Behind the Scenes at Mappa - Identifying their Ethical issues
Studio Mappa
Who is Studio MAPPA?
Studio MAPPA, stands as a titan of Eastern Asian animation. Known for their well-animated Japanese animation, typically called anime by most consumers. MAPPA has managed to produce many major hits in adaptations from popular manga (Japanese comics). A few of these major hits would include the shows Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, and Season 4 of Attack On Titan. All of which did super well.
Animators spend much of their time in the studio working on these shows to achieve high ratings, such as an IMDB rating. Which MAPPA has achieved with these shows, with an average rating for Attack on Titan season 4 being an astounding 9.1 out of 10; Jujutsu Kaisen averaging 8.5 out of 10; and Chainsaw Man also averaging 8.5 out of 10.
Work Culture at MAPPA
Despite these fantastic scores, fans have discovered that the artists behind all of these scenes are criminally overworked. Though MAPPA has continued to produce high-quality content, they have also developed a criminally toxic work environment in recent years. According to Mushiyo, a freelance animator, "MAPPA continually overworks their staff, with animators having to work overnight to fix drawings until the sun rises and not properly training animators before assigning them work." The reason MAPPA comfortably does this to their employees is due to the problems that occur in Japanese work culture called karoshi (death from overwork). Karoshi is a problem that stems from pressure to work long hours, going unpaid, experiencing extreme stress and exhaustion. However, karoshi isn't the main concerning issue in Japanese work culture. Pawa-hara, or power harassment, where superiors abuse their authority through verbal abuse, social exclusion, and excessive demands.
Features of Japanese work culture have made MAPPA comfortable with treating their employees this way, as it happens in many businesses in Japan. Though this work culture is widespread in Japan, Japan itself has had this culture for decades, and it continuously goes under the radar. The moment western media had caught wind of what was happening at MAPPA, it exploded. Thousands of videos reporting and lashing back at MAPPA swept through the internet. As this progressed, more information came out about MAPPA. On top of being overworked, it was discovered that the animators were severely being underpaid.
After seeing this backlash from their fans, MAPPA announced plans to create a "studio annex", building for their animators. This studio annex was stated to "have features built around cultivating a positive workplace environment such as warm, wooden desks, an open-space lounge, and even a shop and café that would also be open to the public." Since this
announcement was made during the time of this controversy surrounding their ethics, it was certainly made for damage control. Despite this, it was nice to see a Japanese owned company do something to better their actions.
Unfortunately MAPPA, when developing season two of Jujutsu Kaisen, broke MAPPA once again. During the production, animators were made to sign NDAs about the production process of this second season. Many animators that were in the production process have confirmed that "MAPPA was still forcing an unreasonable amount of work on them for an unreasonably small amount of pay". Hearing this, fans were frightened not only for the animators but also for the quality of work that MAPPA was going to put out for Season Two of Jujutsu Kaisen.
Sources:
https://www.imdb.com/list/ls505993439/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13616990/episodes/?ref_=tt_eps
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12343534/episodes/?ref_=tt_eps
https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/karoshi-deep-look-japans-unforgiving-working-culture
https://screenrant.com/studio-mappa-why-controversial-anime-animators-overworked-jujutsu-kaisen/#:~:text=Summary,their%20frustration%20on%20social%20media
https://www.cartoonbrew.com/real-estate/mappa-opens-a-new-5000-square-feet-studio-in-tokyo-to-improve-the-work-environment-206829.html
This was a very interesting topic to cover, I had actually heard of this controversy in the real world before reading this blog and I think you did a good job covering all the background info here. I do think its important to recognize though, that as heartbreaking as it is that they are so massively overworked on their 6-7 day standard work weeks, it's not actually criminal according to labor laws in Japan. I think they should consider changing this, but as for right now it is still technically legal for them to be worked this hard.
ReplyDeleteI mention the 6-7 work week in a later post, it is a very interesting post!
DeleteYour blog does a great job of introducing the animation studio MAPPA as well as providing background information about the projects they have worked on. You also highlight MAPPA’s ethical issues, particularly the overworked culture and low wages for animators. You provide a strong background on Japanese work culture, explaining karoshi (death from overwork) and pawa-hara (power harassment). This context helps frame MAPPA’s actions within a broader cultural issue, which is a great approach.
ReplyDeleteI’ve always admired MAPPA’s animation quality, especially in Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, and Attack on Titan. But reading about the working conditions behind the scenes is really disappointing. It’s sad that the animators who create such amazing work are being overworked and underpaid. The fact that issues like karoshi and pawa-hara are still happening shows how serious the problem is—not just at MAPPA, but in parts of the industry overall. Even if MAPPA is trying to improve things with the studio annex, real change needs to happen in how workers are treated every day. I hope more fans become aware of this and push for better conditions for the people who make the anime we love.
ReplyDeleteThis post delves into the internal challenges within MAPPA, offering a nuanced view of the ethical dilemmas faced by the studio. It's crucial to shed light on these issues to foster meaningful change in the industry.
ReplyDelete