July Dormitory Diaries: Kaneko

Hello, it’s Kaneko.

Here is my dormitory diary entry for July.

It’s been 3 months since I’ve joined my studio. Each day has flown by so quickly.

It's been about two weeks since I finished my training and started working with real cuts. At first, I set a goal to draw five illustrations per day, but depending on the cut I'm doing, I sometimes can't meet that goal. Also, at the same time, I have to redraw in-betweens that the animation inspector gives me feedback on, so I haven't been able to touch as many drawings as I’d like. I’m still fumbling, but I’m trying to get used to things little by little, at least enough to be able to draw 180 pictures a month by the end of this year and 250 pictures by next April.

Since joining this studio, I’ve really only conversed with animation inspectors and in-between animators, but I've recently had the opportunity to chat with different people on the production and layout side of things. There’s a lot of people similar to my age there and we’ve had a great time just chatting about work and our favorite anime/games. Since we’ve been asked to not go outside for stuff like social drinking in the wake of the pandemic, my options for conversation have been limited to people at the studio, so I’m really glad to be getting to know more people.

I’ve been so busy with work lately that I haven’t been able to watch many movies or anime, but I’ve been curious about Godzilla vs Kong ever since they released that international trailer. I want to see it while it’s still in theaters...though that may be difficult since Tokyo has declared a state of emergency for the fourth time.

Summer is here and with it came heat and humidity. I feel it when I venture outside. The dormitory is close to my workplace, so commuting to work isn't too bad, but just going shopping for daily necessities and food, I often come home sweating. I get uneasy when I think about how hot it is going to get. I try to drink water as often as I can, but sometimes I forget to take breaks when I'm super absorbed in my work. I need to drink more water and get some fresh air before I get sick.

Please take care of yourselves and stay healthy.

July 11th, 2021.