Star Wars: Visions Studio Responds to Allegations on Harsh Working Conditions

Star Wars: Visions is the first-ever step of George Lucas' franchise entered the realm of anime. However, recently, allegations were raised that one of the studios handling the project, Science Saru, has harsh work conditions and according to one of the animators working on the two entries titled Akakiri and T0-B1, the studio already responded.

Star Wars: Visions is a project in the works for the franchise about to arrive on Disney+ and it is a Japanese anthology series of a collection of animated short films for a fresh and diverse cultural perspective for one of the most well-known franchises of all time, Star Wars. It will be from various anime creators, one of which is Science Saru.

However, one of the animators for the project on Science Saru, Joan Chung discussed with Anime News Network that she experienced overwork and overproduction with the studio. She shared, "I have some horror stories from this studio, which are thankfully fewer than some of SARU's competitors. But – and this is a big one for me – a studio should not have its twenty-something girls crying in the bathroom, doing all-nighters. Neither should it have a production schedule that is so tight that it is unable to accommodate the mental health of the aforementioned production manager."

Chung added, "I had to speak on her behalf to her supervisor and the CEO – and though they responded compassionately, practically there could not be much change. A culture with this much production pressure necessitated the long hours."

One of the possible reasons, as Chung sees it, is that the studio is handling too many productions that their workers are facing such work conditions. She said that while the studio's workflow seems good, having too much to work on makes the studio spread itself thin.

Chung updated on her Twitter account that Science Saru has already responded to her where they explained to her that the last resort would be a legal action but the decision belongs to her if she would pursue it or they could just resolve the issue in a peaceful manner. She shared that if she would sue, the cause would be for "gross negligence of worker health and safety."

Still, she chose to make peace. She ended her update with a powerful statement for those negotiating with their employers, "the Force goes with you."

Star Wars: Visions is scheduled for release on Disney+ on September 22, 2021.

Related: Complete List of Upcoming Disney Projects For Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and Many More