Shirobako: Collection 1

A rare example of an anime TV series conceived as an original and later spun off into manga comics (instead of the other way around), Shirobako is a realistic comedy-drama set within the Japanese TV-animation industry. Musashino Animation is a once-mighty production house—now reduced to minor status—where the eccentric staff struggle to complete episodes of their heroine-oriented chase series Exodus. Crises include the friction between a CGI specialist and a director who favors hand drawing, a procrastinating artist who must be literally locked in a cell to complete storyboards, final edits lost in hard drives, and lessons in voice-acting and sound/fx. The chief characters are five former high-school girlfriends paying their dues in entry-level duties in the animation biz (making it a shojo anime about doing shojo anime), whilst dreaming of their pet project: a blockbuster theatrical cartoon fantasy entitled Seven Lucky Battle Gods. The behind-the-scenes ambiance, insider minutiae, and references work both for and against the material, as only hardcore anime fans will truly appreciate. Compiling the first 12 episodes from 2014 in separate DVD and Blu-ray editions, rated TV-PG, and presented in Japanese with English subtitles, this is a strong optional purchase. (C. Cassady)