Japan is arguably one of the biggest animation producers on Earth with a bustling animation sector. But did you know that Japan’s anime won’t be as successful if it weren’t for South Korean animation studios?

While studios like Kyoto Animation and A-1 Pictures would get most of the credit, but their works wouldn’t really be a success without certain animation studios in South Korea. This was certainly pointed out by none other than Makoto Shinkai himself, who visited the country.

In his visit, the renowned Japanese anime director stressed the importance of Korean studios to Japanese anime. The South Korean press has asked the director about the South Korean names which appeared in your name’s credits. To this, Shinaki responded that “Japanese animation cannot detach itself from South Korean studios.” He then added that without these Korean studios, making animation would be difficult. He also said that Korea also bears a huge part of the Japanese animation industry. Shinkai also talked about a Korean staffer who has worked for his studio for over 10 years.

Shinkai previously promised his Korean fans that he would return if your name surpassed the anime movie record set by Howl’s Moving Castle, which is at 3.01 million tickets sold. He also sent a message to his Korean fans, saying that Japanese and Koreans have a lot in common. He then added that he has confidence that they would also enjoy his films.

In the Japanese animation industry, Korean staffers often get little to no credit for helping out in an anime. These Koreans who work in Japan also get little recognition for their help. There is also the fact that there is widespread racism against Koreans in Japan. While many cities have outlawed racism, many Japanese still look down on those with Korean descent (Zainichi Koreans). There are celebrities with Korean descent in Japan however, and they include seiyuu like Romi Park and Pile.

Luckily, views are changing in Japan, and with someone as influential as Shinkai vouching for them, who knows? Maybe Japanese anime would credit Korean staffers a lot more.

source: Yahoo! News