It has been quite a year for MAPPA as the studio has gotten an equal dose of praise and criticism for its latest shows. Recently, MAPPA president Manabu Otsuka justified the studio’s intense production schedule in a new interview.
Otsuka was interviewed by Comic Natalie recently. There, he did not directly address the reports that have been swirling around regarding the studio overworking its staff.
He did reveal the primary reason MAPPA is working on way more shows compared to other production houses. The reason is that Otsuka has ambitious plans for the studio.
MAPPA President Manabu Otsuka Explains Studio’s Intense Schedules
Many notable anime studios only work on a couple of TV shows a year. For instance, anime studio Bones only worked on the second cour of My Hero Academia Season 6 and Bungou Stray Dogs this year.
Meanwhile, CloverWorks only had three shows in 2023 after their busy 2022. That’s not the case with MAPPA as the studio has four shows, two of which are two-cour productions. This doesn’t even include Attack on Titan.
According to Otsuka, the reason for this is that he hopes that MAPPA can reach the heights of notable studios like ufotable and Kyoto Animation.
Otsuka said that it’s difficult to catch up to the level of these studios at a normal pace as that would take decades. This is too slow for Otsuka’s ambitions for the studio.
Therefore, he is pushing for the studio to produce a lot of shows quickly while still maintaining quality. This is so the studio can gain lots of experience in a shorter amount of time.
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Anime Fans Continue to Have Mixed Responses Over MAPPA’s Production
MAPPA has had some success with this approach. After all, some of its 2023 titles like Vinland Saga Season 2 and Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 have been praised by many for their great direction and excellent animation.
Of course, there is also criticism. Aside from some complaints about animation in some episodes, many are concerned about the studio overworking its staff.
This is not a new thing as MAPPA has been accused previously of tough working conditions for staff members.
Following the interview’s release, Otsuka’s plans for MAPPA have been criticized by some, stating that their target studios, ufotable and Kyoto Animation, don’t have MAPPA’s intense scheduling issues.
Despite these, MAPPA will likely continue to push for more projects under Otsuka’s leadership.
It remains to be seen if the studio can handle this intense production load as the studio has been putting out lots of shows over the past years.
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Source: Comic Natalie
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