We often hear about the frenetic pace that is handled in Japanese animation studios and the poor conditions for artists to keep up an industry as massive and demanding as anime.
These demands not only apply to animators, but anime voice actors also often suffer from poor conditions in the industry. Atsuko Enomoto She has a career of more than twenty years and is known for her roles in ‘Pokemon’ and ‘.hack’, and yet she admits that staying afloat is very hard with the salaries paid to voice actors.
Low wages for all professionals and a lot of precariousness
As Enomoto commented in a space on Twitter, the rates are extremely low and would be far behind the minimum wage in Japan.
“The rates for animation work are too low. We could raise the prices, but the reality is that there is a push back. Most studios can’t afford to pay more, and only actors who have been acting for a long time and are settlers can work like this,” said Enomoto on the situation of an industry in which work is increasingly precarious
The voice actress then talked about how this situation doesn’t just apply to animators and other artists. Also the actors are in the same situation and it is practically unsustainable for professionals trying to make their way in the industry.
“We have been asking for an improvement in the work environment for a while, but we know that there is no money in production. We have already seen for a long time that it is not going to improve, so now we have to ask ourselves what to do.
Enomoto also reflected on her own situation and why many voice actors don’t criticize the situation, explaining that she doesn’t regularly work as a voice actor so she can afford to talk more openly about these issues.
“If you’re in an office, you can’t say anything because people will think it’s the opinion of that company. Since I’m not a regular actress, I can say things like this, and I know that even if I do, I’m still going to get jobs. .so I prefer to say them.”
This is not the first time Enomoto has criticized the anime industry. Already in 2018 she joined the #MeToo movement to talk about her first years as a voice actress, where she wanted to completely get away from her work because of the sexual harassment and bullying she received.