[eggplant]

The anime industry is indeed a unique world, especially from a remuneration perpsective, which can be quite incomprehensible to many people living outside of Japan. Yes, this artistic culture is brought to you every day at the expense of endless toiling by aspiring creators, so it would be natural to expect them to receive compensation commensurate with their performance. After all, this is Japan, one of the leading economical countries in the world.

Well, what I herewith write may be an eye opener for some, but don't fret. Even the average Japanese working citizen isn't aware of the abysmal working conditions that lingers within the industry.

What you hear about animators having to work all day for a meager wage is true, and since it has been addressed previously in this thread, I'll only complement it by saying that this atrocious working environment is not only tolerated, it is legal. How so? Well, these animators are not employed by their respective studios, but instead are servicing their skills under a contractual agreement, with remuneration based on output (i.e., number of pages penciled/painted). In essence, they are not subject to labor laws, including the application of minimum wages and maximum hours of labor per week. Despite being technically immune to corporate regulations such as working hours, studios bind them to their desks until the quota is fulfilled, hinting that the slightest sign of insubordinance will lead to his/her firing, as animators are literally disposable, replaced by the next flock of unwitting wanabees.

This does not mean that all animators have no life. There are some studios that hire creative talent as employees, complete with commutations and fringe benefits, even overtime pay. And of course, the talented artists will find ways to obtain key production roles, and will be handsomely compensated. But the majority of young animators are at the mercy of studios, to be expoilted at will, and those that manage to stay on board will eventually encouter a reality check in the form of their services no longer being necessary. Then again, how can an average digital artist make ends meet at a per page rate of under 200 yen, when the maximum number of pages one can physically complete is 20 per day?

The anime industry is extremely closed and it is so for a reason. In comparison to other forms of entertainment, production costs for anime are extremely expensive, mainly to cover labor costs for the immense amount of hand drawn artwork. A thrity minute late night episode averages around $200K, which may be miniscule compared to the megabucks involved in Hollywood movie budgeting, but it is rather unpractical considering the resources needed to re-collect the money (primarily by DVD sales).

This was already an issue from the dawning ages of anime, so it was obvious that the pioneer of the industry had to handle it. Mushi Productions, the first Japanese anime studio, led by the legendary Tezuka Osamu, realized that cutting production costs was essential in the survival of future anime. All other studios followed suit, and eventually horrible working conditions became synonymous with anime production. This remained tacit knowledge for a long time, as if competetive studios were working in collusion in order to cover up the dark side of the indsutry.

Tezuka is praised for his work, as his contributions to the industry surpass any of his vices. However, he is also the center of controversy within the anime industry, and high profile people such as director Miyazaki Hayao has been known to criticize the late Tezuka of setting a precedent.

Having said this, no wonder seiyuus are in a similar predicament. After all, anime is not a role model for the entertainment industry, and unlike actors, singers, or athletes who are recognized and duly compensated for their skills, from the studio's point of view, seiyuus are merely staff despite their actor/actress moniker, and are treated that way.

How ironic it is for seiyuus to be given recent recognition not only by hardcore otakus, but by the entertainment industry as well, when their paycheck pales in comparison to that of an office worker of the same age. Sure you can say that this is a survival of the fittest type of occupation where there is unabating competition. But an industry in which seiyuus, who have established themselves as staple figure, cannot even reap the fruits must be demented.

Face it. An aspiring seiyuu will usually have to endure 2 years of basic acting training at a vocational school, then enter an agency in Tokyo as a trainee for another 2-3 years of acting lessons before he or she can do any acting work. And that is if the said person is talented enough, the probability for that being a one figure percentange rate. Even then, such roles for newcomers are sparse, and the prospective seiyuu must win through auditions (I'm not going to mention other immoral ways to obtain roles here).

And what is his/her paycheck for this? 12,000 yen (appoximately $110) per episode minus tax deduction and agency commissions, assuming the seiyuu is a member of the Japan Actors Guild. And don't think that such a union is for the mutual benifit of the seiyuu, as it simply stipulates the unique classification system which is the basis for their appearance fee.

Perhaps it may be agood idea to set some standards, and establish a minimum wage for a newcomer. However, this fixed rate is applicable whether you have one line or a thousand (though there are variable factors that are taken into account), and one's rank will not be re-evaluated until after 2-3 years, where he/she can only step up to the next level.

What is pathetic about this system is that, the ten tier rating system starting off from Junior (15,000 yen per episode prior to deductions) to Veteran (45,000 yen), plus the special Non-Rank reserved for mainly 60 year olds and above, has hardly any leeway in terms of money. Essentially, a longtime veteran will make only maximum three times that of a rookie per episode. In fact, there are many seiyuus that resist on being promoted to a higher class, as a higher fee will lead to lesser jobs.

Put that into the rookie seiyuu's shoes. He/she can only earn 60,000 yen per month without stipend, and it is likely that that role is the seiyuu's only one. No wonder why seiyuus have to resort to other ways to make a living, by appearing in events, doing narration work, dubbing games or commercials, and that's if there's such an offer. Otherwise, it's a continuation of the part-time job he/she did during the trainee days in order to make a living. Since you can only do seiyuu work in Tokyo, and if you're out here on your own, you must take part time jobs to keep a roof over you.

I don't think I should even probe into the poor seiyuu who's not a union member, meaning he/she is forced into doing work in worse conditions. Why is this possible? Some studios or advertising agencies often hire non-union seiyuus due to budget constraints or animosity towards the union, and there are people who will due whatever it takes to grab a role. There are also seiyuu agencies that are not Management Association members, who exclusively handle non union member seiyuus, although it is up to the individual seiyuu whether to join the guild or not.

Due to the efforts of senior seiyuus, the road for incentives is open, mainly income based on re-runs, but royalties stemming from DVD sales have yet to be in implemented. Simply based on the information laid down here, for example, a 5 year veteran seiyuu with a base wage of 20,000 yen per show who does 4 shows a particular season will earn 240,000 yen a month on anime seiyuu work alone, which finally brings it up to normal living standards. Don't worry about the seiyuu in this example, as such a person will definitely be doing other profitable work. In fact, many male seiyuus live comfortable lives just by doing ero games and narration work, which makes you wonder what their priorities lie in.

The spotlight on anime will most likely continue, generating lots of revenue for the select few people in the industry. Too bad that it isn't adequately returned to the people responsible for putting it into life. And sadly enough, the truth will never reach the starry eyed seiyuu wanabees until confronted with the harsh reality.