Anime’s boom finally pays off — for some

As demand for anime grows, a shortage of skilled workers is giving some animators more leverage and pushing studios to improve pay and working conditions. | LILY PISANO

Sep 28, 2026

For years, the narrative went something like this: Anime is more popular than ever, but those actually producing it — animators, character designers, layout artists, colorists — face long hours, poor working conditions and pay below minimum wage.

Now, as anime revenues continue to rise — to a record ¥3.8 trillion (roughly $25 billion) in 2024, the latest year for which data is available — and its popularity continues to surge outside Japan, the story is more complicated.

Efforts to boost industry standards, a huge number of productions, a lack of skilled workers and other factors have led to improved wages and working conditions for some — though not all — animators and other workers in the anime industry, which the Japanese government is banking on to bring in ¥6 trillion by 2033.

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