Forum - View topicShirobako and the Struggle
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Dan42
Chief Encyclopedist
 Posts: 3782 Location: Montreal |
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Oh wow, thanks for that. Being a huge fan of Gatchaman Crowds, I found that essay truly inspired and insightful. |
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Seif
 Posts: 456 |
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Great article! Please do more.
Also, if you're going to host some of Nick's articles, absolutely consider putting up http://wrongeverytime.com/2014/09/08/your-taste-is-bad-and-so-are-you/ http://wrongeverytime.com/2015/04/13/no-politics-media-and-identity/ as it's some of the best work he's done. Also incredibly relevant to the fandom. |
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srlracing
 Posts: 87 |
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I would love to see more of this in the future.
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totoum
 Posts: 49 |
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This is my favorite thing I've read on ANN in quite a while, I hope there will be more in the future.
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Jose Cruz
 Posts: 1775 Location: South America |
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Great article. A tad bit melodramatic at some points (sorry for being insensitive) but true nonetheless.
When I began to work towards my PHD 4 years ago I was also crushed by the academic system and the artistis working in the anime industry in Shirobako appear to be in a similar position. |
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#836839
Posts: 1 |
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Certainly one of your best works, you hit it out of the park with this one. ANN needs to keep this segment for sure. I've been a huge fan of Bobduh (Nick) for a long time, and he's definitely the best anime writer/content creator for me. Keep up the great work Bob and thanks for introducing me this show which is now in my Top 5.
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Galap
Moderator
 Posts: 2354 |
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As a general statement, I like the idea of this kind of article and would definitely like to see more of this kind of thing in the future.
Entirely independently of that, I have to say that while I found it well written and thought provoking, I disagree with a lot of the particulars of this piece. Here’s my view: I certainly don’t think that any of the characters in Shirobako made a ‘mistake’ in joining the animation industry, nor do I really think that they think they do. I myself can speak from experience in that I myself work in a field that is considered ‘harsh’ in a lot of ways that are similar to what we see o the Japanese animation industry as it’s portrayed in this show. My field sure has more than its fair share of bullshit and aggravations. But that’s all they really are: aggravations. Things aren’t so dysfunctional that nothing can get done, and you just kind of go with the fact that you’re doing something cool and meaningful, and while the aggravations are wrenches in the gears to some extent, that’s not really what I’d say the major aspect of what I do is, and they’re not what you have to spend your time thinking about. And I feel like this show is ultimately saying something similar: it presents the reality of the animation industry, strengths and weaknesses alike. And the characters like the strengths and don’t like the weaknesses, but they don’t let the negative things get to them in a real, deep way. Those aggravations are not something that you can really be free of for the most part: every job is like this to some extent, and the ones where the ‘point’ isn’t doing something creative or important tend to have all of the negative aspects and none of the positive ones. What ‘safe’ bet can you make in terms of careers? Even if you found something ‘safe’, if it wasn’t what you wanted initially, would you be pleased with yourself, proud of yourself then? I’ve heard those ‘bad’ things about almost every field. So you should choose to do what interests you most. Plus, interest level is the best predictor of talent, so you’re most likely to succeed at what you’re interested in. The aggravations seem a lot more potent if you don’t think what you’re doing has a point. The thing is, everything is temporary, even your life. There are no safe bets in life. Everyone alive today is on track to meet an untimely demise, and at the end of the day, what really matters is what you were able to do, how you were able to affect the world. Those of us who find ourselves sitting on a big pile of satisfaction at the end are those who just went for it, rather than worrying about the Bad Things happening. And the Bad Things tend to be much less likely and much less bad than people think they are. And if ultimately things do really, truly become untenable?… So what? Replan! Do something different! Congratulations, you’ve found the real limitations of the system, at least for you. At least you went at it enough to find the limits. Why should you not do something that you want to do based on a hypothetical where you haven’t really figured out whether it’s undoable? Why bet against yourself? Here’s a little secret: people don’t really need ‘hope’, and they certainly don’t need false hope. You just have to do what you have to do, and why do you have to believe that you will succeed in order to do something? There’s a different kind of internal motivation out there. I’m not optimistic, I’m not pessimistic. I’m not hopeful, I’m not jaded. I just try to do things. There is no ‘easy’ and ‘hard’. There are only things that I do, and things that I don’t do. Things that I want to do, and things that I don’t want to do. Let’s try to do more things that I want to do, and not do things that I don’t want to do. |
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Westbound43
Posts: 1 |
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Fantastic read as always Nick!
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escahime65
 Posts: 87 Location: Iowa |
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Great article Nick! I hope to see more just like this. I am in the middle of watching Shirobako right now since Justin mentioned how obsessed he was with it in his Answerman column and it is excellent!
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Knoepfchen
 Posts: 698 |
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"Trust in that joy, because the idea that you're inspiring people with your work, or creating something true to your passion, can be the most empowering feeling in the world."
Thank you, Nick. Please feel empowered. I'm really glad you get to publish these on ANN now. I very much hope we will get more of these, and on a regular basis. Also, I'd love to see your Urobuchi piece reposted here, what a joy that was to read. Please keep them coming, ANN. |
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residentgrigo
 Posts: 2424 Location: Germany |
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I couldn't get into the anime overall (i gave it a "so so") as i found a lot of the leads too empty as characters to get behind. The tone shifts (police chases?) and lack of realism at time (over the top optimism/everything tends to works out) were the final straw for me but there is nothing wrong with Nick´s article and i can get why people would get behind the show way more then me.
It sounds and looks good, the is a LOT of interesting background knowledge and insight but i would have preferred a 13 episode series with a stronger focus on drama/realism then moe and nakama power. That one i would have finished and not just jumped to the last episode after i got fed up. Jason´s recent picks Aoi Honoo / Kakukaku Shikajika have better insight into the creative mind and not only the process. So do (surprisingly enough) Bakuman / The Notenki Memoirs (the book about Gainax) so read them too. I can only repeat that i would like to read more such editorials but Shirobako is more interesting to discuss then watch over 2 whole seasons to me in the end. This article https://washiblog.wordpress.com/2014/12/04/shirobako-its-the-people-dammit/ on the show and the highly informative links at the end are a quality read too. The discrepancy between what an animator and a famous VA makes is just 
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Maidenoftheredhand
 Posts: 2633 |
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I just started watching Shirobako last weekend. Somehow I completely missed it when it first aired in the fall. Then in the middle of the Winter season I saw quite a few people tweeting positively about it so I decided to check it out when I had the time. This is the first new series I marathoned in awhile and I am really loving it.
I see a lot of people say that the working environment and the characters struggles, hopes, and triumphs also reflect other creative fields. But I don't work in a creative field and the show also resonates with me. Although the specific anime production aspect is highly interesting to me from a layman's perspective what I love most about the series is I feel I can emphasize with the character's from my own experiences. I don't think I felt this way since Takemoto's struggles in Honey & Clover. In fact I am having a difficult time with something in my job now and watching Shirobako really cheered me up. Not that it solves the problem but it's helpful seeing even fictional characters go through similar problems. |
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consignia
 Posts: 392 |
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I agree with you, it's a well argued piece but what it talks about is not what I got from Shirobako. I felt it was a feel good drama about animation production and creative industry in general. It concedes there are hard ships but it doesn't overly dwell on them because it wants to show the good times and the bad. I certainly never for one moment felt it suggested that anyone had made a mistake in pursuing their careers. I can't say how much I loved the series though. It's probably my favourite in years. I hope it's relative success encourages more productions in it's vein. |
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jojothepunisher
 Posts: 799 |
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When I saw this piece on the front cover of ANN, I thought it was another bullcrap advertising writeup, but boy was I wrong. This was great writing, Mr. Creamer, and it made me think about my current situation on a deeper level than I had in the past.
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RosaBatata
Posts: 36 Location: Israel |
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Thank you, Shirobako is definitely not the sort of show you can just finish and keep going with your life. You just have to take something for the journey ahead, and I feel like this article really helped me come to terms with my feelings on the subject.
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