Ask John: Why do Successful Studios Produce Low Quality Animation?

Question:
Why do successful, money-making Japanese animation studios (such as Toei, Studio Pierrot, Madhouse) still make low-quality animation? Though, visually speaking, ‘anime’ thrives on character design in a way that American animation cannot achieve, most anime runs at staggering, pitiful frame rates, sometimes as bad as 2 frames per second. Professional animators in Japan must know that this looks poor and choppy, but when working for a small studio, it’s understandable that better simply cannot be afforded. So why do bigger, thriving studios still suffice for such poor quality?

Answer:
Basically, what seem as though they ought to be highly profitable animation studios in Japan frequently aren’t. Studios including Madhouse, AIC, Pierrot and Gonzo repeatedly produce best selling, hit anime series, but unfortunately, typically the bulk of the profits from these productions don’t go to the animators or production studio. Similar to the American recording industry, well known to pay artists only pennies on the dollar, the profits from anime series in Japan are absorbed by home video distribution companies and producers with very little of the residuals filtering back to the actual artists that manually produce the animation. It’s this very circumstance that is contributing to the increase in anime production sub-contracted to Korean animators and the shrinking number of professional animators in Japan.

I have a great deal of respect for Japanese animators because those that work in the field do so out of love of the art form. Japanese animators are not paid well, and they work long hours, sometimes even working through holidays and sleeping in the studio. The financial sponsors behind anime including corporations such as Bandai, Sega, MacDonald’s, and various Japanese convenience market chains, publishing companies, and home entertainment distributors like Avex and KSS contribute the funds necessary to pay animators and cover production costs under the arrangement that their initial investment will be recovered and multiplied by the profits from the completed animation. It’s simple business sense to invest the minimal amount possible to ensure the most profitable return. Recycled animation and low frame rates are common in the anime industry because they’re accepted. They’re an industry standard that results in profits for corporate sponsors, so there’s little reason to invest in better animation quality when the resultant profits will be the same.

It’s probably a safe assumption that Japanese animators would be grateful for the opportunity to invest more time and money and effort into every anime they produce. As artists, I’m sure they wish to produce the best quality animation possible. But anime artists also have to work within their means, which are determined by corporate sponsors, not production studios. Sadly, with the organization of the business in Japan, even though a studio like Production I.G. may create an internationally successful hit anime film like Ghost in the Shell, most of the profits from Ghost in the Shell don’t filter back to Production I.G. This is a dilemma that the Japanese industry is aware of, and struggles with. Presently, at least, foreigners have little influence over this Japanese corporate structure, so it becomes the responsibility of foreign anime fans to respect the work that Japanese animators do within their limitations. Of course, I’m not suggesting that American fans disregard poor animation quality in anime. I’m only suggesting that American fans keep in mind that poor animation quality likely isn’t the fault of the animators, so it’s respectful and reasonable to overlook some lapses in technical quality.