A typical animator's desk. All photos by Justin Leach, except where noted.

About a year ago, I was very fortunate to receive the opportunity to work at Production I.G., the studio most known for creating the animation for Ghost in the Shell. Incidentally, Production I.G. had never hired a full-time foreigner at the company before so I don't think either of us knew what to expect. Japanese animation had always intrigued and inspired me and I wanted to understand the process first hand by moving to Japan. The purpose of this article is to give those interested in Japanese animation a glimpse of what it is like to work at one of the more prominent Japanese animation studios. While the two worlds possess some similarities, generally the two couldn't be more different. The studio environment, typical work day and economics of animation in Japan are just some of the key differences that stand out when compared to Western animation production.

The parking lot at I.G.

The Work Environment
When I tell my friends that I get to rub elbows with famous Japanese directors like Mamoru Oshii, I am actually not joking. Due to lack of space, most of the employees have to fit in the best they can. Production I.G. is divided up into 4 separate studio spaces scattered throughout town with about 200 people employed all together. The ING Studio (where I work) does the bulk of the animation work for current television, video games, direct-to-video and feature film projects. The ING Studio building has 4 floors, each with 2 small rooms. I have a very small desk space (not really any cubicles here, just desks divided by shelves) and sometimes if I push my chair out too far, I'll bump into the guy working behind me. I guess the words that come to mind when working here are "garage spirit." Network cables all over the floor, florescent white lights buzzing, employees smoking at the office, and everything shoved into every possible nook and cranny. Sometimes when I am talking on the phone, the employee sitting behind me has to crawl under the telephone cord to leave the room. This is a stark contrast from the big feature film studios in America. From time to time, I dream of my old window cubicle in America overlooking the Manhattan skyline and sigh, "Ah, that was nice."

An example of the crowded work space and an animation director's desk.

During the day, work in the studio is generally very quiet and usually only the humming of the computer fans can is heard. The quietness at the studio often makes me feel like I have to whisper when having a conversation on the phone. At lunchtime, many employees pull out their bento lunch boxes and quietly eat lunch at their desks.

One similarity does stand out however: the animator's desks. Rows of toys in unopened boxes, Star Wars memorabilia, movie posters, stacks of DVDs and twelfth generation photocopies of "Timing for Animation" can be seen. I once even saw a photocopy of some notes created by animation master Hayao Miyazaki on how to animate. As a matter of fact, I think Japan is somewhat of an animator's paradise. Japan is one of the few places I know where it is completely acceptable by society to play with toys and read comics your entire life.