Shirobako

Shirobako

Promotional poster.
Genre Comedy-drama[1]
Manga
Shirobako: Kaminoyama Kōkō Animation Dōkōkai
Written by Kenji Sugihara
Illustrated by Mizutama
Published by ASCII Media Works
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Dengeki Daioh
Original run September 27, 2014 – ongoing
Anime television series
Directed by Tsutomu Mizushima
Produced by Warner Entertainment Japan
Written by Michiko Yokote
Music by Shirō Hamaguchi
Studio P.A.Works
Licensed by
Sentai Filmworks
Network Tokyo MX, TVA, MBS, TUT, BS Fuji, AT-X
English network
Original run October 9, 2014 – March 26, 2015
Episodes 24
Novel
Shirobako Introduction
Written by Michiko Itō
Hajime Tanaka
Published by Shueisha
Demographic Male
Imprint Jump j Books
Published January 27, 2015
Original video animation
Exodus! Episode 1: Exit Tokyo
Directed by Tsutomu Mizushima
Written by Michiko Yokote
Music by Shirō Hamaguchi
Studio P.A.Works
Licensed by
Sentai Filmworks
Released February 25, 2015
Runtime 25 minutes
Original video animation
The Third Girls Aerial Squad Episode 1
Directed by Tsutomu Mizushima
Written by Michiko Yokote
Music by Shirō Hamaguchi
Studio P.A.Works
Licensed by
Sentai Filmworks
Released June 25, 2015

Shirobako (lit. White Box) is an anime television series produced by Warner Entertainment Japan and studio P.A.Works, which handled the animation. The series was directed by Tsutomu Mizushima and aired in Japan between October 9, 2014 and March 26, 2015. A manga adaptation began serialization in ASCII Media Works's Dengeki Daioh magazine in September 2014, and a novel was published by Shueisha in January 2015.

The title Shirobako refers to videos that are distributed to the production staff members prior to its release. These videos were at a time distributed as VHS tapes enclosed in white boxes and are still referred to as "white boxes" (thus the meaning of shirobako) despite the fact that the white enclosures are no longer in use.[2]

Plot

The story follows a group of five best friends, Aoi Miyamori, Ema Yasuhara, Shizuka Sakaki, Misa Tōdō, and Midori Imai, who all go into the anime industry after their experiences in the animation club of their high school. The series depicts the daily troubles and hardships the five experience in their respective jobs, as well as their efforts to overcome them, largely focusing on Aoi and her fellow staff at animation studio Musashino Animation as they work on two anime television series.

Characters

Main characters

Aoi Miyamori (宮森 あおい Miyamori Aoi)
Voiced by: Juri Kimura
Aoi is a production assistant of Musashino Animation, and later the production desk. She is a former member of the Kaminoyama High School animation club and is called "Aoi" by Ema and Shizuka, nicknamed "Oi" by Misa and Midori, and referred to as Myāmori (みゃーもり) by her coworkers. Having worked at Musashino Animation for a year-and-a-half, she has great driving skills and is acknowledged by her coworkers Erika Yano and Tatsuya Ochiai as suitable for the production industry. However, she admits that she has not officially decided what exact job to take in the anime industry.
Ema Yasuhara (安原 絵麻 Yasuhara Ema)
Voiced by: Haruka Yoshimura
Ema is a key animator at Musashino Animation and a former member of the Kaminoyama High School animation club. She is later promoted to the position of assistant general animation supervisor. She admires the work of character designer and general animation supervisor Rinko Ogasawara, who is her higher-up.
Shizuka Sakaki (坂木 しずか Sakaki Shizuka)
Voiced by: Haruka Chisuga
Shizuka is a voice actress at Akaoni Production and a former member of the Kaminoyama High School animation club. She is called "Zuka" by her friends. She also works part-time as a waitress at a pub. Her first notable role was as Lucy Weller, a character featured in the final episode of Musashino Animation's The Third Girls Aerial Squad anime adaptation.
Misa Tōdō (藤堂 美沙 Tōdō Misa)
Voiced by: Asami Takano
Misa is an aspiring 3D computer graphics operator and a former member of the Kaminoyama High School animation club. She once worked at computer graphics studio Super Media Creations, but later quit from the company due to her dissatisfaction with her work and then found employment at Studio Kanabun. Nicknamed "Mii" by her friends, she was initially confused in choosing between working in the fields of 2D and 3D, but ultimately chose the latter. She was inspired to work because of Ema's drawings.
Midori Imai (今井 みどり Imai Midori)
Voiced by: Hitomi Ōwada
Midori is a university student and aspiring scriptwriter. She is a former member of the Kaminoyama High School animation club and is nicknamed "Rii" by her friends. She is the youngest of the group and continues to strive to reach her goal. Her enthusiasm on researching earns her the nickname "Diesel" after she creates a helpful guide for Musashino Animation when they make an informal request for information on engines for Exodus!. She later finds employment at Musashino as a setting instructor, and later assists in the script ordering.

Musashino Animation

Production desk
Animation department
Other staff

Others

Directing staff
Sound department (R&B Studio)
Freelance animators
Voice actors
Other companies
Other characters

Anime characters

Exodus!
The Third Girls Aerial Squad

Media

Print media

A manga adaptation titled Shirobako: Kaminoyama Kōkō Animation Dōkōkai (SHIROBAKO 〜上山高校アニメーション同好会〜), written by Kenji Sugihara and illustrated by Mizutama, began serialization in the November 2014 issue of ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Daioh magazine sold on September 27, 2014.[3]

A 224-page novel adaptation, titled Shirobako Introduction and written by Michiko Itō and Hajime Tanka, was published by Shueisha under their Jump j Books imprint on January 27, 2015.[4]

Anime

The 24-episode anime television series was produced by Warner Entertainment Japan and P.A.Works, the latter of whom handled the animation. It was directed by Tsutomu Mizushima[5] and written by Michiko Yokote, with the music produced by Shirō Hamaguchi. The series aired on Tokyo MX between October 9, 2014 and March 26, 2015 and was simulcast by Crunchyroll. Original video animation episodes are included on the series' third and seventh Blu-ray Disc/DVD volumes, released on February 25, 2015 and June 24, 2015, respectively. For the first twelve episodes, the opening theme is "Colorful Box" by Yoko Ishida,[3] while the ending theme is "Animetic Love Letter" sung by Juri Kimura, Haruka Yoshimura, and Haruka Chisuga. For episode one, the opening theme is "I'm Sorry Exodus" (あいむそーりーEXODUS Aimu Sōrī Ekusodasu) sung by Tracy (Mai Nakahara, Shizuka Itō, and Ai Kayano). For episodes 13 onwards, the opening theme is "Takarabako (Treasure Box)" (宝箱-TREASURE BOX-) by Masami Okui, while the ending theme is "Platinum Jet" (プラチナジェット Purachina Jetto) by Donuts Quintet (Kimura, Yoshimura, Chisuga, Asami Takano, and Hitomi Ōwada). The ending theme for episode 19 is "Yama Harinezumi Andes Chucky" (山はりねずみアンデスチャッキー Yama Harinezumi Andesu Chakkī, Mountain Hedgehog Andes Chucky) by Miyuki Kunitake. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the series for release in North America.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Shirobako". Google Play. March 20, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Concept" (in Japanese). Shirobaco. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "P.A. Work's Shirobako TV Anime's 1st Promo Streamed". Anime News Network. August 18, 2014. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  4. ↑ "P.A. Works' Shirobako TV Anime Inspires Novel". Anime News Network. December 12, 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Girls und Panzer's Mizushima, P.A. Works Collaborate for SHIROBAKO Original TV Anime". Anime News Network. August 8, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Sentai Filmworks Adds Shirobako, Celestial Method, Wolf Girl & Black Prince Anime". Anime News Network. November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.

External links