“Yuri on Ice!!!” was one of the best anime series that aired in 2016. The anime nailed every element: the animation was clean, the story was entertaining, and the music was top-notch. This anime brought incredible success to MAPPA.
It is reasonable to assume that the show earned quite a lot of money for its studio. However, the MAPPA’s CEO revealed the other side of the story in his recent interview with KOMPASS.
When asked about the difficulties of running an animation studio in Japan, Ohtsuka said, “Our production, Yuri!!! On Ice!!! was a huge hit. But the money that came into the studio was very little compared to that success.”
This experience was a learning lesson for the studio and pushed them into action. Ohtsuka has focused on increasing what they could do on their own. He invested in other businesses, the environment, and human resource development.
In addition to investments, they had to consider business plans to escape this situation. Fortunately, overseas distribution platforms which entered the Japanese animation market greatly expanded their opportunities.
It’s a significant problem that Japanese anime studio companies have been facing. The money doesn’t go directly to animation studios but to the committee and others.
Yuri On Ice committee list
“Avex Pictures
TV Asahi
Dentsu
CIC
cygames
TV Asahi Music
Movic
MAPPA”
The higher the company is on the list; the higher will be the amount of financial revenue they receive. This situation is wrong on so many levels. The studio that made the show is at the very bottom.
The money trickled down to the end, and the studio with the highest contribution received the least pay. A lot of studios don’t have the luxury of negotiating much.
MAPPA was able to make good decisions and increase its investments. All this gives some great context as to why both last year’s colossal hit Chainsaw Man and the previous season’s Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill were funded entirely by MAPPA.
While MAPPA was able to get out of this sticky situation quickly, many other studios are still struggling. Because of this situation, animators are underpaid and overworked.
The absurdity of this situation has led to a toxic work culture which has been best highlighted in Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, where the protagonist was happy for a zombie apocalypse since it meant, he didn’t need to go to work.
These skilled animators who made beautiful creations are simply poor. Just look at the quality of work they produce, and to think they don’t get enough rest or pay is tragic. And there’s nothing they can do about this situation since the hands of the animation studio are tied as well.
This is a heart-breaking situation, and more people should know it.
About Yuri!!! on Ice
Yuri!!! on Ice (Japanese: ユーリ!!! on ICE) is a Japanese sports anime television series about figure skating. The series was produced by MAPPA.
Reeling from his crushing defeat at the Grand Prix Finale, Yuuri Katsuki, once Japan’s most promising figure skater, returns to his family home to assess his options for the future.
However, Yuri finds himself in the spotlight when a video of him performing a routine previously executed by the five-time world champion, Victor Nikiforov, suddenly goes viral.
Source: Twitter
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