Toei Animation is not the only company producing anime content. Most of the public ones are buried inside conglomerates. IG Port is as close as you can get to a pure play!
Enjoyed the read, learned a lot, I had no idea the makers of JJK were not making money, that blows my mine. Each episode in season 2 was so well made, it's S tier animation with F tier profitability. It's sad cuz I can only imagine how much hard work (slave labour) the animators put in.
Yes, animation is a very tough business in Japan. Barriers to entry are not very high, and there is a huge supply of talented animators (also from other countries like Philippines) that constantly start their new thing. MAPPA itself is really recent (2011) and comes from ex-Madhouse people, and that dynamic is all over.
So the only way to really become profitable is becoming co-owners of the IPs and for that you need both leverage (being a studio with some name already) and money. Hard to get to a place where you have both.
Enjoyed the read, learned a lot, I had no idea the makers of JJK were not making money, that blows my mine. Each episode in season 2 was so well made, it's S tier animation with F tier profitability. It's sad cuz I can only imagine how much hard work (slave labour) the animators put in.
Hey, thanks Alan!
Yes, animation is a very tough business in Japan. Barriers to entry are not very high, and there is a huge supply of talented animators (also from other countries like Philippines) that constantly start their new thing. MAPPA itself is really recent (2011) and comes from ex-Madhouse people, and that dynamic is all over.
So the only way to really become profitable is becoming co-owners of the IPs and for that you need both leverage (being a studio with some name already) and money. Hard to get to a place where you have both.
And that's what I like about IG Port :D