So, the big question is “How to start a career in anime?” Regardless of your skill set and background, here are three things I strongly recommend you should look into before you begin your quest!
Please note that my recommendations are suitable for the anime industry here in the North American market, and may not be applicable to the Japanese market.
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Be an anime fan
This one is a no-brainer. You absolutely have to be a fan of the product. Being a casual anime fan is fine, but if you live and breathe anime, even better. For example, I work in the marketing department at Sentai Filmworks. To be quite totally honest, I was already an anime fan before I started working in the industry, but there were many titles that Sentai has to offer that I was just absolutely clueless about! In order to fulfill my responsibilities and roles in social media marketing, I had to get familiar and FAST. I’ve been exposed to titles I wish I knew about before, such as MADE IN ABYSS, Land of the Lustrous, SCHOOL-LIVE! & so much more!
It wouldn’t make sense to work in marketing and not be able to market titles you know nothing about. And I have to thank my time here at Sentai & HIDIVE for expanding my anime palette. If you are looking to work in other departments or part of the industry such as legal or accounting, then perhaps you don’t need to live and breathe anime. However, for roles in marketing, production, and voice acting, I firmly suggest knowing your stuff!
2. Volunteer and network at anime-related events
Did you know, that 85% of jobs are filled through networking? In fact, one in four applicants doesn’t network at all (Frost, 2019). If your town hosts a local anime convention or event, sign up to volunteer! Volunteering will let you get a preview of the business aspect of the anime industry while also networking. Many vendors seek volunteers to set up booths, lure in customers, cosplay, and sell merchandise.
During my time as an undergrad, I would volunteer at conventions every summer and in my university’s anime club events. Another thing that helped boost my resume was volunteering to write articles and news coverage for a small gaming news site. This experience helped me stand out and really impressed the hiring recruiter. Work hard so you can be referred to other vendors or conventions who may want to utilize you or bring you on as an employee. These small steps can guide you right into the industry!
3. Stay focused and develop your skillset
This is the most important step of them all. You need to know exactly how you, as an individual, will contribute to the industry. Will you be an animator? Or perhaps a voice actor? Regardless of what it may be, stick with it and gain as much experience as you can. The industry I worked in before anime was fashion. I used to work for multiple fashion websites where I learned how to use Google Analytics, paid ads, social media marketing, SEO, and more. Sure being a fan of anime is important, but it’s also a business. And what anime companies such as Sentai, Crunchyroll, and Funimation want to know, is how YOU and your skillset will contribute to their business. Passion is admired, but your experience is what will ultimately elevate you.
Understandably, you may be thinking “well how can I have experience if I can’t get experience?”
Hence, why I strongly suggest volunteering! Or even better, start your OWN anime-related blog or channel, especially if you want to work in marketing! Start a portfolio if you’re into voice acting, graphic design, or web design! Be prepared to explain why your skillset can bring in awareness, revenue, or smoothen existing workflows.
Bonus Points: Learn Japanese
You absolutely do not “need” to be fluent in Japanese to score a job in the anime industry (unless you want to be a translator or you want to live in Japan), but will it help you? Absolutely. According to Mimicmethod.com, it takes about 88 weeks, with consistency to learn the basics of Japanese (Do Carmo, 2019). The Japanese language uses three writing systems: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji! Prepare some flashcards because there are over 10,000 Kanji characters used in the Japanese language. Even native speakers don’t know them all (Sakamoto, n.d.).
I took 8 semesters of Japanese in college, and to be frank, I forgot so much of my Kanji! But, it definitely gave me a resume boost according to my colleagues! It’s totally worth it, plus it comes in handy when you’re watching subbed anime.
Check out some of the Japanese language and culture books I love:
- Japan to Introduce Hello Kitty in English (Japan in English to Introduce)
- The Cambridge Companion to Modern Japanese Culture
- Tobira Textbook–Gateway to Advanced Japanese Learning through Content and Multimedia
Happy Reading!
Don’t forget to check back next week for more tips!
References
Do Carmo, I. (2019, January 22). How long does it take to Learn JAPANESE: Beginners Timeline. The Mimic Method. https://www.mimicmethod.com/how-long-does-it-take-to-learn-japanese-beginners-timeline/.
Frost, A. (2019, June 25). 15 surprising stats on networking and face-to-face communication. HubSpot Blog. https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/face-to-face-networking-stats.
Sakamoto, M. (n.d.). How many ‘kanji’ should you learn? All About Japan. https://allabout-japan.com/en/article/7054/.