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 Shirobako
Anime Review
Have you ever wondered what it'd be like to actually work on creating an anime? All of the jobs, art, music, sound effects, and promotional work? It'd be tough! Now, what if you had to create an anime about making anime? How do you keep it interesting and exciting without devolving into the minute detail of day-to-day tedium? If you're P.A. Works, you make Shirobako.
We're first introduced to five young women in high school. All have strong artistic drives and have worked together in their animation club to create their own short anime. It's not perfect, but it's theirs! It leads them into their future careers, as they all prepare to jump into the rough and breakneck animation industry.
 Let's just get this out of the way: if you're unfamiliar with how anime is made, this show could be surprising in the level of detail it provides for you. If, on the other hand, you pay close attention to the industry, you may notice where they enhance things to make for good TV. There's also plenty of anime references (the first episode starts with an Initial D parody) and in-jokes about the medium (some of the characters in the show are based off of real producers, directors, and sound designers). This could effect how you feel about the series.
 The show mainly focuses on Aoi Miyamori, who is a production assistant at Musashino Animation. She's struggling; trying to find her place in the industry and the way she wants to make her mark. However, she's consistently beset on all sides with stress over missed deadlines, key frames that need redone, and making sure a cat looks exactly right. It's tough work, but the promise of working with her friends and former classmates keeps her going.
They often meet up after work, swap stories, and talk about their hopes. Some of them are voice actors now, others aspiring writers, and one became a 3D modeler. The clash between 2D traditional animation and 3D animation is brought up several times, too, making it a timely topic to discuss. It's particularly interesting to see how the creators of Shirobako work through the difficulties of the two styles, delivering this via the characters.
 Speaking of the characters: they're truly the biggest strength of Shirobako. Sometimes it's surprising when characters behave like real people rather than "anime" characters. Here, they're fairly well-written and realized folks that are working to the best of their ability. Disagreements between staff are handled realistically, rather than falling into the pit of melodrama. It helps enhance the show significantly. Plus, it's easy to relate: we've all worked with some like Taro Takanashi.
Given that this is a show about anime, you might be wondering how the animation is. P.A. Works puts in some good work here, but since there aren't flashy fight scenes, it's less obvious at first glance. Still, you have solid animation, appealing character designs, and goofy "fake" anime that appear too. It's not mind-blowing, but it all adds up to a pleasant-looking show.
Shirobako was a surprising show to pop up this season. Despite featuring a premise that sounded difficult to tackle, P.A. Works delivered and made it compelling, too. If you're looking for an original show that doesn't falter right out of the gate, Shirobako is for you: anime production, voice acting, 3D modeling, and all the difficulties of working in a fast-paced industry. Don't pass up the anime about making anime, Shirobako!
Review by Ben Huber, January 2015
Below: Scenes from Shirobako .
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Below: One of the cool things about Shirobako is seeing the anime and manga references in the show.
Below: Character designs from Shirobako.
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