Somnium

There are many moments when watching anime that you are curious to learn what "goes beyond those pixels"."Shirobako" is an anime that can clarify a lot of things for you about that subject.


Story


The story goes around the life of the main protagonist "Aoi Miyamori" and get some glimpses now and then of her high-school students who are also chasing their dream of making anime from different positions (voice actress,key animator,production assistation,3d maker,writer).I find the plot really weak by dividing into 2 parts between the 12 first episodes and the rest.I believe it lacked potentional conflict while at the same time being too generic with a result being too limited to the protagonist.Well,while it delivers somehow the difficulties that appear in making anime it doesn't suck the viewer like a black hole.

Animation

Please mind that this is an anime of 2014/15.The animation was really neat and sometimes you could really admire the scenery but some character designs of the 5 friends were really dull and alike.In other words it was not bad but at the same time it wasn't excellent,at some moments you really liked the graphics and at the other you could just say "it's okay for a 2014/15 anime".


Sound


The sound of this series was also okayish.The main point was that it didn't have any ost that would stuck in your memory with a result for you eventually to search it.The plus were the outros were really nice while the openings were comci-comca.The voice acting was good from most sides but nothing AGAIN extraordinary.


Characters


The characters of the show were A LOT, at the first episodes I was REALLY confused who did what even though there were regular tags beneath them.I find the character development also lacking except for the banal message "keep chasing your dreams" that is kinda cliche for my tastes.Well it delivers the difficulties that you can meet in the industry but nothing that could hook you up.BUT the biggest plus for me of the whole series was the developement of "Shizuka Sakaki" with the slap of realism how difficult it can be for someone to keep up with what wants to chase on the horizon while trying to maintain themselves.I really wished they could have given her more screen time.


Overall


Overall,this isn't a bad anime but it's not also a good one.I find it mediocre and using it's benefits in the wrong way.I believe if it could use all those positives things in the right way it could shine!