Hideaki Anno Sounds Alarm On Anime Industry’s Future: Highlights Workforce Shortage & Production Delays

Hideaki Anno, the creator of Neon Genesis Evangelion and director of Shin Godzilla, has raised concerns about the future of Japan’s anime industry, citing a severe workforce shortage and increasing production delays.

Speaking at a general meeting of the cross-party MANGA Parliamentary League (MANGA Diet Members’ League) on Jan 30, Anno urged lawmakers to take swift action to support the industry, including implementing tax credits and accelerating efforts to archive anime history.

The session, attended by 110 lawmakers across ruling and opposition parties, also featured speeches from government officials, anime and manga industry representatives, and anti-piracy experts.

Workforce Crisis and Production Delays

Hideaki Anno emphasized that Japan’s anime sector is struggling due to a lack of skilled professionals, which has led to widespread production delays.

“There is a serious shortage of people in the field. When there aren’t enough hands, production slows down. Many anime projects are currently being postponed, and the main reason is the lack of personnel,” Anno stated.

While acknowledging past criticisms of the industry’s working conditions, he argued that significant improvements have been made. He urged the media to highlight the positive aspects of the anime industry to attract new talent.

“I hope the media will also highlight the positive aspects of the industry’s economic situation, rather than just focusing on the negatives, so that the public can see that ‘the anime industry is actually doing pretty well.’”

Urgent Call for Archiving Resources

Anno also stressed the importance of archiving anime and tokusatsu materials, warning that valuable resources are being lost every day.

“The early implementation of an archive is a race against time. Valuable materials are being lost every day. This is not a matter of years but months—we need to push forward with archiving as quickly as possible,” he said.

Anno’s concerns were echoed by manga artist Tetsuya Chiba, who also spoke at the meeting.

Chiba, the first manga artist to receive Japan’s prestigious Order of Culture, has been actively working on preserving original artwork, including materials from Ashita No Joe.

He noted that many artists’ manuscripts are deteriorating and stressed the need for a dedicated preservation center.

Calls for Government Support Through Tax Credits

Anno also pushed for financial relief measures, such as the implementation of a tax credit system for anime studios, which are struggling to sustain their operations.

He noted that over 50 countries already provide tax credits for film and animation production, recognizing the sectors’ broad economic impact, and urged Japan to follow suit.

“We need government support to help sustain the strength of animation studios and production companies that are working hard to create content.“

Anno is not the first person to ask for government intervention in order to improve the situation of anime industry. The JRI, in their report which was released early in 2024, suggested that the Japanese Government should intervene and that anime production studios be given a 30 percent share of the IPs they are working on regardless of whether they are part of production committees or not.

The studios currently only earn 6 percent of overall overseas sales of the works they are involved in, and 16 percent of the domestic sales. This was seen as unbalanced.

Source: X, Tokyo Sports