Earlier this month, ufotable founder Hikaru Kondo and the studio was found guilty of violating the Company Tax Act by evading greater than 138 million yen (US$1.25 million) in taxes, sentencing the previous president to twenty months in jail with a three-year suspended sentence. Japanese web site Each day Shincho complied quotes and details from the general public trial that led to the explanations behind why he purposefully hid the cash away, and what ufotable is doing to assist repair the problems within the anime business.
Throughout the investigation, it was found that Kondo had deliberately moved cash from the online retailer and cafes to his house to not solely forestall part-time staff from seeing the money circulate however to assist prop up ufotable the anime studio, which was making a loss on each piece of labor they have been making. Kondo defined that “if an anime doesn’t turn out to be successful, folks received’t purchase merchandise or come to the cafes, so in having to work laborious to make [a popular anime], we at all times find yourself within the purple.”
He continued, “The standard demanded of anime retains rising … however as a result of the manufacturing prices supplied by the shoppers are comparatively low, each time we produce a piece, we at all times find yourself within the purple.”
Kondo talked about to the decide that animators are normally freelancers, and are paid by the job relatively than by a wage, which comes with advantages in Japan similar to healthcare, pension funds, and bonuses. Kondo felt that this wasn’t adequate for the work they outputted and thus made everybody who wished to be a full-time workers member of the studio. Although Kondo defined to the decide that “the bottom manufacturing prices have been regularly rising, however that does not imply that the cash coming from the consumer facet has modified, and I do know that making all of the workers full-time staff can be tough from a administration standpoint.”
The previous president continued, saying “[ufotable]s revenue comes from the cafe enterprise and the sale of products. We’ve been capable of proceed our animation manufacturing due to these two areas. If our works don’t turn out to be successful … we will be unable to pay our workers salaries or recoup the manufacturing prices. I wished to order a enough amount of money in order that I would not have to fret about working capital in case one thing occurred.” That is what led to Kondo being charged with tax evasion, the founder claims.
According to Each day Shincho, throughout the investigation, it was discovered that Kondo had not solely moved cash away from different areas of the enterprise with out correct course of but in addition moved income from God Eater into the following fiscal yr to cut back earnings on tax statements. The cash that was moved into Kondo’s house wasn’t in a protected, as beforehand reported, however scattered round his house in Tokyo, and as one investigator discovered, put into paper baggage, which then spilled out, leaving 60 million yen (round US$530,000) simply laying on the ground of a kids’s room.
Kondo had used that money to construct up ufotable Tokushima – a regional anime studio that opened in 2009 to prepare workers previous to the interval of which Kondo was charged for –, buying land, as properly salaries for Kondo and his spouse. Although Kondo says that the cash he used to buy the land for his home and construct it got here from cash he earned himself, relatively than the businesses cash, although they have been being saved in the identical place.
When Kondo was requested by the prosecution on his ideas about the way forward for ufotable’s enterprise, Kondo reportedly calmly responded by saying that since he was charged in June 2020, ufotable has not taken on any new animation contracts, solely persevering with to work on contracts already signed. The general public announcement of ufotable and Kondo happened after the airing of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba’s first TV anime arc, of which ufotable is on the manufacturing committee. Mugen Practice went on to be the highest-grossing film in Japan ever and topped the worldwide box office chart for 2020. The third and last Destiny/keep evening Heaven’s Really feel anime movie additionally premiered in the identical yr.
In accordance with Kondo, there have been no managerial points at ufotable since June 2020, and the studio has been approached to work on new anime tasks however has declined all of them (this was stated by Kondo earlier than the announcement of Mahotsukai no Yoru: Witch on the Holy Evening earlier this week) because the tasks will go away the manufacturing prices within the purple, having ufotable pay out of pocket to attain the standard it is going to be pleased with and recognized for. Kondo said “if base manufacturing prices within the animation business do not change within the close to future, we could have no alternative however to do one thing on our personal. We’re at present accepting enterprise proposals for future work.”
Supply: Daily Shincho
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Daryl Harding is a Japan Correspondent for Crunchyroll Information. He additionally runs the YouTube channel about Japan stuff referred to as TheDoctorDazza, tweets at @DoctorDazza, and posts photographs of his travels on Instagram.