Animator Accuses Anime Studio of Unfair Pay Cut
On July 17, well-known animator Kyohei Ebata, famous for his work on Boruto and other major anime titles, publicly raised serious allegations against the production of Netflix’s YAIBA: Samurai Legend. According to Ebata, the production team unilaterally reduced his pay based on unverified suspicions.
In a series of posts on social media (X), Ebata wrote:
“My pay was cut based on a one-sided assumption. I plan to expose everything after this project ends, partly to prevent others from facing the same.”
The next day, he provided further context, claiming that a producer — referred to as “P” — decided to cut his performance-based pay after observing changes in his highlight colors. The producer allegedly believed this was proof that Ebata was outsourcing his work, despite no actual evidence.
Ebata explained that these color variations were simply part of his normal creative process, used for clarity and better detailing. He even offered to prove his work by checking the IP address of the submitted files or comparing his style with other episodes, but says the studio refused to verify anything.
He stated that while his performance pay was scrapped, he was still required to finish the current month’s work under the original terms — a situation he sarcastically described as becoming an “all-you-can-work subscription.”
Ebata also shared a rumor alleging that the producer in question had recently been suspended following a complaint to the Labor Standards Inspection Office in Japan. Despite risks to his career, Ebata declared that he would not remain silent, as there were people who supported him.
This is not the first sign of trouble in YAIBA’s production. In an earlier interview, the anime’s chief animation director and character designer Yoshimichi Kameda had already revealed that the team was being forced to finish episodes with minimal resources, often having to create new assets with little to no reuse.
WIT Studio Responds with Official Apology
Following public backlash and growing attention, on July 20, the production studio — WIT Studio — issued an official statement signed by producer Haruyasu Makino, offering a formal apology to Ebata and clarifying the situation.
In the statement, WIT Studio acknowledges that:
“We found no evidence suggesting that other people were drawing on Ebata-san’s behalf. We admit that our communication was inadequate and caused misunderstandings.”
The studio admitted that one producer made a unilateral decision based on stylistic changes, such as highlight color shifts, without proper investigation. They recognized that cutting his pay without verification was inappropriate.
WIT Studio added that the entire team is reflecting on their conduct and is committed to improving internal communication and professionalism moving forward.
