After Crunchyroll, HIDIVE, and Funimation announced that English dubbing had been stopped by orders from state governments in the United States for the coronavirus, it was only a matter of time until the same situation occurred in Japan, which caused even Some of the oldest television shows in history will be paused indefinitely.
In Japan (and for English dubbing), most of the voice acting is done in the later stages of production, when at least the key animation is finished, but without the actors, part of the personality is missing.
While in western animation productions like The Simpsons or Disney movies, voice actors often record alone. In Japan, seiyuus generally gather in one place to record everything at once, instead of recording one person per session, making it very difficult to record in dubbing studios in Japan, taking the pandemic into consideration. of the coronavirus.
Earlier this month, Midori Kato, the voice actor for Sazae Fuguta of the longest-running animated series still in production, Sazae-san, announced on Radio Nikkei that post-recording work on the anime had been halted, citing as an effect of the coronavirus crisis (COVID-19). Beloved 80-year-old Kato is an original cast member, and is therefore at high risk during the current crisis.
Kato is not the only older voice actor who has dared to speak about the coronavirus issue, Akira Kamiya discussed the issue in depth on his Twitter account. The 73-year-old man, known for playing Kenshiro in Hokuto no Ken, and also Chusus Nakamoto in Fugō Keiji Balance: Unlimited. On April 1, Kamiya tweeted that the older cast members were removed from the entire recording session with the rest of the cast and had to record alone in the studio. While this likely increased the time it took to record, it allowed older cast members to stay safe.
Ryotaro Okiayu (Gadjah in Black Clover) reflected on April 6, before a State of Emergency was declared in Japan, that if action were taken, voice recording would be halted throughout Tokyo. Although many did not believe him, in the end he was correct.
On April 7, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, along with the coronavirus task force, announced a state of emergency in Japan for 7 prefectures, including Tokyo, and then expanded that statement to the entire country on April 16. An important measure of the declaration is avoiding "3Cs": closed spaces, crowded places and close contact, as well as limiting travel in main areas by at least 80%. Dubbing actors in Japan can't help but go against both measures simply by going to work and performing tasks, hence the interruption of most recording sessions.
The suspended recording sessions would continue to delay the broadcast of some of the longest running anime series in history. Mayumi Tanaka, the voice actor for Luffy, said in a post on April 11 that he was "on break from my usual anime voice recordings", meaning that One Piece's voice sessions had stopped. The previous day, Rica Matsumoto, the voice actress for Satoshi in Pokémon, said on Twitter that she "had stopped working." A week later, One Piece and Pokémon announced that the anime would have a hiatus (and the first hiatus in One Piece's 20-year streaming history).
Yukio Nagasak, the sound director for Gleipnir, wrote on Twitter that the sound recording and editing for the anime stopped on April 10, at least in the studio. Since he was working from home choosing tracks for the series, he has not yet announced the suspension of his broadcast.
Despite the fact that Nagasaki can do his job as sound director from home and can video conference with other staff members to confirm the music, it is not that easy for voice actors in Japan. Tokyo houses and apartments are smaller and generally have thin walls, making it difficult to install a full recording booth in their homes. And those who can set up a home system would have to learn how to record, mix and load their audio files, all while being conducted by video conference. Then having to do that with the entire cast. Funimation was able to do it for the simultaneity of Boku no Hero Academia, but it wouldn't have been easy.
Lack of work has worried dubbing actors in Japan. While some can survive on their savings, some need continuous work to survive. Like most contract-based jobs, voice actors only get paid when they work, and if they are early, or even mid-career, they need a steady source of income to survive. A one-time installment of 100,000 yen ($ 930) from the Japanese government may not cover the cost of renting a residence in Tokyo, where the average price of a one-bedroom apartment in Shinjuku may start at 97,000 yen ($ 902) per month
The Japan Actors Union has been conducting surveys with its members during this time, consisting of Japanese actors, voice actors and other talents. In an April 14 news report, of the actors who responded to the survey, 96.2% say they received no compensation for lost work or canceled appearances from the coronavirus. On April 21, the union announced that 70% had no job in April. And even before that, the Japan Actors Union sadly reported on April 3 that 26.8% of respondents were in debt and needed the job to survive. White Fox animator Tetsuo Hirakawa predicts that if the recording sessions don't return for six months, "most people will be out of a job."
While this is just one of the aspects of the current coronavirus crisis currently affecting the anime industry in Japan, without the incredible work of voice actors, on-screen characters would not have the personality that draws them in. We hope that production can return soon, but more than that, we wish everyone's health and well-being.
Taking into account that before April 3, 26.8% of seiyuus were in debt, it was until mid-April that the crisis worsened and the dubbing industry was suspended, so the current percentage of seiyuus in debt could be considerably higher, a figure that even worse in the following months.
