October 2nd, a little past 11:00 PM.
Inside L.S Produ's small screening room, some of the company's internal staff who participated in the production of the anime "Shirobako" sat together, waiting to watch the first episode of "Shirobako," which would air at 11:30.
On the tables in front of everyone were snacks and refreshments, all paid for by the company and provided for free.
Because they weren't in a meeting, everyone was chatting with each other, and the atmosphere was very relaxed.
Lin Zhiyan, as the animation director, was of course also present, but he wasn't chatting with anyone; instead, he was replying to emails sent to him by others.
After all, this was an anime with the theme of anime production, the first of its kind to be treated seriously. Plus, it was Lin Zhiyan's anime, and the promotion was very effective, so it had received the attention of countless industry insiders.
Except for his friends in the industry who were older and needed to sleep early, basically everyone had sent Lin Zhiyan emails saying they would watch it as soon as it aired, which kept Lin Zhiyan almost too busy to cope in the moments before the broadcast.
It was finally 11:30, and the first episode of "Shirobako" had finally begun airing. Lin Zhiyan put away his phone and, along with the others in the small screening room, began to watch it with full attention.
This time it was being broadcast on television, which had a different significance. In reality, the final cut of the first episode had been completed a long time ago, so both Lin Zhiyan and the rest of the animation production team had basically already seen it.
However, for the vast majority of true viewers, this was the first time they were watching it.
This anime would be watched not only by industry professionals, but also by students at animation vocational schools, as well as those who had their hearts set on working in animation production in the future, those who were interested in the subject of animation production, or those who had been drawn in by the names of Lin Zhiyan and L.S Produ.
Nishi Yano was one of them.
She was a first-year student at the Tokyo Animation College. She had fallen in love with Rumiko Takahashi's character designs after watching the "Inuyasha" anime in the fourth grade, which sparked her interest in manga and anime, leading her to follow a wide variety of works thereafter.
After graduating from high school, because she lacked a clear goal at the time, she went to work as a waitress at an Italian restaurant. However, being socially anxious and not particularly good at studying, she couldn't memorize the menu, so she chose to quit after just two months.
Afterward, she received encouragement from her father to just do what she liked, so she enrolled in her current school, the Tokyo Animation College, as a student in the animation department.
Because the anime "Shirobako" was about animation production, it was a hot topic at her school before it even aired. Even their teachers mentioned it in class, so naturally, she had to watch it as soon as it came out.
On the television screen.
First, it showed a scene of the five main characters working together on anime in their high school animation club. It was only a short segment, not very long, but it effectively showcased each of their roles and introduced some of their concerns, such as Ema Yasuhara wanting to become a key animator but facing a lack of support from her parents, as well as her own uncertainty about whether there was a future in it.
Shizuka Sakaki, who aspires to be a voice actor, sighs because there are simply too many people applying for the role.
After all, it is no longer the early 90s, and outsiders' views on the animation industry are no longer as harsh as they once were. However, those who aspire to work in animation-related fields will indeed face various worries sooner or later, so this part feels quite realistic.
However, since Shirobako is an anime about the workplace, not one that depicts the worries of those dreaming of entering the animation industry, it doesn't spend too much time on this. It quickly explains through Ema Yasuhara that her parents' lack of support was successfully resolved by writing them letters every day, persistently persuading them through her words.
Upon learning this, her junior, Misa Toudou, says that she will definitely go to Tokyo in the future.
As for Shizuka Sakaki, who aspires to be a voice actor, although she has her worries, she has no intention of backing down and says she will wait for her two juniors, Misa Toudou and Midori Imai.
The only one left is the protagonist, Aoi Miyamori. When Ema Yasuhara asks her if she will also go to Tokyo after graduating from vocational school, the protagonist answers with a lack of confidence, "I'll try my best."
The five of them produced an animation in their club, and naturally, it was intended to be screened at the school's cultural festival.
Although it was very rough, through their joint efforts, they managed to complete an original animation titled "Seven Lucky Gods of Syncretism." On the day of the cultural festival, it even attracted some viewers.
It was a success, just barely.
The scene shifts to the graduation ceremony. The five of them form a circle, each holding a doughnut. The main character, Aoi Miyamori, takes the lead, and they promise that, no matter what, they will all make an animation together in the future.
When making the promise, all five of them, including the main character, were beaming with smiles, looking absolutely happy. However, ironically, the next second, the timeline jumps to two and a half years later. It is late at night, and the main character is driving a Musashino Animation company car, looking exhausted, listening to the radio while waiting at a red light.
On one of the seats in the car is a stack of cut envelopes used for storing keyframe or animation drafts. A white sheet of paper is taped to the top of the stack with clear tape, which reads:
"Segawa-sensei, thank you for your help
Exodus #4
Animation Director review draft, please take care of it.
Miyamori"
There is text on the close-up shot of the main character, introducing her identity:
"Aoi Miyamori Production Assistant"
The radio program is related to anime. The male and female hosts are chatting in a relaxed and casual manner. They quickly move on to the fall anime recommendation segment, and the anime they recommend is none other than "Exodus!", which the main character is working on.
Upon hearing "Exodus", the main character becomes instantly excited and hurriedly turns up the volume of the car radio.
At the radio station, the hosts continue chatting:
"It's that highly anticipated 'Exodus!', right?"
"We've even invited the voice actors for this work to the studio!"
Immediately after, the three voice actors appear:
"Good evening, I'm Mei Nakaharu, the voice of Akane in 'Exodus!'."
"I'm Suzuka Ito, the voice of Aya in 'Exodus!'."
"I'm Kana Kasaka, the voice of Arupin in 'Exodus!'."
In front of the television, Nishi Yano hadn't thought much of it initially, but seeing this, she couldn't help but lose her composure. The name Mei Nakaharu was clearly a pun on Mai Nakahara, and the voice actor was actually Mai Nakahara herself. The other two voice actors, Shizuka Ito and Kana Hanazawa, were in similar situations.
It was clearly a case of them playing themselves.
However, what made it even more ridiculous was that in the anime, on the road right next to where the main character had parked her car, another car quickly pulled up behind and stopped alongside hers at the red light.
Then, on the door of that car, it actually read "L.S Produ," the production company for the anime "Shirobako."
The person in the car turned their head and glanced at the main character with an ambiguous, sly grin. Nishi Yano immediately recognized this person—it was Kenichi Matsumoto, the head of the production department at L.S Produ. He had made an appearance at L.S's 10th-anniversary celebration when they announced the "Shirobako" anime project, and it was a spitting image of him.
To have this kind of meta-reference in just the first episode—truly worthy of an L.S Produ anime.
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