Weekly Anime Impressions – Winter 2015 – Week 11 – Dog Days Double Dash and Shirobako

It took awhile, but Shizuka finally did it…

Also, this is the last Anime Weekly post for this season and I will be doing final impressions next week.

Dog Days Double Dash – Episode 11

As expected, it seems that Verde wasn’t evil after all from the look of Aria’s past, since Aria is so interested in the war games that she wanted to go to the surface and he just wanted to grant her wish. However, the way he carries it out is very misguided since we all know, a cursed sword can’t exactly grant wishes, but rather pushes a person to do evil. He basically went against Aria’s wishes and tries to carry out his selfish wishes. Still, I wonder how the sword got there in the first place.

While Gaul and Shinku gave him a nice beating through their teamwork, I won’t be surprised if more of these swords and demon disciples will appear in the next season, if there is any. Aside from that, it’s nice to see Pega’s true form, which is huge. Also, it’s nice that we got to see Milhi sing as she heals the Star Whale at the end of the episode. Is it a nice setup for the last episode? Maybe.

Shirobako – Episode 23

It seems that the author did not like the ending, which is not so surprising since the production team had a hard time contacting him due to the idiot editor. Thanks to Yutaka, he was able to help the director get contact with the creator by email. The awesome part is that the director defeated all the people who tried to prevent him from meeting the creator like a boss. Still, I’m surprised that the creator managed to work out the ending with the director while figuring out a reason for Aria to fly again, which he intends to incorporate in his story.

At the same time, Shizuka’s suffering has finally comes to an end as she managed to get her first role through this debacle. I think this scene alone is a good life lesson not only for people who are trying to make it in the voice acting industry, but also finding a job since there are hundreds or even thousands of applicants competing for the same job posting.

While receiving a lot of rejections and not hearing back from companies can make anyone feel bad, you can’t let it bother you. You need to stay positive and keep trying. Sure, Shizuka felt depressed in last episode since a high school voice actress got famous, but did she ever gave up on her dream? No. She kept trying by doing odd jobs related to her field. Eventually, her efforts paid off when she got called in to do the voice for Lucy, who happens to be Catherine’s younger sister. While her role only have a few lines, at least she got her foot in the door and it only took little over a year. Aside from that, there is no doubt that other studios will start taking notice of her talent.

Aside from that, I almost cried just like Aoi as the girls’ dream of working on a professional anime project together has finally come true. While she had to hide it since she doesn’t want her colleagues to see her crying, it just shows how much hardships, difficulties and difficulties they have to deal with to get where they are. With that, I can gladly say that this is the best episode this show had to offer (aside from the final episode).

Last Week’s Anime Power Rankings

1. Idolmaster Cinderella Girls – Episode 9
2. Shirobako – Episode 22
3. Kantai Collection – Episode 10
4. Dog Days Double Dash – Episode 10

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