Shiigoto Kentei(Job Tests)

Main article in Otakuzone can be found here.

I will only quote excerpts from the article as it took up an entire newspaper page and is thus very long.

For all aspiring otakus, if you wish to test how much you know on the anime and manga industry, this test is surely for you. Though at the moment from the article, it seems that it is currently limited to Japan only.

For those who aspire to work in Japan’s otaku-related field, there are special exams to boost their credentials.

VOICE actress Haruko Momoi took the Anime Kentei, an animation competency test, last year simply because she thought it would be fun. She also found it rather unusual that such a test is offered on paper when similar otaku-related qualification exams are usually done on the Internet in a more casual manner.

“The test was conducted in a university classroom like any other serious test with the presence of examiners and under strict rules about time and so on,” said Momoi, who passed Level 3 of the Anime Kentei (aniken.jp/outline.html), which was started by the Association of Japanese Animations last year to expand the popularity of animation and nurture animation-related knowledge.

Kind of serious if a seiyuu(Voice Actor) finds his/herself taking a competency test to test their knowledge. Which is good.

According to Koji Senda of the Tokyo Anime Centre, an information centre in Akihabara, Tokyo, run by the association in co-operation with relevant publishers and companies, about 1,300 people sat for the tests of levels 3, 4 and 5 last year. Each level’s test comprises 60 to 70 questions, and the ratio of successful applicants becomes lower as the level goes up. For example, the passing rate of Level 3 was about 25% last year.

Just as tough as A-Levels. If not tougher.

“People tend to have biased ideas when they hear the word ‘maid’ in connection with maid cafes or Akihabara. We want to get rid of such notions by spreading the correct image of maids through this competency test,” said Taro Daimon, the chairman of Nippon Maid Association. The association was established last year and launched its Maid Kentei (www.n-m-a.jp/app.html) at the same time.

Association director Tetsuya Ono also said he recognised the need to establish the due status of maids from his experience of running a homemaker service that sends workers in maid costumes to customers. “Women often applied for our jobs just because being a maid is kind of fashionable. But I want to popularise the idea that being a maid is a profession that requires particular skills,” Ono said.

The last Maid Kentei for Level 2, in September, tested applicants who had passed Level 3 of the Maid Kentei in August. The Level 2 applicants were tested on maid manners, the history of maids – which, according to the association, is based on the maid culture that flourished in Victorian England – sewing, cooking, cleaning and washing clothes. (The last item is a written exam.)

There is also a test for aspiring mangaka and manga assistants.

Meanwhile, the organisers of the Manga Noryoku Kentei (www.manken.ne.jp/index.html), called Manken for short, hope that those who passed the competency test will find jobs in the manga industry despite the test being still in the fledgling stage.

“Manken started in June last year and it is a test in which professionals objectively evaluate your manga-drawing ability and creativity,” said Kotaro Makino, a director at Nihon Manga Noryoku Kentei Kyokai association.

“We hope this kentei will help people find jobs in the industry. Even graduates of manga academies are hampered by a lack of related qualifications,” Makino pointed out.

The next Manken will be held on Feb 22, and applications for it will start on Dec 22.