Animator Hiroto Nagata Opens Up About Poor Working Conditions
Gradually, more and more animators are finding the courage to speak out on social media about the working conditions they face in various studios. One of the most well-known cases involves MAPPA, but now animator Hiroto Nagata has come forward to expose the horrible working conditions at Shaft.
In a series of tweets, Hiroto Nagata shared some of the situations and fears he faced while working at Shaft. Throughout this post, you will find videos of animations created by Hiroto Nagata:
He wrote:
“The production team told me, ‘If things don’t go well this time, you will be eliminated from the industry,’ so I’ve been crying while working, telling myself that if I don’t work hard, I will be eliminated.
I wanted to say, ‘If you hadn’t given me another job at the last second, we wouldn’t be in this situation. I told you it was impossible,’ but I swallowed my words. There’s no way to argue with the production company now.”
In a tweet from May 22, Hiroto described a nightmare he had about work:
“I had a dream that I was being strangled by someone at work, and even after waking up, I felt pain. Since that day, I’ve been short of breath, as if someone is on my throat. I got worried and went to the hospital to have my throat examined, but they found nothing. What is this?”
In another tweet from May 10, Hiroto said:
“My job is so unbearable that I can’t sit at my desk anymore. Just sitting at my desk makes my heart race and I feel short of breath. I can’t draw anything anymore.”
In a tweet from January this year, Hiroto shared that he was at home, lying in bed with a fever, when the production called him and asked him to submit his work by the next day!
Seeing the responses to his tweets, international fans are sending messages of support to Hiroto, such as “Take a break,” “Take care of yourself,” “Rest,” “Your health is important, take a break,” among others.
Attention has now turned to Shaft, the studio where Hiroto works, with accusations of poor working conditions. Shaft currently has two projects in the works:
The fourth Madoka Magica movie, titled “Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica Movie 4: Walpurgis no Kaiten,” and the new season of Monogatari, called “Monogatari Series: Off & Monster Season,” set to premiere on July 6.
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