With so many animated series and films being viewed by millions, are all of them willing to wait two to three years for the next season?

Over the last decade, western animation has found new ground with media like “Arcane,” “Invincible,” the “Spider-Verse” films, “Hazbin Hotel,” and independent projects like “Lackadaisy,” “The Amazing Digital Circus,” “Murder Drones” and even more. With such a high amount of viewers and content it is starting to become apparent that general audiences aren’t grasping just how intricate and complex animation truly is.

A perfect example of this is visible in the fandom for “Invincible” where there is an uproar due to the two-year gap between seasons one and two along with a hiatus in the second season. While I can understand the frustration, viewers of “Arcane” seem perfectly content with a whole three-year hiatus between the first season, which aired in 2021, and the upcoming second season dropping this fall. Furthermore, the upcoming final film in the “Spider-Verse” trilogy, “Beyond the Spider-Verse,” was delayed indefinitely last year, having missed its original release date of Mar. 29, 2024. However, despite a few upset people there hasn’t been much uproar about the movie being delayed either. So, what’s the problem?

I feel that “Invincible’s” fanbase has simply drawn a more general audience that is more unfamiliar with complex animation than the other series/movies. This could be for several reasons, starting with the fact that the show is rated MA, while the other shows are either TV-14 or PG-13/PG.

All of this is only one side of the animation industry. A major reason for the delays and long hiatuses is for the team of animators to be able to work comfortably. Many people who are upset at the delays compare Western animation to Eastern companies, such as MAPPA– the Maruyama Animation Produce Project Association, a Japanese animation company known for iconic anime such as “Attack on Titan,” “Chainsaw Man” and “Jujutsu Kaisen”. Their company has faced countless controversies over the years for their treatment of the animation crew. For example, an animator from MAPPA came out and said that the entirety of the “Jujutsu Kaisen” film was animated in four months when most animated features would need two to three years. That kind of time crunch is not only ludicrous, but it’s simply inhumane on the team.

Whether it’s because American studios don’t want to enforce those kinds of time crunches or because they can’t, animated media is given much more time to be produced. But, honestly, this is for the best. Not just because of the stress the animators would be under, but how little time the film/show has to be fleshed out and tempered. Rushed production time for any project– not just animated and not even just entertainment– can result in a weaker final product than if more time was spent in development.

Look, I get it. I want “Invincible” season three, the next “Helluva Boss” episode, “Arcane” season two, and “Beyond the Spider-Verse” too. But animation is a process that you just can’t rush without committing some sort of labor rights violation. Some studios do anyways, but they should not be the golden example.

Contact the writer: [email protected]