Kyoto Animation: Animation and the Animators
~By Khyaati Tapadia
A studio that has defined the slice of life genre, Kyoto Animation knows how to bring out the best in mundane scenarios. From high school girls developing personalities and forming a cute music band in K-ON! to physical impairments, bullying and suicide through Koe no Katachi, it is the attention to detail by the creators that flesh out each character to their potential, and develops an empathetic relationship with the viewer. The unique production house has come a long way from Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu (2003) to Violet Evergarden (2018), as the animation style has changed drastically. However, Kyoto Animation has retained the elaborate animation as an enthusiastic Yui (K-ON!) practices chords while walking on the footpath and Hotaro Oreki (Hyouka) twirls his hair while thinking. It has pushed creativity as we are mystified by a curious Eru Chitanda (Hyouka) and intrigued by the mocking representation of gun ownership in Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu. Their work is memorable for their unique style cannot be delivered by any other studio.
Popular production houses in Japan include Ghibli (Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro) to Madhouse (Paprika, Perfect Blue) to White Fox (Steins; Gate 0, Re: ZERO Starting Life in Another World). Although studio Ghibli has been accused of paying less to their employees according to international standards, it has been on the generous end relative to other studios in Japan, most of which are based in Tokyo. The work culture in Japan’s animation studios is infamous for highly underpaying workers while the working hours average 11 hours a day with 4 days off including weekends. The demand for anime has grown substantially over decades with its biggest contributors being merchandise and overseas market by generating revenue of 500 billion yen and 1,009.2 billion yen respectively. While the supply has increased to keep up with the growing demand, the potential has not trickled down to its key employees- animators. Often, production houses employ freelancers (over 50% in 2015) on a short-term basis depending on the need of the project. Even after factoring in the government benefits including healthcare that are provided in addition to the wages, it is extremely difficult for the worker to depend completely on the anime industry for survival, making it a difficult job to pursue.
Kyoto Animation stands out as it treats the animators in a respectable fashion. Following the 2019 arson attack on the premises that left 36 dead, the funding raised was allocated towards the victims’ families, instead of rebuilding the well-known production house. Unlike its contemporaries, the studio is set in Kyoto and was built with the help of housewives in the 1980s. It employs all its animators on a monthly salary basis along with grants including maternity leave, unlike the frame-based payment followed by most. The animators retain their unique style while the attention-to-detail that Kyoto Animation is known for, remains a key component throughout as it trains and employs inexperienced animators in-house. This system has improved the work culture and encouraged quality output with each release that audiences across the world appreciate and respect, as some big anime in recent times include Koe No Katachi and Violet Evergarden, which got picked up by Netflix. The freedom of creativity that came along with their work culture allows the animators to explore a potential that leaves the viewer in awe and a tinge of curiosity about the thought that goes into the making of the product.
Given the burning issues that pertain in the industry as of 2020, Kyoto Animation has indeed become an example for the rest by applying a strong moral system to a booming industry. It has clearly stood out in more ways than just the animation.
