The anime industry is a very intrusive yet highly complex field. As fans, we might not know much about what’s happening behind the scenes, but one thing is for sure: working in this field is a very tough and challenging job.
Mappa has been the target of constant criticism by its employees for its poor work management. Still, renowned One Piece and Naruto animation director Mamoru Yokota disagrees and believes that animators are also responsible for it.
Acclaimed animator director Mamoru Yokota comes in support of Mappa studios
Mappa is one of the most prestigious anime studios and has animated many series such as Takt Op Destiny, Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan, and many more.
However, despite their astonishingly high-class portfolio, they are known among the audience for their poor management. Their employees have often taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, to explain how terrible their experience working with Mappa was.
Some have even stated that they would never work with Mappa again, but Mamoru Yokota, a very accomplished director, has differing opinions.
According to Mamoru Yokota, the animators overseas failed to gauge the workload before jumping in and blamed the studio when things didn’t go as planned. He said this via his X account:
“Regarding the declaration by overseas animators saying, ‘I won’t work for this company anymore!’ – while the work environment and such are one thing, how were the conditions when the work was first ordered? If it met the expectations for the job, then isn’t it the fault of the director, production, or production committee rather than the production company? If there was slashing of pay, delays, or exploitation, then that’s one thing, but otherwise…”
“I think it’s just a case of knowingly jumping into a pit of hell because you can’t estimate the calorie count of the storyboarding and getting boiled alive,” he said, “but when I mentioned that casually, I was told ‘What would outsiders think?'”
As it stands, Mamoru Yokota’s opinion does have a strong point, and due to his extensive work experience in the field, there are chances that he is right.
Mappa has never replied to any allegations against them and continues to animate new series, with their latest work being Jujutsu Kaisen season two.
More on Mamoru Yokota
Mamoru Yokota is one of the most established names in the industry and has worked on many blockbusters and superhit series.
His impressive resume includes names such as Death Note, One Piece, and even Naruto, some of the most illustrious works of his career.
He worked as an animation director for episodes 279, 287, and 298 and was in the same position for Death Note, which received positive reviews overall.
He is also an illustrator, character designer, and anime/eroge producer. He is the founder and former representative director of Studio Line.
