Jun Arai, the director of the popular anime series Kingdom, recently posted on social media that the anime industry’s difficult working conditions are not solely the fault of production studios. He argued that passionate anime fans are also contributing to the poor treatment of animators in some cases.
Arai explained that animators are often afraid to speak out against their employers’ exploitative practices because they worry about backlash from devoted fans.
He believes animators fear that vocalizing issues could not only get them blacklisted by studios but also viciously attacked by fans who love those studios’ shows.
Arai described the anime fan community as “warped and sick” in how animators can be crushed between studios and obsessive fans regardless of the animators’ fame and reputation.
He thinks this unhealthy fan devotion closes off any path for animators to safely expose industry problems.
Overall, Arai contends that the culture of anime fandom, not just studio business practices, plays a role in suppressing animators and allowing the persistence of ingrained industry problems.
He believes fan devotion can be so extreme that it silences animators from pushing for better conditions.
The Animator’s Critique on Fanaticism and Exploitation in the Anime Industry
In a follow-up social media post, Arai provided more context around his criticism of anime fans. He had previously realized that animation studios can get away with lower pay if a show is more popular.
He connected this to the fanatic nature of some fans who prioritize an anime being produced over the well-being of the overworked animators.
Arai is speaking from extensive personal experience in the anime industry. His career traces back to popular 2000s shows like Azumanga Daioh in 2002 and Ikki Tousen.
After working on Higurashi’s When They Cry, he took a multi-year break before returning as an animator for One Piece in 2020.
More recently, he has been actively involved as an animation director on at least 9 episodes of Kingdom across seasons 3 and 4.
これ
なんでずっと
内部現役アニメタの告発がなかったかと言うと
その会社に干される恐怖感だけじゃなく
その会社作品好きなファンにも叩かれて
2重の意味で潰されるのが怖いからすよ。
有名無名関係無し。
それ位アニメ消費界隈は歪んで病んでるんすよね。
熱狂的に好きだとそういう間違いが起こる。 https://t.co/Shi5FCD8vw— 新井 淳(ver.4) (@arasan_fourth) January 2, 2024
Given Arai’s deep industry background, he has seen firsthand how studios exploit animators to churn out popular shows that fans consume without concern for the human cost.
In his view, as long as fans’ favorite anime gets produced, the animators’ struggles in the process get overlooked.
He finds this fanatic prioritization of content over creators to be a core problem worsening animators’ conditions.
Arai believes this unhealthy dynamic allows studios to underpay animators while escapist fans enable the cycle by supporting shows regardless of exploitation.
Arai’s Concerns About the Unhealthy Anime Culture
There is extensive documentation of anime fans criticizing studios for mistreating overworked animators.
Many fans have good intentions to push for better working conditions, like those worried for Jujutsu Kaisen animators after the intense Culling Game arc was announced.
However, animators still often bear the brunt of blame for production issues or quality complaints. For example, Jujutsu Kaisen animator Hokuto Sadamoto initially faced waves of abuse from fans over animation in a recent episode.
Though fans later redirected criticism to MAPPA, Sadamoto was left apologizing and feeling his work was unappreciated.
Given recurring incidents like this, it makes sense why Arai believes speaking out would be risky and unrewarding for animators.
Even when fans aim to support animators, production delays or quality drops get blamed on individual animators. These artists end up absorbing vitriol while studios stay relatively unscathed.
Fans may mean well, but their harsh reactions create an environment where animators feel attacked from all sides if they voice issues.
Arai sees this unhealthy fan culture as an added layer suppressing animators atop studio exploitation.
Navigating Animator Exploitation in the Upcoming Season of Kingdom
Arai is expected to resume his role in the upcoming 5th season of Kingdom, which will be part of the winter 2024 anime lineup.
The historical fantasy anime, streaming on Crunchyroll, follows two war orphans named Shin and Hyou who dream of being warriors in the Qin kingdom.
But their journey is disrupted when Hyou gets captured by a minister, only to later escape back home severely injured.
Shin then meets a mysterious boy bearing an uncanny resemblance to Hyou, who is destined to become Qin’s emperor one day.
With Kingdom remaining popular among anime fans, Arai will likely face the same pressures he describes while working on the new season.
However, his recent social media posts suggest he will continue advocating for the proper treatment of animators despite the potential backlash from obsessive fans enabling studios’ exploitative practices.
As a veteran of the industry, Arai is using his platform to call out a toxic fan culture that has contributed to animators’ difficult conditions, according to his firsthand experience.
