On the TV, the animation content continued.
Kenichi Matsumoto, the production department head from L.S., slammed on the gas pedal, but because he was still holding the brake while waiting for the traffic light, the car just shuddered slightly.
The female lead turned her head and glanced at Kenichi Matsumoto. Matsumoto continued to smile, but his expression was full of provocation.
However, the female lead didn't seem interested in him; she quickly looked away and continued listening intently to the radio.
The traffic light ahead changed, and they were finally able to go. The two cars sped off, racing down the road. At the same time, the three voice actors on the radio began to sing the opening theme of the anime "Exodus!", titled "I'm sorry Exodus!". On the screen, the anime's title, "Shirobako", appeared, followed immediately by various production credits.
Clearly, they had used the opening theme of the anime within the anime as the opening theme for the first episode of "Shirobako".
While the voice actors sang on the radio, in the anime, the female lead was also singing along while driving.
After the song finished, the female lead successfully left the L.S. car behind and parked in the garage of a two-story apartment building.
As the song ends, the main character successfully leaves L.S's car behind and parks in the garage of a two-story apartment building.
Behind her, Kenichi Matsumoto from L.S arrives a moment later.
He stops his car, leans out, and shouts angrily, "Damn it! Why is it you again, Aoi Miyamori!"
The main character gets out of the car holding a cut bag and chuckles, "Mr. Matsumoto, I'm heading off now."
As she walks past the camera, the scene changes, and the title of the first episode appears: "Exodus to Tomorrow!"
The main character goes upstairs and rings the doorbell of one of the apartments, saying at the same time, "This is Aoi Miyamori from Musashino Animation. I'm here to pick up the completed animation director's drafts for Exodus episode 4."
"Coming," a voice replies from inside.
The door opens to reveal a woman with a "matronly" side braid and a fairly large bust. A caption introduces her: "Misato Segawa, Animation Director."
Misato Segawa hands the completed animation director's drafts to the main character, chats a bit about work, and soon the conversation turns to the first episode of the anime "Exodus!", which is about to air.
"It's finally starting."
The main character seems very excited.
Misato Segawa says, "I see. So you're looking forward to it, Ms. Miyamori."
"It's finally starting." The main character seemed very excited.
Misato Segawa, however, said, "I see. You're looking forward to it, Miyamori-san."
"Eh?" The main character was stunned for a moment.
"The time before the first episode airs is when I'm most nervous," Misato Segawa explained. "A thirteen-episode series just starts, one episode after another."
This highlighted how different people view the premiere of an anime.
As expected of someone working as a production assistant, the main character had high emotional intelligence and quickly replied, "With your participation, Misato-san, the quality has gone up several notches. The director is absolutely thrilled."
"Really? That's good to hear," Misato Segawa responded.
She stretched, "Geez, I've been working for so long, my shoulders are sore."
The two chatted for a few more minutes, then the main character left Misato Segawa and returned to her own company, Musashino Animation.
The lights were on in the production assistant's office, but no one was there.
The main character went upstairs to the screening room and, seeing that the lights were on, opened the door.
Inside was a scene like a celebration party, with many people from the company present, and food and drinks laid out on the tables.
Everyone was eating and chatting.
Production Manager Yutaka Honda said, "For this season, I'm still looking forward to Kara no Kyoukai."
A Production Assistant named Tatsuya Ochiai immediately chimed in, "Judging by the attention rate, it should be A Certain Scientific Index, right?"
Another Production Assistant, Taro Takanashi, replied boisterously while eating, "Eh? Wouldn't it be wrong not to bet on our own Exodus! here?"
The others were also chatting amongst themselves; the 3D Director, Animation Checker, Chief Animation Director, Key Animators, and so on—almost everyone had a line.
Among them was the female lead's high school friend, Ema Yasuhara, who wanted to become a key animator. The text on the screen indicated that she was now an official key animator.
The rotund supervising director, Seiichi Kinoshita, looked the most nervous; he sat with his arms crossed, beads of sweat clearly visible on his face, his legs shaking and body swaying.
The company president, Masato Marukawa, was cooking curry on the spot.
Seeing the female lead arrive, Masato Marukawa said, "Oh, Miyamori, want some curry?"
"Ah, sure," the main character replied.
Afterward, she was beckoned by production assistant Erika Yano to sit beside her.
With only five seconds left, the camera cut to the television, which was playing a commercial for the second volume of the K-On! anime on BD and DVD, reading "October 25th, on sale."
Once the commercial finished, the anime Exodus!, produced by Musashino Animation, finally began airing.
In the screening room, someone excitedly said:
"It's finally starting."
"I can see that."
Of course, not everyone was watching the anime together in the screening room; some chose to sit at their desks and watch it on their phones, some were watching it at home—like Misato Segawa mentioned earlier—and others were even watching it in a mahjong parlor, like producer Shun Watanabe.
After a few simple shots, the first episode of Exodus! concluded, and everyone in the screening room burst into applause.
The supervising director, Seiichi Kinoshita, however, looked visibly relieved.
President Masato Marukawa said, "You've made such a meticulous film. Good job, Kinoshita-kun."
Saying this, he walked closer to Seiichi Kinoshita and extended a hand.
Seiichi Kinoshita hurriedly stood up and shook Masato Marukawa's hand: "Thank you, I will do my best."
After the anime finished airing, it reached second place on the trending keywords list, with mediocre reviews.
The main character was eating when Ema Yasuhara sat down in the empty seat beside her and said: "Aoi-chan, Aoi-chan, did you see it?"
"I saw it, I saw it! It was moving, it was amazing," the main character said, looking very excited.
"Haven't you already watched it many times?" asked Ema Yasuhara.
"But with it airing on TV, there are hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of viewers watching it together—watching it together," the main character explained with a beaming smile.
Ema Yasuhara paused for a moment: "That... is true. When you put it that way, it really is wonderful." As she said this, she also became happy.
After the anime finished, since it was already late, some people started to head home.
The main character sat in front of the computer, looking at the key animation tracking sheet, thinking happily to herself: "Once this schedule is all filled out and episode four is finished, I'm going to eat Peka Donuts in Kichijoji."
The plan was perfect, but trouble arose immediately.
It wasn't the main character's fault, but the fault of the other production assistant, the unreliable Taro Takanashi: the key animation drafts for episode three, which he was responsible for, hadn't been received, and no substitute key animator could be found.
Production Manager Yutaka Honda, Director Hironori Madoka, and Supervising Director Seiichi Kinoshita discussed the matter and decided to ask Misato Segawa, the Animation Director for episode 4, to take on the work.
Once Misato Segawa was brought on, it would highly likely impact the production schedule for episode 4, but at this point, they couldn't afford to worry about that.
As the person in charge of episode 4, the main character was forced to take Production Manager Yutaka Honda and episode 3's Production Assistant, Taro Takanashi, to visit Misato Segawa.
Misato Segawa was reluctant to take on the work and tried to decline with various excuses, but she couldn't get out of it. Finally, she asked the main character if episode 4 would truly be alright.
The main character started to say "probably," but immediately changed her words: "No, it will be. It'll be fine."
And so, the mess of episode 3 was handed over to Misato Segawa, and the main character had no choice but to pause some of her work on episode 4 and devote part of her energy to episode 3 instead.
Because of this, the production of episode 3 became extremely rushed, but thankfully, it was barely completed in the end.
Later, the main character bought some donuts and headed to Misato Segawa's home again to express her gratitude. However, after ringing the doorbell and identifying herself, she suddenly heard a "thud." She opened the door to find Misato Segawa collapsed on the floor.
The ED starts, and episode 1 of Shirobako ends.
It is now midnight, and the internet is already buzzing with discussion.
Please Support me by becoming my patreon member and get 15+ chapters.
[email protected]/Ajal69
change @ with a
Thank You to Those who joined my Patreon