If you’re a Jujutsu Kaisen fan and have been religiously following the weekly releases of season 2, chances are you’ve heard of the problems at studio MAPPA, or, at the very least, you’ve noticed some of the inconsistencies with the animation quality.
Because some anime fans tend to jump to the wrong conclusions, let’s state right off the bat that the ones in charge of actually making said animation are not the ones at fault here. But, by now, the majority of the audience is rightfully in the animators’ corner.
The problem lies right at the top, with MAPPA executives, namely CEO Manabu Otsuka, as well as, in this case, external producers and sponsors like Toho and Shueisha. You can be the most talented artist on the planet, but if someone hands you a blunt pencil and tells you to produce a million-dollar masterpiece in one minute, the odds would be heavily against you.
Even then, with all the constraints they have had, the animators, up until the latest episode 17, have nevertheless gone above and beyond and produced some of the most mesmerizing animation sequences I have personally witnessed. It makes you wonder what these immensely skilled professionals could bring to the table had the conditions at MAPPA provided them with a fructiferous work environment, instead of a draining, soul-crushing one.
Problems started further back than you may realize
It’s not easy to tell when issues at MAPPA began but, judging by how many animators have retweeted old tweets pertaining to problematic conditions at the studio, it’s fair to say they have been present for quite a while. When it comes to the Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 production, though, we can trace the path of this trainwreck in the following manner:
MAPPA CEO Manabu Otsuka has been vocal in the past about his ambitions to reach the level of renowned studios like Kyoto Animation (A Silent Voice, Clannad, Violet Evergarden, etc.), however, he fixated on doing so without the decent work standards of these other studios. His mission became to produce the most in the shortest time span possible, and when animators managed to complete Jujutsu Kaisen 0 in a mere 4 months, it became proof to MAPPA executives that, disregarding the human cost, such seemingly impossible feats were now not only desirable but also achievable.
How so? I’d say because MAPPA’s animators are mostly younger professionals, striving to make a name in the industry, and willing to go to lengths more veteran animators would probably refuse to go. In short, the younger the team, the more easily exploitable, as they are heavily relying on their work at “prestigious” MAPPA to build a curriculum. These are people who wish to build a portfolio, and thus, will push themselves to produce the greatest quality animation they possibly can. Hence why Jujutsu Kaisen 0 looked visually stunning, not because the staff had a fair amount of time to produce it, but because these are people willing to risk their health for their work and their art. One can only imagine the frustration when one is not even allocated enough time to produce one’s art, leaving one with this aftertaste of dissatisfaction.
All Hell, no Paradise
To give you a perspective of how messy things have been at MAPPA, compared to, in this case, Kyoto Animation, the studio they have tried to measure up to, KyoAni’s Violet Evergarden had 10 animation directors overall, whilst MAPPA’s Hell’s Paradise had over 70 (I counted). 70 animation directors for a 13-episode-long season spells out how unbelievably chaotic things have been behind the scenes at MAPPA prior to the intense public scrutiny that emerged during the airing of Jujutsu Kaisen season 2.
In theory, MAPPA would have had more than enough time to produce season 2, had they started doing so reasonably within the generous time frame they had. This would mean that around the time season 1 finished airing, as contracts for the second season would be signed around that time. Instead of having the team start working on JJK’s second season when they should, MAPPA decided to make the animators churn out other high-profile projects like the first seasons Chainsaw Man (2022) and Hell’s Paradise (2023), and the multiple parts of Attack on Titan‘s season 4, among others.
What members of the Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 production team have said online
Many professionals who’ve actively been working on season 2 have come out, mostly on X, to express their many frustrations with the studio. Some have been vague enough about it to probably avoid much backlash at work, others were quite vocal about just how dissatisfied they were — however, many of the most forthright tweets have since been deleted. The same staff member from the above quote, @wuokb, had formerly written a tweet, since deleted, saying they had nothing left to lose and would be willing to be taken to court if that’s what it took.
One of the tweets animator @vflmsppe has mentioned deleting said (as translated from Japanese):
“The place I’m at now is a basic mess and not very good, so if you want to do your best, don’t get involved. If you want to do things properly and get paid properly, this might be a good place for you. While it’s a mess, it’s also a good place for newcomers to make a name for themselves, because there are opportunities lying around and they’re doing some high-profile work. But if you want to have your work respected, it’s better not to get involved.”
It’s not “unpleasant” if it’s the truth, even if the truth is sometimes more accepted when kept hidden in Japanese work culture. Complaining in some Eastern Asian societies is culturally seen as less acceptable than in the West. This makes you wonder how bad must things get for all these professionals to come forward.
These tweets came around the time that it was circulating online the information that MAPPA had requested its workers to sign an NDA.
These season 2 episodes have been getting worked on until the last possible minute, and the pressure on animators must be overwhelming. It’s not just the art and the product that suffers in the end. These employees have all been suffering, not just mentally, but some have gone to the point of having their physical health deteriorate.
All for what? It’s clear most fans would rather wait and have the animators have good conditions so they can do their best possible work. “Many fans don’t mind waiting a few months to get better episodes and better conditions for staffs [sic]. It’s sad because we can’t even do anything about this.” wrote @anzu_sakuma in response to animator and director @Barikios.
Why not give the animators the time they need and deserve?
Short answer: Money – and likely to (try) maintain a revered status in the industry, which, in turn, helps generate money. A lot of financial interests are hinging on season 2’s episodes airing on schedule. The TV time slots have already been bought, marketing strategies have already been put in place and would have to be reevaluated, and the release of merchandising and Blu-Ray versions and promotional stuff aimed at consumers has been organized in tandem with the established broadcast dates. If the production board – in this case, unlike in Chainsaw Man‘s, it includes executive members from Toho and Sheisha – doesn’t vote to postpone the episodes, because of how much it would cost to do so, then the staff working on said episodes will continue to have their needs ignored. Not to mention the majority of fans who’d rather wait and see the Shibuya Incident Arc animated to its full potential.
Reflecting upon the positive results of Chainsaw Man season 1 in an interview, MAPPA CEO Otsuka said:
“As the number of animated works produced increases year by year, the key question is whether we can generate sufficient supply to meet the strong demand. The most important factor is money. Without money, it is impossible to nurture and develop the production environment.”
It is clear that among the empty talk of wanting “to nurture” a propitious environment, Otsuka did make his priorities clear: “the most important factor is money.” Not the employees’ well-being, not the fans’ satisfaction (if it does not affect viewership and thus profits), not the potential peak quality of your animation. It’s been said that season 2 episode 17, the fight between Sukuna and Mahoraga, wasn’t completely finished. It’s indeed visible that some shots are incomplete. But, as a fan on Reddit aptly said:
Episode 18 reportedly got delayed on streaming services only to the day after (Friday) while the broadcast time in Japan was maintained.
However, the episode ended up airing at the usual time, with fans not having to wait any longer for either episode 18, or 19, the following week (‘Right or Wrong’ parts 1 and 2). The talented professionals actively working on these episodes have not failed to produce incredible content that does the story justice, even if the conditions they are being provided with are far from ideal. Nevertheless, we can hope that this social backlash prompts something to change at MAPPA. Ideally, it would also serve as an example for the whole anime industry, particularly to the ones who are making – or thinking about making – the same mistakes.
Update Nov. 24: Hokuto S. has since clarified their hospitalization was not due to MAPPA’s treatment – even though the “schedule and salary were certainly crazy” – but caused by their pre-existing health condition.