If you want to know more about how anime is made or what it is like to work in the anime industry, Shirobako is the show for you. What we have is an office-themed slice of life series that focuses on an animation company's productions from the vantage point of a young production assistant and her friends.
Story: 8
The story of Shirobako chronicles the company's creation of two anime series, an original series and one based on a popular manga. Each story arc explores the difficulties of creating each type of story, and the show presents the work environment as hectic and insanely busy.
Characters: 7
While the series has five protagonists, not all of them have equal screen time or character development. Beyond the main heroines, there is a large ensemble cast of characters who each play a role in the production of anime. Many of them are memorable and at first glance seem to be stereotypes, are given more character development as the show goes on. Learning how and why these characters do what they do and why they pursue their passions are very inspiring.
Sound: 8
The music fits the mood, while mainly being upbeat and energetic. The Japanese dub is good, as characters each have a distinctive voice. And they talk about voice acting a bit in parts of the show when you see them dubbing the show!
Art: 8
A lot of time is dedicated in the story to exploring the motivations and challenges faced by character designers and animators, explaining the difficulty of particular scenes that they are working on (such as a bunch of running horses) and then they proceed to show you that actual completed animation! The actual art of the series is bright and colourful in and of itself.
Enjoyment: 8
I have always been fascinated by the animation process so learning how anime is produced and how many people are involved in the process was a great learning experience for me. There is a lot of people talking in jargon that is hard to understand, but that's true of any story involving an office environment. I also enjoy slice of life shows that show the progression of people through their daily lives. And it was refreshing to see a show about people pursuing careers as young adults as opposed to all the anime shows about teenagers dreaming about the future. Shirobako takes that next step and hows the struggles of establishing yourself as a professional, which speaks to where I'm at in life as well.