Reader asked:
“I’ve read your article “How to Get Your Own Thoughts into Anime”, but I want to understand the process and etiquette of how you hire a studio to make content. I’m a professional in Japan and currently an assistant animator, so it’s a serious effort once I want to put in. ova? I think you might have to smash this guy’s dream, but you can use it as a launching point for the basic introductory “how animation studios hire as contractors”?
I’m the executive producer Cannon,,,,, Lesean ThomasThe first original anime series. It is made entirely in Japan by Japanese creators. It still doesn’t have enough “reality” to please those terrible outspoken gatekeepers that we lurk on the internet. Even if you speak, write and understand Japanese better than the locals, even if your stories and characters have burned the hearts of some of Japan’s best creative minds, your amazing, amazing, shocking original anime series or movie is still not enough to make it live in the Orientalist in the mother’s basement. Keep this in mind because they can really effectively destroy the atmosphere of your show. Now, I’ve shared my PTSD with you to understand that it took me three years to finish the reception for this animation, and LeSean spent nearly twenty years cultivating, I wanted to focus on the good stuff.
Reality Check: You are in a Rare Company
On the one hand, you can calculate the number of animation works led by Westerners:
●Ulysses 31audiovisual and TMS (1981)
●The mysterious city of goldaudiovisual and Studio Pierrot (1982)
●Tequis go through Michael Arias and Studio 4°C (2006)
●Oban Star-Racers go through Savin Yeatman-Eiffel and Hal Movie Manufacturer (2006)
●Cannon go through Lesean Thomas and satellite (2019)
●Yasuke go through Lesean Thomas and map (2021)
●let’s Play,based on Leeanne M. KrecicThe most popular network channel, Orm (2026)
That’s it. These are essentially the only important titles of non-Japanese, non-korean and non-Chinese creators leading Japanese studio works in the forty years of anime history. So, congratulations, you are eager to join one of the most unique clubs in the entertainment industry.
Your Secret Weapon
#1: You are an animator and you speak Japanese. Congratulations! You are already in a good position. Lesian can bring satellite To him Cannon The pilot is because he has a relationship with the creators in the studio, i.e. Thomas Romainhe is a big advocate for the project. This personal connection – the animator’s dynamic meter – is what makes everything possible. LeSean was not fluent, so we hired an incredible interpreter named Jacob Ayers* with him full-time as a production assistant.
*A great interview JacobNow he is working as a producer at David Studio, and I highly recommend you to watch it.
#2: What is the story? What does it look like? This is something most people don’t know about Japanese animation production: The key frame animators are rock stars of anime, and they tend to flock to projects that attract them creatively. so! Are your anime ideas compelling enough to attract talent? How cool is it? What must it say on an emotional level? What hook is it? Is this a story and a character? The topics it explores? Is it expected to be a fierce technical action setup? Is it Mechakucha Kūru (めちゃくちゃクール)?
Why can’t you just “hire” the studio
Here is a harsh fact that most aspiring creators don’t understand: You can’t hire a studio like you would with a contractor to renovate your kitchen. Japanese studios target domestic market and Production Committee system. They are not service providers for individual foreign creators.
When I’m working CannonI learned what Lesian needed to commission animation for more money, a distribution pathway that could unlock production financing. This is the reason Comics Entertainment (My old company) reached a co-production agreement with him. We bring persuasive distribution expertise and international sales network Netflix Green light.
If you bring your project and production financing directly to the studio, they will take your money, don’t care about the project, and subcontract most of the labor to overworked freelancers. That’s not the anime you’re going to make. Take the relationship first approach. Rather than thinking like a customer hires a supplier, Thomas RomainFrench animator, became a supporter of Lesian satellite. Target specific creators, not studios. Research directors, character designers and leading animators align with your vision. Studios are just buildings, and this is an important talent. Your animation background gives you the credibility that most outsiders lack.
You need to build a truly creative relationship. Participate in industry events in Japan and at home Animation Expo and Anime New York. They attract various animation professionals. Connect with the creators of the works you appreciate. Thinking that you are not someone who wants to commission work, but a collaborator who seeks to work in Tokyo as a creative partner.
Always first package your project with Japanese creative talent. Once you respect the Japanese creators of your project, the studio will follow. They want to work with people they know and trust. This also makes it more likely crunchyroll Will be interested in the project. Have you not noticed that all the IP-based anime they co-produced are made in Japan, Korea and China. They won’t be making anime in the United States anytime soon. They are afraid to alienate the audience.
This is distributed reality. Even with good relationships and engaging content, you need what we bring Cannonthis is distribution expertise (see above). The most successful way is to find an established anime production company or distributor who can provide the business infrastructure you lack.
Netflix It’s not because Lesian has money and the green light. They do this because we have a complete package: compelling IP, proven Japanese creative talent, international distribution strategies and production expertise. I believe that another equally important factor is Cannon Thanks to Lessing’s success, it has begun to develop its audience and industry awareness Kickstarter Activity. That’s how I found the project, and it caused a lot of buzz at the time.
I want to emphasize this now, it is difficult to get anything funded and produced by established players in the anime and animation field. This is frustrating. Large streamers have been cutting content investment since early 2022, and they are terrified of the original work of unproven creators. They all want the largest, most obvious IP-based entertainment.
The good news is that anime operates in its bubble, and to some extent, American executives are worried about losing their jobs in high salaries. As Frosted everything Recently written in his awesome “Pure Invention” alternative book.Japan won’t give you a ***!“. They make things for themselves in Japan, which is probably why it connects with local and global audiences in a way like this. It’s true! Japan has always supported quirky anime shit. So! Find out how to create your anime in Japan, or find a way to help Japanese writers bring their original stories to the screen.
Given your animation background and Japanese abilities, you have real advantages that the most aspiring creators lack. Use your animation skills to build credibility. Working in projects that demonstrate your abilities and help you connect with Japanese creators who share aesthetic sensitivities.
Use your Japanese skills strategically. It’s not just about communication, it’s about cultural understanding. It enables you to interact with the creative community in ways other Gaijin simply cannot do and focus on creating Mechakucha Kūru. The Japanese animation industry responded to the undeniable cool project. Technical excellence, emotional depth and visual innovation will appeal to the key animators and directors you need.
at last! The most important thing is. Focus on building long-term relationships, not trading recruitment. Every successful Western anime production is due to years of relationship building and cultural integration, not because someone has enough money to hire a studio.
You need to know what you want to register for. Making anime in Japan means working in Japanese commercial culture, production schedules and creative processes. This means navigating amid cultural differences and industry structures that prioritize consensus and long-term relationships over individual visions.
The series we made took over 22 months to work together in Tokyo. It requires tweaking the English script to Japanese, working with Japanese voice actors, and causing countless cultural nuances that will trip someone without Japanese skills.
Most importantly, your Japanese skills and animation experience make you the top 10% of the people asking this question. But success doesn’t come from “hiring” studios. Through creative collaboration and relationship building, it will become part of the Japanese animation ecosystem.
Start connecting with Japanese creators you admire. Show them your portfolio. Prove that your project deserves their time and creativity. The studio will follow the relationship, not the other way around.
Remember: Even if you do everything right, some basement living gatekeepers will still complain that your anime isn’t “real” enough. Don’t let them kill your atmosphere.
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