Episode 16 of Shirobako, titled “Table Flip,” is currently streaming on Crunchyroll for paid members. Free members can watch this same episode seven days from now. The episode starts off from where the last episode ended, when they receive the bad news that the original manga creator wants the animation frames redone.
It sucks, but that is how it usually goes in the world of animation. If the higher-ups do not like the animation frames, they can always demand a redo. This is not different from doing retakes for a TV show or a movie.
This gets trickier because the anime they are working on is adapted from an ongoing manga, with which the studio needs to work closely with the author and his/her imprint label. It puts an entire wrench on production when animation frames need to be redone from scratch once again.
Production takes a hard hit because of the lost time, which includes the time needed to have a meeting on what to do next.
This presents another argument which one of the new employees has pointed out. That employee has a point because of the lost time. You do not want to risk putting too much work on the production team because it leads to more problems and conflicts.
It ultimately sucks for everybody from the top to the bottom.
I have a suspicion that the editor is hiding something and refuses to say anything, which could be one of the problems the studio is dealing with. Matters get worse because the editor strictly refuses to allow the production studio to talk to the manga’s author.
The surprising part of this episode was Ogasawara because she dresses like a Gothic Lolita, but looked nerdy in the past. It was interesting when Ogasawara revealed that she used to be in the same boat as Iguchi when it came to starting out as an animator.
I liked what Ogasawara said about how creators are often sensitive, which is true because they put their heart and soul into what they do. They often get hurt when receiving negative criticism, which even applies to journalism.
One can understand the reasons people have a “public persona” because they do not want to show their weaknesses and insecurities. You can look at Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Megan Fox, Justin Bieber, Jon Jones, Ronda Rousey, Floyd Mayweather, and many more.
Ogasawara’s Gothic appearance is a prime example.
It was ultimately an eye-opening episode, which made it enjoyable to watch. One has to understand that it is unfair to load one single person with all this work and blatantly refuse to help. At the same time, it is also important to develop a thick skin for the business.
There are times where animators must “become the character” to get a feel.
