Studio TRIGGER has made a name for itself creating some of the most beloved, energetic anime series and movies in the history of the medium. Anime television series such as Kill la Kill, Gurren Lagann, and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners garnered wide acclaim in the anime community, along with TRIGGER’s films in Promare and Little Witch Academia. During an anime event in Japan, TRIGGER executive Kazuya Masumoto took the chance to talk about the biggest problems that are currently facing the anime industry and what has changed for the better in the present.
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While there have been quite a few discussions regarding how the anime industry is “in trouble” on social media, Masumoto took the opportunity at the event, Machi Asobi, to state the opposite. Even in the past two to three years, Maumoto has seen a big shift when it comes to the industry, stating that TRIGGER has seen a push for additional Human Resources in its company to make sure that employees were treated fairly. TRIGGER has also taken the opportunity to visit vocational schools and institutions in an attempt to placate potential animators and anime industry workers when it comes to the fears they may have regarding entering the industry.
The Anime Industry of Years Past
Kazuya stated during his discussion that around ten years ago, the anime industry had serious problems when it came to “working hours, wages, and general employment”. This stemmed, according to the executive, from a lack of funding for projects as he touted the factoid that a typical thirty-minute anime episode would cost around $100,000 USD. In today’s market, the TRIGGER executive states that production costs will typically be double that, and for more popular anime, it can even be tripled and/or quadrupled. While Masumoto is happy to see this shift, he does state that “even this is not enough”.
Matsumoto stated that thanks to anime’s popularity around the world, producers like Netflix have allowed anime to become a “bigger business” and thus gain more resources for employees. There are still many problems that are being reported in the anime industry to this day, but according to Kazuya, things are moving in a positive direction thanks in part to worldwide recognition and love for the medium.
What do you think the biggest challenges facing the anime industry today are? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of TRIGGER.
