The anime's
"no-profit bubble" could be about to burst. Japan's Fair
Trade Commission (JFTC) has dropped a bombshell on the industry this
week with a devastating report identifying systemic business practices that
could violate the Anti-Monopoly Law and the
Subcontracting Law.
The report,
based on extensive research conducted throughout 2025, reveals
that 45.3% of major studios do not receive a written contract
until after production has begun. Even worse, in some cases, the contract
arrives when the work is already finished. This practice leaves studios without
legal protection and forces them to accept abusive terms in order to get paid.
Massive
losses despite success
Although 86.8% of
studios reported an increase in budgets in the last decade, 60% operate
at a loss if they rely solely on those fees. The reasons are clear: demands for
"movie-grade" quality for TV series, extended schedules without extra
pay and inflation.
In
addition, 83% of studios face costs for "rework"
(correcting scenes or changing styles), but almost a quarter (22.7%) do
not receive a single yen for that extra work, something that the JFTC has
marked as potentially illegal under the figure of "Abuse of Superior
Negotiating Position".
Copyright
theft
Another
critical point is intellectual property. 84.9% of studios are
forced to cede all copyrights to the Production
Committee. Although it is said that the payment for these rights is
"included", since most studios operate at a loss, in practice they
are giving away their property in exchange for nothing.
