Found out my favorite anime from 2008 only had a $2 million budget

I was reading through some old production notes on a Sakuga blog last night, just looking for background on a fight scene from Gurren Lagann. Turned out that whole series was made for roughly 2 million dollars total, which is nothing compared to what shows cost today. The article mentioned that modern seasonal anime can run 8-12 million per 12 episodes, sometimes more. It really surprised me how much the industry has changed in terms of funding and expectations. I remember when that show first aired and everyone was blown away by the animation quality. Now I wonder if we put too much pressure on studios to spend big instead of working with constraints. Has anyone else stumbled across a budget figure that made you rethink how a show was made?

2 comments

2 Comments

mila_mitchell1mo ago

Wait, does that mean studios are worse with money now or inflation just hit that hard?

paige8701mo ago

So are studios just blowing bigger budgets on flashy effects now, or is the cost of actually paying animators a living wage what's driving up the numbers?