September Dormitory Diaries: Kimura

Hello. Kimura here.

This is my limited dormitory diary entry for September.

It’s job hunting season in the anime industry, so I’d like to take some time to write about that.

For reference, when I was job hunting for the first time, I applied to 7 companies, passed the first screening at 3 companies, and was hired by 1 company. This was my experience during my 4th year of university.

Firstly, if you want to work in commercial animation, there are two main roads you can go down: Getting hired at a company or finding freelance work. I hear that freelancing is pretty tough if you don't already have connections to people who can give you work, or if you don’t already understand the fundamentals of anime production. For those reasons, I decided to try my luck with a company first.

Next, the simplest way to find a seat at a studio is to research some of the studios behind your favorite works, then go to their websites. Some get posted earlier, but I noticed that most anime jobs postings go up around July. You’ll need to check for these postings regularly. Also, from my experience, just know that it’s difficult to find jobs that’ll match your ideal work environment exactly. If you’re a student, It’s a good idea to consult your teachers about all of this. Also, there’s a lot of studios out there that you might not be aware of, so always check in with your friends to see what they’ve found.

It’s also a good idea to think about what you want out of your work environment and keep that in mind while you’re searching. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of each studio. For example, at a large studio, you’ll have many superiors, so you can see and learn more. On the other hand, if there’s a bunch of people at the studio, it's easy to be compared to those around you which can be stressful and negatively impact your health. At a new studio, the salaries are better and each individual gets more attention, but your exposure to different kinds of animation will be comparatively limited. The studio I'm working at now does a lot of remote work, so I've had very little opportunity to see other people's work.

If you have any more search tips, please, feel free to let me know.

Lastly, I regret that I didn't apply to more studios. It's great to get a callback, but it's pretty depressing when you don’t and everything you’ve worked to prepare fails.

Making many different resumes and portfolios can be challenging, but it’ll pay off.

Also, don't forget to send a thank you email whether you get good news or bad news from the company!

I’ll be posting more of my thoughts on portfolios and such in the backer community later, so if you’re interested, please check back for more.

If you're thinking of working in animation, good luck! I'm rooting for you!

September 26th, 2021

Kimura.