There has been a belief within the community that when Netflix produced anime, like their recent hit Devilman Crybaby, it leads to higher wages for animators. Despite the fact that animators have been protesting this notion since August.
Katsunori Shibata is an animator who worked on Devilman Crybaby as an episode director and storyboard artist. He’s recently taken to Twitter to shatter the misconceptions and bust the myths that fans have about working on Netflix anime, namely their wages.
On Twitter one fan asked Shibata "Is it true that the anime being Netflix-produced didn’t mean that there was any difference in wages, compensation compared to regular anime?” Shibata gave a loosely translated, “It is a range that I saw from me.”
Not all anime fans are aware of an anime studio’s situation, but their employee’s wages won’t increase simply because Netflix is producing an anime.
Netflix is finding itself on the board of production committees, which is a group of multiple companies that invest in an anime’s creation. The members will pool together money to be used for anime’s budget. This money, along with a separate commission fee, is sent to a studio such as Science SARU for Devilman Crybaby.
The budget and commission fee is used to pay an animator’s wage, which can be spread thin depending on a variety of factors, like staff size and an individual’s experience. Netflix could theoretically pitch in more money, which could raise wages, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
What are your thoughts on the animators answer? Do you think that anime animators should get paid more for their work? Let us know what your answers are in the usual place below!