 hours” bogging down the creative minds that are responsible for this successful industry.

Yoshiaki Nishimora, a former employee of Studio Ghibli and founder of Studio Ponoc, gave his thoughts on the problems that threatens to break down the world of anime and manga. According to Nishimora, the industry’s problems are “the result of an accumulation of problems over the last five to 10 years”, but he assured the interviewer that his studio is attempting to “create a new environment”.

“Burnout” is a far too common problem when it comes to many creative industries throughout the world. Not just manga and anime, industries such as the video game medium also see too many designers and programmers put through the ringer thanks in part to obscene workloads and far too many layoffs. The most challenging part is trying to find a solution to the problems that plague these industries, as there can sometimes be a disconnect between the executives and the workers who are “on the ground”.

These problems have existed far too long in the creative medium and we hope that we can see some fixes to these issues to give writers and artists the time and attention they need to keep creating amazing work, without sacrificing their health.

What do you think of the problems that are currently haunting the industries of anime and manga? How do you feel these problems can be alleviated moving forward? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.