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As anime demand booms, Netflix’s Japan school trains artists to spread their wings
- With Japan facing a shortage of skilled animators, the WIT Academy is offering a free six-month course and stipend to aspiring junior artists
- From blockbuster Demon Slayer to Cannes sensation Belle, anime has shed its reputation as a geeky subculture, attracting hordes of new fans during lockdowns
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Armed with a set of pencils and a feather to sweep away eraser dust, Hitomi Tateno is training the next generation of anime artists at a new Netflix-funded academy as global demand for the Japanese genre soars.
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From runaway box office triumph Demon Slayer to recent Cannes sensation Belle, anime has shaken off its reputation as a geeky subculture, drawing in hordes of new fans during virus lockdowns.
But Japan is facing a shortage of skilled animators, in part because most face years toiling in low-paying jobs to learn the ropes, meaning much of the painstaking frame-by-frame drawing work is outsourced overseas.
That’s something the US streaming giant thinks it can change with its WIT Animator Academy, which offers a group of junior artists free training and a stipend for living expenses as they learn.
George Wada, president of top anime production house WIT Studio, which is running the training with Netflix, compares it to other fast tracks into demanding industries.
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