Shirobako

It all started in Kaminoyama High School, when five best friends—Aoi Miyamori, Ema Yasuhara, Midori Imai, Shizuka Sakaki, and Misa Toudou—discovered their collective love for all things anime and formed the animation club. After making their first amateur anime together and showcasing it at the culture festival, the group vows to pursue careers in the industry, aiming to one day work together and create their own mainstream show.

Two and a half years later, Aoi and Ema have managed to land jobs at the illustrious Musashino Animation production company. The others, however, are finding it difficult to get their dream jobs. Shizuka is feeling the weight of not being recognized as a capable voice actor, Misa has a secure yet unsatisfying career designing 3D models for a car company, and Midori is a university student intent on pursuing her dream as a story writer. These five girls will learn that the path to success is one with many diversions, but dreams can still be achieved through perseverance and a touch of eccentric creativity.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Shirobako won the Animation Kobe Television Award in 2015.
It also won the Animation of the Year award in the Television category at the Tokyo Anime Award Festival in 2016.

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Shirobako: Kaminoyama Koukou Animation Doukoukai, Shirobako: Introduction
Side story:	Shirobako Specials
Sequel:	Shirobako Movie

Hayama, Ikumi
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Horikawa, Kenji

Producer, Planning

Kananiwa, Kozue

Producer

Kawase, Kouhei

Producer

Nagatani, Takayuki

Producer

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Opening Theme

	1: "I'm Sorry EXODUS (あいむそーりーEXODUS)" by Tracy (トレイシー) (Mai Nakahara, Shizuka Itou, Ai Kayano) (eps 1)
	2: "COLORFUL BOX" by Yoko Ishida (eps 2-11)
	3: "Takarabako -TREASURE BOX- (宝箱-TREASURE BOX-)" by Masami Okui (eps 13-22)

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Ending Theme

	1: "COLORFUL BOX" by Yoko Ishida (eps 1)
	2: "Animetic Love Letter" by Aoi Miyamori (Juri Kimura), Ema Yasuhara (Haruka Yoshimura), Shizuka Sakaki (Haruka Chisuga) (eps 2-12)
	3: "Platinum Jet (プラチナジェット)" by Doughnut◎Quintet (どーなつ◎くいんてっと) (eps 13, 15-18, 20-24)
	4: "Yama Harinezumi Andes Chucky (山はりねずみアンデスチャッキー)" by Miyuki Kunitake (eps 19)

Reviews

May 9, 2015

Veronin

Recommended

Shirobako is a love letter to the anime industry. It doesn't glorify it or portray animators as hyper-talented geniuses, and many of the characters in the show admit they do not even understand why they're working in the industry. But there's something that keeps them passionate about what they do, even if it may not be the most respected form of media out there.

Shirobako is also a genuinely well-written and entertaining story in its own right. It's a highly informative and interesting look at what the process of creating anime is all about, but it is more than that, too. And it is also ... courageous for being an original series and for telling a story about adult characters rather than the typical high school fare that anime is seemingly incapable of escaping from.

If you are expecting tons of drama or deep, philosophical themes (in which case I'd argue you're in the wrong medium), Shirobako is not going to be for you. It is a story about the mundane, the everyday struggles of the workplace. Rushing to meet deadlines is often the most the characters have to deal with in any given episode. And there's something inherently appealing about that, I think. The closer something is to reality-- the more mundane it is, the more you can relate to and empathise with what's going on. Being able to empathise is perhaps the most important part of any story.

Shirobako does attempt to break away from otaku fantasy-land by making its world more resemble ours. There are obese characters, old characters, married characters and all sorts of other types that populate our world and yet are seemingly extinct in the vast majority of anime. There's definitely still a large 'moe' appeal for most of the female characters, but there is never a point where it becomes overbearing. Shirobako doesn't resort to panty-shots and beach episodes and other sorts of contrived nonsense in order to make the girls appealing. Their cuteness is more natural; it stems from their personality and their flaws rather than their body, even if Yano's stockings and Diesel-chan's side ponytail are perhaps the greatest things my eyes have ever witnessed.

I do have to wonder why anime are so afraid of including female characters outside the high school age range, as if they are somehow incapable of being interesting or likeable once the clock strikes 18. The girls of Shirobako are in their 20's and yet they are far more appealing (and yes, more cute) than the vast majority of teenage characters. Maybe that could be my own oldness speaking, but I'd like to see more variety and more 20-somethings like there are in Shirobako. There's far more that can be done with adult characters. Shirobako understands that life exists outside of high school, and it isn't afraid of showing that life.

But only talking about the appeal of the characters would be a disservice, as there is far more that makes Shirobako an outstanding anime. Most people who watch the show are going to have their attention on its portrayal of the anime industry and the animator's lifestyle, which are shown with extensive detail in each and every episode. Even if you have no knowledge of how the anime industry works, by the time you finish Shirobako, you'll have a pretty OK idea of how it does. It does not just focus on the animators alone, but also the lower roles (such as the delivery dude/lady), all the way up to the very top management who decide the voice actors and how the anime should end. It does lend to a deeper appreciation for anime as a whole, as you'll realise that even the complete stinkers may have sucked because of a minor managerial mistake rather than incompetence.

I cannot speak to how accurate these things are since I'm not an animator myself, but what I can tell is that the show is obviously idealised to some extent. It is, after all, meant to be a piece of entertainment rather than a documentary, so occasionally the characters will do things such as working at superhuman speeds or engage in the usual manzai routine for comedic effect. The story actually goes completely bonkers in the last couple episodes (with one of the characters actually deflecting bullets with the lard in their belly - YES REALLY), so it wouldn't be a good idea to expect Shirobako to be a perfectly accurate representation of reality. And then there's those talking stuffed animals that are never really explained. Magic, or something?

The fact that Shirobako is an anime-original series and not an adaptation of some other manga or light novel makes it an inherently positive presence in anime, I think. P.A. Works not only made a great anime, but something that is strictly 'anime' and not a property of some other medium. Personally, I am getting pretty bored of anime's role as the 'adaptation medium'. The industry would benefit from more titles like Shirobako, even if that means studios taking a bit of a financial risk.

Shirobako can be a bit misleading, though. The first episode creates the impression that the entire story is going to be about the five high school friends working together in the anime industry, but that isn't really how things pan out. It is a story about the events of Musashino Animation. Only two of the five girls work there as regular employees for the majority of the series, with my goddess Diesel joining in the latter half and the remaining two pitching in at the very last moment. Some people may find this a bit disappointing, but I thought it was the proper route for the story. Adult life rarely ever works out exactly as planned, and Shirobako is very much an anime about adult life.

It would be pretty ironic if an anime about animation had poor animation, so it's fortunate that Shirobako looks and sounds as nice as it does. There is none of the usual 'sameface' phenomenon that plagues most anime with a moe art style (which Shirobako most definitely has), and the backgrounds are often filled with detail (like an anime figure sitting on a desk to the side) which makes having a wandering eye recommended. It's a bright and visually pleasant show, while the music, even if it's not particularly notable, creates an appropriate atmosphere. There are no melodramatic 'PLEASE CRY NOW' piano pieces, and for that I am thankful.

Regardless of preferences and standards, I think Shirobako is more than capable of being one of the most enjoyable experiences anyone has with anime for a very long time-- especially so if you have any sort of passion for the anime industry. It's well-written and free of any noteworthy flaws, sure, but it's also informative and unique for a medium that has been plagued by sameness for decades. Why there haven't been anime like Shirobako until this day remains a mystery to me, but it has made me regain some hope for the anime industry-- it's still capable of creating great things, it seems.

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Jun 9, 2016

ItIsIDio

Mixed Feelings

Shirobako is a good choice for you if you want to have a look into the anime industry but without events and characters seeming like they progress in a natural or realistic fashion, but still giving you somewhat of a decent insight into the industry regardless.

You see, Shirobako does do a good job at putting on the line some of the goals and aspirations the characters want to do, even if it's half corny and generic safe responses and the other half is mostly what would feel natural for someone that has entered into the industry making a decision that fits their original goal presented ...

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Jan 22, 2016

suigintou101

Not Recommended

Little Bit of Spoiler but not much to really spoil anything.

Shirobako is a dull anime with nothing special at what the other people have written in their reviews. I don't understand how people came up with its a beautiful anime, it's a masterpiece or a kiss to the anime production. The anime was very average and I believe it's a hit or miss anime and it was a miss for me. I will say that episode 1-12 was useless and watching from episode 13-24 is a much better choice. There is not much improvement still after episode 12.

The animation is smooth and beautiful, with great ... music that was beautifully done. The Voice acting was amazing and was very fitting for each of the characters and their personalities.

For the characters it mainly focuses on Aoi with the occasional other 4 girls. It shows how Shizuka is struggling with finding a voice acting job, how Misa wanted a change of work and Ema finding her own style and the artist blocks she faced. However that was for only couple of episodes and what happened to Midori? It was like they were saying hey Midori is in college still so forget about her now as we still don't know what to do with her yet. Oh nevermind lets just bring her to the same company as Aoi and Ema but as a person who's importance is only for researching and for nothing else.

Majority of the episodes was about Aoi managing her job and the experiences she faced. The only characters who feel fully developed other than Aoi is Ema, Yano, Gothic Lolita-san (Ogasawara), Endou, Segawa and Andou. Hell even Kunogi feels like a fully developed character compared to the three other main characters, and she can't even finish one sentence at all. It was like hey first 12 episodes forget about all the 3 girls except Aoi and Ema, then to bringing the other 2 main girls in for just a small screen time with little to no importance at all. Oh and forget about Shizuka and the fact that she even existed; she is more non-existant than Akari (Yuru Yuri)

I feel for Shizuka cause I liked her the most from the 4 other main girls, however, it pissed me off that they just dropped her in the last two episodes just because they felt like it. They must have forgotten that there was a 5th character and were trying to remember who the hell the red haired girl was and her importance. They suddenly remembered her and was like oh shit she was supposed to be a voice actor ok lets just put her for this minor roll and just end the anime with that.

There were like only 4-5 good jokes, the comedy it tried to push was stale. The characters are what you expect, with the variety of personality where it just gets annoying. Everything is happy and nice, where no one pays for a mistake they made even if it was a major mistake. Everyone just apologized and the matter got settled, come on if this is about the job force in making anime, at least, make it realistic.

Then there are those random daydreams with the two dolls, which didn't fit at all. It was fist at first as they only appeared once in a while. But after episode 12 they appeared constantly giving tips and descriptions for the anime industry. They had more speech dialogue than the actual characters and note that they don't even exist. Also WTF is with the unrealistic driving in this anime, are they trying to show how important it the key files or other papers are, so lets drive fast, or that this is an anime so we have to show something cool and awesome. Another thing how the F**K did Yano learn to sail a boat?

If they were trying to make an anime about the jobs and hardship in the anime production, they need to take it seriously and not put the illusionary images like for example the last episode. It was like they never took this seriously. If there is anoter anime about making an anime or manga (unless it similar to Mangaka-San to Assistant-San) then I will not read or watch it. I didn't enjoy this anime at all, the reviews here are misleading and was not correct for me.

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Shirobako

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Characters & Voice Actors

Miyamori, Aoi

Yasuhara, Ema

Sakaki, Shizuka

Imai, Midori

Toudou, Misa

Yano, Erika

Ogasawara, Rinko

Kinoshita, Seiichi

Kunogi, Ai

Andou, Tsubaki

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Shirobako

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Streaming Platforms

Synopsis

Background

Visit MALxJapan MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

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