Many anime studios have a reputation for giving workers low wages, based on various stories from animators online. The debate about this has been renewed recently as a Tonari Animation job posting drew debates about anime industry wages.
Recently, Tonari Animation shared a job opening for anime production assistants via their official X (formerly Twitter) account.
There were positive reactions from those looking to break through the industry, but there were also lots of skeptics based on the rather low starting pay.
Tonari Animation Shares Job Opening for Production Assistants in Japan
Tonari Animation may not be a familiar name among many anime fans. That’s because it is more of a support studio that provides services for anime productions.
Despite not being a widely known studio, Tonari has worked on many popular titles over the years. These include Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Akiba Maid War, Blue Lock, and more.
Similar to other studios of its kind, Tonari has a staff of animators from all over the world, though it has an office in Japan. This is where the company’s latest job opening is for.
Tonari recently shared that they are looking for production assistants to work on Japanese anime.
This opening isn’t for animators as production assistants instead need to have organization and file management skills, as well as JLPT N2 Japanese fluency. Those interested must also be willing to relocate to Japan.
As expected, the posting got a lot of interest from anime fans. On the flip side, there were also a lot of negative reactions.
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Job Posting Causes Divided Opinions on Anime Staff Wages
The main concern among many is the low starting pay of JPY 150,000 to 250,000 per month (around USD 1,000 to 1,700). Many consider this too low for living in Tokyo given the average rent prices in the city.
While Tonari Animation mentioned in the replies that the pay range covers part-time to full-time work, there are still many concerns given the JLPT N2 requirement.
Many in the replies mentioned that having JLPT N2 fluency can already open doors to more lucrative jobs in Japan, though maybe not in the anime industry.
Meanwhile, there are still many interested, with some saying that the production assistant position can lead to getting promoted to higher positions in the industry.
While the debate on anime industry wages rages on, the Tonari Animation job posting is still up on X, meaning interested applicants can still apply.
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