Tech giant TikTok will collaborate with the anime staff association NAFCA (Nippon Anime & Film Culture Association) and other parties to “further revitalize the industry.” According to TikTok‘s press release, the platform will distribute anime creation lessons, cooperate with anime studios to show creators at work and explain the industry, and notably provide financial aid and content distribution to NAFCA and its development of an “Animator Skills Test.”
The statement from NAFCA representative director and former president of Aniplex, Masuo Ueda, reads:
“We are very grateful to TikTok for their support of the ‘Animator Skills Test’ that we’re planning to help develop human resources in the anime industry. In the future, we plan to distribute information about the “Animator Skills Test” and one-point lessons for creators on TikTok. In addition to sponsoring our association, we are also planning to support the anime industry in general, and we are very encouraged to hear that they will cooperate with anime studios to show creators at work and explain the industry, and to get many people, including young people, interested in the anime industry, and to help secure and develop future human resources. Our association will further enhance its activities in cooperation with the entire industry, including collaboration with TikTok.“
TikTok Japan general manager Yoichi Sato added that they plan to “work extensively with people in the anime industry to provide various forms of support and spread the word about the industry. Please look forward to it.“
NAFCA was established in 2023 to improve conditions in the anime industry. Through their Public Comments, they continue to represent hundreds of animators regarding contentious issues like AI, copyrights, poor pay, and arduous working hours. NAFCA’s “1st Survey on Working Conditions in the Animation Industry: Results Report” released earlier this year revealed that the median average wage of an anime worker was 1,111 yen or (US$7.33 per hour — excluding voice actors). NAFCA’s Animators Skills Test aims to standardize and raise industry-wide expertise and serve as proof of skill.
Despite TikTok’s new support of the anime industry, the company has come under criticism for its perceived lax response to copyright infringement on the platform. According to Torrent Freak, a representative from Shueisha and the Authorized Books of Japan (ABJ) voiced discontent towards a ByteDance senior staff member over the rise of pirated content being posted to the platform. He argued that compared to YouTube, TikTok was laxer – and even spread piracy through recommendations made by its algorithm.
Source: TikTok
Featured image: Spy x Family, © Tatsuya Endo, Shueisha / Spy x Family Project
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