Opening Songs
OP 1 - Colorful Box (Yoko Ishida)
OP 2 - Treasure Box (Masami Okui)
Ending Songs
ED 1 - Animetic Love Letter (Haruka Chisuga, Haruka Yoshimura, Juri Kimura)
ED 2 - Platinum Jet (Donut Quintet)
Genre: Comedy, Slice Of Life
Episodes: 24
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What is a perfect anime? What is anime anyway? Why do people make it, and how do they do it? "Shirobako" is like the ultimate anime experience about...anime in general. Its not something everyone can appreciate, and it definitely requires some form of inner veteran to fully understand its charm, but holy hell, if you can see "Shirobako" for what it is, its so damn worth it. From start to end, "Shirobako" is intense, its exciting, its emotional, and its a thrill. I have never felt the NEED to rush a show so bad in such a long, long, LONG time, and even making me revisit the show within the first couple of days that I finished it...that means something. "Shirobako" invoked something within me as an anime fan, something that I couldn't contain.
To me, this was it, "Shirobako" was everything that I could have ever asked for in a show. I never expected it, I never asked for an anime like this, I never dreamed of watching one, but lo and behold, here I am, about to sing praises to this sleeper of an anime that deserves WAY more recognition than it currently has. "Shirobako" is love, it is live, and I consider it the lifeblood and ESSENTIAL of any otaku in the world. If you like anime, you owe it to yourself to give "Shirobako" a shot, its an anime like no other that provides an experience that is unique to itself. Even if you end up not enjoying it as much as I do (you must be as stale as a stone then), it'll prove to be an invaluable experience that you won't, ever forget.
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| Cosplaying Miyamori is best Miyamori |
If anything the opening/ending themes in "Shirobako" weren't particularly impressive to me, because these aren't my kinds of music. The first opening theme is "Colorful Box" by Yoko Ishida, and while the opening animations were interesting, the song was a little too easy-going for my tastes. The second opening theme as well, "Treasure Box" by Masami Okui had the same vibes as the first opening, and I can't say I like it too much as well. The 2 ending themes, "Animetic Love Letter" and "Platinum Jet" are all sang by the seiyuus of the 5 main heroines in the anime, and they're pretty generic cute-sy ending themes.
Rating: 10/10
I believe that there is no such thing as a perfect anime. To date, "To Aru Majutsu No Index" is still my favorite show because of personal attachment to the characters, but "Shirobako" is my 2nd favorite show because of....everything. Its amazing in every aspect, and to me, its a masterpiece. So many references to other animes only signify the fact that this is one for the veterans, those who have been sticking around to anime for quite a while. For a show about creating anime, "Shirobako" is painfully realistic, it hurts to watch the process, but then again, its so intriguing, intense, exciting and oh-so satisfying to see the characters meet the deadlines. The feel train is also strong in this one, with PLEEENTY of emotional moments that'll get you jumping on your feet or tearing up in joy, even moments where the show just grabs your beating heart and causes it to stop. The animation is top f**king notch, the drive in the story is amazing, and the characters are super relatable. The 5 heroines are SO well done, and its so easy to get attached to them as you see them suffer through the hell that is the animation industry, all just to achieve their dreams.
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| Life in the animation industry is hard. |
There are so many morales and on-going themes about real life in "Shirobako" that I can't help but relate to them. Sure, other shows have done it before, but in my opinion none have done it better than how "Shirobako" has handled them. The pain, suffering and punishment for following your dreams always hurts, but at the same time, when you succeed or push through that immense barrier of hardships, the satisfaction is off the charts. "Shirobako" pulls off this "feeling" better than almost every other show, and I never thought my heart could pump faster from watching anything that's not an intense action anime. "Shirobako" portrays friendships, overcoming hardships and building relationships more than anything else, as well as the spirit of "not giving up", following a few key characters. Character progression is insanely good here, especially for a few of the characters.
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| When someone goofs, they all goof. |
"Shirobako" follows the tale of 5 girls who want to follow their dreams of making an anime. These 5 high school girls made their own "animation" club in high school, and they created their very own anime through hard work for their culture festival...people liked it. Fast forward a few years into the future, main heroine Miyamori Aoi wakes up in her car in the middle of the night, remembering that she had to deliver keyframes to a keyframe animator. Aoi is now a production assistant for Musashi animation, one of the many animation companies in Japan, her job as a production assistant is to ensure that everyone else's job within the company gets done, she's sort of a mediator for the other departments. Out of her 4 other best friends in high school, 1 of them, Ema, is also working in Musashi, she draws keyframes. One of them, Misa, is still trying to get a degree so that she can write stories in the future. Midori is working on 3D animation for anothe company, and their inspiring voice actor to be, Shizuka, is still looking for jobs as a newbie seiyuu. Will the 5 eventually get together to work on something amazing? Only time can tell.
"Shirobako" is not just one of my favorite animes in recent years, its one of my favorite animes of ALL f**king time. Without being biased like I am with "Index", I'd say this is the best show I've seen, ever. Anime doesn't get any better when its about making anime itself. "Shirobako" tells us something, the dream is not dead, its just a matter of how far you are willing to take it to achieve it. For that, I love it, and with the way it concluded, I'm kind of leaning towards the possibility of a second season. I hope it does come, because I can't wait to see how far "Shirobako" can go.
Season 2 Please.
