Source: Tonari Animation
After four years in the industry, Tonari Animation has announced its closure.
In an official statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), Tonari Animation confirmed that it is closing its doors and ceasing operations. The studio worked on a number of episodes for anime titles like The 100 Girlfriends Who Really Really Really Really Really Love You, Akiba Maid War, Arknights: Perish in Frost, Black Clover, BLUELOCK, and Boruto: Next Generations, as well as the original animation video for Vtuber Gawr Gura titled “Shark'd." It cited a failure to secure funding necessary to sustain growth as its reason for closure.
Jarrett Martin, who founded Tonari Animation, also revealed his transition from Tonari Animation to Creative Freaks as its Creative Director. In the statement, Martin revealed that he will establish the Sakuga Division, where he will apply “the lessons and experiences gained from leading Tonari Animation to continue supporting the Japanese animation industry in a sustainable way."
Martin also thanked creators who contributed their talents to Tonari Animation’s projects, as well as the clients whose projects were entrusted to the studio.
Tonari Animation started out in 2019 as a sole proprietorship that was later on incorporated in 2020 as Tonari Animation, Inc., and was also involved in a number of controversies that led to a less than stellar reputation within the internet sphere. Internet users have taken to Reddit to discuss a number of these issues, including producing an NFT anime, supporting the use of AI creatively along with selling NFTS called Second Self, and even starting a GoFundMe for an anime know-how book with a $100,000 goal, only to cancel the project and turn it into a wiki on the website fandom.
However, the most memorable of these controversies was Tonari Animation’s job posting for Production Assistants back in September 2023, which offered a starting pay of 150,000 to 250,000 yen–a salary range that was below the average monthly salary standard in Japan, which according to WorkStatus, is 515,000 yen. The salary did not include tax, pension, and health insurance deductions.
The job posting garnered 1.1 million views on X and was inundated with complaints and callouts due to its alleged exploitative nature. Tonari Animation’s replies defending the salary were also highlighted by X users due to its bad taste.
