FEATURE: What is Anime Pre-Production?
How did your favorite anime get created? It’s a pretty big question that has an equally big answer. Japanese animation has a highly unique and specific workflow from start to finish and there’s very few comprehensive explanations of that workflow available in English. That’s where this article series comes in!
Welcome to How Is Anime Made? a series of articles that will guide you through the entire lifespan of an anime, from the initial seed of an idea to watching it here on Crunchyroll. This series is organized into six articles that break up the creation of anime into broad concepts. We’re publishing this series throughout this entire week, so be sure to check back on our article hub to keep track of each part as it launches!
In this article, we will be exploring the pre-production of anime, all of the things that need to happen before any pen hits paper. Let’s take the first steps on the amazing journey of creating anime!
Note: This series is meant to detail the production process for serialized anime television series. The production process for films (even franchise films for pre-existing anime series) has significant differences.
The Concept
A depiction of an anime pitch in SHIROBAKO (image via Sentai Filmworks)
Before any creative work can begin, every single anime starts with an idea. “What if society was organized around being a ninja?” “What if we fused Edo-era Japan with hip-hop aesthetics?” “What if a man was also a chainsaw?” The core concept of an anime can be completely original (for example Lycoris Recoil, Gurren Lagann, and Cowboy Bebop), but is often based on a pre-existing manga (JUJUTSU KAISEN), novel (The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World), video game (Fate/stay night), or other source material.
The subject matter of an anime generally falls into a key audience demographic — anime created for young men, anime created for adult women, etc — which is why terms like “shonen” and “shojo” anime are so ubiquitous. Demographic is a deeply important aspect of how an anime is created, how it is marketed, which time slot on which TV station it is aired, what merchandise is created, and everything in between!
Forming an Anime Production Committee
A production meeting in Hayate the Combat Butler!!
One of the most important steps in the creation of an anime is the formation of its production committee. A production committee is a group of companies working together to plan the production of an anime series, raise funds for production and broadcast costs, and generally manage the business side of things. These committees include a variety of companies that have stake in the anime series including but not limited to:
- Sponsors who provide upfront costs
- The television station on which the series airs
- Record labels and talent agencies
- The animation studio that actually creates the series
- Original rights holders (in the case of adaptations of source material)
- Home video distributors
- Toy manufacturers
Let’s take the recent hit JUJUTSU KAISEN for an example: the production committee in this instance is comprised of TOHO (the film production company that funded the anime), Shueisha (the book publisher that holds the rights to the JUJUTSU KAISEN manga), MAPPA (the animation studio that animated the series), Sumzap (the creator of the upcoming JUJUTSU KAISEN: Phantom Parade mobile game), and Mainichi Broadcasting System (the television station that aired JUJUTSU KAISEN).
Raising Funds for Anime
Money makes the world go ’round (via Gintama)
Producing an anime series is a huge financial undertaking and part of the production committee’s job is providing the necessary up-front funds for production, broadcast, and advertising. One or more members of the committee will be sponsors who front those costs, usually with the expectation that these costs will be recouped through licensed merchandise of the series down the line.
In the case of anime that is aired during the day time that target younger audiences, those sponsors generally tend to create merchandise like toys, snacks and candy, home goods, and teaching materials. Sponsors for nighttime slot anime that is generally made for older audiences tend to be the distributor for the home video release of the anime with the hope being that costs will be recouped with blu-ray/DVD and other merch sold by that distributor.
Increasingly, this process has been evolving as anime has grown into a global medium, with non-Japanese companies (mainly streaming services) investing considerable portions of the up front cost to join the committee, often gaining exclusive rights to broadcast the series in specific regions outside of Japan.
Anime Planning
Animation studios are contracted by the production committee to handle the process of actually making the anime series. Once the studio is decided on, generally the studio will work with the Producer (see more below) to begin assigning the key roles for a series (director, head script writer, character designer, etc), though other members of the production committee will sometimes make specific recommendations or outright choosing people for these roles. From there, the creative process can begin!
Anime Producers
Producing isn’t necessarily glamorous… (via Golden Boy)
Just like any other form of entertainment, anime all have at least a few producers at varying levels who assist in the business side of production. Producers play an integral role in every step detailed above. There are always exceptions, but generally anime series will have an executive producer, a general producer, and a number of producers allocated to specific parts of the production. Let’s go through some of those roles below:
- Executive Producer: The person in charge of arranging funds on the highest possible level. Often the CEO of one of the primary companies in the anime production committee.
- Producer: This person is responsible for overseeing overall production. They set the budget and oversee inking the contracts with the animation studio, main staff, and all major vendors used by the production.
- Planning Department: If the producer works for a larger company, they may have the advantage of a dedicated planning department who will assist the producer in their workload.
- Animation Producer: A producer who keeps the animation funded, staffed, and moving forward. They bring in subcontracted outside help when necessary. Usually employed by the animation studio itself.
- Audio Producer: The producer in charge of overseeing voice recording, coordinating with casting and talent agencies, as well as the sound effects used in the anime series.
- Music Producer: The producer who works with record labels and coordinates both the composer for the soundtrack and additional musicians for the anime opening and ending themes and any insert songs used.
At this point, everything is in line for the actual creative process of animation to begin! Thank you for starting this journey with us, and join us tomorrow where we tackle the very first steps of the animation process!
Glossary of terms we’ve learned about the pre-production of anime:
- Demographic: The target audience for an anime. This is a key component in planning an anime as it informs everything from how the series is created to how it is marketed.
- Production Committee: A group of companies working together to plan the production of an anime series, raise funds for production and broadcast costs, and generally manage the business side of things.
- Sponsor: A company (usually a member of the production committee) who foots the bill for the production of an anime with the expectation that they will make back their money by selling licensed goods.
- Executive Producer: The person in charge of arranging funds on the highest possible level. Often the CEO of one of the primary companies in the anime production committee.
- Producer: This person is responsible for overseeing overall production. They set the budget and oversee inking the contracts with the animation studio, main staff, and all major vendors used by the production.
- Planning Department: If the producer works for a larger company, they may have the advantage of a dedicated planning department who will assist the producer in their workload.
- Animation Producer: A producer who keeps the animation funded, staffed, and moving forward. They bring in subcontracted outside help when necessary. Usually employed by the animation studio itself.
- Audio Producer: The producer in charge of overseeing voice recording, coordinating with casting and talent agencies, as well as the sound effects used in the series.
- Music Producer: The producer who works with record labels and coordinates both the composer for the soundtrack and additional musicians for the opening and ending themes and any insert songs used.
Sources:
- テレビアニメのＤＶＤはなぜ高い？ コンテンツのビジネスモデルを探る（１) — Nikkei IT+
- Answerman: What Does an Anime Producer Do? — Anime News Network
- INTERVIEW: Dr. STONE Animation Producer – Shusuke Katagiri — Crunchyroll News
- INTERVIEW: Laid-Back Camp Producer Shoichi Hotta on Creating the Comfort in Season 2 — Crunchyroll News
Currently available articles in this series:
Upcoming articles in this series:
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Cayla Coats is the Editorial Partnerships Manager at Crunchyroll. She tweets @ceicocat and you can watch her YouTube channel here.
