Day in the Life of a Japanese Anime Director

Day in the Life of a Japanese Anime Director

[Music] [Music] this is Shu a 35-year-old anime director living in the suburbs of Tokyo and he’s just waking up for [Music] work that’s his wife they live in this two-bedroom apartment with their cat his wife also works in the same industry as an animator currently working on the same anime shoes directing and she is just finishing up her workday it’s pretty common in their home as well as in Japan anime industry to pull all nighters which we’ll see why as a day goes on yo I see a lot of games you play a [Music] lot dope Shu originally from Tokyo has loved creating since he was a kid he also watched all kinds of anime typical of many kids in Japan one of his favorites being the Galaxy Express 999 and after discovering Studio ji movies he was further drawn into the world of anime which inspired him to pursue his career he nice she’s taking her finished drawings known as ATI in the Japanese anime industry to the [Music] office now he’s headed to the train station graduating from an art university and equipped with a major in traditional Japanese painting and a deep passion for anime he was able to get his first job as an animator and after years years of tireless work to perfect his craft he earned his way to become an anime director good morning everyone I’m well oh it sounds like it’s going to be a busy day so Shu works as a freelancer which is rather typical in Japan’s anime industry as they make up almost 70% of its workers for Shu it means his work location changes depending on his client projects currently his primary studio is in Corda which allows him to bike to work but this morning he needs to head directly to the voice recording studio first [Music] shu is currently directing an anime called Mayo Naka punch meaning midnight punch working directly for the PA Works Animation studio and the kado Kawa publishing company so what [Music] now recording with the voice dos is called AO in Japanese AO meaning after REO short for recording today the team is recording one episode which is 24 minutes long it takes about 4 to 5 hours on average but if there’s an issue it takes as long as it needs until they get it right sheu mentions that his longest recording session was about 10 hours hopefully today it doesn’t take that long oh the actors left already [Music] nice the main voice characters have started their test run the anime is about a girl who was fired from her content creators girls group who then teams up with a vampire with superhuman abilities to reach 1 million subscribers on their own now she shares his feedback with the team there are million ways to deliver a line and it’s his responsibility to ensure that the SE voice actors perfectly convey the character’s emotions in each scene next other members like the episode directors and producers will also share their opinions the audio director will take all the feedback and instruct the voice actors on how to re-record their lines the process is repeated until it’s [Music] perfect oh no they’re having trouble with one line it must record over and over again apparently the issue could be as little as one word not being delivered correctly for them to re [Music] record nice they’re taking a short break so how did the recordings go that’s great so what do you think is the hardest part about recording so it looks like they’re taking a little break right now so while they do that let’s do what we do and explore this place let’s go check out the actual recording studio so I’m actually in The Sound Studio right now and there’s no echo in here and even the stands are made out of cork they’ve got a giant screen q- lights all sort of sound equipment and these are the headphones that the actors wear and they even have a hygrometer so check this out I actually got the script this is what the anime scripts look like think I got episodes 1 through 11 right here it has all of the scenes you know in Japanese books work backwards guess all of them have different little pictures on the back as well it’s also kind of pretty cool how each one is different has their own little picture here I like the little details they have reception the battery life has all the like buttons and everything on the bottom as well quite interesting that’s a cool shirt really where can I buy it okay so what do you do so while Shu controls the overall direction and quality his responsibility is to guide each episode working more closely with each production member to help achieve shu’s Vision how long have you been doing this did you learn any of this at school cool thanks hi what do you do you been doing this for a long time oh so what’s the best part about your job that’s amazing so how’s this anime okay thanks hi what do you do [Music] he’s also responsible for auditions directing the seu as well as directing music composers and the sound effects used and decides on how to organize and structure all of these audio components did you always want to be an audio director that’s fine he was moved to the anime department and started working as audio director because no one else was able to do it so how do you audition the voice actors fing what so how many addition for one rooll wow and what’s the most challenging part about your [Music] job I hear you thanks excuse me what do you do in the studio he adjusts each voice actor’s volume as they speak at different levels you got the same system at home okay how long have you been doing this damn that’s a minute and what do you like about this job so you got to tell me what’s your favorite anime you’ve worked on perfect answer now that the break is over they work on the last part of the [Music] recording yay finally done [Music] next sh makes his way to the Anime [Music] Studio beforehand though he stops by the nearest convenience sword to pick up some food and drinks as he knows he still has a long day ahead of [Music] him these are all for you right this is PA Works an animation production company famous in Japan for creating very original anime including school girl comedies and young dramas like Shiro bako and Angel [Music] Beats and this is shu’s main office where he works with the production team daily to create the anime Mayo naka punch what are you doing [Music] now the Aon AKA storyboard is a visual presentation of the script created by the director and is a crucial tool that he uses to communicate his vision to the team such as a shot Direction in camera work each member of the team uses this as their base to direct them in their individual production tasks so those are the cuts the storyboard shows the scene framing the character’s lines and provides an explanation of the events Sho what was the first anime you worked on as a director wow that’s awesome awesome when he first started in anime he worked as a Doga man an in between animator meaning that he cleaned up the drawings created by the key animator in Japan it’s typical for most animators to start at this position after 4 years of working as an animator he was eventually given the opportunity to work as an episode director focused more than ever he passionately took on this new role the producer noticed his talent and offered him the director job for his first ever directed anime parip K do you recommend going to school for anime that’s his first meal of the day he must must be so hungry so it looks like sho’s going to be at his desk for just a little bit longer so while he’s doing that let’s see if he can draw something up around [Music] here they got a kitchen sink right here a microwave over here some trash right here just down here they have the omag and snacks location hello can I ask what you’re doing right now see work works as the gamon AKA key animator based on the director’s storyboard she creates a layout refining the flow adding more details as well as drawing key frames in between each cut it truly requires a unique skill and trained eye to be able to visualize the motion from a still image her layout serves as a blueprint for the animators to connect and turn the images into motion so how long does it take to create 5 Seconds of anime oh and how long have you been doing this wow how do you keep motivated to do what you do hi can I ask what you do oh like you keep a schedule and stuff did you need to talk to her about the deadline so apparently in this building like each room like here and there has like different production units or teams or something let’s go in this one and let me show you so I think this room is where they do some of the framing for the videos looks like that software is where they move the characters around or I gu move the camera around looks like look like they have some protection on top of the monitor they also have some products some Goods right here let’s see what’s over here I’m not completely sure what this room is but looks like maybe a director’s seat they planning I guess I think everyone is in a in a meeting right now that’s why no one’s here H so it looks like this room is focused on a different anime they got cute little kitties right here and this is actually another room looks pretty similar to the rest oh I think this is the guy with a t-shirt cuz you can see the drawing right there and look at this this one has a lot of papers and then let’s see what is up here oh wow this is the rooftop you can see all sections or all sides and look you can even see Mount Fuji over there the lens can’t really really zoom in that much but I can plainly see it from here let’s go back down and see what sho’s [Music] [Music] doing now Shu has a meeting to discuss a background design for an upcoming [Music] episode while a majority of the design has been decided even before the first episode the team needs to review that design specification for the characters background colors as well as objects used in the anime and finalize any new design specific to the episode this critical step ensures consistency throughout each episode especially when multiple animators are involved so is it hard to explain your [Music] [Music] vision why don’t you just draw and show them ah I [Music] see he has a little bit of time before the next meeting so he visits the office to GES where the team is on their production task creating an anime such as the one sho’s directing requires an immense amount of teamwork in one episode alone there are about 200 workers involved to make it all happen so Shu doesn’t take his job lightly oh that’s a 2d materials it used in the anime cute [Music] oh sh’s next meeting started and he’s working with a color designer For an upcoming episode providing feedback and making changes on the spot she works on various parts of different episodes all at once this color design phase is actually an earlier part of the production process as they are now deciding on the colors for the character costumes eye color in addition to things like the color of a drink in Japan an anime director must be able to multitask in order to keep on top of the production schedule so I think shu’s going to be in that meeting for a bit so while he’s doing that let’s do what we do and explore this place okay so this is the main office area let’s see what that guy’s doing over there hello can I ask you a question so what do you do what exactly is your responsibility [Music] ah and you started as a producer damn you went through it so how many producers are in the company nice and what’s the most challenging so what happens when the production is delayed ah I see so if an anime isn’t successful will a company be in the [Music] red understood thank you so much so looks like there’s some meeting rooms down here this room right here says Platinum let’s see what’s inside [Music] side oh wow look at this they have all these Goods right here cool they have some figurines here looks like they won some awards Cheeto Buckle some stuffed animals 3D hologram okay so let’s see if we can find out what else is going on okay here’s a room right [Music] here some Goods up right here they got some figures they got some DVD some manga got some stuffed animals and they’ve got a bunch of computers and stuff pretty cool nice he’s done with his meeting what are you doing now finally he gets to work on a storyboard for a little bit how long do you think it’s going to take good luck as much as he needs time to finish his own task everybody on the team is also working towards their own deadlines which frequently requires his feedback and decision keeping him in meetings throughout the day nice he’s finally getting some food so tell me more about being a [Music] director don’t you ever get stressed out as a director he always strives for Perfection but because of the tight schedules and staff workloads he often has to compromise as he knows pushing too hard can lead to things falling apart it’s a delicate tight robe he walks every day between the reality of his resources and creating a quality anime that both him and his audience are satisfied with jeez another meeting again but it’s whole part of a typical day for an anime director What’s Happening [Music] Now Rush Che is reviewing the finished video data which is basically the animation footage after motion is added to the key frame drawings and today he’s reviewing short clips from various parts frame by frame again it’s his responsibility to ensure that each part is done correctly in his vision and if not he must provide feedback on what to correct oh what’s wrong with this one ah I see then he continues to have another review session he says that he has so much passion and love for what he does he he can go on forever never noticing how much time has gone by he once worked all the way through New Year’s holiday and towards the end his hand couldn’t stop shaking indicating to him that his body needed to take a break so although he can push himself he keeps in mind that people do need him so he forces himself to rest once in a while right after the meeting finishes he has another meeting this meeting with the key animator they discuss how to plan the animation based on his storyboard allowing the key animator to grasp the director’s Vision in more detail this collaborative session helps bring the storyboard to life with a right nuance and depth bro your day is hectic so do you do overtime every day do you have any days off [Music] you’re so busy now he finally gets a focus on his storyboard with minimal Interruption so how’s your storyboard coming [Music] [Applause] [Music] my SC got to some this before wrapping up he needs to upload the file so while he waits he uses this time to review the key frame drawings even after a long day at work he doesn’t waste a second y he’s finally calling it a day even though there’s still so much work ahead of him at the same time it’s not always like this but it’s pretty typical for a hectic day just before a deadline unfortunately his last train is long gone by now so one of the staff working even later than him offered to give him a ride home so we’re going to shu’s house right now and I’m going to drop him off and probably he’s going to go to sleep between 2 to 3: before that I’ll probably play some games and just kind of hang out and watch TV but that’s pretty much a day in life of a Japanese anime director if you guys like this

A day in the life of a Japanese Anime Director in Tokyo Japan working in an Anime Production Studio. This is the typical work day in Japan of an anime director from morning his morning routine, daily work activities, all the way to nighttime. The Japanese work culture in an animation production studio is unique on it’s own as it requires 200 people to make one episode alone. This average work day in Japan at an anime studio highlights the passion each worker has for their job and how they all work together to create a Japanese anime series. Shu, the anime director, is currently directing an anime called, MAYONAKA PUNCH, meaning Midnight Punch. Working directly for the P.A. works animation studio and the Kadokawa publishing company. On his 2nd series he worked at this studio for about 10 years now. So Shu works as a freelancer, which is rather typical in Japan’s anime industry as they make up almost 70% of its workers. For Shu, this means his work location changes depending on his client projects. Currently, his primary studio though is in Kodaira which allows him to bike to work, but this morning he needs to head directly to the voice recording studio first. Today, the team is recording one episode which is 24 minutes long with the Seiyu voice actors. It takes about 4-5 hours on average but if there’s an issue, it’ll take as long as it needs until they can get it right. That is how this anime director’s day starts, but then will move onto more tasks throught the day.

Anime English Title: MAYONAKA PUNCH
Synopsis: Meet Masaki, the now former member of a popular NewTuber group. After getting fired unexpectedly via a livestream, she joins forces with a partner with superhuman abilities. Together, they aim to create sensational content and hit 1 million subscribers.

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