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In _Shirobako_ (an anime about making anime), they only make the first few
episodes and then continue to finish the others while the anime is airing.
This causes some problems when they can't catch up to the deadline, and also
may affect the quality of an episode, too.

In real life, there are some anime that do have this kind of trouble, like
_Kekkai Sensen_ or _God Eater_ in the last season.

So why they don't just finish all the episodes before airing, at least for
short-range anime (~12 eps)?


CC BY-SA 4.0
2015-12-26T19:51:28.363
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2021-10-06T02:08:07.240
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question
anime-production
Why don't they complete all an anime's episodes before it airs?


It's a good question, and frankly, doing so would save these studios a lot of
trouble. So why don't they do it? Frankly, it's because of the money.

Anime studios need to take as many projects as they can to keep themselves
afloat (an issue that studio Manglobe recently was bit in the butt for).
Studios tend to work on at least one show per season, or at least as much as
they can, if not even more than one per season. Why would an animation studio
work on a show for next season, when they have the ability to work on a show
for the season airing right now? They're constantly in a time crunch because
they want to get to finishing up this current series so they can find another
one to begin working on, and getting money for.

The other thing is that anime studios tend to work on contract, meaning that
as they work, the money they get is already pre-determined by the anime's
production companies (which are generally, but not always, separate from the
animation studio). This means that anime production companies, from the start,
need to pay the animation studio, even if the show hasn't aired yet.

The animation production companies usually don't get their money back until
during or after the show airs (DVDs, Blu-Rays, merchandise, music CDs, etc.),
meaning that until this money starts rolling in while the show airs, the
production companies have a negative balance, as they've had to pay the
animation studio, the voice actors, etc. So, for these companies, it makes
more sense for them to have production start closer to when it airs, so
they'll get their money back sooner.

There's most likely other reasons, but these are the biggest ones I can think
of.


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2015-12-27T15:51:32.767
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answer


As [Justin
Sevakis](http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=6794)
mentions in [his article on The Anime
Economy](http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2012-03-05):

> Anime production is an extremely labor-intensive proposition, employing the
> services of up to 2,000 people per episode around the world. Most of the
> grunt work is now done in third world countries across Asia, and the use of
> digital technology has reduced costs across the board. Anime production is
> now as efficient as it's ever been.
>
> That said, a single anime episode costs about US$100,000-300,000 per
> episode, according to various producers we've talked to. That might seem
> like a lot, but in reality it's pretty cheap, about on par with an American
> deep-cable TV show. (An American prime-time TV show can cost well into the
> millions.) But multiplied across 13 episodes, that nonetheless turns into a
> total budget of US$2-4 million.
>
> That's a lot of money. Few companies are rich enough to invest that much in
> a single show. If it tanked and they lost all that money, most would never
> be able to recover.

What we understand from this is:

  * The production of each episode of anime is costly and most often, the studios cannot afford to produce a whole season before they air it.

* * *

> The truth is, producing an anime is a herculean task: a gigantic amount of
> money and manpower get poured into every production well behind the scenes,
> before a single drawing is even created. The stakes are huge for every
> company involved, and every season will have a number of winners and losers.

  * They cannot afford to "risk it all" on an anime without airing it and noticing how it is received by the public. This doesn't mean that they can air a special episode before airing the main anime to decide whether the anime has a potential to be popular on not. There are many anime and shows which lose viewership during the course of the anime and all this has to be taken into account while making another episode. As Ross mentions in the comments, "Also, if the show gets cancelled or its run shortened they don't waste money on episodes that will never air."

* * *

As mentioned in [this
article](https://washiblog.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/anime-production-detailed-
guide-to-how-anime-is-made-and-the-talent-behind-it/):

> While many people describe studios as being cheap, only around half the
> budget is often given to the anime studio, with the rest going to
> broadcasters and other contributing companies.
>
> Once things get going, the producer has two basic responsibilities: make
> sure that the show is made well, and recover all the millions of dollars
> that the Production Committee spent in the first place.

  * They need to maintain a flow of money to tackle the loan they've taken and to arrange for the remaining budget of the show.

Note: This answer has been compiled assuming that the adaptation material for
the manga is sufficient for the anime in question.

* * *

**TL;DR: The main reasons that anime production does not involve finishing the
production of the entire anime before airing it are:**

  * **Anime production needs as many as 2,000 people for the production of a single episode with the price ranging from US$100,000-300,000 per episode. In most of the cases, the studios cannot afford to produce a whole season before airing it because even a 12-13 episode series takes as much as US$2-4 million.**

  * **The stakes are huge for every company involved and every season will have a number of winners and losers. Hence, they cannot afford to "risk it all" on an anime without reviewing the reception of the anime by the fans and it's popularity. If the show gets cancelled or it's run shortened, they can avoid wasting money on episodes that will never air.**

  * **Only around half the budget is often given to the anime studio with the rest going to broadcasters and other contributing companies. Hence, it's the producer's job to ensure that the show is well received and to recover the millions of dollars that Production Committee spent in the first place. Hence, they need to maintain a flow of money to tackle the loan they've taken/to arrange for the remaining budget of the show.**

* * *

I've also contacted Justin Sevakis asking him this very question, since he
seems to be an expert on these matters and his answers cover almost all
points. If he writes back, I'll update this answer to mention the highlights
of what he writes as an answer.


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