In April, animation Studio Madhouse made the news when a production assistant joined a trade union, demanding to be paid for hundreds of hours of unpaid overtime. The production assistant spoke to journalists about the exploitative practices he experienced at Madhouse , including working up to 393 hours in one month.

According to freelance animator Mizue Ogawa , things haven't changed in the months since. In a tweet posted on Monday, she wrote: "I received word from a production assistant from a certain 'M' studio that he still works at midnight. When I asked him, 'Weren't there supposed to be reforms about the labor conditions?' he said that the case in question was simply the former production assistant's claim, and added that the matter was still in the middle of negotiations. In other words... nothing's changed at all."

某M社からは今でも真夜中に制作君から連絡が来る。

働き方改革があった筈では?と聞いた所、例の事件はあくまでも元制作A個人の主張であり、加えてまだ交渉中の事案だ、と言い含められているという。

つまり



全く何も変わってなどいない。 — 小川 みずえ (@OgawaMizue) June 17, 2019

On April 5, a Madhouse production assistant joined a trade union and commenced the process of collective bargaining. The anonymous assistant is seeking compensation for unpaid overtime, as well as an apology for the various forms of power harassment he received.

The animation Studio Madhouse was founded in 1972 by ex-Mushi Pro animators, including Masao Maruyama , Osamu Dezaki , Rintaro and Yoshiaki Kawajiri . Maruyama left the company in 2011 to form MAPPA . Madhouse is well known for its productions on Card Captor Sakura , Death Note , and the first season of One-Punch Man . The studio's current projects include the currently airing Ace of Diamond Act II , October's Chihayafuru 3 , and No Guns Life .

[Via Otakomu]