Young Animators Challenge the System

Japanese anime has conquered the world.

The market is approximately 17 billion dollars.

And, in the past 10 years, it has grown by nearly 7 billion.

But for animators, the long hours of work are punishing, and the compensation is meager.

Days off average five a month.

Salaries barely pay the rent.

Many aspiring animators quit before their careers even start.

However, change is coming that may make the industry healthier for animators to work in.

One factor is the emergence of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs.

Another is a large pool of untapped anime talent.

Harnessing both in creative ways may just change the industry from the ground up.

Now, one young man is exploring a new way to challenge the status quo.

Ashio Dan began his career as an animator.

After years of long hours and low pay, he knew something had to change.

My starting salary was tiny.

I used to steep instant noodles
in hot water for 30 minutes.

The noodles would expand
and fill me up more.

That's how poor I was.

Loving to draw, Ashio entered the animation industry.

But the working environment drove him to look elsewhere.

Later I did games, advertising
and other creative work.

I couldn't understand
why animators are paid so poorly.

I realized that solving that problem
would require the industry to change.

The production workflow itself
would have to change.

Ashio hopes to change a key element of the anime industry -- the production committee system.

Investors fund the production of new content and capture all the profit.

Even if a title hits big, the animators don't share in its success.

To address this imbalance, Ashio is building a model for a completely new production structure.

He calls his project ANIM.JP.

It's a framework for synergizing ideas for change, from various fields including IT and advertising.

We need a playbook like "Evangelion."

And if it's a hit,
we should all benefit.

ANIM is already creating real change in the animation industry.

NFT art is the key.

Each unique image created by Ashio in this series of animal characters is linked to an NFT.

Revenue from the sale will generate capital to support new anime projects.

NFTs certify ownership of a unique set of digital data.

Since they're recorded in the blockchain, they make sale and trade of digital works a viable proposition.

Digital art can become an asset or an investment, just like physical art.

ANIM offers 9,999 unique works, with matching clothing and other merchandise.

NFT buyers can own a piece of anime art that no one else has.

The background is a sheet
of drawing paper.

The designs are inspired by animators.

This one has an energy drink
to keep him going.

The introduction of NFTs may change the industry structure dramatically.

What is Ashio's vision for the new era?

ANIM empowers animators to fund their projects through NFT sales to anime enthusiasts.

If the project is a hit, creators and buyers will share in the profits.

ANIM espouses what they call, "the democratization of anime production."

To the industry, this must have seemed more than a little idealistic.

But it turned out to be a huge success.

Buyers snatched up two-thirds of Ashio's NFTs.

The art fetched a total of around 300,000 dollars.

His success is a measure of the expectations that anime continues to generate.

Yokoyama Asaka is a working animator and an ANIM NFT holder.

New animators are paid
hardly anything.

So a lot of them quit.

But if awareness of ANIM
spreads among animators...

it will change their outlook.

I think it will help people realize
that things can't stay as they are.

Now that ANIM has gathered the capital it needs, it can start working on its first animated project.

ANIM NFT holders can get involved in the production process by contributing ideas and comments.

Looking at all these ideas,
it's like they tell a single story.

With just five months before the release of their first animation, Ashio feels the pressure.

A lot of hopes are riding on its success.

ANIM is trying to create
an alternative for the industry.

People are hoping
we'll break the existing paradigm.

I get that feeling very strongly.

We're opening he production process to
participation from the whole community.

I've received far more support
than I could ever pay back.

All I can do is keep moving forward.

Another challenge facing the industry is the concentration of production studios in Tokyo.

With animators in short supply, studios are even poaching talent from each other.

But this situation is changing.

Kochi prefecture, on Shikoku Island.

Its first animation studio opened in 2021.

Studio Eight Colors.

Eight Colors aims to become an animation production company that grows along with the community.

The hand-drawn look of this commercial for a local bank generated much comment.

Uda Hideo leads the new studio.

For a decade, he ran a studio in Tokyo and participated in the creation of several anime hits.

He was concerned by the attrition rate among animators coming to Tokyo from other parts of Japan.

There's a serious shortage of animators.

Good ideas are going to waste
for lack of resources.

Animators are tired of Tokyo.
They're heading back home.

I saw firsthand how hard it is
to keep working in Tokyo.

While managing his studio in Tokyo, Uda traveled frequently to Kochi to set up Eight Colors.

Support from local government and financial institutions played a key role in making the venture viable.

His first office was just big enough for three employees.

And in his first recruiting ad, Uda urged even people with no experience to apply.

But he wondered whether Eight Colors would generate any interest.

I expected five or six people
to attend our first presentation.

The first recruitment presentation drew over a hundred participants.

More than Uda realized, there were many people in Kochi with unfulfilled dreams of a life in animation.

Eight Colors has grown to fifteen staff.

Each is a full-fledged employee, not a contractor.

One searched for a manga-related job in the city, but her hopes weren't realized.

I was working in a library, but
I'd always wanted to be an animator.

Then I heard an animation studio
was opening in Kochi.

I thought, "I've got to try!"

Another graduated from an anime training school, but ultimately couldn't make life in Tokyo work.

I wasn't prepared to make it
as an animator in Tokyo.

The cost of living is just too high.

Others started their anime journey in their hometown of Kochi.

One is Sato Tokito.

Sato's dreams of becoming an animator started with this illustration.

It's a work by the artist Yoneyama Mai.

I was totally inspired.

I wanted to do illustration
like this too.

Sato studied art in Osaka, but the city wasn't a good fit.

But back in Kochi, he discovered Eight Colors.

And six months into the job, one of his dreams came true.

He worked as an animator on a project with his idol, Yoneyama.

I was credited for my work.

Seeing my name right after hers
brought tears to my eyes.

The exodus of young people to the metro areas has been especially hard on Kochi.

Companies like Eight Colors are symbols of hope for the region's future.

Today, Uda gets a visit from a Kochi official.

We plan to add
another 10 staff next April.

It's like people are coming
to Kochi just to work in anime.

Okimoto helped Uda set up his studio.

The impact on the community has far exceeded his expectations.

I'm very impressed.

We want to attract industries
that hire young people and women.

If Kochi becomes known
as a center for animation...

incentives and support are already in place.

Eight Colors is drawing increasing interest from businesses in the region.

The studio collaborated with a local supermarket to create this commercial.

It's very cute.
Our customers love it too.

And to help anime put down even deeper roots in the local community, Uda's animators are helping children experience the fun of animation, with the same equipment the pros use.

If you join us someday,
you can draw all you want.

Older students get a feel for what it's really like to be an animator.

Professional drawings are so impressive.

I draw a lot in school.
I'd like to do it for a living.

I'll look at anime
differently after today.

I'll go through frame by frame
to see how it was done.

There isn't much that outlying cities
can export direct to the world.

Anime is an exception.

Japan is full of young people
who love to draw.

We want to develop them
and build the industry.

Maybe Kochi will be famous
someday for its super creators.

That would really be great.

Ripples of change are beginning to spread across a huge industry.

And the impact on the future of Japanese animation is sure to be positive.