Shirobako Specials

Shirobako Specials is an OVA adaptation of the first episodes of the two fictional television anime produced by Musashino Animation in the Shirobako television anime.

Exodus!: Shutsu Tokyo
Akane, Aya, and Alpine are the three members of the struggling idol group Tracy, which has yet to make a name for themselves. After their performance at a supermarket attracts a dismal audience, the trio's leader Akane decides to turn their fortune around by confronting their disinterested manager Taguchi. But the girls are in for a surprise when they stumble across Taguchi's corpse in a storage room, and become the prime suspects in his murder—all the while rising to the widespread fame they so desperately wanted.

Daisan Hikou Shoujotai: FALLING ANGEL
The 307 Aerial Squad, also known as "Hell Alice," is part of a global military resistance against the enigmatic Builders, who have covered a third of Earth's surface with mysterious structures known as Pillars. With all aircraft built after the 1970s disabled by the Pillars, Hell Alice must pilot their outdated equipment against the advanced technology stolen by the Builders. Among their ranks is the talented, school-aged Japanese girl Aria Hitotose, the so-called "Ice Doll" who never hesitates in even the most dire of situations. When an operation to rescue survivors from a destroyed base goes awry, it is up to Aria and her trusty allies to save the day.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Hitotose, Aria Main

Kanemoto, Hisako Japanese

Yakovleva, Tatiana Main

Yamaoka, Yuri Japanese

Ashkenazy, Noa Main

Numakura, Manami Japanese

Waldegård, Christine Main

Yonezawa, Madoka Japanese

Weller, Catherine Main

Itou, Shizuka Japanese

Akane Main

Nakahara, Mai Japanese

Alpine Main

Kayano, Ai Japanese

Aya Main

Itou, Shizuka Japanese

Elise Supporting

Kimura, Juri Japanese

Lye Supporting

Hamada, Kenji Japanese

Mizushima, Tsutomu Director

Yoshihara, Masayuki Episode Director, Storyboard

Yoshino, Hiroyuki Script

Suganuma, Fumihiko Storyboard

Reviews

Aug 14, 2024

Wrosgar

Recommended

Wow, definitely didn't expect to see specials that are shown as if they were a single episode of a larger series of the 2 shows worked on in the original Shirobako.

If I could rate the 2 episodes individually, the first based on Exodus is a 4/10. Didn't much care for it. It was novel in its existence, but not good.

The 2nd though, based on Third Aerial Girls Squad is actually really good! I could genuinely see myself enjoying that as a full anime and give that one an 8/10. In fact, I wish it was a full anime!

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Apr 7, 2021

Moomochi

Recommended

Out of 100 Nobles watching…
85 were impressed!
15 didn’t show up because they were OVA’s

The Shirobako OVA’s are incredibly clever. The show revolves around an anime studio making anime so it’s a bold meta move to make your two OVA episodes literally just the first episode of each of the shows the characters in the show were making in-universe. They were fun, well made, and honestly, I was pretty entranced the whole time with the audacity of it all, but at the end of the day I would have probably liked something a little more traditional. Still, high praises come from me for sticking to the ... shows guns and doing this. The only thing that would have been crazier was if the shows they were making in Shirobako were actual shows P.A. Works were also making…

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Aug 15, 2019

NiQ1

Recommended

One thing that I can say is that I've never seen such huge effort put in OVA specials ever. It is incredibly unique among OVAs due to it not being a side story or a sequel to the parent story. Rather, these are the first episodes of the fictional anime shows whose creation progress is the plot of Shirobako.

These two anime shows created in Shirobako are completely different in genre so naturally these two episodes are also completely unique and different from each other. Each one would have actually deserved its own review.

The first OVA is the first episode of "Exodus", the anime produced in ... the first half of Shirobako. It's a story of a group of 3 idol-wannabe girls who get framed and have to run away from the police while still trying to realize their dream. It's a light, comic anime. I won't give any further details because since this is only a single episode, every further detail will basically be a spoiler. If this were a real anime I'd probably give it a 7.

The second OVA is the first episode of "Dai 3 Hikou Shoujotai", the anime produced in the second half of Shirobako. Completely different in genre from Exodus, this one is basically a thriller. It's about a group of five combat pilot girls from five different countries (Japan, USA, Russia, Israel and Sweden) who join forces with basically the entire world's air force (or rather what's left of it) to fight-back against a mysterious enemy of the human race, referred to as the "builders". Again, this is only a single episode so every further detail would be a spoiler. If this were a real anime I'd probably give it a 9.

If you plan on watching these I will point out that the biggest drawback is that these are anime which could have easily been real shows, but unfortunately they aren't - only these first episodes were ever made. While "Exodus" is just your average idol-parody anime, not too interesting and its end is presented in Shirobako, "Dai 3" is amazing and it is very unfortunate that this episode will leave you waiting for a continuation that will probably never come. Even with the parts of the story told in Shirobako, the plot is not nearly complete. I'm writing this review after watching Shirobako a second time - the first time I had hopes that this will be picked up as a real anime but 4 years later that doesn't seem to be the case, which is a real shame because it could have easily been a huge success.

Bottom line - If you're OK with a good story that begins but never ends then these are definitely worth watching, however I probably guess that at least some people will decide to avoid these due to that very fact.

Sound and art are OK, could have been better.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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	Poll: Shirobako Specials Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Jul 29, 2015	70 replies	by Serafos »» May 9, 12:56 AM
	Poll: Shirobako Specials Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Feb 24, 2015	82 replies	by Serafos »» May 9, 12:56 AM
	Poll: Which specials do you want more to be a full series? millo - Oct 2, 2015	9 replies	by Alpha-Nine »» Jun 4, 2023 4:17 PM
	Where is BOING BOING PARADISE episode ? G039G - May 30, 2023	0 replies	by G039G »» May 30, 2023 2:33 AM
	Special 2 Out Yet? EmeraldEmperor - Jul 29, 2015	2 replies	by AdiiL »» Aug 3, 2015 1:36 PM

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