Anime is a form of entertainment consumed by millions around the world, making it a desirable field to work in. Whether it be as an illustrator, an animator, or even a voice actor, there are thousands of people lined up just to have an opportunity to give the industry a go, however, there is a dark side to this story.
Controversies Surrounding The Anime Industry
Due to its popularity, Anime is destined to bring a lot of attraction to its industry, mainly to the jobs we discussed above, however, it is not as easy as it sounds to get in. This line of work is often described as brutal for its extreme competitiveness, as well as a horrible work environment for the workers who have managed to get in after years of hard work.
To talk in layman’s terms, as an example, for somebody aspiring to be a voice actor, there are way too fewer opportunities and gates of access open to new people who want to get into this line of work.
As disclosed earlier too, those who manage to get in are often slapped by the harsh reality of the anime industry, it poses horrible working conditions as well as unreal deadlines, and that all results in not much pay to look forward to in the end.
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Voice Actors Disappointing Salary
Voice acting is just one of the many job opportunities one can find in the field of anime, however, it poses the same conditions as other professions do.
One of the most disappointing truths in this work is how it pays a minuscule amount of salary to its workers, especially those who have joined newly. And while some fortunate people, like Mayumi Tanaka, The voice actor of Luffy manage to build wealth by voice acting, there are many who do not have access to the same.
Digging deeper into the income distribution of voice actors, it is disgustingly low, with those who have only recently joined this line of work being paid 15,000 yen, or $145 USD for a 30-minute anime feature. Why this might come off as shocking
is because this applies to all the roles, whether it is the main protagonist of a famous series or just a mere side character.
Akira Toriyama, the creator of the famous Dragon Ball series, himself has advocated for the rights of a worker to fair pay and decent working conditions. He has revealed in the past how he was able to get only two hours of sleep a night, often just because of never-ending deadlines and 12-hour workdays.
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Source: GameRant
