<p>If Japanese anime studios do use this software, you'd think <a href="http://anime.smithmicro.com/user-stories.html">their user stories</a> would consist of at least someone from Japan or someone who's done work with a Japanese studio.</p>

<p>The software itself seems more geared towards a small team (or one person) production which doesn't seem to fit in a large scale production involving dozens of animators, in-betweeners, story-boarders, etc.</p>

<p>I know that Makoto Shinkai (Voices of a Distant Star, 5cm/s) uses <em>Celtx</em>, <em>After Effects</em> and stuff like <em>Photoshop</em> and <em>Illustrator</em>. He's done one person projects. I also see <a href="http://www.comic-works.com/">Comic Works</a> mentioned a lot on Japanese blogs. But it seems most large productions use software called "RETAS". I can't provide any sources to substantiate this claim but it's probably unlikely Japanese studios would use this software that looks like it's geared for smaller productions and use it for commercial anime production, it's more likely that they use a lot of different types of software to facilitate the process of writing->story-boarding->key-frames->inbetweens on a much larger scale. <a href="http://washiblog.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/anime-production-detailed-guide-to-how-anime-is-made-and-the-talent-behind-it/">This blog post about AIC's animation process</a> makes it out to be pretty complex.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-01-16T22:49:01.113Z
+1 I was about to post a very similar answer. Also, the fact that their site doesn't seem to have a Japanese language option indicates that their target market probably isn't in Japan.
Logan M
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2013-01-16T22:40:03.013Z
2013-01-16T22:45:26.507Z
2013-01-16T22:45:26.507Z
Jon Lin
<p>Is <a href="http://anime.smithmicro.com/" rel="nofollow">Anime Studio</a> used by any popular Anime studios for actual, commercial Anime production?</p>

<p>I know it's fairly common with amateurs and quite a few Western Animation professionals, but has it ever been used to produce a full season of an <em>anime</em> series that was aired in Japanese TV, or some Anime of comparable scale? Or is just a marketing twist, and only ever Western animation of professional quality has been made in it?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-01-17T07:24:14.767Z
I voted to close this question because it's offtopic; see here: http://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/4/what-software-is-used-for-making-anime http://meta.anime.stackexchange.com/questions/6/are-questions-about-how-to-make-anime-and-manga-off-topic/105#105
looper
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-01-17T08:21:32.457Z
@looper: The rationale behind the upvoted answer is "They're [...] suited to Graphic Design and are more about the animation process (not unique to anime) rather than the medium itself." - how does that relate to my question? Do you suppose people at Graphic Design would be capable of answering it?
SF.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-01-17T08:46:27.287Z
sorry, I meant the question, not the answer. Sadly, I can't edit my comment ...
looper
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-01-17T15:22:15.343Z
Video production techniques and software selections don't fall in-scope of this site because Anime is part of the question. I understand there may be folks here can coincidentally answer your question, but that doesn't make the subject on-topic. This is a variation of the old *"What is the favorite softdrink... of programmers"* problem from Stack Overflow. Sorry. I hope one of our Graphic/AVP forums can help you.
Robert Cartaino
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-01-17T15:37:41.530Z
@RobertCartaino: Are you serious? This is more of "does any of Fortune500 use GCC?". Though I guess, FAQ's definition "for anime and manga fans" is more thorough than expected - Consumers only, Creators are unwelcome.
SF.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-01-17T15:55:38.537Z
@SF. Yes, this is an *end user* fandom site. Creators are certainly welcome to participate, but discussions of "Anime" do *not* extend into all facets of production techniques... much like we *wouldn't* discuss publishing, licensing channels, marketing,  distribution, etc, etc.
Robert Cartaino
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-01-17T20:05:44.147Z
@RobertCartaino I can't find anywhere in the area51 discussions or on Meta implying that this site is restricted to the end user experience, and we've had some very good questions on anime production, so I don't agree with that stance in any case. Questions of scope seem like they should be decided by the community at large on Meta rather than inconsistently applied without discussion.
Logan M
<anime-production>
Is "Anime Studio" animation software used professionally in making anime?
# Is "Anime Studio" animation software used professionally in making anime?
Posted by: username_0 on 2013-01-16
Is [Anime Studio](http://anime.smithmicro.com/) used by any popular Anime studios for actual, commercial Anime production?

I know it's fairly common with amateurs and quite a few Western Animation professionals, but has it ever been used to produce a full season of an *anime* series that was aired in Japanese TV, or some Anime of comparable scale? Or is just a marketing twist, and only ever Western animation of professional quality has been made in it?
**Tags:** anime-production
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I voted to close this question because it's offtopic; see here: http://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/4/what-software-is-used-for-making-anime http://meta.anime.stackexchange.com/questions/6/are-questions-about-how-to-make-anime-and-manga-off-topic/105#105  
> **username_0**: @looper: The rationale behind the upvoted answer is "They're [...] suited to Graphic Design and are more about the animation process (not unique to anime) rather than the medium itself." - how does that relate to my question? Do you suppose people at Graphic Design would be capable of answering it?  
> **username_1**: sorry, I meant the question, not the answer. Sadly, I can't edit my comment ...  
> **username_2**: Video production techniques and software selections don't fall in-scope of this site because Anime is part of the question. I understand there may be folks here can coincidentally answer your question, but that doesn't make the subject on-topic. This is a variation of the old *"What is the favorite softdrink... of programmers"* problem from Stack Overflow. Sorry. I hope one of our Graphic/AVP forums can help you.  
> **username_0**: @RobertCartaino: Are you serious? This is more of "does any of Fortune500 use GCC?". Though I guess, FAQ's definition "for anime and manga fans" is more thorough than expected - Consumers only, Creators are unwelcome.  
> **username_2**: @SF. Yes, this is an *end user* fandom site. Creators are certainly welcome to participate, but discussions of "Anime" do *not* extend into all facets of production techniques... much like we *wouldn't* discuss publishing, licensing channels, marketing,  distribution, etc, etc.  
> **username_3**: @RobertCartaino I can't find anywhere in the area51 discussions or on Meta implying that this site is restricted to the end user experience, and we've had some very good questions on anime production, so I don't agree with that stance in any case. Questions of scope seem like they should be decided by the community at large on Meta rather than inconsistently applied without discussion.  
---
## 1 answers
### Answer by username_4 on 2013-01-16. Score: 8 | Accepted answer
If Japanese anime studios do use this software, you'd think [their user stories](http://anime.smithmicro.com/user-stories.html) would consist of at least someone from Japan or someone who's done work with a Japanese studio.

The software itself seems more geared towards a small team (or one person) production which doesn't seem to fit in a large scale production involving dozens of animators, in-betweeners, story-boarders, etc.

I know that Makoto Shinkai (Voices of a Distant Star, 5cm/s) uses *Celtx*, *After Effects* and stuff like *Photoshop* and *Illustrator*. He's done one person projects. I also see [Comic Works](http://www.comic-works.com/) mentioned a lot on Japanese blogs. But it seems most large productions use software called "RETAS". I can't provide any sources to substantiate this claim but it's probably unlikely Japanese studios would use this software that looks like it's geared for smaller productions and use it for commercial anime production, it's more likely that they use a lot of different types of software to facilitate the process of writing->story-boarding->key-frames->inbetweens on a much larger scale. [This blog post about AIC's animation process](http://washiblog.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/anime-production-detailed-guide-to-how-anime-is-made-and-the-talent-behind-it/) makes it out to be pretty complex.
> **Comments:**
> **username_3** (2013-01-16): +1 I was about to post a very similar answer. Also, the fact that their site doesn't seem to have a Japanese language option indicates that their target market probably isn't in Japan.  
---
