It’s one thing for a group of animators to successfully start a production company in the brutally cutthroat contemporary anime industry. It’s quite another thing to attempt to transform the industry at the same time. Despite the obstacles, there’s one group of young anime artists who are confident in their ability to produce great content and positively influence the anime industry.
In a recent interview withAnime Network News, anime producer Murata spoke about his decision to found Maho, his vision of what direction he wants the studio to take, and what he hopes the studio can accomplish with its eclectic approach to anime making.
As Murata describes it, the creation of Maho was in response to a problem that forced his hand. While he does not go into explicit detail about the specific problem, he reveals that it was serious enough that “everyone had to leave”.
Everyone had to leave. Since it was all people I had been mentoring, I took them with me and we all decided to go independent.
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Murata began his animation career at Reed Productions. Reed was a collaboration between the venerable anime studio Ashi Productions and Wiz – a subsidiary of toy-making giant Bandai. In 2019, after divesting its interests in Wiz, the company changed back to its original Ashi Productions name.
At Reed/Ashi, Murata had two responsibilities - producing films and mentoring new talent. Some of the works Murata and his teams helped to create includeMacross 7,Go-Shogun, andVampire Hunter. However, in 2018, Murata left Reed/Ashi - taking with him many of the animators he’d mentored at Reed/Ashi. Shortly after, Murata and the illustrators he brought over from Reed/Ashi established the Maho Film Company in Tokyo. Since its establishment, Maho has had a hand in producingI’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final BossandMy Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even at Level 1
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Rather than let his team disperse and seek employment at other production houses, Murata, an anime industry veteran with over 20 years of shepherding anime from its initial concept pitch to its theatrical run, convinced a number of his colleagues to take the ultimate leap and start their own studio. However, instead of following traditional studio practices, Murata decided there was promise in disrupting the custom and creating a contemporary studio unencumbered by the anime industry’s history and tradition.
Murata’s long experience at the top level of the anime industry has given him unprecedented insight into what’s good and bad about the business of making anime. He confesses that he’s leaned into those insights for guidance in setting the course that he wants Maho to sail.
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Outside of producing top-level animated content, Murata’s goals are innovative and eye-opening. First, there’s the idea of putting the studios’ creators on the best possible path to succeed in generating high-quality content that fans love. Perhaps the most important step in this process though is, as Murata emphasizes, “providing good wages to all the staff”. While this might seem like an obvious quality-of-life decision, it is far from the norm.
According to a 2021 article by theNew York Times, animators can earn as little as $200 per month working nearly full-time. By going on record about wages, Murata puts added pressure on himself to keep his word. Otherwise, he’ll lose the credibility he needs with the current and potential employees to create the “magical” content he wants Maho to produce.
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Another keystone of Murata’s plan takes a page for the tech sector, namely creating such a positive and wholesome work environment that employees want and enjoy coming to work every day. To accomplish this, Murata has stressed the idea that the studio belongs to the employees and that while producing anime is its goal, having fun is not mutually exclusive from achieving that goal. Murata is optimistic that Maho can bring about a change where this is the usual occurrence.
This is not the first time that artists and creators have attempted to disrupt the comics and cartoon industries. In the 1990s, Image Comics was established by a group of artists who were also dissatisfied with the work environment and the way they were being treated by the mega comic publishing houses of the time. More recently,Webtoon Entertainmentwas established to overcome traditional barriers to comic book publishing that have historically stifled artists’ creative freedom. In both cases, the disruptor has found success.
Maho’s idea of having fun and making great content might just be theanime industry’s next big thing.
With big anime studios likeMAPPA facing growing criticism for their alleged labor practices, it’s easy to see why something like Maho would be appealing. What remains to be seen is whether Murata can find similar success in anime production? Judging by its clients list, the projects it’s completed as well as the ongoing demand for its services, Maho’s idea of having fun and making great content might just be theanime industry’s next big thing.
