Dark side of anime production

A 28 year old man working for anime production company "A-1 Pictures" was found dead in his apartment in October 2010.

He worked on shows such as "Kannagi" and "Ookiku Furikabutte".

He had committed suicide as a result of depression, brought on from overworking at his job.

He was apparently working 600 hours a month, with over 100 hours overtime.

As an anime fan it might seem fun to work as an animator, but in reality it is extremely tough and the pay is lower than most other jobs.

Japanese average salary rankings (2011):
1. Pro baseball players: 34,430,000 yen
2. Politicians: 22,280,000 yen
3. Lawyers: 21,010,000 yen
4. Pilots: 17,130,000 yen
5. Orthodontists: 13,290,000 yen
6. Doctors: 12,270,000 yen
7. Police officers: 8,400,000 yen
8. Salary men working for large corporations: 8,080,000 yen
9. Farmers: 7,650,000 yen
10. Local government officers: 7,280,000 yen
11. Government officials: 6,280,000 yen
12. Salary men working for a listed company: 5,760,000 yen
13. Average salary men: 4,390,000 yen
14. Programmers: 4,120,000 yen
15. Boiler technicians: 4,030,000 yen
16. Store clerks: 3,900,000 yen
17. Carpenters: 3,650,000 yen
18. Construction workers: 3,570,000 yen
19. Kindergarten teachers: 3,280,000 yen
20. Security guards: 3,150,000 yen
21. Hairdressers: 2,950,000 yen
22. Cleaners: 2,330,000 yen
23. Animators: 1,100,000 yen
24. Freeters: 1,060,000 yen

Source 1
Source 2