Girlish Number

Episode 1

Girlish Number actually wasn't available for streaming before we picked our shows for episodic reviews this season, so I essentially gambled on the initial pitch. That pitch wasn't just “a show about the anime industry starring a bunch of cute girls,” though that's pretty much what you see on the package. The real attention-getting concept for Girlish Number, which its first episode carries to beautiful fruition, is “Shirobako as written by the author of My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU.”

SNAFU is easily one of the best-written anime of the last few years, possessing more characterization and wit in its left pinky than some shows manage in a full season. Shirobako is also one of the strongest anime of the last several years, though its similarities to Girlish Number are more in basic premise than anything else. Putting those two together, you end up with a witheringly cynical take on the anime industry, with protagonist Chitose Karasuma leading the sarcastic charge from start to finish.

This first episode opens with a fan event, as Chitose thanks fans on stage for a production she barely even appeared in. From her first thought of “crap, she took my comment” onward, it's clear this show is taking a sharper approach to the industry than most - when the lead actresses whisper some barbed points about how to best promote the material, it's obvious that it's not just Chitose, but her world at large that occupies an unusually cynical vantage point.

Of course, cynicality by itself isn't much of a virtue. Blind cynicism isn't any more meaningful than blind optimism - it could be worse, because optimism can actually accomplish many things by itself. If a narrative embraces cynicism entirely, it'll simply come off as self-satisfied and blind to anything of real value. A show that's purely cynical doesn't really have anything to tell its audience and doesn't reflect the world as it is well enough to create human characters.

Fortunately, Girlish Number tempers its sharp jabs at the anime industry with a lot of charming character and comedy. Chitose herself is easily one of the highlights of the show; her grumpy internal monologue is perfectly matched with a diverse array of great expressions, like her reaction when she's told a new project isn't a manga, but a light novel. The show is careful to separate Chitose's smug, dismissive attitude from the world itself; her reactions are funny and endearing, but she's clearly not the voice of the show (a quality shared by SNAFU, where the failure of protagonist Hachiman's downer philosophy is essentially the point). Chitose is also counterbalanced by her brother, who approaches the industry with fatigue and skepticism, but nothing resembling Chitose's attitude.

Sharp little jokes abound in this episode, from Chitose's nursery rhyme about barely getting paid to her fiery conversations with a fellow voice actress. The show's animation actually sells a lot of the jokes on expression work alone; not only are Girlish Number's designs attractive, but all of the characters are uniquely expressive. The backgrounds and direction are a bit more ordinary, but neither of those are truly key to what Girlish Number is accomplishing. Ultimately, it's more of a sitcom than a mood-heavy drama. I laughed more at this episode than I did at anything else this season, and I only hope the show can stay this good.

Overall: A-

Girlish Number is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Nick writes about anime, storytelling, and the meaning of life at Wrong Every Time.