Shirobako

Part of the Fall 2014 line-up, a promising show about working in the anime industry. So far it's refreshingly realistic, with the exception of random drag racing, just true slice-of-life. And the characters are adults! Most of the time.

It was kind of odd. Felt like it wasn't sure how serious it wanted to be. And seems to be expecting the viewer to have working knowledge of the animation industry

So, bets on how the production drama of Exodus will stack up compared to Mellow Maromi?

Wow, that was amazing. That transition from glowing optimism to the grind the industry experiences on a regular basis (cute girls aside, animation studio staff are really overworked and underpaid for what they do) barely two years later...

Going by Yuyucow's running commentary, there were nods to the real-life industry all over the place, down to real people some of the studio staff are based on. Also LOL G.I. Staff guy.

I found it kind of interesting, but not terribly so. The characters are many but distinct, so that's good. Pacing seems okay for what it seems to be.

Might follow this one, but I'll probably drop it if I don't have time to watch as many series as I watch this season.

Also, they got some good air in that race.

I'm trying to figure out how given that the next shot is of the speedometer and they're only doing about 50km/h (just over 30 miles an hour for the metrically impaired). Even assuming they're kei-cars and really light, you generally don't get airborne at those speeds without a ramp. And any road that can act as a ramp should be making the town planners re-think their design.

They were totally following the speed limit, the scene is just in fast-motion and they are really bad drivers.

Anime CG cars don't weigh more than the light they're displayed with on screen?

edited 10th Oct '14 4:55:29 PM by AnotherDuck

Or they were driving reasonably and the events we saw were how they pictured it. Like in Sabagebu

Nice first episode.

Also, low-speed street racing. And a lotta drifting.

Or the speedometer we were shown just happened to be broken.

Because traffic laws apply to works of fiction.

Remember, viewers: it's cool to follow traffic laws.

Does that mean it's hot not to?

The police will be "hot" on your trail.

You will be in the "hot seat" in traffic court.

Episode 2 is out!

Hmm...I could see how the half the episode being one long conversation about Arupin's personality would be boring to some people, probably a lot of people, but I actually found what they were talking about interesting.

It's quite reality tv-like, but it really felt like I was in there in the studio discussing the future of their project as a colleague. It was nice.

I like this kind of series because there's no rush to keep up with what's happening, or to get excited and hyped up when I'm just trying to relax at the end of the day.

EPISODE 2: RELIGIOUS MOE EXPERIENCE

Oh my god this show.

Episode 2. In which the characters come to life.

Two most common causes of sickness in anime: Rain, and overworking yourself. Who cares about viruses or bacteria?

When in doubt, offer sweets.

Usually, work you've never done yourself sounds exciting.

I like how the director was initially hesitant, but once he got fired up he didn't stop talking. Also, the overall interaction between them at the meeting felt rather natural. People aren't rivals or enemies wanting to double cross each other, nor a well-oiled machine, but closer to what real people actually are like who're trying to accomplish a common goal, including all their differences.

Of course she'd prefer doughnuts.

She spoke! And a nice catch. She's awesome already.

I agree. It's very relaxing, and has a presence you rarely find in anime. Slice of Life Reality TV.

There are too many characters to remember them all, but as I said before, they're distinct enough that you're not lost in a sea of too many new faces. Their names don't really matter, and their positions aren't even that important to remember, since you can usually figure out enough just by their dialogue and actions.

First episode was okay, second episode was surprisingly awesome? Maybe it reflects on me as a person, but the scenes with the director rambling about how the scene wasn't quite right and they needed to start from scratch ended up being the most engaging thing I've seen all season. I was really... invested in this. I'm not sure how to to describe it other than "wow, this is a masterpiece."

So yeah, this is my Anime of the Season so far.

edited 17th Oct '14 3:49:19 AM by Clarste

especially loved the moe is a dead word now line in reaction to everything being defined as "moe" — even drinking booze and smoking.

may very well be a case of Write What You Know, but it's refreshing to see characters behaving like actual human beings instead of plot receptacles or drama machines.

a bit too early to call it Anime of the Season, especially because there's still plenty of time for it to go completely off the rails into navel gazing; but it's really gunning for it, and I am very pleasantly surprised.

Alcoholism is so moe...ugly faces are so moe...(I actually agree when it's about averting Cry Cute with ugly crying faces).

The series composer has some pretty serious credits to her name, so it's no surprise this is turning out nicely.

You have a page. Go wild. Though someone with interest in the production side of things (like Yuyucow of Twitter) will be able to get more mileage out of this.

Hop to it.

And to start it off, references:

Companies and real-life people referenced.◊

Real life VAs and production staff referenced.◊

edited 18th Oct '14 11:37:47 AM by MyssaRei

...I see they had lots of fun with the names.

I knew some of those names were familiar.

This show reminds me of a movie I saw in Japanese class. It was about a radio drama, though.

This episode felt so natural to me. Like, in the meeting where they were talking about Arupin's character, I felt that I was there, agreeing with some points. It was quite...nice.

I got the puns on the names of the seiyuu, but to think they kind of look like them too! Cool stuff.

Agreed that it's nice to see anime characters acting like actual human beings. But overall it's more "academically" interesting than anything.