Anime studios moving to rural areas for inspiration!

Large cities are no longer the home for important anime studios. It seems they are moving to rural areas, looking for inspiration for their new projects.

Animation producers are gradually trading in the stress of Tokyo for the inspiration of beautiful scenery in rural areas, and regional economies are benefiting from the studios.

Tokyo-based ufotable Inc opened a new studio on the fourth floor of a building along a river in Tokushima City in April, and nine new recruits have started on-the-job tracing training.

‘‘This job largely depends on the motivation of staff, and to produce good work, a good environment is necessary,’’ President Hikaru Kondo said, stressing that the purpose of the move to a rural area is to develop human resources.

Ai Hamaguchi, 20, one of the new recruits, is satisfied with the work environment, saying, ‘‘Wonderful wind is coming in from the windows, and going out on the roof cheers me up.’’

Kondo had studied opening a new studio in Okinawa or other prefectures but decided to open it in Tokushima, his birthplace, as his acquaintance in Tokushima Prefecture asked him to do so to revitalize the region.

Studio Ghibli Inc of Tokyo, known for the work of director Hayao Miyazaki, also opened a new studio in April at the head office of Toyota Motor Corp in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture. Their purpose is to use the wisdom and ingenuity of a place for automobile development in order to develop human resources and create animated cartoons.

Another studio, P.A. Works Co, has its head office located in Nanto city’s traditional Johana area in Toyama Prefecture.

‘‘There is very little disturbing noise, and we can do our jobs in a relaxed way,’’ said Nobuhiro Kikuchi, managing director of P.A. Works.

People in the animation industry tend to lead an irregular working schedule with division of labor, outside orders and subcontracting work. ‘‘The division of labor and outside orders have lowered the sense of unity and have had a downside of decreasing the opportunity to develop human resources,’’ said Masahiro Haraguchi, an animation researcher.

He said that the success of local studios will spread the trend to develop human resources and cooperative ties among the entire industry.

Animated cartoons featuring the beauty of certain local areas often attract fans to these areas. One animation by P.A. Works about a romance between senior high school students shows the city and local festivals surrounding the company’s head office; its fans constantly visit the Johana area.

Washinomiya Shrine in Washimiya, Saitama Prefecture, is the scene of a TV animation about the life of a high school girl produced by Kyoto Animation of Kyoto Prefecture, and the number of visitors to the shrine in the first three days of the New Year has increased more than three times since its broadcast.

Takayoshi Yamamura, an associate professor at Hokkaido University who is well-versed in animated cartoons and their fans, said, ‘‘If studios are in local areas, good things in the areas are used in such cartoons and are likely introduced widely.’’

Akira Kumagai, head of the tourism planning section at the Tokushima prefectural government, said, ‘‘If work from Tokushima is evaluated highly, it will cheer up all of Tokushima Prefecture.’’

Source: Kyodo News via Japan Today

Good move for animation studios. This could reduce costs, provide an inspiration for them and helps the economy of the rural towns.

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