While anime would always be a distinctly Japanese art form, its production is no longer exclusively based in Japan. Because of the scope of stories and themes that anime covers, animated series are being churned out by the dozens. However, because anime is traditionally hand-drawn animation, there are just simply not enough animators in Japan to meet the demand. So before the outsourcing industry has even boomed, anime has already been outsourcing the talents of thousands of artists and animators from other countries, including the Philippines. TOEI Animation, one of Japan’s top animation companies, has made the move to our shores and has long since joined the many multinational companies that have made their home in Eastwood Cyberpark.
In 1986, TOEI Animation set up shop in the Philippines, for the same reason business process outsourcing (BPO) firms go here. The country has a rich throve of talented workers and it’s more economical than Korea. Satoshi Soya, a manager at TOEI Animation Philippines Inc., who has been overseeing operations and quality control here since 1992, shares that TOEI has grown to have over 170 artists in staff.
In 2000, TOEI moved to Eastwood Cyberpark to make room for their growing roster of animators. The move is also fortuitous since Eastwood is an IT zone, when TOEI’s production became computerized, the company was able to avail of tax incentives for five years.
As the purveyors of anime hits such as Dragon Ball Z, Slamdunk, Sailormoon, Powerpuff Girls, and Digimon X-Evolution, TOEI Philippines works on all the episodes of four to five TV series every year. For an idea on the scope of work involved in animation, Soya discloses that a 30-minute episode is made up of 3,500 drawings. An animator has a quota of 600 drawings a month, so it takes two months to get just one episode out! Soya admits that the work can get stressful, but the best part — and its most difficult — of the job is that nothing is ever the same. Every day, there’s a different problem to solve.
Just as TOEI and this Japanese expat’s working experience in Eastwood City Cyberpark have been positive, BPO firms looking for a thriving city with excellent live, work and play conveniences better look intently at Eastwood as a home. Interested parties may call Megaworld’s Business Development division at 912-0756.