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| Where they somehow explaining how Anime are produced? Cause that's pretty much the only thing I got from this. |
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| What the hell happened to this series.. |
| Can't believe there are people who don't understand this episode. There's a clear moral: Take a rest. Take a rest. Take a rest. Take a rest. Take a rest. Take a rest... This episode was basically a more realistic Shirobako with murder. |
| "No, son, you may not have your body pillow at the dinner table!" |
| I liked this episode a lot. The impression I got was that Shounen Bat didn't actually kill all those people...the incompetent idiot did. We saw him kill the producer toward the end...maybe it was him all a long. He had taken enough abuse from everyone else on staff and wound up killing them off one-by-one. I don't think he even realized he was doing it. Maybe Shounen Bat took him over and used him as a tool to do his dirty work. Then, once he was done killing everyone on the staff, he went after the incompetent guy himself and caused him to commit suicide. Maybe that's how Shounen Bat operates all the time. He doesn't have a corporeal form...he just possesses people and forces them to kill. I dunno...just a theory. |
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on 
| that character was so annoying lol |
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| I don't agree with most people about the dislike of this episode - only because it was filler do people not like it. It has a great narrative, a unique perspective, and you really grow to hate the main character of the story. Also - a Script Writer died at the start of the story, right? Is that the husband of the wife from last episode? Also, am I the only one who noticed the pun when there's a worker called Oda Nobunaga and Saru (the MC this ep) says "What does he think he is? A lord?", haha. |
Well i actually really like the episode... |
| *meme* |
| Interesting how the comments for this show seem to be polar opposites. Half of them love an episode, half of them hate it. As for this episode...eh. Most of the previous episodes as least gave us a bit of insight into Shounen Bat, but I didn't get anything from this one. One comment suggested Shounen Bat was just a cover for suicide, but the lady at her desk at home couldn't have possibly inflicted that on herself, given her body's position. I did really like the OP's cameo though xD |
| Between this episode and the revelation a few episodes ago about Tsukiko never actually getting attacked and instead inflicting wounds on herself, I'm starting to lean towards thinking that Shounen Bat doesn't actually exist and instead is an allegory for something else. I was thinking more along the lines of the supernatural earlier but now I'm not so sure. |
 It's an entirely different kind of flying, altogether! It's an entirely different kind of flying. |
| This was a pretty informative episode regarding anime production. Very good. I don't know what's real and what's not in this anime anymore. |
"At some point, I stopped hoping." |
| What wrong with you guys who thinking that this episode (and another last two) is a "filler".. It's not filler at all, those episode give us some hints of what shounen bat really is ... Yeah I am not really confident with my theory, mainly because that suicide group episode, but I just think that is hilarious to call this episode is a filler.. If I have to said it, I prefer to say that first 7 episodes were a prequel or background story ... |
"The Slave is the have-not, the oppressed one with nothing to spare. But because the Slave is in that despairing situation, having nothing, it can kill the Emperor !" |
| Do you guys know this show is a social commentary on the stress filled japanese society? (as well as the atomic bomb and how japan got away with the responsibilities for it's war crimes by playing the victim card) the plot isn't the focus of the show, it's there just suport and provide context to the themes showcased. |
TimeseekerJun 18, 2017 3:17 PM
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| ...man, this episode was even worse than the last lol. Actually made me fall asleep. |
Jim_Heart said: What wrong with you guys who thinking that this episode (and another last two) is a "filler".. It's not filler at all, those episode give us some hints of what shounen bat really is ... Yeah I am not really confident with my theory, mainly because that suicide group episode, but I just think that is hilarious to call this episode is a filler.. If I have to said it, I prefer to say that first 7 episodes were a prequel or background story ... Exactly my thoughts. To me, thinking that these episodes are fillers means you missed the point. And i must say, if not for these forums I would have missed it too. Well, at least this is my current view. |
| People calling these last two episodes "filler" trigger me. There is no filler. It's a 13 episode show. All these episodes are linked to the story the show is trying to tell. Especially with Shonen Bat still appearing in each. Anyway, overall I liked this episode. It wasn't too entertaining, but damn was it weirdly educational? The parallels between the fiction they were creating and their real lives was also rather interesting. I think this episode's main themes were of sacrifice and talent, and the relationship between the two. The main character it followed was clearly driven and sacrificing a lot for his work, constantly falling asleep at the wheel and all--but it made no difference in the end, as he got fired. He was much like the baseball player in the show they were creating; only in the real world the repercussions of being talent-less when it comes to your ambition/work is rather grim. No magical character is going to appear and support you, in-fact people are gonna put you down (the manager/bully) because you being talent-less also negatively affects them. Especially in a career as team related as studio animation or baseball. I think there was also a message of sacrificing too much (and maybe to a lesser extent, denying reality) makes monsters of us all. |
ZaugrApr 19, 2018 12:22 PM
| Signature removed. Please follow the signature rules, as defined in the Site & Forum Guidelines. |
| I did like the episode, but I wish the show would get "back on track" a bit more |
| getting a bit frustrated with how the series has been going since the officers got fired. filler episodes are alright, but for a 13 episode series? not to say that ive hated them, satoshi kon's filler is never really just filler, and the last two filler episodes were pretty entertaining. i liked the dark humor and that they were pretty fast paced, but this episode dragged just a bit and i feel like the tone just isn't as tense and im not as sucked in as i was. the more i watch, the more i feel like i'm right about shounen bat being representative of suicide as a quick fix to problems and a way out. i appreciate what this anime is doing and how much it's making me think, i just feel like satoshi kon could have organized his episodes better to keep the tension building rather than building all this tension in the first 4 episodes only to throw in a couple of comedic episodes, albiet dark, still lacking the tone that the show had in the beginning. hopefully the next few episodes will wrap everything up well. regardless, i dont regret rewatching and finally getting around to finishing this anime. |
| This latest Shirobako episode got suddenly really weird and dark... ;) |
| More a commentary on working in the anime industry than anything relating to the actual show. I liked the part where the incompetent monkey started to get "de-animated," but nothing else followed from that event in this episode. |
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| Fantastic episode with some decent informations about how animes are made. And how more or less stress is involved in their creation. Maromi is soo cute! *_* |
| Satoshi Kon reminds me a bit of Charlie Kaufman in that they both can't resist literally writing themselves into their cerebral-ass stories xD Paprika was the same way. I did enjoy watching the incompetent dude start to abstract back into never being drawn. The art in this show has been consistently inspired a strong 9/10 in that department I do feel like having three episodes in a row that are only tangential to the overarching plot has significantly messed with the momentum of the show. I've already had to do so many mental gymnastics up to this point and now I feel like I've been pulled a bit too far away |
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| This episode was good but despite that, I think the series should go back to the “main story“, I want to know more. |
HectorBlazeMay 29, 2020 4:11 AM
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| This show is falling apart since the two cops were fired, i'm starting to doubt this is gonna offer a satisfying conclusion to the plot, 3 episodes left... |
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werrston said: It will be wrapped up, don't worry about that. I'm going to trust you.... but lord..... LORD. |
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| If there's something that I have learned in this fairly entertaining episode that I'm grateful for, that would be the brief explanation of the different people involved in the anime production process. Monkey Man was insufferable but this was entertaining anyway. I hope that everything else after this will be about the main storyline. |
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| I almost fell asleep on this one. Wish they will get back on the main story already. I hope these past few episodes are really not just fillers. I still have hope on this. |
| It's because of stories like this that I abandoned my desire to work in the anime industry. I love anime and I respect the people involved making it who have to go through tight schedules to give us a quality product for our entertainment. It has to be really harsh to work under that much pressure. |
| Near the beginning of the episode, I was sliding towards agreeing with the majority in this thread, at least in terms of this being one of the weaker episodes. The first half I was mostly just enjoying for Maromi's information blurbs, I always appreciate getting information on the production front, and I can't think of another anime that went this in depth with specific roles and functions (I haven not seen Shirobako). And I especially enjoyed how cute most of Maromi's explanations one, like the sumo one, or crawling down the guy's arm. Part of why I disliked this was because Saruta wasn't a very compelling or likable lead but I think they worked to it's advantage with the reveal that he killed Oda, and Saruta eventually got more interesting as more of the story came out. The further I got into the episode, the more and more I began to appreciate it. Just how much of a spotlight this is into the often stressful anime production schedule, the demanding schedules, and the amount of overwork that is often standard. This is like a whole exposé on the brutality of production schedules, and just how much finishing the product can feel deemed as more important than human life itself. Obviously there's exaggeration, as I doubt many productions feature this much murder, but the truth is that many productions are this stressed and crunch for time. Look at The Promised Neverland's second season, production delays caused a recap and I'm told the finale episode is filled with still frame montages, likely because they couldn't catch up (I haven't actually seen the second season at all, but it's been interesting to read up because the whole thing is baffling and upsetting for everyone involved). Those who work in anime really need to take a rest, whether or not they actually can afford to depends, but this is an episode that definitely reads as a cathartic venting of the frustrations with the production schedule. I like that it also highlights the importance of several various roles and those people involved. Since that reads off as sort of Kon giving props to those who suffering in the industry for the craft. Having the episode condemn the system but praise the talents of those involved provides a nice balance, him killing them all off skews it back into horror, though it's also kind of funny when looking at it through this lens. Beyond that, I really loved how this used anime production into the show's DNA. Keyframes or storyboarded art being used at specific points (most noticeably when Saruta alone goes back in the animation process) but obviously the most epic moment, playing the OP on the car radio. Fits perfectly within this meta-narrative, typing Kon's personal attachment to this story using the OP of his own anime. Brilliant. |
| The anime industry being stressful is nothing new so to call this a "exposé" is a bit of a stretch with it not really offering much value other than help build hate for Saruta as a character. Slowly sliding down to a 7 with this downward trend, still a 8 atm, hoping to see it improve |
Celest__Jul 30, 2021 5:11 PM
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| I really liked this episode a lot, it was pretty creative and well written as others have said. But I'm totally lost on how these last 3 "filler" episodes are relevant thematically or to the story, I hope there's something crazy to pick up on later on that will make their meaning make sense. |
| This episode has major meta components. Kon is trying to express something to the viewers and it relates to the show ITSELF and shonen bat. Maromi is also a key piece to this (imagination/fantasy/creativity). I think shonen bat is not a person at all (and portrayed as a kid -- the one episode where they 'caught' shonen bat -- to exemplify that our fantasies and dreams can turn 'bad' or not be fulfilled -- that bent bat is a metaphor, you better believe it). This was also expressed during THIS episode via the lil baseballer dropping the bat, then Maromi (our own coping mechanisms and the gentle/light/fluffy side of things) comforting the cartoon kid. I think there have been no shonen bat attacks at all but people would try to off themselves (this was definitely foreshadowed in that episode where the old man, zebra and the little girl were really dead). Shonen bat is a metaphor for suicidal action, ideation and suicide itself, from what I'm gathering. OR just a huge expression on death and how we have an inability to cope (yet coping is supposedly available mass market via 'Maromi'). This episode really brought things to life and the strain we're feeling as viewers in the really intense 7 episodes leading up to the supposed 'filler' episodes. Here we see not only the daily minutiae of things but the stressors of the grind of work (down to its very detailed core). Remember how after each 'shonen bat attack' the person felt relieved? The chaos and intensity of the 'original storyline' got us stressed/pumped as viewers and there are these 'fillers' to kind of 'relieve' us but also set up for the BIG METAPHOR of shonen bat. Then episode 9, where the ladies are gossiping and talking, it's almost as if death (or if I'm right, suicide) is fantastical but then just becomes part of our daily conversation. Our lives have less meaning as time goes on or stories get misconstrued and altered like that game 'telephone'. I think Kon is kind of doing the same to us and fucking with our heads. This episode was awesome. I think it will come together and really bring light on whatever Kon is doing and if he wraps it up nicely I'd say this was all so deep and worthy of rewatch. OR Shonen Bat is just a serial batting violent kid and we're getting toyed with and bored (though, judging by Kon's other works I highly doubt it). |
skatensleepAug 26, 2021 12:37 PM
| Damn. It seems like Satoshi Kon started off with a mystery/thriller plot and halfway through he was like " Ah. Fuck it. Imma just show them anything." |
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| One complaint I had with the episode was the unnecessary details about the people involved. I didn't understand the point of explaining that each and every time. |
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That’s exactly what I was thinking throughout this episode. |
| Pretty hard for animators animating their own life....so a dude from animation company killed all the staff and died in last from accident...every one is getting paranoid from shonen bat.. |
| Back to back two boring nonsense episode. |
| Great standalone ep, but it's still filler. What the fuck is going on. Please don't tell me they'll end up rushing the ending. Why is this anime slowly becoming episodic? It had so much potential to be a gripping tale of Shounen Bat and the people around him. But no, it decides to go episodic with Shounen Bat being the only connection. Ep 7 was the best episode, after that it's all just episodic. Great standalone eps, but doesn't belong. |
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| solid but not as good as the two last eps |
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| After two crappy episodes, the show is back on track. |
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