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 – November 27, 2015
Volumes 2
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
Network Tokyo MX, TVA, MBS, TUT, BS Fuji, AT-X
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 July 29, 2015
Runtime 25 minutes

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, with the dream of working on an actual anime together one day. The girls all go into different fields of specialty: Ema is a key animator; Shizuka is a voice actress; Misa is a 3D computer graphics operator; Midori, still a college student, aspires to become a story writer; and Aoi is a production assistant, though she has no true idea about what to pursue as a career. However, the girls experience various obstacles in their careers: Aoi and Ema, new employees at animation studio Musashino Animation, find themselves under extreme stress every day from their demanding workloads as they work on company projects; Shizuka struggles to find a voice acting job she can be satisfied with; and Misa experiences difficulties in adjusting to her unsatisfactory workplace. The story largely follows Aoi as she struggles to do her job by making all of the necessary deliveries and coordinating efforts between other staff members involved in Musashino Animation's projects.

The first half of the series primarily revolves around Musashino Animation's production of an original anime series called Exodus!. Production of the series is greatly troubled largely due to its lazy and childish director Seiichi Kinoshita, whose reputation was damaged by a previous project of his, which was a massive critical and commercial flop. While Aoi is faced with a number of problems, both personal and professional, Ema becomes temporarily discouraged after being unable to draw a specific set of key frames portraying an impossible movement, though her worries are assuaged by the advice of one of her coworkers. Also, Misa decides to quit her job after receiving some advice from her boss. Eventually, as the finale of the series draws near, Seiichi drastically changes the ending, leaving Aoi to find more animators to draw scenes for it while most of her colleagues are put out of action. In her search, she learns that one of Musashino's key animators, Shigeru Sugie, worked on her favorite childhood anime Andes Chucky. Sugie supervises the animation of the entire ending, which inspires Ema to continue to work harder in her job.

The second half of the series primarily revolves around Musashino Animation's production of an anime series called The Third Aerial Girls Squad, which is adapted from the manga by Takezō Nogame. With the production desk left severely understaffed, Aoi is promoted to production manager and has to take it upon herself to mentor new production assistants, including Daisuke Hiraoka, who is extremely bitter and jaded. He complicates the production by bringing in unreliable animators and studios for Musashino's outsource work. In addition, Musashino is unable to establish proper communication with Nogame due to his incompetent editor, which stalls production even further. Meanwhile, Ema is promoted to assistant general animation supervisor, Misa finds a new job at a CGI animation studio cooperating with Musashino in its project, and Midori finds a job as Musashino's setting instructor through Aoi. However, Shizuka is turned down while auditioning for one of The Third Aerial Girls Squad's characters, which brings her into a deep depression as she is the only girl in the group unable to participate in the project. As she tries to narrow down the reasons behind Hiraoka's behavior, Aoi learns from Musashino's president Masato Marukawa that the company's predecessor, Musashino Pictures, was the studio that produced Andes Chucky, which gives her resolve to finish the production. Finally, Seiichi is able to have a personal conversation with Nogame about their conflicting views over the anime's ending, and they work out a compromise. This leads to Shizuka being hired to voice a character in the new ending, thus fulfilling the girls' promise of working on an anime together.

While delivering the final episode to a television station on its air-date, Aoi reflects on her past experiences, which causes her to have an epiphany about working in the anime industry. At the celebratory party for the final episode's airing, she is congratulated for her support and delivers a speech praising everyone's pooled efforts for making The Third Aerial Girls Squad. Afterwards, Aoi, Ema, Shizuka, Misa, and Midori meet up at a balcony and reaffirm their resolve to one day remake the anime they made back in high school, also promising each other to continue making great anime along the way.

Characters

Main characters

Aoi Miyamori (宮森 あおい Miyamori Aoi)
Voiced by: Juri Kimura[3]
Aoi is a production assistant of Musashino Animation[3] and later the production manager. 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 Erika. 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 exactly what job she will take in the anime industry.
Ema Yasuhara (安原 絵麻 Yasuhara Ema)
Voiced by: Haruka Yoshimura[4]
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 for The Third Aerial Girls Squad. 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

Production staff

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

Others

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.[5] A short manga based on the show's fictional series The Third Girls Aerial Squad was distributed by Takeshi Nogami at Comiket 88 in August 2015.[6]

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.[7]

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[8] 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 (OVA) episodes featuring fictional anime are included on the series' third and seventh Blu-ray Disc/DVD volumes, released on February 25, 2015 and July 29, 2015, respectively. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the series for release in North America.[9]

For the first twelve episodes, the opening theme is "Colorful Box" by Yoko Ishida,[5] 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), which is later used as the opening theme for the first OVA episode. 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. The ending theme for the first original video animation episode is "C Melo kara Ai o Komete" (Cメロから愛を込めて) by Mai Nakahara. For the second original video animation episode, the opening theme is "Alice in Blue" (アリス・イン・ブルー) and the ending theme is "Angel Fly"; both songs are by Rita.

Reception

In a review by Anime News Network, reviewer Rose Bridges gave the series an A rating and lauded it for its concept and character development. She particularly praised the characterization and development of main character Aoi Miyamori. She went on to say that "Shirobako's presence brightens the anime world, so I hope this isn't the end. I'm glad it set itself up so that it doesn't have to be." Bridges also alluded to the possibility of a second season several times in her review.[10]

Shirobako won the Animation Kobe Television Award in 2015.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Shirobako". Google Play. March 20, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Concept" (in Japanese). Shirobaco. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "キャラクター|TVアニメ「SHIROBAKO」公式サイト" (in Japanese). P.A.Works. Archived from the original on February 22, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  4. ↑ "キャラクター|TVアニメ「SHIROBAKO」公式サイト" (in Japanese). P.A.Works. Archived from the original on February 22, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  5. 1 2 "P.A. Work's Shirobako TV Anime's 1st Promo Streamed". Anime News Network. August 18, 2014. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Shirobako's Show Within a Show Gets Short Manga". Anime News Network. August 19, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  7. ↑ "P.A. Works' Shirobako TV Anime Inspires Novel". Anime News Network. December 12, 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Girls und Panzer's Mizushima, P.A. Works Collaborate for SHIROBAKO Original TV Anime". Anime News Network. August 8, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Sentai Filmworks Adds Shirobako, Celestial Method, Wolf Girl & Black Prince Anime". Anime News Network. November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Episode 24 - Shirobako". Anime News Network. March 28, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Shirobako, New Ghost in the Shell Film, Seiji Mizushima Win Anime Kobe Awards". Anime News Network. November 10, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2016.

External links

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