English Textbook Addresses Skills Gap in Japan’s Anime Industry

Why an English textbook for anime, and why now

Anime has never been bigger. Production pipelines are packed, global revenues are hitting all time highs, and streaming platforms are hungry for new shows. Yet studios still struggle to find enough trained hands to keep pace with demand. A persistent mismatch has emerged between the volume of work and the number of artists who can execute the foundational tasks that bring drawings to life frame by frame.

A new English language textbook from the Nippon Anime and Film Culture Association, or NAFCA, tries to close that gap. Released in August, it translates the core training used for NAFCA’s Animator Skill Test into an accessible guide for international readers. The book targets the entry point of the craft, the discipline of doga, which is the in between animation that connects the hero poses drawn by key animators into a smooth performance. By focusing on fundamentals like tracing key drawings accurately, planning eye blinks, and syncing lip movement to dialogue, the text aims to make beginners production ready faster.

NAFCA, founded in 2023 to improve working conditions and strengthen training across the industry, built the textbook to align with a certification that it started administering in 2024. The exam series measures essential studio skills and clear workplace literacy, including how to read and write the timing sheets that still drive Japanese animation schedules. The English edition widens the audience for this content at a moment when studios are relying more on global talent, but still require a shared understanding of Japanese workflows and terminology.

What is NAFCA and the Animator Skill Test

NAFCA is an industry group formed to address chronic challenges that undercut anime production: thin training pipelines, low pay, and inconsistent quality control. The organization promotes fairer practices and better technical standards while trying to rebuild practical instruction for young artists. Its centerpiece is the Animator Skill Test, a program that codifies what a junior artist must know to function in a studio environment.

Origins and goals

In interviews, NAFCA representatives have described a simple problem with complex consequences. For decades, new animators learned by sitting beside seniors who corrected drawings and explained timing and spacing. That informal apprenticeship eroded as the number of shows surged in the late 1990s and 2000s. Senior artists became too busy to teach, and entry level staff often bounced between projects without getting consistent feedback. NAFCA’s test and materials attempt to standardize the basics, so a studio can trust that a successful candidate understands the craft at a practical level.

How the test works

The test spans multiple levels, with the current English textbook mapped to Levels 6 and 5. These focus on doga, including tracing key animation cleanly, planning blinks, and timing mouth shapes to dialogue. The exam is held twice a year and provides professional feedback to examinees. According to NAFCA materials, anyone age 15 or older who can read and write Japanese and has a return address in Japan can take the exam (the test is currently administered domestically). That makes the English textbook especially valuable as a training resource even for readers outside Japan, since it explains the skills and studio vocabulary expected on the job.

What the textbook covers

The English edition is titled The Animator Skill Test Trace and Tap wari Test: Levels 6 and 5. It is a 112 page A4 book that was authored by NAFCA, supervised by experienced doga directors Rie Eyama and Tomoko Fukui, and translated by Renato Rivera Rusca. The layout mirrors the Japanese original, so readers turn the right page first, a format familiar to manga readers. The content supports self study for the exam, and more broadly, it teaches how Japanese animation is actually produced on a studio floor.

Across its chapters, the book explains the roles inside an animation studio, the production workflow from storyboards to final delivery, and the practical drawing drills that build speed and accuracy. It goes beyond art exercises and into workplace literacy, including how to read time sheets, how corrections move through a team, and how to complete assignments within the expectations set by chiefs and directors. The annotations unpack Japanese studio jargon that beginners rarely find in standard language classes.

Key skills and knowledge areas

Readers can expect to work through core topics that matter from the first day in a studio:

• Genga tracing, copying key animation poses with clean lines while preserving volume and proportion.
• Me pachi and kuchi paku, planning eye blinks and mouth shapes to match dialogue and emotion.
• Reading and writing timing sheets, understanding frame counts, exposures, and scene IDs.
• Department roles, how key animation, doga, checking, coloring, compositing, and production management connect.
• Workflow etiquette, how corrections are marked, how to respond to feedback, and how to hand off work.
• Sample test questions, both skill demonstrations and vocabulary checks tied to studio practice.

The vocabulary explanations include common shorthand, such as sakkan check, the review a chief animation director performs on key drawings. The book also includes interviews with working professionals and tips drawn from active animators. Pricing varies by seller and region. The listing in Japan puts the price at about 6,000 yen, while a U.S. retail listing places it near 60 dollars. The publisher has posted minor image corrections for two pages on the Amazon product page, a detail that matters if you are using it as a formal study guide.

How the initiative fits into a global anime boom

The scale of the market explains the urgency. Industry data compiled by the Association of Japanese Animation show the anime business reached about 3.35 trillion yen in 2023, the largest figure on record. Overseas revenue outpaced domestic revenue that year, roughly 51.5 percent to 48.5 percent. Streaming, global theatrical releases, and licensing have all expanded the audience for anime, continuing a trend visible since the late 2010s when streaming income first surpassed physical video sales. The boom has raised the stakes for production schedules and consistency.

Currency effects have helped inflate the yen value of overseas receipts, but the direction of travel is clear. Anime is a global product, which means studios look far beyond Tokyo for talent. That shift only works if artists, wherever they live, can communicate in the same production language. The new English textbook aims to bridge that gap by teaching both the drawing fundamentals and the Japanese terms used on timing sheets and correction notes. It is not a language course, but it increases the odds that a trainee understands what a director means when instructions arrive in a mix of abbreviations and studio shorthand.

Can an English book fix the training bottleneck

A single book will not solve every challenge facing animators. Wages are often low for entry level roles, overtime is common, and studios sometimes underbid projects, which pressures teams downstream. Many new graduates still need months of guided correction before they can hit the pace a weekly series demands. Even so, standard study materials can reduce avoidable friction. If every new hire has practiced the same drills, supervisors spend less time correcting preventable mistakes and more time on nuanced performance.

NAFCA’s leaders link today’s skills gap to a break in the mentoring chain. The organization’s managing director, Ayano Fukumiya, has argued that the explosion of shows left senior staff too busy to train successors, and that this created a long running deficit in hands on instruction. Before introducing Fukumiya’s words, it helps to recall how traditional anime training worked, with new artists copying stills and receiving margins full of red pencil corrections. That immersive loop of draw, correct, and redraw is hard to replicate without time from seniors.

When we looked at the state of the industry, we noticed that one of the biggest issues was lack of training. Traditionally, animators would work directly under their seniors, learning the ropes. But about 25 years ago, the number of titles exploded, and senior animators have been too busy to train others. Since then on, young animators haven’t been able to improve their skills.

The textbook and test are designed to carry some of that load. They set a baseline for what doga staff should know, and they give learners a way to practice the building blocks managers expect. The content also acknowledges a debate inside studios about tools. Some veterans prefer paper and pencil, others embrace digital tablets. The drills here focus on timing, spacing, and line control, skills that transfer across tools. A tablet does not fix an off model hand or uneven spacing, and paper does not guarantee strong lip sync. Fundamentals do.

Who should use it and how to prepare

The book is written for aspiring animators, especially those aiming for entry level doga roles. It also serves artists who already draw well but lack familiarity with Japanese studio norms. Educators and vocational programs can adapt sections for coursework, since the chapters map cleanly to practical assignments and studio vocabulary.

Practical steps for learners

• Build a daily drawing habit that targets line confidence and volume control. Trace key poses from the book under time limits to simulate studio pace.
• Practice me pachi and kuchi paku by planning blinks and mouth shapes to short audio clips. Start with slow dialogue, then increase speed.
• Learn to read timing sheets. Recreate a simple shot from a sheet, counting frames and exposures, then compare your output to the example.
• Study workflow diagrams to understand where your task sits between key animation, checking, and coloring. That context helps you anticipate notes.
• Memorize studio terms and abbreviations. Many notes mix kana, kanji, and shorthand. The book’s glossary uses phonetic guides and plain definitions.
• Assemble a short portfolio that shows clean tracing, on model in betweens, and accurate lip sync. Include your timing sheets for each cut.
• Prepare for feedback. Ask peers to mark corrections on your drawings, then redo the cut under the same deadline to build speed with quality.

Foreign readers should be aware of eligibility rules. The test itself requires Japanese literacy and a return address in Japan, at least for now. Even if you cannot sit the exam, the textbook can still anchor a focused practice plan that uses the same drills studios expect.

Availability, pricing, and formats

The English edition is available through major online retailers. In Japan, it has been listed at about 6,000 yen. A U.S. retail listing puts the price near 60 dollars, and availability may vary by region. The book spans 112 pages and includes interviews with working staff and sections on roles, workflow, time sheets, genga tracing, me pachi, kuchi paku, and practical tips. It is supervised by veteran doga directors Rie Eyama and Tomoko Fukui, and translated by Renato Rivera Rusca.

NAFCA sells companion materials for the Animator Skill Test, and the test is held twice per year. The English textbook covers Levels 6 and 5, which focus on the in between drawing discipline that anchors most first jobs. The Amazon product page includes notes about minor image corrections on two pages, a reminder to check errata if you are studying for certification. Readers can find the book on Amazon at this listing: The Animator Skill Test Trace and Tap wari Test: Levels 6 and 5.

Reactions from industry and educators

NAFCA’s effort has drawn attention from both professionals and fans. A crowdfunding campaign for the English edition surpassed its target, raising millions of yen, which signaled demand among overseas readers who want credible instruction grounded in Japanese studio practice. Press announcements emphasize that the content is based on what working animators teach, and that multiple studios endorse the approach.

The educational angle matters too. Research on anime driven language learning suggests that exposure to animation can boost listening and vocabulary in Japanese among motivated viewers. Instructors who build interactive lessons around animated dialogues report strong student engagement and better retention of grammar in context. The textbook sits at that intersection: it teaches how anime is produced while also decoding the workplace Japanese that animators actually use, from timing sheet labels to shorthand on correction notes. That combination can make it a helpful resource for vocational schools and university programs serving students who aim for studio roles.

What to Know

• NAFCA released an English textbook aligned with its Animator Skill Test to address a shortage of trained animators.
• The book focuses on doga fundamentals, including tracing, eye blinks, and lip sync, mapped to Levels 6 and 5 of the test.
• The exam series runs twice a year and currently requires Japanese literacy and a return address in Japan.
• Content covers studio workflow, timing sheets, roles and responsibilities, and real studio jargon.
• Global demand for anime is rising, with overseas revenue outpacing domestic in 2023 by share.
• The English edition is 112 pages, supervised by industry veterans, and available through online retailers, including Amazon.
• Standardized training can reduce errors and improve efficiency, though on the job mentorship and better working conditions are still essential.