Aspiring animators have it difficult in the anime business. It’s no secret that across the board, most animators in Japan are overworked and underpaid. Add in Corona delaying production after product, it’s probably that record numbers of young animators are failing to make ends meet in today’s climate. As a way of showing solidarity, Attack On Titan and The Great Pretender’s WIT Studio have teamed up with the Japanese rock band Uchikubi Gokumon Doukouka to create an anthem for these tireless souls slaving away creating the entertainment we love so much. The song’s name is ‘Sakugasaku’, but it’s the video you really need to see.
The WIT Studio produced video centers around two young animators and showcasing various struggles one in their line of work would have to face. With all the animation quality you’d come to expect from WIT, it’s actually quite a treat to see these two over-exaggeratedly sharpen pencils and down energy drinks to meet their deadlines. However despite these two leads, the most interesting part of the video is all the clips of anime that don’t exist it cycles through; Aping popular tropes and various art styles, the ‘Sakugasaku’ has flashes of a dozen or so anime you wish were real.
WIT Studio isn’t just tooting their own horn here either. The video offers loving depictions of Studio Bones, MAPPA, Comix Wave, and a few other faces familiar to anime fans. Young animators don’t need to be working at the same company to know each other’s trials and tribulations, and for the viewer, it’s nice to see something that celebrations the bigger picture. With lyrics like ‘I LOVE JAPANESE ANIMATION’ blaring in English, it’s a fitting music video that serves its purpose of thanking all the overworked animators. Now if we could just get them better working conditions and a raise…