Jobs in the Anime Industry

Fans

Foreigners

Job Possibilities

Advancement

Work for experienced animators

Payment

Workday

Benefits

Computers

Voice Acting

Writing

Hiring

Something important to keep in mind is that most animation companies don't want heavy fans working there. Fans are often too focused on specific styles, shows or subjects and are not willing to put out any effort on unrelated projects. Fans don't meet schedules, are lazy, can't cut it, are not trustworthy and will quit if they can't feed their pet mania, goes the conventional opinion. (This is not necessarily true of course. There are entire companies run by fans. (Which, incidentally, are often avoided as they may be great creators but are lousy businessmen.)) Still, the production manager will usually try to "work the fan" out of new employees.

Japanese animation companies are unlikely to hire a foreigner (except for the most basic position) unless he/she can provide something that no Japanese worker can. It is hard on both the foreigner and the other staff as communication and understanding can be very difficult. Even with the prerequisite Japanese language skill, it will still be very difficult initially. With patience and persistence on both sides this difficulty can be overcome. An animation studio is a business and unless there is some financial advantage, even in the future, in hiring a foreigner they will not.

A Japanese studio would be much more likely to hire a foreigner if he/she drew (very well) in a style other than the usual Japanese anime style. There are a lot of highly skilled Japanese artists that never get their chance because they draw in an anime style so there is no reason to expect that a foreigner drawing like everybody else will be able to do anything special.

The biggest obstacle is the visa situation. Please read the section on visas for more information.

There are no laws or rules which make it advantageous to hire foreigners and, in fact, it makes things much more difficult for the company. If at all possible, they will prefer to hire you on a freelance basis, paying you by the project and letting you deal with the taxes and such. You won't get paid vacation, sick days, health insurance, workers comp, an IRA or overtime.

A table of job possibilities for foreigners

After working for awhile at one of the entry-level positions, someone with enough experience will be promoted. It normally takes no less than 2 years of full time (and that's anime schedule full time) work for an inbetweener to work up to become a key animator. If someone is really good then they might move up faster. It is very important to note that there is no guaranteed advancement in the anime industry. If a person performs adequately every time they will retain their job. If they continually excel and beat the targets that have been set then they will be considered for higher positions. If you want to get paid more you have to work more.

 Japanese staff members can work their way up towards director or enshutsu through the production or animation departments. It is very unlikely that a foreigner will be able to work as a director's assistant or in any supervisory position (animation director, art director, camera director) unless he/she has a lot of experience and demonstrates great skill, talent and potential for such jobs. This level would have to be higher than any Japanese candidate for the job.
The most difficult positions for a foreigner to work at in Japanese animation would be director, producer and writer. For any of these an extremely good ability in the Japanese language would be necessary as well as very strong communication skills. A level of communication which is equivalent to or greater than a normal Japanese person off the street would be the absolute minimum requirement. Again and again I must stress that you must bring something unique and otherwise unobtainable to the company in order for them to choose or promote you over or instead of a Japanese worker.

 Even then the Japanese may be unwilling to work under a foreign supervisor and the sponsors might not be willing to work with a foreign director. So far, I am the only foreigner ever to direct anything in the traditional anime industry.

Probably the most exciting line a foreigner could get into in the Japanese animation industry would be production coordination and international relations. This would provide the chance for travel and would be the best way to use the unique talents that a foreigner could bring to a Japanese animation company. The pay would be better and the work more enjoyable than a lot of jobs in the industry. It would definitely be better than a job as a translator or an assistant to somebody as well. 

It is difficult to say what jobs will be open to experienced animators from other countries in Japan. Design and backgrounds would probably be the easiest, whereas key animation (genga) would take some (maybe a lot) of retraining so that the animator could fit into the Japanese production system. If a Japanese company hires a foreigner with animation experience it is usually for a specific project where that persons strengths will be used. (As far as I know no such relationship has expanded into a long term job.)

The most annoying thing about the anime industry is that it is miserably poor. Nobody has money, nobody gets paid well, budgets are small and it is a constant battle to keep costs as low as possible. The more expensive the less important jobs become, the more likely it is that they will be subcontracted to companies in China or Southeast Asia.

 For the first couple of years the new animator or painter makes about 100,000 yen ($1000) a month, most of which usually goes into rent. This is not a fixed salary as animators are paid by the sheet of animation (by the drawn or painted sheet, that is). The more sheets you do, the more money you make. To get to a reasonable level of pay the animator usually has to do near 1,000 sheets a month. Considering that the maximum for many animators is around 30 sheets a day (720 sheets a month) only exceptional animators will get to that level. The same goes for painters and background artists. Camera people are on salary.

A question at this point might be "So how do new animators live with such low salaries?" The answer is: with their parents, with parental subsidies or in groups. If the animator works hard enough and has enough talent then he/she will be promoted and make more money at some point.
A good animator who moves up to key animation then on to animation supervisor can make a very good salary. Likewise a good background artist who does some art direction and a camera operator who becomes a camera supervisor will make good money. The hardest part is the first 2 years. After that you have a pretty good idea what you are capable of.

Hours are long, usually 10 to 14 hours per day for animators and 14 - 16 for production assistants. These are not fixed hours but most people work them to get more done. Most companies don't have time cards but you will get bad looks and people will think you are lazy if you work shorter hours than everybody else. (If anything you should try to work harder than everybody around you as you have a lot further to go to prove yourself useful in their eyes.) They'll remember how much you worked when it comes time to promote people.

The benefits of working in the anime industry are that you get to make anime. If that is not enough reward then it would be best to do something else. As a freelancer, you do not get insurance, health coverage, retirement programs, a set number of vacation days, sick days, housing, or anything like that. Everything comes out of your pitifully small salary. Some companies will cover your train pass and if they send you somewhere to do something they will cover reasonable expenses. If you are an employee of a larger company you are eligible for some insurance benefits but the insurance companies might not extend their policies to foreigners. There are no labor laws which cover benefits for foreigners so they can deny you anything and everything if necessary.

 Traditional animation companies are slowly putting in computer systems. Most companies looking for computer staff would be interested in the following would be useful :

Windows NT/2000/XP

RETAS!Pro

Animo

Photoshop

Painter

Lightwave 3D (PC)

AfterEffects, Premiere, Speed Razor, etc. 

and related subjects.

Most anime companies cannot afford dedicated administration staff, particularly if they are not involved in the creative end of things (in which case they tend to be more obstructions than help). 

The use of 3D animation is expanding rapidly and this is something that is not being covered very well by Japanese schools. The only drawback to doing 3D in the anime industry is that it pays a lot worse than doing it for the games or advertising industries.

I have had people ask me about becoming a voice actor/actress in Japan and I have no advice on this. The schools that (purportedly) teach voice acting do not teach Japanese and I would think that you would have to perfectly fluent before anyone would even consider you for a position. (As a director I would not even think about hiring a foreigner to do a Japanese language part even if they worked a lot cheaper and I can't imagine that they could.) There may be a possibility of landing parts still though. The life of a voice actor is probably much like that of an animator - you have to do it for a long time before you get to do what you want and even then you aren't really free.

Working as a writer in Japan is also unlikely. One would have to have a command of the language at least equal to if not surpassing that of the writers the company normally works with in order to get jobs. This would mean years of dedicated study of the Japanese language in a university in Japan. It would be impossible to attain more than 5% of the ability you would need studying outside Japan. (After spending that much money it would be a lot better to go into scholarly work than anime!)

 There is the (remote) possibility of a Japanese company (probably a sponsor) picking up a foreign writer's work and translating it for animation production but it would be unlikely that the foreigner would be involved in production. If you want to write a story and be involved in production then arrange the financing for it and bring it to a production company. (If you have no experience there is a great danger of you screwing the production up and making it cost a lot more, same as if you decided to build your own house without knowing what you're doing. Hire pros to make it right.)

If you created some really good stories, it is possible that you could pitch them to sponsors and get project funding to develop them. You'd still need a Japanese writer to do the Japanese script but aiming at the international market would be much smarter anyway as it would bring you much more money and fame. (Your professionally translated script will read like the subtitles in an English anime release. If you do it yourself it will read like a fansub and the producers will ignore it immediately. Get it done right!)

It is much more likely that you will be able to write a movie or TV script that sells in Hollywood than sell one in Japan. An individual has a lot more access to sales possibilities in Hollywood than anime. It's a LOT more likely that you will be able to sell an original TV series concept in the US than Japan.

 Most of the anime shows that go into production are developed by producers and directors rather than writing. Writing is sometimes pretty ancillary to the whole process and the director (or episode director) has a good deal of rewrite control and total control over dialogue.

The writers of the scripts for anime shows are all chosen before the shows go into production so there no spec scripts are accepted. The writer(s) for an anime show must have extensive meetings with the producers, director and if the show is based on a novel or manga the original creator as well. Sometimes they are chosen by the development team but sometimes the studio has a staff writer or freelance writer they use a lot.

There are a few writers who have become quite popular and have sponsors pick up their works for animation.

The pay rates vary dramatically from show to show but a staff writer makes about $2000 for writing a typical TV episode. An established writer can make many multiples of that per show and will also have multiple shows at any given time. 

I have done applicant interviews for studios in Japan in the past. When I hire or assist in hiring people I usually go through their resume and try to weed out the ones who are otaku types, the ones who seem like they would give up easily, the ones fixated on certain shows/artists/styles and the ones who just plain have no talent. I have to consider if they will be able to integrate into the existing team and if they have something unique to offer the company. If an interview would have to be done even partially in English then it is almost sure that the applicant will not be hired.
One of the most simple yet most important tests of ability is finished work, no matter what the quality. I have had people apply for jobs with no experience whatsoever that I have taken on because the work they showed me showed that they have talent even though it may still be unfocused. For positions that do not require the large crew and power of a full studio - like writing, illustration or such - I want to see samples of the work they have done. I once had someone apply for a job as a writer who had no samples of his writing, and could not tell me just what he wanted to write. Turns out that he didn't even do much creative writing but he though that by working at the company that writing skill would somehow enter his body like divine guidance or something.

  The ability to do and complete a comic does not magically appear as soon as a contract is signed. (Although some publishers with particularly difficult artists may disagree!)

Portfolio Information: What do they want to see?

Some notes based on my experience with hiring in Japan.

Life drawing: It is absolutely imperative that the artist be able to draw people and not just in an anime style. Animators must understand how humans and animals move and how they express emotions with body language in order to be able to communicate through animation effectively. Someone who doesn't have any idea how muscle groups work is going to be a terrible animator.
Original artwork: I much prefer to see a mix of non-anime related artwork like watercolors, marker illustrations and pencil work than just one type. For animators I like to see portraits and for background artists I like to see landscapes, but I really prefer if the artist has a mix of both. Honestly, they don't have to be great, but I want to see that they think of themselves as an artist, not just an anime artist. It also helps to see at what sort of an artistic level they are at and how they handle proportion, perspective, space and color.
Original anime style artwork: Original characters are the main thing I look for in a portfolio. If an artist doesn't have the creativity to come up with their own designs then I'm probably not going to be able to find a use for him/her. I take a look at illustrations of other artist's characters, but mostly to see what their interpretation of the character is. If the images of another artist's characters are strong and those of the artist's own characters are weak then the artist is almost surely a copy artist and I definitely don't need any of those. Likewise, if the artist shows a fixation on a certain show or type of character I will be very wary. If he's obsessed by TENCHI MUYO then he really isn't going to be happy at my company because we didn't work on it and it is highly unlikely that we will do something that is close to it.
Style is not so much of a problem unless the artist can only copy other people's styles. About the only style that makes warning flags pop up is an H manga/doujinshi style. If the artist's work is obviously heavily influenced by H manga then I won't consider hiring him. I have no objections to H manga, but artists who read it a lot tend to have a different agenda than that of an animation studio, and sometimes the sexual maturity issue comes up and other problems occur. (It's really difficult for the female employees to work with guys who stare at them and drool and sit around all day doing hardcore porn sketches.)
Related: If there is manga or doujinshi or some homemade animation I will definitely take a look at that. The first thing I will try to check is that the artist actually finished something. If he has a bunch of manga but none of it is finished then it's a good bet that he won't be able to follow through with a job. Manga and animation also can help show if someone has some sort of obsession or hang-up. (Everybody has their interests, but if your ardent desire is to share your intimate knowledge of 1880 trains or your recipe for cherry pie or your foot fetish then that's fine. But do a doujinshi or web page about it—you're not doing it in my company.) Obsessed people can often find it difficult to be open-minded and grow very slowly if at all.
We don't look for perfect artists. If someone is not at a very high level but we think we can train them, we are often willing to, but this depends on their personality and how well we think they will be able to fit in the company and production system. Originality is extremely important. If the portfolio shouts otaku to me then there is no way I will even interview the applicant. (Anime company rule #1: never hire otaku.)

So if you don't hire otaku then where do you get your staff from?

There's a difference between being a fan who is interested in animation and one who is totally obsessed by it. If somebody is into fandom then that's fine. I'd even hire someone who goes to fan group meetings, cons and events. If someone comes to me and they can name every seiyuu in any show I can mention, or they live to do cosplay, then I think it is better if they remain a fan and never try to cross the border into professional animation production as both of us will end up extremely disenchanted.