In a recent interview, Studio Pierrot CEO Kiero Itsumi shed light on the studio’s approach to addressing employee working conditions amid the growing anime production industry. development.
Animators’ poor working conditions have been thrust into the spotlight as 2023 ends thanks to Jujutsu Kaisen Part 2’s crazy production schedule. However, based on Itsumi’s comments, it seems Pierrot has taken important steps to ensure that those working behind the scenes to create the final product are properly rewarded and in a healthy environment.
The CEO began by noting that the anime market has expanded and that today higher quality works need to be produced in order to be perfected globally. This also leads to an increase in various costs.
Whereas in the past, animators might have had to work with “courage and determination” to meet higher qualities, Itsumi said that proper labor management is essential in current times.
“In the past, the anime industry was known for its low profit margins and there may have been an image that creators had to work in a way that disregarded labor standards. But today, proper labor management is essential. The mentality of trying your best with ‘courage and determination’ from the Showa era no longer applies,” Itsumi said.
The perspective on labor management that Itsumi talks about is quite important here. According to a recent report, long working hours are a serious problem that many animators face in the industry, even as recently as 2017.
However, labor reform laws subsequently implemented reduced the overwork that animators were forced to do, with only 10% of those surveyed working 260 hours or more in a month ( more than 100 hours of overtime) by 2022.
Itsumi emphasizes that human effort, not automation, is the cause behind the creation of anime and Prioritizing the well-being of creators is crucial to practicing sustainable production.
In response, Studio Pierrot made significant revisions to salaries and increase overtime pay by 20%demonstrating a commitment to improving working conditions.
“Human beings, not computers, create anime. So if those people become exhausted, there is nothing we can do. This way of creating things is not sustainable in the long term. That’s why, since I joined Pierrot, we’ve made significant pay adjustments and even increased overtime pay by 20%. I believe we have done our best to improve working conditions,” the director said.
Add in a 20% overpay with reasonable working hours, and on paper it looks like a good deal.
Itsumi also expressed her wish for creators to receive more user feedback and conveyed this appreciation to Studio Pierrot’s creators, building a collaborative environment where everyone can grow happily and sustainably.
“I want creators in this field to receive more feedback from users. When I watch events like the movie presentation of BLEACH: The Thousand-Year Blood War abroad, everyone is so excited and it really touches me. Like, ‘Wow, they love it so much.’ That’s the kind of reaction I want to show to the creators. Everyone can move forward happily and sustainably. Pierrot aims to continue to be such an anime studio in the future.”
Furthermore, Itsumi emphasized Studio Pierrot’s consistency in delivering quality works every week. While acknowledging the benefits of creating enduring cult films, he emphasized the importance of diverse production methods tailored to the requirements of each project.
Diversifying their portfolio was also a strategic consideration for Studio Pierrot. Itsumi emphasized the risks of relying on just one project and advocated a balanced profit structure to ensure financial stability and effectively reduce risks.
The trend of not relying solely on a single product has been shown by Pierrot recently when they temporarily stopped adapting Black Clover and Borutotwo of their long-running series, to focus on >Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Arc.
They also continue to release seasonal installments of the anime series Kingdom and focus on some newer works.
Job Bleach TYBW released in multiple versions also supports Itsumi’s statement of prioritizing different production methods in accordance with the series’ requirements.
Source: Borderless