Ask John: How Do I Become Involved With Anime Production?

Question:
I’ve always wondered by what means an American anime fan would enter into the anime industry. What does one have to do to get in on things?

Answer:
For a determined individual, there’s no insurmountable obstacle that could prevent one from becoming a professional in the anime industry, but the path is difficult, and practically impossible for the average anime fan. Anime, by definition, is Japanese, thus it’s not common for Westerners to work on the production of anime in Japan. To the best of my knowledge, in the nearly 50 year history of anime, only perhaps a half dozen Americans have ever been employed in the anime industry in Japan. Scott Frazier spent several years working in the anime industry in the early and mid 1980s. His homepage is the best resource I know of for advice and guidance for finding employment in the Japanese anime industry. However, the most important factor Mr. Frazier mentions in his advice is the fact that it’s virtually impossible for American or European citizens to by employed in the Japanese anime industry for two reasons. It’s very difficult to obtain a work visa from the Japanese government to secure a job in the anime industry, and most anime studios in Japan either will not hire foreigners or are not large enough to be legally allowed to hire non-Japanese employees.

Japan maintains relatively strict emigration policies relative to most Western countries, making it unusually difficult for a foreigner to obtain legal permission to seek employment in Japan. The Japanese government maintains strict regulations over the qualifications a Japanese corporation must meet and adhere to to be allowed to hire non-Japanese citizens. Most anime production studios simply do not meet these criteria. Japanese law essentially mandates that a foreigner should only be hired to perform a job that a Japanese citizen cannot perform. Therefore, to be even a potential candidate for employment in the Japanese anime industry, an American has to be able to offer some unusual or highly skilled talent such as computer graphics literacy that’s very uncommon in Japan. Finally, since anime is part of the entertainment industry and not a vital or “important” industry, the Japanese government is much more restrictive of foreign employees entering the anime industry than granting work visas to foreign employees of major international corporations or English language teachers.

Furthermore, any Japanese company that hires a foreigner is legally responsible for that employee. Most anime studio employees are not paid well, and few anime studios have enough money or physical ability to be able to guarantee in writing that a foreigner will be maintained at a predetermined salary for a predetermined length of time and avoid any and all criminal behavior. Because Japanese businesses are legally responsible for their foreign employees’ character and personality, it’s very rare for any Japanese business to hire a foreigner without prior extensive personal interviews. And finally, it’s unreasonable to expect a Japanese studio of over 150 employees to all speak English for the benefit of one foreign employee, so it’s reasonable to expect that under normal circumstances, fluency in spoken and written Japanese is a requirement to be even considered for employment in the Japanese anime industry.

Without relying on extensive technical training and a whole lot of luck, an American wishing to enter the anime industry may find it significantly easier to enter the American side of the industry with a goal of upward mobility into the Japanese industry. Viz Communications, itself the American subdivision of Shogakukan Publishing, occasionally offers unpaid internships that may lead to full time employment, and both TOKYOPOP and AD Vision have been known to issue public appeals for qualified job applicants. However, even the American anime industry isn’t a playground for the uneducated or unskilled. If you have experience working in film production or distribution, are fluent in Japanese, or have appropriate computer tech skills that may be valuable to an American anime translation and distribution company, I recommend composing and submitting a detailed resumé to the companies of your choice.

With Japan’s increasing awareness of the international market for anime, and the increasing frequency of Japanese-Western co-productions that will occur in the future, the option of working on the Japanese side of the anime industry may become a greater possibility for Americans someday, but for the foreseeable future, working as an animator or artist in Japan should best be considered a possibility for only the most resolute and steadfastly determined individuals.