What do newcomers to the animation industry need?　We asked Masayuki Kojima, Animator Coach [Anime Industry Watching No.88

April has come and gone, and a large number of animation programs have started this spring. Naturally, one would expect a corresponding number of new animators to find employment in the industry, but it seems that each studio is working on its own curriculum for human resource development.
Mr. Masayuki Kojima, a member of the Tokyo-based production company "Chiptune," entered the industry as an animator about 20 years ago, and after building a career in a different industry, he returned to the animation industry and now works as an animator-coach to train newcomers with his own curriculum. We spoke with Mr. Kojima himself for more details.

Seven and a half years of learning coaching theory outside of the animation industry

───Tell us about when you first entered the animation industry.

Kojima: I joined Madhouse in 2001 as an animation man. Next, I moved on to animation checker, which looked at the entire animation, and then to original picture man. At that time, however, I was told, "You will be doing original drawings from today, so keep up the good work." At most, I was told who the director and producer were, who the supervising artist was, and who drew the layout (......). There was no instruction on how to draw original pictures. Even so, I managed to draw original pictures by myself through trial and error until 2006, when I left Madhouse after the "Black Lagoon" film.
After that, I worked as a freelance animator for a little while, but my health failed and various other factors came together, and in 2007 I left the animation industry for a different one. At the time, I had been thinking that a human resource development system was needed for animators, but I did not have the knowledge or experience at the time, and I did not have any plans to change jobs.

─ ─ What type of business did you change jobs to?

Kojima: The industry in which I worked the longest was the pachinko industry. The animation industry is closely related to the pachinko and pachislot machine industry, but I was working in what is called "hall operations," which is customer service work. The company I joined had a nationwide network of stores, and they provided very high quality training in customer service, presentation, and community contribution. The company provided opportunities for part-timers who were motivated and capable, and I had the opportunity to attend a three-day, two-night workshop to learn about human resource development and coaching theory.
The fact that the workshop was filled with highly motivated people, both those who taught and those who were being taught, was also very stimulating. After returning to the store, I received feedback from the person in charge and fellow coaches on areas where I had been making assumptions and judgments based on my own circumstances through practice, and I was able to learn practical skills that had been limited to knowledge and theory. I was very fortunate to have this knowledge and experience, which I felt was necessary at the time of my career change, but had not had the wherewithal to acquire. And the response I received at that time has led me to my current activities. It was so meaningful that I stayed a little too long, and before I knew it, seven and a half years had passed since I changed jobs (laughs).


─ ─ In the meantime, what about animation?

Kojima: During those seven and a half years, I rarely drew pictures on my own. When I decided to leave the animation industry, I was on the verge of getting sick of drawing pictures, so I decided to stop forcing myself to do so. It was only to the extent that people at my new job found out that I was working in drawing and asked me to draw their portraits. However, when I came back to the animation industry, I was not so troubled because I could understand objectively what I was getting stuck on now, compared to seven and a half years ago when I was always worried about it. I think it was also a good thing that during my time at Madhouse, I was entrusted with a lot of technical cuts, cuts with various expressions, and cuts with complex cell compositions and camera work.

───Then, did you have a smooth transition back into the animation industry?

Kojima: I contacted people I knew from my time at Madhouse and went to industry social gatherings, and I received work from people with whom I had exchanged contact information. Less than a year later, I received a call from Chiptune asking me to help them with their work. However, at first I was approached only as an animator. Within a day of joining Chiptune, I told them that I had actually studied coaching in the pachinko industry and that I wanted to work in human resource development.