In a recent post on X animator (formerly Twitter), Nishii Terumi, who has worked as an animation director for various anime such as Jujutsu Kaisen 0 and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures said that the anime industry will definitely collapse soon.
Terumi is not one to shy away from pointing out flaws in the industry. This time, she also highlighted an issue that she feels will bring the anime industry to an abrupt end, once veterans like Hisashi Kagawa and his generation retire from the industry.
Kagawa is a prominent animator the director has worked for Sailor Moon and other iconic titles.
Terumi wants to point out that the time has come for the anime industry and studios began to take the aspect of training new animators seriously.
“It’s a serious strait. Once the generation of artists like Mr. Kagawa is gone, everything will suddenly end. We really need to figure out a training plan before that happens,” Terumi said.
She also added that anime studios that only care about quantity will not be able to train and develop animators.
“You can’t rely on production studios because the people who have nurtured animators up to now are now freelance animators. There cannot be ignorant companies that only understand numbers,” her post read.
Terumi’s post is essentially related to those made by Kagawa himself, who has previously pointed out that animation directors in the industry need to have a certain level of experience and that the job can be difficult. difficult for newcomers.
I hope I’m not misunderstood, but… the reason why there are so many complaints about animation directors (sakkan) in work-related complaints is that the position of an animation director is basically based on a solid ability to draw compositions and keyframes as well as the ability to properly capture character likenesses. This profession is built on the assumption that one has passed through a narrow door to be able to do these things well. So, without that foundation, it is natural to wonder “Why”?
To become an animation director in the first place, one needs a certain level of experience and achievement. That’s why I always ask ‘Why?’. It’s not easy for keyframe artists or animators with limited experience (self-assessment).
Although factories often suggest’trying’someone [mới] work as an animation director or give them the opportunity to participate in production. If the trial is unsuccessful, a correct judgment must be made.
It may sound preachy, but I still clearly remember the tension and fear from when I was assigned my first role as an animation director.
Terumi and Kagawa are not the first to highlight the problem of training animators and the lack of experienced staff in the industry.
The founder of MAPPA and Madhouse studios, Masao Maruyama, has also spoken about Japan’s anime industry being in decline due to its focus on commercialization. According to him, the focus on making money has caused the industry to fall behind in cultivating the next generation of animators.
Source: X (formerly Twitter)