Everyone knows what outsourcing means on a basic level, but at the same time, few get how it works in anime—so here’s a summary of this practice’s historical context, the logistics at play, and the impact on the creative process of the cause and cure of many anime industry problems.
It’s no exaggeration to say that outsourcing studios keep anime alive, and yet fans are still mostly unaware of their integral role in the production of their favorite shows. The disappearance of Studio Wanpack, the biggest company of this kind, serves as an opportunity to explain just how important they were, and also what’s been happening to the many animators who worked for them.
As you might know, there are hundreds of anime production companies in Tokyo. That density is beneficial in a way, since this industry somehow still relies on physical delivery of materials quite often, but it has obvious downsides as well; sustaining a company in one of the most expensive cities in the world is no easy task when you’re in such a troubled industry, and the sheer number of them concentrated into one (admittedly vast) place is simply unhealthy. That’s…