Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 was released with great success in July 2023. But amid the heaps of praise that the anime received with every episode released, something was happening behind the scenes in studio MAPPA. The series animators revealed the challenges the production team faced while working on the second season. Now, two artists, Vincent Chansard and Dorian Coulon, detail their horrific experiences while discussing their time with MAPPA.
In an interview with Konoha TV, a French YouTube channel, Chansard and Coulon talked about their work with MAPPA while discussing the animation industry. As the conversation continued, Chansard stressed that he would never work with the said studio again. With the many complaints the company received due to its alleged poor treatment of animators, Chansard emphasized that he would never support a studio like that.
“I simply don't want to show my support as a worker to a society who, ideologically, simply doesn't care about the work conditions,” he explained. “I don't want to support them, that's all. I did it this time because Hakuyu Go-san asked me personally.”
Hayuku Go is also an animator who worked in Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2. Chansard continued that we would still love to collaborate with Go. But as the latter no longer wants to work with MAPPA, he promises to do the same.
Alternatively, Coulon revealed his introduction to MAPPA was memorable but in a negative way. He came on board during a crunch time when other animators left their work due to the grueling scheduling issues. But as he started working as a replacement, he felt unhappy.
“I had horrifying deadlines because of that person who didn't do his work. I had to replace him in the last moments and it was horrible for everyone because I couldn't do anything,” he added. “I had to give them some roughs. I wasn't happy about my work.”
Coulon then revealed that his first experience working on Jujutsu Kaisen was “pretty tense.” Though the second one had some funny anecdotes and positive experiences, there were still negatives. And one of those negatives was not seeing his name in the credits.
“The 44th [episode] was the most simple one, let's say, at least for me. I had more time; I was free, and I could do pretty much what I wanted. The 44th was a good experience!” he continued. “The 41st was catastrophic. They contacted me after the episode. There was the PV at the end of the episode for the episode we worked on, and my name wasn't on it yet.”
What is the Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 MAPPA controversy about?
MAPPA has been criticized for a long time due to the animators’ workload, tight schedules, and inadequate pay. These issues have come to light again during the airing of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2, with its animators complaining of their unreasonable schedules and the studio’s lack of support.
Allegedly, MAPPA gave their workers tight deadlines that were impossible to meet, resulting in low-quality animations that received huge backlash from viewers. Some freelance workers even felt that the compensation they received wasn’t enough due to the additional workload they had to do. In addition, there were also revelations that some episodes of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 were completed just hours before their set airing, and the studio denied the request to delay its release. Anyhow, MAPPA has already refused these claims.
Now that several animators have left MAPPA, those who will be working on Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 remain to be seen. But despite the controversy, fans remain hopeful that they will continuously create great animation and that the studio will start treating their workers fairly.
