On the left, a row of animators' desks. Back to Back: working in very close proximity.

The Economics of Japanese Animation
Probably one of the greatest differences I have noticed between Japan and America is that the Japanese feature animation industry is very poor — money poor that is. Budgets for feature films can be anywhere from as low as US$1 million to $15 million at the very highest. This pales in comparison to the United States which typically invests 10 to 20 times more per film. This lower budget also reflects employee salaries. Typically animators in Japan earn the equivalent of $15,000 to $20,000 a year.

The experience of living in Japan and working at Production I.G. has been one of the most fascinating adventures of my life. I am greatly inspired by the spirit and passion of the creators at Production I.G. and admire their courage and tenacity for taking creative risks and daring to change our perceptions of animation. The Japanese culture has made a very important observation: Animation isn't only for kids. Whether 2D, 3D or stop-motion, animation is just another story telling medium capable of moving the hearts and minds of the audiences that watch them.

Justin Leach’s earliest professional credit was as a video game design consultant in 1992. Since then he has worked on commercials, music videos and theatrical features; notably for Blue Sky Studios from May 1997 through March 2001 where he was on the teams for Bunny and Ice Age, among other projects. Since April 2001 he has been an employee of Production I.G. in Tokyo, where he is currently working on Mamoru Oshii's next feature animated film.