2024.11.26

Working in Japan

—Working in Japanese anime production company—

Interview: William Macphee, Currently working in Microsoft in Seattle.

A trigger I tried to get a anime producion job in Japan is going back to my college era when I actively run Japanese

anime club as the president of the assosiation.

I liked Japanese anime in nature. However, I started to being interested in gathering people who like anime and

organized the club and informed our club activites and latest anime news by a web page which was yet rare at the

time in early 1990s.

In 1994, it is the time just before graduating from my collage, the economy in the United States was not so good and I tried to

get a job in Japan for cultivating my posibility and experiece.

The companies I had a job interview were two. One of the companies was a group company of Pioneer so I was able

to have a job interview in the U.S and then I was fortunatly passed the company and went to Japan.

The work in the anime production compnay in Japan was “just Exciting.”

People in the company were all Japanese. Only people who was able to speak English in the company were the

president of the company and my job partner and an animation director Mr.Hayashi.(He became my best friend in Japan in later)

The compnay was anime prduction company so the atomosphere was very flexible and friendly. The thing which I as system

administlator was required was criativities and the newest maltimedia techonology at the time. At the time,

computer techonology in Japan was far behind, comparing to techonology in the U.S, I think.

In that kind of enviroment, my Japanese ability was getting better and better rapidly.

Because the company was not so big production compnay, I did every thing. Discussing in anime plan meeting, of cause,

constructing internal computer system, web page making, having meeting with charactor designers and interview with voice acctress

in the recording studio. In later these kind of many different operation was contributed my current job as

a good experience for me.

Although the pay was not so high as here in the U.S, I just graduateing from collage acquired good experience and confident and Japanese

language ability. And my dearly wife who comes to the United Starts with me.