---
title: 'How Anime is Made - Inside the Studio (Toei, Madhouse, Pierrot)'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=3Imovk-s40I'
video_id: '3Imovk-s40I'
date: 2026-06-16
duration_sec: 0
---

# How Anime is Made - Inside the Studio (Toei, Madhouse, Pierrot)

> Source: [How Anime is Made - Inside the Studio (Toei, Madhouse, Pierrot)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=3Imovk-s40I)

## Summary

This video provides a behind-the-scenes look at how anime is made, from script to final broadcast. It breaks down each stage of production, including storyboarding, key animation, compositing, and voiceovers. The video also highlights the differences between traditional hand-painted backgrounds and modern digital techniques.

### Key Points

- **Script Development** [0:20] — The script is produced by the original manga artist and reviewed by the director before being greenlit.
- **Storyboarding** [0:35] — Storyboards include drawings, movements, camera panning, and shot lengths.
- **Layouts and Scenery** [0:42] — Layouts for scenery and landscapes are drawn on paper and reviewed for placement of elements like trees or buildings.
- **Background Art: Hand-Painted vs Digital** [0:56] — Backgrounds were traditionally hand-painted (e.g., Dragon Ball Z) but are now mostly digital (e.g., One-Punch Man) for speed and cost.
- **Key Animation** [1:32] — Key animators draw the first, middle, and last frames of an animation sequence.
- **Use of References** [1:57] — Key animators use references like mirrors to draw proportions correctly.
- **In-Between Animation** [2:10] — In-between animators fill in the frames between key frames to create fluid motion.
- **Frame Count** [2:51] — A 30-minute TV episode can have up to 1,500 redrawn pictures.
- **Compositing and Coloring** [3:03] — Compositing includes coloring and shading, with artists given specific color palettes to maintain consistency.
- **Effects Department** [3:58] — The effects department adds lighting, glows, shading, blurs, and other effects to enhance the animation.
- **Post-Production and Voiceovers** [4:25] — Post-production includes editing for broadcast time and recording voiceovers.
- **Voice Acting Trivia** [4:45] — The voice of Goku is voiced by a woman, and the voice of Naruto is also voiced by a woman.

## Transcript

Have you ever wondered how anime is made well today?
We're going to take a behind-the-scenes look at some of your favorite animation studios and see how this whole [process] is done, from  scratch
It all starts off with a script the script is produced by the artist who developed the original [Manga] himself and after a lengthy review
Process by the director it gets greenlit and goes into production next we have a storyboard these storyboards include drawing
movements panning of the camera, and the length of each shot next we have layouts for the actual scenery [and]
Landscapes that take place first they're drawn on paper
And it is reviewed should we have a tree here should we have a building here?
And then actually once it is finalized goes to a landscape department where they used to hand paint them
They don't do it so much anymore
Now it has turned into a lot of digital landscapes, but think old-school dragonball z
That's all hand painted landscapes and backgrounds, and thank new age one-punch man. It is all digital
backgrounds now however sometimes they still do paint in
Regular acrylics, but typically don't they'll only do that in a scenario where it's faster or better for some particular [reason]
But primarily now. It's all digitized because you have all your tools right at hand. It's faster cleaner and cheaper
Next we have key animation now what key animators do is they draw the first frame the middle frame and the last frame
Typically of an animation so basically if one guy of guy a was going to kick guy B
He'd have him standing there. He'd have middle the kick and then he have the kick impacting the guy
After the key animation is done for every frame. It'll go over to the [in-between] animators here's something you might find interesting
When the key animators are drawing they have to use references so that they get everything correct now
Here's an example of a key animator using a mirror so that he can look at his hand in order to draw the hand
Proportionally and correctly after the key animators are done it goes over to the in-between animators who make sure that that
animation is a solid fluid movement by tracking the three pictures that they were given or more and
basically drawing the frames in between
Those in order to give it that motion key animators usually are more amateur. They're less expensive a lot of times
They're brought in from Korea over in Japan and that
Is part of the reason that Dragon Ball Super episode 5?
Didn't look great in a lot of those scenes is because it was done by less
Experienced animators who were brought in to do the heavy [lifting] on those [in-between]?
Fluid movement animations now what you have to understand is that in animation?
just a TV series a 30-minute episode can have as many as
1,500 Redrawn pictures in that single episode
After all the animations are complete it goes over to compositing now compositing is a slew of different departments
But primarily it is
the coloring studio the shading and this is where they put in and
Fill all [of] the lines of the animations that have been created [with] the correct colors now a lot of these companies have entire
Departments just for the coloring because it is so time-consuming
Each of these artists will be given a correct palette of colors to use to ensure [that] all characters
Keep and [Maintain] their level and quality of colors throughout the entire animation now
sometimes
they'll be in a cave or [in] a building where there's not as much light and they'll be given a different color palette for the
Darker Shades
And that's why sometimes you'll see characters having different shades of color
Whether it's their clothes or their skin the final stage of production is effects the effects department will take the fully drawn animation fully colored
With landscapes and everything, but basically the rest of the departments are done at this point
And now we'll start adding effects whether it's lightening glows or as shading blurs
They'll add various effects to ensure that that animation looks amazing glints on swords more things than you probably even know
A lot of blurs for certain scenes so that it gives it more of a speed motion there are so many things that the effects
Department does in the end that really add [to] the stellar quality of an animation and add those effects that make you love those key
moments in that anime
Finally we go to post production
which is editing so that the
anime the 30 minute cartoon is exactly the amount of broadcast time meaning they may have to cut some pieces out and we do the
Voiceovers the voiceovers are probably one of the more on stages in this entire process
You guys probably knew that the voice of Goku is voiced by a woman
walking [Sudhana], or underneath it feels old ah
But did you know that the voice of naruto was - oh see what after dinner?
You go get a shell company to understand [company]. Chaos there you [still] gotta I'm the coo you know they're not pan out
I'm jake Master master our media. Thanks for joining us today
Make sure to hit that subscribe button, and I will talk [to] you guys soon
so lucky