To Love-Ru, Lagrange - The Flower of Rin-ne, Tokyo ESP

An image of an official looking paystub for was posted by an animator claiming to be a three-month contract employee for studio Xebec (). The stub reveals the rather dismal monthly pay of 131,330 yen (US$1,103). According to the employee, the stipulations for his contact included the base pay of 130,000 yen (US$1,092), plus an additional 5,300 yen (US$44.50) to cover his commute. 3,970 yen (US$33) was withheld for taxes.

The actual working hours were set as "as much as you can in 24 hours." He was required to turn in a timecard filled out by hand at the end of each month.

The low pay is comparable to public job listings in the anime industry at other studios, too. Animation studio ARMS posted an entry-level position for a production assistant with a starting pay of 145,000 yen (about US$1,150) a month. The job entailed an 8.5-hour work day for six days a week with possible overtime.

Diomedéa posted a job listing for the same full-time production assistant position offering a 1,800,000 yen yearly salary (US$14,500).

The Japan Animation Creators Association (JAniCA) published a study last year of the working conditions, average income, and working hours of animators in the Japanese animation industry. The study surveyed 759 animators.

The study reports that animators earned an average of 3.3283 million yen (about US$27,689) in Japan in 2013.

[Via Rocket News 24, Nijupoi]