The story is about five girls who, while in the same high school animation club, promise to one day make an anime of their own together. Years after their graduation, they begin their careers in the animation industry, only to come face to face with the harsh realities of working to make anime. It's a realistic take on the industry that doesn't shy away from showing its less glamorous side, but also showing how many people put their hearts and souls into making anime.
The treatment of the anime industry is, as far as I can tell, largely realistic, since it effectively portrays how much hard work goes into making anime. Many technical terms are thrown around, although some of them are explained for the viewers' benefit, and there are some sequences that help provide exposition on making anime. The protagonists' company, Musashino Animation, is shown to be a relatively good place to work, even if the two anime that it works on aren't necessarily masterpieces.
The cast of characters is fairly colorful, but its size can occasionally prove to be a shortcoming. In the early episodes, it's so hard to keep track of the 20+ characters introduced in the first episode that the show had to use Boss Subtitles on each character (a bit like My Hero Academia, but that series was better about gradually introducing characters and giving each a distinctive design). Later on, you may notice that most characters only become relevant for a short period of time, if at all (again, a problem that MHA also had).
On a more positive note, what the characters lack in screentime they make up for characterization. Most of them have likeable personalities, with believable reasons for their actions and some have interesting quirks. While it can be frustrating that a handful of characters are responsible for most of the problems that come up, all but one of those characters end up becoming somewhat more sympathetic by the end.
As of this writing, there's a single 2-cour season that has two story arcs, each of which focuses on the production of an anime- one original and one adaptation. Personally, I found the second half more enjoyable, in large part because some of the characters had become more likeable. Without spoiling too much, the ending ends on a relatively open-ended note, with the main characters having come a long way, but still far from realizing their dreams, leaving open the possibility of another season.
If you enjoy learning more about the anime industry, want to see a story about characters working hard at their dreams, or want to see a series with a relatively novel premise, Shirobako is right for you.
A fun anime about making anime(Season 1)
The story is about five girls who, while in the same high school animation club, promise to one day make an anime of their own together. Years after their graduation, they begin their careers in the animation industry, only to come face to face with the harsh realities of working to make anime. It's a realistic take on the industry that doesn't shy away from showing its less glamorous side, but also showing how many people put their hearts and souls into making anime.
The treatment of the anime industry is, as far as I can tell, largely realistic, since it effectively portrays how much hard work goes into making anime. Many technical terms are thrown around, although some of them are explained for the viewers' benefit, and there are some sequences that help provide exposition on making anime. The protagonists' company, Musashino Animation, is shown to be a relatively good place to work, even if the two anime that it works on aren't necessarily masterpieces.
The cast of characters is fairly colorful, but its size can occasionally prove to be a shortcoming. In the early episodes, it's so hard to keep track of the 20+ characters introduced in the first episode that the show had to use Boss Subtitles on each character (a bit like My Hero Academia, but that series was better about gradually introducing characters and giving each a distinctive design). Later on, you may notice that most characters only become relevant for a short period of time, if at all (again, a problem that MHA also had).
On a more positive note, what the characters lack in screentime they make up for characterization. Most of them have likeable personalities, with believable reasons for their actions and some have interesting quirks. While it can be frustrating that a handful of characters are responsible for most of the problems that come up, all but one of those characters end up becoming somewhat more sympathetic by the end.
As of this writing, there's a single 2-cour season that has two story arcs, each of which focuses on the production of an anime- one original and one adaptation. Personally, I found the second half more enjoyable, in large part because some of the characters had become more likeable. Without spoiling too much, the ending ends on a relatively open-ended note, with the main characters having come a long way, but still far from realizing their dreams, leaving open the possibility of another season.
If you enjoy learning more about the anime industry, want to see a story about characters working hard at their dreams, or want to see a series with a relatively novel premise, Shirobako is right for you.