Average yearly salary, in tens of thousands of yen. (100,000 JPY = roughly $1100)

1. Toei: 864
2. Toho: 837
3. Shochiku: 735
4. Tokyo Rakutenchi: 710
5. Gonzo: 654
6. Toei Animation: 651
7. TYO Productions: 620
8. OS: 620
9. Tokyo Theatres: 619
10. Subaru Enterprise: 615
11. Kokusai Hoei: 607
12. Aoi Advertising Promotion Inc.: 605
13. Tohokushinsha: 604
14. Flight System Consulting: 571
15. Marvelous Entertainment: 534
16. Sotsu: 518
17. Shizukatsu: 512
18. IG Port: 501
19. Omega Project Holdings: 490
20. TMS Entertainment: 485
21. We’ve: 483
22. Kin-ei: 444
23. Nakanihon Kogyo: 435
24. Musashino Kogyo: 430
25. Tokyu Recreation: 383

Sales Rankings, in hundreds of million of yen (100,000,000 yen = roughly 1.1 million USD). Number in () after studio name is rank in above list of average employee salary.

1. Toho (2): 2134
2. Toei (1): 1076
3. Shochiku (3): 949
4. Tohokushinsha (13) : 681
5. TYO Productions (7): 311
6. Tokyu Recreation (25): 277
7. Tokyo Theatres (9): 232
8. Toei Animation (6): 217
9. Aoi Advertising Promotion Inc (12): 167
10. Sotsu (16): 159
11. TMS Entertainment (20): 141
12. Marvelous Entertainment (15): 101
13. IG Port (18): 71
14. OS (8): 65
15. Gonzo (5): 63
16. Tokyo Rakuenchi (4): 37
17. Kin-ei (22): 37
18. Nakanihon Kogyo (23): 37
19. Kokusai Hoei (11): 34
20. Flight System Consulting (14): 30
21. Omega Project Holdings (19): 30
22. We’ve (21): 30
23. Subaru Kogyo (10): 24
24. Musashino Kogyo (24): 20
25. Shizukatsu (17): 11

They are as follows:

Company: Ascension
Director: Hongo Mitsuru (Dir. Spirit of Wonder, Outlaw Star, Reideen (2007), various Crayon Shinchan incl. 5 films)
Producer: Mogi Hitoshi (Prod. 7+ Crayon Shinchan films, Summer Days with Coo)
Provisional Title: Kizuna Ichigeki

Company: Telecom Animation Film (Also a wholly-owned subsidiary of TMS Entertainment)
Director: Takiguchi Teiichi (Dir., Anim. Dir., Kara no Kyoukai movie 4, Key Anim., The Cat Returns, Tekkonkinkreet, Whisper of the Heart)
Producer: Takeuchi Koji (Prod. Lupin III: The Fuma Conspiracy, Ramen Fighter Miki)
Provisional Title: Ojiisan no Lamp

Company: P.A. Works
Director: Yoshihara Masayuki (Asst. Dir., Eden of the East, Moribito, Key Anim., Ghost in the Shell series)
Producer: Horikawa Kenji (Prod. true tears, CANAAN, Angel Beats!, Series Comp., Popolocrois Monogatari)
Provisional Title: Bannou Yasai Ninninman

Company: Production I.G.
Director: Kise Kazuchika (Anim. Dir., Patlabor the Movie, Patlabor the Movie 2, Bungaku Shoujo, Evangelion 1.0, Ghost in the Shell, Key Anim., Evangelion 1.0/2.0, Ghost in the Shell, Rojin Z, SPT Layzner)
Producer: Terakawa Hidekazu (Prod., IGPX, Jin-Roh, One Piece: Defeat the Pirate Ganzak!, various game animation work by I.G.)
Provisional Title: Tansu Warashi

But first, some pie charts:

from a Kadokawa booth at some convention or event or another.
Red = (light) novels
Green = manga
Purple = original
Blue = game
Yellow = other

I need a drink. As posters note, at least we’ll be able to count on Angel Beats! Hm, maybe two drinks.

1. **,*** means all volumes failed to chart.
2. chart does not include remakes and kids shows
3. ﾌﾋﾋ、サーセン

Anyway, this project was announced earlier this month and the initial announcement about the basic form of the project (4 23-minute original animations to be produced with a 38 million yen budget each, with production focusing on the training of young animators) was picked up by the usual suspects. However, the general reaction on the comments sections seemed to be on the negative side, which was a little baffling to me. I have a lot of trust and respect for JAniCA, as they’ve been one of the most staunch supporters of animators (see translations here, here, and just about every substantial report over the last few years about animator salaries) and so the endless comments of “what is government doing???? just give money to the animators!!” were a little disheartening. These complaints seemed especially silly since the government funding is only coming in at around $2 million US, which in my admittedly rather business-ignorant mind isn’t going to do a whole lot if they just threw it towards wages. (Though if they took the proposed $130 million LDP budget for the manga library and gave that cash to animators, then maybe it’d be a different story…)

Anyway, I got to looking at the detailed application sheet that JAniCA put out a few days later, and wouldn’t you know it, it looks like a very well-meaning, intelligently drafted, and fast-acting plan! Anyway, here are your bullet points, as promised earlier. I’m doing this on a bit more of a rush than normal for me, so goyaku gomen. Please leave comments if you have any corrections/questions.

Basics

• The basic requirement for a firm/studio/company to be chosen to produce this project is that it is based in Japan, and that it has both proven results in producing commercial animation as well as a desire to nurture young animators.
• The application period for studios was from 5/10 to 5/21. Selections will be made from late May to early June.

What’s in the application package?

• Main staff list: Names and resumes of the project’s director and producer. Names and resumes of character designer, animation director, and other staff may also be included here.
• List of young animators: Number of animators to be trained as well as information about each is to be listed here. Animators must fulfill one of the following criteria to be included here:
  1) Six months to three years of keyframe (genga) work experience and also thirty years of age or under at the time of the application deadline. The company must also have an expectation that the animator will benefit from the training.
  2) An animator 27 years of age or under with fewer than six months of keyframe work experience but an individual who the project’s animation director who will oversee him/her strongly wishes to receive training.¹
• A script that provides an outline of the work to be created. The script must have been created under the active supervision of the project’s proposed director.
• Basic character designs on the level of idea sketches created by either the project’s director or an animator affiliated with the project.
• Storyboards for a ~1-minute preview of the project created under the supervision of the director.
• Proposed budget for the project. If the cost of the project ends up exceeding 38 million yen, the production entity will have to bear the additional costs.
• An outline of the production entity that shows that it is suitable to be chosen for the project based on structure, financial strength, prior accomplishments, technical strength and general know-how.
• Selection of the firms that funds will be allocated to will be carried out by a committee of anime industry experts unrelated to JAniCA and its direct financial partners. Both JAniCA and the Agency for Cultural Affairs is not allowed to influence this committee in any way.
• Applicants will be judged on appropriateness and feasibility of the project, its meeting the schedule, its budget, and its meeting the aims of the project as a whole.

Provided production schedule (only animation production side):

• Pre-production:
  Script: 6/10-7/8
  Storyboards, character designs, art designs/settings: 7/8-8/5
• Production:
  Layout: 8/5-10/21
  Keyframes: 8/19-10/28
  Inbetweening: 9/2-12/2
  Inbetweening checks: 9/9-12/9
  Paint (shiage): 9/16-12/16
  Backgrounds: 11/4-12/16
  CG: 11/18-12/23
  Photography: 12/23-12/30
• Post-production:
  Cutting: 12/30-1/6
  Voice recording: 1/6-1/13
  Dubbing: 1/13-1/20
  Video editing: 1/20-1/27
• Project finished by 1/27
• Test screenings on week of 2/3

Objectives of / Issues underlying the project

• A prime underlying issue that the project hopes to address is the lack of and aging of talented keyframe animators in the anime industry, which JAniCA believes is caused by the low wages and long hours that these animators face. JAniCA believes that if this situation were to occur in other industries that the natural response would be a shrinking of the pool of job applicants and a subsequent move towards improved training in order to build a young talent pool. However, due to the popularity of anime, a large number of young individuals continues to apply for these jobs, and thus there has been no attempt to focus on improving the quality of animators.
• A 2005 study of the anime industry found the following:
• While Japanese animation receives positive attention around the world, the low hiring standards of the industry is creating an unsustainable environment. This problem is largest for animators. While the existence of the problem is widely acknowledged, many financial and organizational impediments to a solution also exist.
• One such impediment is that the animators themselves are not appreciated for their value.
• Animators (those who draw keyframes and inbetween frames) are the core workforce in anime. However, inbetweeners in particular are treated as menial laborers, when in fact their contribution to the overall reputation of a given series should be more seriously considered.
• In a creative industry such as the anime industry, talented workers are the most important resource. However, programs must be in place to discover such talent so that skilled positions can be filled with appropriately skilled workers.
• In industries such as animation, individuals who may not be appropriate for certain positions may continue to occupy these positions due to the added “comfort” that results from working in an industry that produces content that the worker enjoys.
• It is believed that even small increases in wages can fix many of the problems faced by the animation industry. There are two possible ways that can result in such a wage increase: first, that enough studios go out of business that producers who want to make anime take note of the reduced amount of available labor and thus begin to offer higher amounts of money to the still-existing studios. Alternatively, studios can undergo sincere negotiations with producers regarding the problems facing workers and how to address the disparity between workers’ true value and their wages. In order for this to happen, a network must be created between animation studios as well as with animator training facilities in order to increase bargaining power.
• JAniCA’s project is rooted in these issues and aims to address them. The project hopes to address the issues of the small and aging labor pool through not the education of students, but through the development of animators through practical experience, guidance by experienced animators, and the payment of appropriate wages.

Direct objectives of the project

• To produce animators who will be able to lead the way for the future of the Japanese animation industry. It is estimated that there are 3100 to 4500 animators (keyframe + inbetweeners) in Japan, and of these, 2200-3100 are keyframe animators. Assuming that these artists work from the ages of 25-60, that means that 63-89 new workers must be trained each year in order to remain at the current number of keyframe animators.
  The project hopes to take 20-40 young but experienced keyframe animators and allow them to develop into fully-grown keyframe animators, representing a significant proportion of this 63-89 individuals even if only half of the animators in the project successfully complete this training.
  
• Due to tightening schedules and increased workloads in the past ten years, the amount of on-job training given by veterans to newer animators that is vital to the development of these animators has decreased significantly. Due to the aging of veteran animators, there is an urgent need to establish set methods of this type of training.
• These methods will be established based on the thorough discussions of an investigative commission of skilled and experienced animators, including Ootsuka Yasuo (animation director for Hols, Prince of the Sun, Lupin TV, Future Boy Conan, multiple Lupin movies including The Castle of Cagliostro and more), Kanemura Sachiko (animation director for Touch, Gundam ZZ, City Hunter, more), Kabashima Yoshio (animation director for Lupin III: Mystery of Mamo, Lensman, Aim for the Ace, Captain Planet), Kawamoto Toshihiro (co-founder of BONES, animation director for Cowboy Bebop)
• Training will occur in the form of both lectures and on-site guidance.
• There will be a hearing team that judges the efficacy of the training program through examining the involved young animators. This team will consist of veteran animators and will be headed by Sugino Sachiko (keyframe artist, 20 year Ghibli veteran). This group will send reports to the investigative commission and discuss the program with them after the projects are completed.
• Due to the trend towards anime being produced by production committees, who in most cases subcontract an animation studio rather than having them on as part of the committee, animation studios now have fewer and fewer rights over the products they create. This has contributed to the decreasing wages of animators and lowered earnings for studios. The project aims to promote works where the animation studio retains rights to the work by allowing studios to do so with the finished products.
• Similarly, the project will provide top-class directors a rare and valuable opportunity to direct an original animation. The dramatic increase of anime being adaptations of manga and light novels has resulted in even some of the best directors working almost exclusively on non-original products. JAniCA believes that in order to further develop the Japanese animation industry, production of original works is necessary, taking as examples original works by Toei Doga, Nippon Animation, and Studio Ghibli.

Indirect objectives of the project

• Encouraging greater compliance with contract laws: Due to the multiple layers and subsequent recommissionings between a production studio and an animator, subcontracting laws may be abided by, but contracts are often never issued. According to one study, fewer than 20% of subcontracting studios receive paper orders from a main production studio. In order to prevent ill effects on both animators as well as studios that may arise from pay or schedule disputes, greater usage of contracts is desirable. The project aims to help normalize this practice through the issuing of contracts for all work orders.
  Additionally, no standardized “model contract” exists in the industry, and thus the project hopes that its contract and the experience that those related to the project have using this contract will help inform any future attempts to create such a document.
• Due to the largely freelanced and subcontracted nature of anime production, production schedules have continued to deteriorate over the years. This deterioration has negative effects on both animators as well as productions. The project hopes to lead the way as an example of what needs to be done in order to address this problem.

Distribution of funds

• Each production will be given 38 million yen as funds. Generally, 1 23-minute tv episode costs 10-12 million yen, while a TV special costs 20-30 million. However, each production team must bear the costs of preproduction, music production, and PR/Marketing, while the animators on the project must be paid enough so that they will not have to take outside work during the course of production and training. Thus, the amount of 38 million was chosen.
• Production details: Format is OP+ED = 3 minutes, main section 20 minutes 30 seconds, for a total of 23 minutes, 30 seconds. 380 cuts in total, including OP and ED. 11,000 inbetween frames in total, including OP and ED.
• Based on the numbers, animation quality is expected to be above that of a TV series, and below that of a theatrical film. Roughly as good as a well-produced TV special.
• The amount of work to be given to each animator is roughly in line with what they will face in the real world while working on a TV series.

Fixed pay rates for project animators

• Animation takes place from Sep-Dec, 380 cuts and 11,000 inbetween frames.
• 1 Director: To be paid a 800,000 yen one-time fee for planning, script, and storyboard. To also be paid 400,000 yen a month for 6 months for active duties throughout the project.
• 1 Character designer: To be paid a 800,000 yen one-time fee for character designs.
• 1 Animation director: to be paid 600,000 yen per month for 4 months.²
• 1 assistant animation director: to be paid 400,000 yen per month for 4 months.
• 6-12 Keyframe artists: To be paid 20,000 yen a cut x 380 cuts. Total keyframe budget is 7.6 million yen.³
• 33 Inbetweeners doing 300 drawings each for a total of 11,000 drawings: to be paid 600 yen per drawing. Total inbetweening budget is 6.6 million yen.⁴
• 1 Inbetween checker to be paid 750,000 yen.
• Reserve funds for animation: 450,000 yen.
• Total: 23.4 million yen for animation.

Sample/model budget for non-animator expenses:

• Management expenses: 10%, 3.8 million yen.
• 1 Producer: To be paid 350,000 yen a month for 6 months.
• 1 Production Assistant: To be paid 200,000 yen a month for 6 months.
• Paint: 180 yen x 11,000 frames, 1.98 million yen in total.
• Backgrounds: Department is allocated 1.3 million yen
• Photography: Department is allocated 1.4 million yen
• Sound, including seiyuu: Department is allocated 1.5 million yen
• Music: 1.05 million yen
• Editing: 270,000 yen.
• Studio profit: 0 yen
• Total including animation budget: 38 million yen.
• Half of the earnings generated by the product created will be returned by the production companies to the organization running the project until 50% of the budget has been recouped.
• Each production company will retain full rights to their produced work.
• Fees for animators and animation directors are fixed at the amounts indicated above.

Other notes

• Each production will also feature 3 or fewer experienced keyframe artists who will assist in the instruction of the young animators. The animation director will also be tasked with instructional duties.
• Inbetween animators chosen for the project will all have less than a year of experience.
• Once selected, each production company will submit a training plan which will be drafted with the assistance of the project.
• “Original” anime is defined as a work written by the director and a work that is not based on a manga, though works based on novels may be allowed in certain cases. Works based on novels that have been turned into anime in the past will not be allowed unless they are folk stories or myths. Sequels to any previous work of animation will not be allowed.
• The character designer of the work must be an animator on the work or its director.
• All animation and paint work must be performed in Japan. Over 90% of this type of work is now performed overseas, and the outsourcing of inbetweening work is believed to be a major cause of the lack of talent in the animation industry, as it is a vital step in the development of an animator. However, it is also recognized that many studios lack the staff to fill these positions, and in the case that all of this work cannot be filled, Anitus Kobe, a studio with 25 animators and 10 painters co-founded by Wish and JAniCA, will act as a backup studio.
• Animators and animation directors involved in each project will be expected to work on the project full-time (weekdays from 9-6, minus 2 hours for lunch and break)
• Cuts will be assigned difficulty “ranks” by the director on the storyboard indicating estimated difficulty. More difficult and time-consuming cuts will pay more than lower-ranked cuts. This system is similar to the one used in the Detective Conan films.
• Five full-group lectures will be given: one each on drawing ability, perspective, the production process, production management, and legal information (dealing with contracts, health insurance, pensions, and copyright). More individualized lectures will also be given to keyframe animators and inbetweeners on their specific jobs.
• The project committee is looking into fan-oriented exhibitions of the works produced. They are also investigating television broadcast opportunities with stations such as the NHK.

1. I believe that these are qualifications necessary for keyframe animators, not inbetweeners, but I may be wrong
2. average pay according to a previous post is around 200,000 yen a month. 600,000 is calculated by 300,000 for animation director duties + 300,000 for instructional duties.
3. i believe industry average pay per cut is roughly 4000 yen.
4. industry average pay per drawing is roughly 200-250 yen.

Working!!
A 4koma anime that feels like a 4koma anime, produced by A-1 Pictures channeling J.C. Staff. It has some nice character ideas, but the execution is a bit too straightforward, so it’s a little boring – still watchable, but I don’t love it. I wish it was by SHAFT somehow, even though I was very bored with Arakawa (dropped at 2 episodes).
The opening doesn’t really know what it’s doing – half of it is new and interesting, and half of it seems to be shots copied from Azumanga Daioh. My notes say “ed is stupid”, but I can’t remember anything about it, so let’s leave it at that.
I hear the later episodes are more solid and that there’s a new character with hime cut. Watching.

Giant Killing
A soccer anime by Studio DEEN with actual money. I thought it was really interesting that a DEEN show with a budget has better drawings and movement, but still has horrible washed-out coloring choices for everything. Actually, I thought that was more interesting than the show – I’ve never seen a sports anime before, so it’s kind of cool, but the early part is just the coach making up magic quirky strategies for everything instead of something more realistic.
I’ll have to look ahead and see if it goes anywhere, otherwise dropped at 3 episodes.

Sarai-ya Goyou / House of Five Leaves
A samurai show made by manglobe that’s REALLY BORING!
Nothing has happened in 3 episodes except for one swordfight, so it doesn’t matter how good the art is (it’s good). Dropped.

Senkou no Night Raid
Psychic superpower action series by A-1 Pictures channeling Bones. I’m watching this untranslated, and the fake Chinese politics sort of goes over my head, so without that it’s just a watchable but slow action drama – a lot of things happen, but not in a really interesting way. I’d rather finish Darker than Black, really. I’ve heard some other people say it was “awful”, but I can’t really tell what’s annoying them. Watching halfheartedly.

The OP is a really complicated animation that looks cool and doesn’t match the actual show at all.

They make it sound like the psychics are an important national secret, but then in episode 3 they’re teleporting bombs out of buildings all over the place. Won’t someone notice?

Now that I think about it, the only things I’ve seen in the last few weeks were Angel Beats! and K-ON!!. More about that later.

Gundam: That story where Amuro and Char fight

Eva: Pachinko

Macross: Singing

Geass: Never heard of it

Votoms: Follows a main character named Chirico Cuvie (Kiriko Kyuubi), a former special forces Armored Trooper pilot and former member of the Red Shoulder Battalion, an elite mecha force used by the Gilgamesh Confederation in its war against the Balarant Union—both interstellar nations within the distant Astragius Galaxy. Gilgamesh and Balarant had until recently been locked in a century-old galactic war whose cause was long ago forgotten. Now, the war is ending and an uneasy truce has settled. Chirico Cuvie is suddenly transferred to a unit engaged in a suspicious mission, unaware that he is aiding to steal secrets from what appears to be his own side. Chirico is betrayed and left behind to die, but he survives, is arrested by the Gilgamesh military as a traitor, and tortured for information on their homeworld. He escapes—triggering a pursuit extending across the entire series, with Chirico hunted by the army and criminals alike as he seeks the truth behind the operation. He is driven to discover the truth of one of the objects he was assigned to retrieve in that operation: A mysterious and beautiful woman who would become his sole clue to unraveling the galactic conspiracy.¹

1. The original post copy/pastes the first section of the Japanese wiki summary of the series so I’ve done likewise with English here.

This was originally going to be named “how 2ch reads sales charts” but then I remembered that trying to classify any part of 2ch as a singular is a rather foolish thing to do unless you want hits. Wait, oops.

Anyway, this is obviously not gospel truth, but a neat, simplified guide by someone who is clearly somewhat of an industry watcher and a brave warrior on the battlegrounds of the 2ch sales threads. Disc sales numbers referred to here are Oricon numbers.

~500
Mostly anime where disc sales are not a main concern from the beginning; either truly insignificant shows¹ or close to it.
Ex: NHK anime, Children’s anime, Pay channel shows (WOWOW, etc), Nippon TV late night shows, Gonzo shows, IG Original shows, etc

501~800
Mostly insignificant shows. Shows in this area generally failed to attract any interest and are looked upon as endangered, shadowy species.
Ex: Gin’iro no Olynssis, Hyakko, Hero Tales, Shikabane Hime, Akikan!, etc

801~1200
The line between significance and insignificance. Depending on the week, the title may chart if it gets lucky. However, these titles are normally frightened away from the charts, as they’re afraid that Totoro might squash them.
Ex: Yozakura Quartet, Blassreiter, Simoun, Kaze no Stigma, Nabari no Ou, etc

1201~1800
Significant enough to not count as insignificant. However, their poor sales are generally enough to chart, often causing people to only feel pity or sympathy for them.
Ex: Ghost Slayers Ayashi, Galaxy Angel Rune, Kimikiss, Our Home’s Fox Deity, Kyoran Kazoku Nikki, etc

1801~2300
Light novel anime often falls in this category. Might be enough to turn a profit with Kadokawa DVD pricing. The title considered the hurdle is now quantified as a single unit of sales, as in “one Zega.” Anime in this category is considered to be in dangerous territory, as Manabi, the problem child, often makes faces at these titles.
Ex: Rental Magica, Goshusho-sama Ninomiya-kun, Kurenai, Shinkyoku Sokai Polyphonica, Zegapain, etc.

2301~3000
Many titles fall in this category. Marginally performing shows, many of which didn’t sell as much as their popularity would make you think they would.
Ex: Manabi Straight!, true tears #1, Sketchbook, Gun X Sword, Yami to Boshi to Hon no Tabibito

3001~4000
The line of profitability. Also the line at which one could say a title is doing okay, but some may call some titles that sell this many a failure, so it’s quite hard to judge.
Ex: Denno Coil, Soul Eater, School Days, Linebarrels of Iron, Super Robot Swars OG, etc

4001~5000
Titles that gathered a reasonable amount of attention and sold reasonably well. Posters may still make fun of these titles’ sales, but they’re rarely considered “failures.” Growth stocks.
Ex: Seto no Hanayome, Bamboo Blade Garei -Zero-, Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni, Planetes, etc

5001~7000
The point where a second season looks likely, and a reasonable number of discs one can hope to sell. Producers seem to begin to be praised at this point.
Ex: Strawberry Marshmallow, Rozen Maiden, Hidamari Sketch, The Familiar of Zero, Darker than Black, etc

7001~9000
Impressive sales, favorites that can easily be called “hits.”
Ex: Spice and Wolf, Full Metal Panic Fumoffu, Nodame Cantabile, My-Otome, Sgt. Frog, etc

9001~11,000
The entry point into the world of five-figure sales. There is no problem with calling regular late night anime that sell this much a “major hit.”
Ex: Toradora, Shakugan no Shana, Natsume’s Book of Friends, Pani Poni Dash!, Fafner in the Azure, etc

11,001~15,000
The top class of sales for titles that target the narrow otaku community. Praiseworthy honors students.
Ex: Minami-ke, s-CRY-ed, Da Capo, Strike Witches, Eureka Seven, etc

15,001~20,000
The point at which people who normally don’t buy DVDs begin to buy a title. Outstanding works brimming with frontier spirit.
Ex: Gintama, Death Note, Big Windup, Aria the Animation, Negima, etc

20,001~25,000
Properties with many strong, ardent, and powerful supporters. Major stars with deep fanbases.
Ex: Air, Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS, Clannad, Hetalia, etc

25,001~35,000
Titles in between the above and below categories that stand as influential and steadfast titles.
Ex: Lucky Star, Azumanga Daioh, G.I.T.S. SAC 2nd GIG, Initial D 4th Stage, Fate/Stay Night, etc

35,001~50,000
New leaders that become the talk of the industry. Incredible flamewars break out between supporters of titles of this group and titles in the next tier.
Ex: Full Metal Alchemist, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Code Geass, Macross F, Gundam 00, etc

50,001~100,000
In a completely different class from the rest. Godly sales.
Ex: Gundam SEED, theatrical anime (Kara no Kyokai, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time), Bakemonogatari, etc

100,001~
Theatrical anime or anime made for the public at large. The stars of the industry.
Ex: Ghibli anime, Eva films, Zeta Gundam: A New Translation, Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, The World of Golden Eggs, etc

1. keep in mind that the kind of poster who would make this chart judges a show’s worth by its economic performance. original term 雑魚, or “small fry”

“A listing of works whose animation (sakuga) stands out due to quality, uniqueness, or historic importance.”

(Note: I have made an attempt to use English/US titles when possible.)

Theatrical Films A-L
Theatrical Films M-Z
OVA
TV Specials
TV Series
Games
Other
Foreign Works

Theatrical Films A-L

• A Tree of Palme (Palm Studio, 2002)
• AKIRA (Tokyo Movie Shinsha, 1988)
• Animal Treasure Island (Toei Doga, 1971)
• Blood: The Last Vampire (Production I.G., 2000)
• Bobby’s Girl (Madhouse, 1985)
• Brave Story (Gonzo, 2006)
• Catnapped! The Movie (Triangle Staff, 1998)
• Chibi Maruko-chan: My Favorite Song (Ajiado, 1992)
• Coo: Toi Umi kara Kita Coo (Toei Animation, 1993)
• Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bones, Sunrise, 2001)
• Crayon Shin-chan: Adventure in Henderland (Shin-Ei Doga, 1996)
• Crayon Shin-chan: Unkokusai’s Ambition (Shin-Ei Doga, 1996)
• Dead Leaves (Production I.G., 2004)
• Digimon Adventure (Toei Animation, 1999)
• Digimon Adventure: Our War Game! (Toei Animation, 2000)
• Digimon Aventure 02: Diaboromon Strikes Back (Toei Animation, 2001)
• Doraemon: Nobita’s Dinosaur (Shin-Ei Doga, 2006)
• Doraemon: The Day When I Was Born (Shin-Ei Doga, 2002)
• Escaflowne: the Movie (Sunrise, Bones, 2000)
• Eureka Seven: Pocket Full of Rainbows (Bones, Kinema Citrus, 2009)
• Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone (Khara, 2007)
• Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (Khara, 2009)
• Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture (Studio Comet, 1994)
• Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa (Bones, 2005)
• Galaxy Express 999 (Toei Doga, 1979)
• Gauche the Cellist (Oh! Production, 1982)
• Genius Party (Studio 4℃, 2007)
• Genius Party Beyond (Studio 4℃, 2008)
• Ghiblies: Episode 2 (Studio Ghibli, 2002)
• Ghost in the Shell (Production I.G., 1995)
• Ghost in the Shell: Innocence (Production I.G., 2004)
• Golgo 13 (Tokyo Movie Shinsha, 1983)
• Grave of the Fireflies (Studio Ghibli, 1998)
• Gurren Lagann The Movie: Childhood’s End (Gainax, 2008)
• Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky are Stars (2009)
• Harmageddon (Madhouse, 1983)
• Hashire Melos! (Visual 80, 1992)
• Hols: Prince of the Sun (Toei Doga, 1968)
• Howl’s Moving Castle (Studio Ghibli, 2004)
• Inuyasha the Movie 4: Fire on the Mystic Island (Sunrise, 2004)
• Jin-Roh (Production I.G., 2000)
• Junkers Come Here (Triangle Staff, 1995)
• Kaiketsu Zorori (Ajiado, Sunrise, 2006)
• Kara no Kyoukai (ufotable, 2007-2009)
• Kiki’s Delivery Service (Studio Ghibli, 1989)
• Kumo to Churippu (“Spider and Tulip”) (Shochiku Doga Kenkyuujo, 1943)
• Laputa: Castle in the Sky (Studio Ghibli, 1986)
• Lensman (Madhouse, 1984)

Theatrical Films M-Z

• Macross: Do You Remember Love? (Tatsunoko Pro, 1984)
• Mai Mai Miracle (Madhouse, 2009)
• Memories (Studio 4℃, 1995)
• Metropolis (Madhouse, 2001)
• Millenium Actress (Madhouse, 2002)
• Mind Game (Studio 4℃, 2004)
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack (Sunrise, 1988)
• Munto: Tenjobito to Akutobito Saigo no Tatakai (Kyoto Animation, 2009)
• My Neighbor Totoro (Studio Ghibli, 1988)
• My Nighbors the Yamadas (Studio Ghibli, 1999)
• Naruto Shippuden 3: Inheritors of the Will of Fire (Studio Pierrot, 2009)
• Naruto: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom (Studio Pierrot, 2006)
• Naruto: Legend of the Stone of Gelel (Studio Pierrot, 2005)
• Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow (Studio Pierrot, 2004)
• Naruto: Shippuden the Movie 2: Bonds (Studio Pierrot, 2008)
• Nasu: Summer in Andalucia (Madhouse, 2003)
• Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Topcraft, 1984)
• Neo-Tokyo (Project Team Argos, Madhouse, 1987)
• Ninku: The Movie (Studio Pierrot, 1994)
• One Piece the Movie: Episode of Chopper + Fuku ni Saku, Kiseki no Sakura (Toei Animation, 2008)
• One Piece the Movie: Omatsuri Danshaku to Himitsu no Shima (Toei Animation, 2005)
• One Piece: Taose! Kaizoku Ganzakku! (Production I.G., 1998)
• Only Yesterday (Studio Ghibli, 1991)
• Paprika (Madhouse, 2006)
• Patlabor 2: The Movie (Production I.G., 1993)
• Perfect Blue (Madhouse, 1998)
• Pom Poko (Studio Ghibli, 1994)
• Ponyo (Studio Ghibli, 2008)
• Porco Rosso (Studio Ghibli, 1992)
• Princess Mononoke (Studio Ghibli, 1997)
• Puss in Boots (Toei Doga, 1969)
• Rojin Z (A.P.P.P., 1991)
• Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise (Gainax, 1987)
• Slime Boukenki ~Umi da, Ie-~ (Production I.G., 1999)
• Spirited Away (Studio Ghibli, 2001)
• Spriggan (Studio 4℃, 1998)
• Steamboy (Sunrise, 2004)
• Summer Wars (Madhouse, 2009)
• Sword of the Stranger (Bones, 2007)
• Tekkon Kinkreet (Studio 4℃, 2006)
• The Animatrix (Studio 4℃, Madhouse, others, 2003)
• The Castle of Cagliostro (Tokyo Movie Shinsha, 1979)
• The Dagger of Kamui (Project Team Argos, Madhouse, 1985)
• The End of Evangelion (Production I.G., Gainax, 1997)
• The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Madhouse, 2006)
• The Sky Crawlers (Production I.G., 2008)
• Tobe! Kujira no Peek (Urban Product, 1991)
• Tobe! Pegasus (Shinano Kikaku, 1995)
• Tokyo Godfathers (Madhouse, 2003)
• Vampire Hunter D (Madhouse, 1999)
• Venus Wars (Triangle Staff, 1989)
• Wanpaku Oji no Orochi Taiji (Toei Doga, 1963)
• Whisper of the Heart (Studio Ghibli, 1995)
• Wicked City (Madhouse, 1987)
• Windaria (Kaname Production, 1986)
• X: the Movie (Madhouse, 1996)
• xxxHolic: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Production I.G., 2005)
• Yu Yu Hakusho The Movie: Poltergeist Report (Studio Pierrot, 1994)

OVA

• Animation Runner Kuromi 2 (Yumeta Company, 2003)
• Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Shining Heresy (Sunrise, 1994)
• Battle Royal High School (D.A.S.T., 1987)
• Black Magic M-66 (A.I.C., 1987)
• Blue Submarine No.6 (Gonzo, 1998-2000)
• Cat Soup (J.C. Staff, 2001)
• Cream Lemon Part 4: Pop Chaser (Fairy Dust, 1985)
• Darkside Blues (J.C. Staff, 1994)
• Diebuster (Gainax, 2004-2006)
• Doomed Megalopolis (Madhouse, 1991)
• Download: Namuamidabutsu wa Ai no Uta (Madhouse, 1992)
• Dragon Quest Fantasia Video (Gainax, 1988)
• FLCL (Production I.G., Gainax, 2000-2001)
• Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still (Phoenix Entertainment, 1992-1998)
• Golden Boy (A.P.P.P., 1995-1996)
• Gosenzo-sama Banbanzai! (Studio Pierrot, 1989-1990)
• Gunbuster (Gainax, 1988-1989)
• Idol Project (Studio OX, 1995-1997)
• Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure (A.P.P.P., 1993-1994, 2000-2002)
• Karas (Tatsunoko Pro, 2005-2007)
• Leda: The Fantastic Adventure of Yoko (Kaname Production, 1985)
• Macross Plus (Triangle Staff, 1994-1995)
• Megazone 23 Part II (A.I.C., 1986)
• Mezzo Forte (Arms, 2000-2001)
• Mighty Space Miners (Triangle Staff, 1994-1995)
• Mobile Suig Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (Sunrise, 1991-1992)
• Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War In the Pocket (Sunrise, 1989)
• Nasu: A Migratory Bird with Suitcase (Madhouse, 2007)
• Nyuin Bokki Monogatari Odaiji Ni (Tokyo Kids, 1991)
• Photon (A.I.C., 1997-1999)
• Planet Busters (Kaname Production, 1984)
• Planet of Miss China (Ajiado, 2001)
• Puppet Princess (Tokyo Movie, 2000)
• Ranma 1/2: Nightmare! Incense of Spring Sleep (Studio Deen, 2008)
• Re: Cutie Honey (Toei Animation, Gainax, 2004)
• Record of Lodoss War (Madhouse, 1990-1991)
• Refrain (Oh! Production, 1993)
• Robot Carnival (A.P.P.P., 1987)
• Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection (Studio Deen, 2001-2002)
• Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal (Studio Deen, 1999)
• Saber Marionette R (Animate Film, Zero-G Room, 1995)
• Street Fighter Alpha: Generations (A.P.P.P., 2005)
• Street Fighter Alpha: The Movie (Group TAC, Plum, 2000)
• Tenyamonya Voyagers (Studio Pierrot, 1999)
• The Fire G-Men (Yomiuri Eigasha, 1974)
• The Hakkenden (AIC, 1990-1991)
• The Hakkenden ~Shinsho~ (AIC, 1993-1995)
• Urotsukidoji (Original Trilogy) (1987-1989)
• Virgin Night (Shinkuukan, 2001)
• Wild Cardz (Studio OX, 1997)
• You’re Under Arrest! (Studio DEEN, 1994-1995)

TV Specials

• Afro Samurai (Gonzo, 2007)
• Fatal Fury: Legend of the Hungry Wolf (Studio Comet, 1992)
• Hajime no Ippo: Champion Road (Madhouse, 2003)
• Like the Clouds, Like the Wind (Studio Pierrot, 1990)
• Lupin III: Walther P-38 (Kyokuichi Tokyo Movie, 1997)
• Spring and Chaos (Group TAC, 1996)
• Sugata Sanshiro (Tokyo Movie Shinsha, 1981)
• The Ocean Waves (Studio Ghibli, 1993)

TV Series

• 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother (Nippon Animation, 1976)
• Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales (Toei Animation, 2006)
• Blue Comet SPT Layzner (Sunrise, 1985-1986)
• Casshern Sins (Madhouse, 2008-2009)
• City Hunter (Nippon Sunrise, 1987-1988)
• Cowboy Bebop (Sunrise, 1998)
• Denno Coil (Madhouse, 2007)
• Dokkoida?! (ufotable, 2003)
• Dokonjo Gaeru (Tokyo Movie, 1972-1974)
• Eureka Seven (Bones, 2005-2006)
• Full Metal Alchemist (Bones, 2003-2004)
• Future Boy Conan (Nippon Animation, 1978)
• Gaiking Legend of Daiku-Maryu (Toei Animation, 2005-2006)
• Ganba no Boken (Tokyo Movie, 1975)
• Ganzo Tensai Bakabon (Tokyo Movie, 1975-1977)
• Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. 2nd GIG (Production I.G., 2004-2005)
• Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (Production I.G., 2002-2003)
• Kaiba (Madhouse, 2008)
• Kaiketsu Zorori (Anba Filmworks, Ajiado, 2004-2005)
• Kamichu! (Brain’s Base, 2005)
• Kemonozume (Madhouse, 2006)
• K-On! (Kyoto Animation, 2009)
• Lupin III (First series) (Tokyo Movie, 1971-1972)
• Lupin III (Second series, episodes created by Telecom) (Tokyo Movie Shinsha, 1977-1980)
• Machine Robo: Revenge of Chronos (Ashi Production, 1986-1987)
• Magic Knight Rayearth (Tokyo Movie, 1994-1995)
• Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi (Madhouse, 2002)
• Master Keaton (Madhouse, 1998-1999)
• Medabots (Bee Train, 1999-2000)
• Mononoke (Toei Animation, 2007)
• Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit (Production I.G., 2007)
• Neo Ranga (Studio Pierrot, 1998-1999)
• Neon Genesis Evangelion (Tatsunoko Pro, Gainax, 1995-1996)
• Ninku (Studio Pierrot, 1995-1996)
• Noein: To Your Other Self (Sattelite, 2005-2006)
• Paranoia Agent (Madhouse, 2004)
• Popolocrois Monogatari (Bee Train, 1998-1999)
• R.O.D. -THE TV- (J.C. Staff, 2003-2004)
• Rahxephon (Bones, 2002)
• Red Photon Zillion (Tatsunoko Pro, 1987)
• Revolutionary Girl Utena (J.C. Staff, 1997)
• Samurai Champloo (Manglobe, 2004)
• Sasuga no Sarutobi (Tsuchita Production, 1982-1984)
• Space Battleship Yamato (Office Academy, 1974-1975)
• Space Cobra (Tokyo Movie Shinsha, 1982-1983)
• Space Pirate Captain Herlock (Madhouse, 2003)
• Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (Gainax, 2007)
• The Adventures of Peter Pan (Nippon Animation, 1989)
• The Vision of Escaflowne (Sunrise, 1996)
• Windy Tales (Production I.G., 2004-2005)
• Xam’d: Lost Memories (Bones, 2008-2009)
• Yu Yu Hakusho (Studio Pierrot, 1992-1995)

Selected episodes from other TV series (note: coming soon?)

Games

• 3-nen B-gumi Kinpachi Sensei: Densetsu no Kyoudan ni Tate! (Chunsoft, 2004)
• Akiiro Renka OP (2005)
• Double Cast (Production I.G., 1998)
• Ghost in the Shell (Production I.G., 1997)
• Hanjuku Hero 4: 7-nin no Hanjuku Hero (Tatsunoko Pro, 2005)
• Hanjuku Hero Tai 3D OP (Tatsunoko Pro, 2003)
• Magical Girl Pretty Sammy: Heart no Kimochi extra movie, “My Favorite Boy” (1998)
• Musashi: Samurai Legend OP (Gainax, 2005)
• Muv-Luv Alternative (Stack, Silver, 2006)
• Popolocrois Monogatari (Triangle Staff, 1996)
• Popolocrois Monogatari II (Production I.G., 2000)
• Quo Vadis 2: Wakusei Kyoshuu Orphan Rei (1997)
• Sakura Wars 3 (Production I.G., 2001)
• Sakura Wars 4 (Production I.G., 2002)
• Sentimental Graffiti (Marcus, 1998)
• Sonic CD
• Summon Night 2 (Production I.G., 2001)
• Summon Night 3 (Studio 4℃, 2003)
• Summon Night 4 (Production I.G., 2006)
• Surveillance Kanshisha (Production I.G., 2002)
• Tales Series (Production I.G.)
• Wild Arms 2 OP (1999)
• Wild Arms 3 OP (2002)
• Xenogears (Bee Train, 1998)

Other

PVs

• Glay, “Survival” (Studio 4℃, 1999)
• Ken Ishii, “EXTRA” (Studio 4℃, 1994)
• Linkin Park, “Breaking the Habit” (Gonzo, 2004)
• Yui Aragaki, “Piece” (Studio Ghibli, 2009)

Independent

• Daicon IV Opening Animation (DAICON FILM, 1983)
• Kenta to Panna Cotta (Yoyogi Animation Gakuin Fukuoka Campus Class of 2000 Graduation Project)

Other

• capsul3Bunsaku (Studio Ghibli, 2005)
• Jumping (Tezuka Production, 1984)
• Superflat Monogram (Toei Animation, 2003)
• X2 -Double X- (Animate Film, Madhouse, 1993)

Foreign Works

—————

It seems like some people misunderstood my previous post about the disastrous situation going on with new animators, and thought that everyone involved in anime production is in the same situation, but the situation isn’t that miserable… at least, that’s how I feel.

To put it better, whether you’re someone making a decent living or if you’re someone sliding into poverty, two groups of people who coexist in the anime industry, depends on what department you’re working in, not your experience or your accomplishments… would be the way to put it.

I wrote that if you halved the unit price paid per drawing for painters, then inbetweeners could make a living. However, if you wanted to adjust the budget in other ways, I can come up with a lot of ways to do it.

I’m not sure if I should write something like this in a place like this, but… In the anime industry right now, production supervisors, the people that ought to know how to allocate a budget, have no idea what’s actually going on in the studios. As a result, I think that this is causing the state of the industry to grow worse and worse.

And so… I’ll take it upon myself to say this here:

“A lot of anime production staff are making plenty of money!!”
“What’s more, all that’s needed to save inbetweeners is 500,000 yen ($5,500 usd) an episode from a 10 million yen ($112,000) TV series episode budget!”

How much money is needed to raise the unit cost for an inbetweener from 200 to 300 yen? How much are we missing? An average episode uses 4000-5000 in-between frames. Looking at those numbers, how short are we falling? All you need is 500,000 yen an episode to give this raise.

Is it really not possible to raise this amount of money?

Last time, I wrote about reducing the unit cost for painters, but I think there are plenty of other places where you can find the money.

To give one example that I’m aware of, let’s look at sound director pay.

A sound director for a TV series makes an average of 150,000-180,000 yen ($1,675-$2000) an episode.
The director for the same episode makes 200,000-250,000 yen ($2,200-2,800).
The animation director makes around 300,000 yen ($3,350).

On first glance, these numbers might look fair, but in reality, that’s not the case at all. I wrote about this last time, but an animation director is bound for about a month and a half to the job he’s paid 300,000 yen for, so that comes out to making around 200,000 yen a month.

For directors, it might take six months preparation to begin work on a 25-26 episode (half-year) series, so you could calculate their monthly pay to be about 500,000 yen ($5,600).

In comparison, a sound director takes two days to complete an episode, including preparation time. Therefore, a lot of sound directors work on 2-3 titles at a time, for a total of 3 episodes a week. Taking on 12 episodes a month isn’t hard or uncommon.
Monthly pay: 150,000 yen x 12 episodes = 1,800,000 yen ($20,000).
Sound directors who make over 20,000,000 yen ($223,000) a year are common.

As for scenario writers, they make around 180,000 yen ($2,000) a script and work on 2-3 at a time, but unlike sound directors, it’s fairly unheard of to write a completed script in 2 days. We can say that they finish an average of 1-2 scripts in an average month, putting their monthly income from manuscript fees at about 300,000 ($3,350) yen.
Whether you think this is a lot or a little, depending on the show¹, a writer may be paid script royalties if the work becomes a hit, making millions of yen without doing any extra work. Since one could be working on three or more shows each month, the chances that a writer will write a script for a hit series increases.
As a result, a writer who does proper work would reach 10 million yen ($110,000) a year.
Of course, there are writers who make more, and I’m sure there are writers who don’t make this much.

One thing you can definitely say, though, is that a series becoming a hit or not isn’t necessarily linked to the quality of the script.

Besides these examples, 800,000-1,000,000 yen (~$9,000-$11,000) an episode is allotted to cinematography an episode. A cinematography team is made up of 4-5 people, and complete one TV episode in 3-4 days.
Aside from this, other “sentori” jobs for the team such as inbetween photography, keyframe photography, and storyboard photography² may arise if there isn’t tight control on the schedule, and these jobs are included in the pay.
Even so, the 4-5 person team ends up making a total of 4 million yen or more a month. ($44,500)

Looking at the numbers I’ve written above, you could conceivably compare the level of each section’s pay to the average in other industries and say something like “Well… around 20 million yen a year seems normal.” After all, that’s around what the salaried employees at the TV stations and the ad agencies make, so people involved in anime making that much doesn’t seem too strange.

However, when you think what it takes to actually produce a given anime, how much does each of these groups contribute? How much should each section really be paid?
I think that producers ought to think about these things.

Aren’t sound directors being paid too much?
If you’re going to pay screenwriters royalties, do you really need to also pay guarantees?
Do you really have to pay so much to low-level writers whose involvement amounts to being middlemen for the person doing series composition?
Aren’t cinematographers being given extra work because production managers are careless?

And while I’m at it, “Animation directors are even worse off than inbetweeners!!”

I really think about all of these things.

Working in the anime industry today, the job I want to do the least is working as an animation director.
You take the blame when things turn out poorly, and even though you have to fix every layout and keyframe, inexperienced keyframe artists make 4000 yen a cut. If you break it down, animation directors don’t even get paid at the level of 1000 yen a cut.
If you break it down by drawing, it’s less than the inbetweeners, despite making as little as they do.
For veteran animation directors who might be responsible for almost half a work’s perceived quality, there’s far too wide of a gap between labor done and money paid.

When sound directors who don’t know what’s going on come up to me and tell me like they’re stressed out from working, “Hey, we can’t do any sound work because we don’t have any proper drawings, just keyframe photography,” I want to tell them “okay then, why don’t you quit?”
How much weight are you pulling, and how much of the budget are you given?
Do you know how much the animation staff puts into those drawings and what they’re going through?
Are you saying what you’re saying with all of this in mind?

The main staff of a work should be people who newcomers look up to.
If they work hard and give their best, they’ll be able to become like their seniors.
It’s thoughts like this that cultivate talent for the next generation.
That’s why I’m not going to say that making a lot of money is a bad thing.

But… There’s a but.

What about the new animators, who can’t even properly support themselves, having to work next to equally green painters who are making more than the animation director?
What about the sound directors being paid 150,000 yen for 2 days of work?
What about the unnecessary sentori work that keeps increasing?
If you redid a budget so that you minimized waste and paid people for the work they do, there couldn’t be any way that you can’t find another 500,000 yen for inbetweening.

There are people who say things like “Well, budgets haven’t really changed in thirty years, so…” or “Raising just the inbetweening budget isn’t feasible…” I wish that these people who don’t know anything about the actual condition of the industry would stop pretending they did and shut their mouths.
That’s to say nothing of the people who say “It’s Tezuka’s fault!” These people aren’t just ignorant about the condition of the industry, what they’re saying is so stupid that it doesn’t even make sense!

I believe that directors, as the individuals who represent anime productions, ought to raise their voice and ask these questions.

The anime industry is by no means poor.
It’s the animators who are.

Industry insiders, please realize this!
Please have the courage to improve this situation!

I ought to back up and acknowledge that there are sound directors and scenario writers who are commendably good workers deserving of praise.

But even so, sound directors get paid a lot… at least, that’s what I think.
(I don’t know what to make of the fact that I’m saying this while having worked as a sound director…)

A better way to put it might be, “Budgets are clearly not balanced!!”… why don’t the producers at the studios who are associated with the AJA think this?

Do they really lack the imagination to see how leaving this situation as it is will lead to not being able to make works in the future?

The reason that work gets held up when it goes to the animation director is because of the rapid decrease in key animators who can do a proper job…
And the cause of this is the inattentiveness of production supervisors, who should be looking after the young animators who have no bargaining power.

I’m certain that this is the truth.

1. tl note: I think this means “if it gets a dvd”
2. these are used during recording sessions

…I think I’m bored of Yotsuba now. Actually reading this again just made me want to get the new Azumanga chapters.

The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya (Nagaru Tanigawa/Yen Press again)
Kind of boring. The early stories are all better in the anime, though some later chapters are better, I’ve heard. Also the entire translation is written like this. I was going to make up something here about fansub translators not knowing how to write paragraphs, but I guess it’s light novel style after all. The anime episodes are better but are still boring.

The Summer of the Ubume (Natsuhiko Kyogoku/Vertical)
kransom told me to buy this before it came out here, and so I did. Unfortunately, not only is this a real novel, but it’s actually good and well-written, which left me totally unqualified to say anything about it. I will instead note that most people seem to have called it a “supernatural horror”, which it isn’t, and insist on comparing Kyogoku to nerdshoe authors like Neil Gaiman/Stephenson.
Personally, I thought the mystery solved through a very long history lecture at the end reminded me more of Umberto Eco, but there’s no reason to go around reducing things to comparisons like that. Just go read it, okay.

Kannagi v1/2
(I read the subtitles, you see.)
There wasn’t really enough plot to sustain this. The individual episodes were mostly good, but none of them actually led into each other at all, and you just had to pretend that the weird serious drama in episode 2 merited it suddenly coming back at the end of the show.
Maybe if the author had written more of the plot out it could’ve been interesting, since it was at least more leftist than Kamichu, but instead some completely different series about maid cafes got stuck in the middle. Yamakan’s director power somehow made this and Kanon watchable, but I end up regretting it afterwards…

Umineko no naku koro ni, episode 6
I can’t mention any plot details until it’s been translated, but after reading it I don’t think I got any clearer picture of the mystery. It looks like episode 7 will reveal a large part of that, so it’s just a little more waiting either way, but it made reading such a long episode seem a little pointless.
There were a few great scenes, but overall the whole thing is by design stuck until the actual end, and I think he’s just padding it out now. Watch out if you start reading it (e.g. if someone translates the prologue), because the first few scenes will just confuse you until you get to the end 15 chapters later.