Working Conditions at Studio MAPPA: What’s Happening to Animators?

The MAPPA Study enjoys an excellent reputation among Japanese animation fans, as it has always managed to create high-quality series: just to name a few, we have Space Dandy, Yuri!!! On Ice, Banana Fish and the very recent ones Chainsaw Man And Jujutsu Kaisen. For several years now, this much-loved studio has been associated with terrible working conditions.due to testimonies from animators who vented on social media: the most worrying stories began to circulate at the end of the work on the second season of Jujutsu Kaisenas it appears to have pushed staff members to their physical and mental limits.

Given the popularity of the series, Western fans of Jujutsu Kaisen they decided to help spread these stories, attracting the attention of those who don’t follow the anime. This is a rather complex story and we still don’t know every detail, but it is certainly an important topic to explore further; in this article we will therefore try to summarise what we know, for now, about the controversies that are circulating regarding the MAPPA Study and the treatment of its employees.

The first testimonies

Let’s start from the beginning: when did these numerous criticisms begin? Between 2022 and 2023, animators began to vent your frustration on social mediatalking about how stressful the job was becoming and how their superiors were treating them. Some of these venting posts were written by animators with a fairly high following, so their testimonies reached Westerners as well. They all say that the situation has been terrible for years, but the breaking point seems to have been the anime of Jujutsu Kaisenthe production of which has been described as “a real disaster”; behind the much-praised technical quality of the series, there were therefore dissatisfied and stressed workers.

But what do these testimonies say, specifically? The most common criticism that comes up is that of the miserable pay for the grueling hours of work. In some series (in addition to the aforementioned Jujutsu Kaisen), some animators had to stay in the studio for several days without being able to return home: many of them “slept” for about three hourson the same desks where they then returned to work. This situation was also confirmed by external animators (who only helped for a few episodes), who said they were “shocked” by the working conditions of the studio and that they would never collaborate with the MAPPA Studynot even for short sequence assistance.

Another problem seems to be the lack of education for new animators.: we don’t know specifically if this is due to a lack of time or money, but it is reported that the general production of a series always suffers slowdowns due to the time spent correcting even the small mistakes of inexperienced young people.
There are so many errors to fix that sometimes they are even entrusted to people who are not in charge of corrections, thus adding more hours of work: of these extraordinary ones, many do not seem neither to be paid.

Due to these stressful conditions, some of the animators claim to suffer (or have suffered) from depression, anxiety and sleep disorders, as well as having noticed a worsening of their physical conditions: in fact, the little free time left after work would not allow everyone to do simple tests and medical visits.

These latest data, in particular, are not new to Japan, but rather, can be found in sectors other than animation. Unfortunately, this is a very rigid work ethic, present for decades and difficult to change.

Projects, deadlines and responsibilities

But what causes these terrible working conditions inside Studio MAPPA? We don’t have a definitive answer, but there are some hypotheses, and one of the most plausible is related to the quantity of projects that are accepted.

Between 2022 and 2023the staff of the MAPPA Study had to work at seven series: the last season of Attack on Titan, Dance Dance Dancer, Chainsaw Man, Campfire Cooking in Another World, Vinland Saga, Hell’s Paradise and season 2 of Jujutsu Kaisen. To these were added a feature film and four television specials. It is already quite anomalous that, with the excellent quality used in each series, MAP produces as many as six or seven anime a year, while most other studios average two or three series.

Particularly strange it is also the production time given for the film Jujutsu Kaisen 0, ready for the cinema after only four months; on average, however, an anime feature film has a production time of at least a year and a half.

In the case of TV series, it should be remembered that animators have to finish an episode in just one week; extremely tight deadlines, which can be made worse by last-minute checks and changes. When the production of a series begins, MAPPA Study must meet the deadlines imposed by contracts with investors: if the episodes are not delivered on time, there is a risk of legal proceedings for the broken commitment. This is a trend that MAP has been in place for a few years, yet the workload and conditions of the employees seem to have gradually worsened.

But who decides these short production times, causing all these problems for the animators? According to the staff members, the person who takes care of everything is the current CEO of MAPPA, Manabu Otsuka. The CEO makes decisions about production times, the amount of projects to take on, and the resulting due dates.

Regarding the complaints, the CEO of the studio responded very few timesand always claiming that these are all lies spread by former animators. Obviously, we cannot know the whole truth about this story, but it is undeniable that the reputation of MAP, at the moment, has reached a very low level.

Knowing about the condition of the animators, the same fans comment on the official posts of MAPPA Studysaying that they can safely wait a few more months for the release of the series, in exchange for better treatment of workers. Another story that made users worried, were some “public apology” written on social media by some animators, following two episodes of Jujutsu Kaisen which, due to time and priority constraints, had below-average quality. Most fans left supportive comments, and the resigned way in which the animators of MAP did nothing but fuel the fans’ hatred towards the CEO and the company itself.

An uncertain future…

At this point, given the various testimonies, What is it that stops animators from taking legal action against Studio MAPPA? The first reason is the cost: many animators of MAP They are freelancers who said they are paid low wages and cannot afford all the legal costs that would come with it, as well as risk losing the only job they currently have. The second motivationinstead, is caused by the fear of possible retaliation: in the event of a lost causethe CEO of the MAPPA Study could sue the animators for defamation, leading to a compensation that none of them could afford.

There is then a further difficulty in acting due to the structure of companies in Japan: every company has an association (similar to our trade unions) which deals with guaranteeing and protecting workers’ rights, but only those internal to the company itself. If the situation becomes more serious, instead of forming a group with external associations, one tends to contact the police directly and only if one has the financial resources.

For now, what the animators hope to achieve is, quite simply, a job at another studio: despite recent criticism, the name of the MAPPA Study gives a certain prestige to an animator’s resumeallowing him to more easily work for other companies. It is worth rememberinghowever, that there are other animation studios that suffer from the same problems: the animator’s work has always been characterized by stressful rhythms and a medium-low salary, therefore, the case of the Studio should be exploited MAP to broaden the discussion and talk about working conditions in the industry in general.

Luckily, many testimonies from MAPPA workers have also reached some Japanese newspapersthus placing greater attention on the problem. Now, after years of accumulated frustrations, even industry veterans are no longer willing to put up with such conditionsgiving us hope for future change.

As anime fans, I find it important to always remember that, behind all the episodes we follow weekly, there are many workers who commit themselves even in the worst situations. What we can do, in our own small wayis supporting the animators every day, listening to and spreading their testimonies.