Girlish Number Episode #12 Anime Review (Finale)

That's right. I'm just a damn newbie. No one special. That's exactly why I can be Karasuma Chitose!

What They Say:

No one wants to get stuck in a boring profession, so when college student Chitose Karasuma storms into a voice acting training facility, she thinks that her future is poised for awesomeness. However, this bad-mannered beauty is in for more than she bargained for as she gets accepted into the talent agency “Number One Produce.” Together with her coworkers, including a girl with a Kansai accent and a cunning airhead, Chitose charges into the competitive world of professional voice acting.

The Review:

Content: (Please note that the content portion of this review may contain spoilers)

The time has come for Chitose to either get back in the game or take a seat, and what better way to start the episode than with her running behind schedule yet again? As the final dub session for Kusure begins, so does a light snowstorm, setting Chitose behind schedule and delaying her train to the studio. As the entire cast sits around wondering whether or not she will even show up, Chitose starts to panic and, in an unprecedented turn of events, actually starts running for the studio. In the midst of a bombardment of texts from her coworkers, Chitose slips and breaks her phone, disabling any possible communication she may have with the series staff. (I mean, she could just use someone else's phone or something, but this is an anime and that thought-process does not occur within).

Luckily for Chitose, she does manage to make it to the studio, albeit several hours late. In fact, she doesn't show up until that night. Just how far away is the studio from her apartment? And why was Gojo able to make it there so much earlier? Why didn't he wake her up? Anyway, putting aside these various loopholes, Chitose must now face the other seiyuu and the production staff about her future as an actress. Luckily for her, she had nearly an entire day of traveling to formulate a solid speech. Chitose makes it apparent to everyone that she knows she's just a newbie and is essentially disposable. But she also makes it apparent that she is going to do everything in her power in order to get popular. So, at the end of the day, Chitose has decided to just continue being herself -- freeing her from any actual emotion built up in the past several episodes and culminating in her return to 'Chitose Form One'. Of course, everyone is happy and can finally proceed with their dub session after sitting in the waiting room for an entire day.

And what a dub session it was. Chitose and the others, feeling reinvigorated after a hell of a day, carry on with recording a strong final scene that goes on the emphasize the meaning of last several episodes -- fighting for a better future alongside your friends. With this, Kusure comes to a close and everyone carries on with their lives. Queue the minor time skip.

Even though Kusure is over, the promo events are not. Chitose still has to attend several more BD hand-outs and concerts and, of course, she wakes up late for those as well. After yet another frantic sprint to the studio, everything ends on a joyous note as Chitose leads the other heroines on stage for an electrifying final performance. But wait, there's more. After the concert wraps up, the Kusure staff takes a final trip to the bar where it is revealed that they will be commencing work on a new project (Which is either a continuation of Kusure or a new series from the same writer). These final moments do a damn good job at instilling the same sense of false hope that came from the last scene in Shirobako where the producers announced the rights to two new series. And while a second season for Girlish Number is doubtful, the thought and possibility is still there. Which is kind of cool, I guess.

In Summary:

Girlish Number is definitely one of the better shows to emerge from this season (Which doesn't really say much considering it was probably the worst season of the year). But even with that, it has easily been a fun and exciting ride. Girlish Number is most definitely a great addition to the ever-growing genre of industry-based anime that shines light in places that other series have missed. Incredibly witty and sarcastic, Girlish Number can be enjoyed by anyone. And thanks to exceptional performances from Sayaka Senbongi and the others involved in the dubbing, every step of the journey will be incredibly entertaining. This is one of the most consistently enjoyable anime series of the year, hands down.

Episode Grade: B+

Series Grade: A-

Streamed B: Crunchyroll

Girlish Number Episode #11 Anime Review

Surprisingly, it only takes a second to get disheartened.

What They Say:

No one wants to get stuck in a boring profession, so when college student Chitose Karasuma storms into a voice acting training facility, she thinks that her future is poised for awesomeness. However, this bad-mannered beauty is in for more than she bargained for as she gets accepted into the talent agency “Number One Produce.” Together with her coworkers, including a girl with a Kansai accent and a cunning airhead, Chitose charges into the competitive world of professional voice acting.

The Review:

Content: (Please note that the content portion of this review may contain spoilers)

Chitose is upset...Gojo is upset...Basically everybody in Girlish Number is upset right now. With last week's episode throwing out various signals of what's going to happen to our pink-haired protagonist's career, Chitose really needs to step up her game this week if she's going to stay in this thing. After all, she has an entire studio staff waiting on her. But instead of lightening up and working harder, she begins to sulk, dragging the entire character roster down with her.

After a less-than-ideal day in the studio, all of the girls begin to worry about Chitose. These worries get even more intense when she does something she's never even imagined before -- turn down going out to dinner. As Chitose begins to fade away, however, the spotlight on Nanami starts shining brighter than normal. In fact, Nanami has made such a good impression on Number One Produce that Kuzu, himself, decides it might be time to change up the Kusure marketing strategy to one more geared toward this up and coming star. The thing with Nanami, though, is that she doesn't really understand any of this. In fact, she doesn't even notice that she's becoming popular. So when the other girls begin to mention that Chitose might be thinking about quitting, Nanami freaks out and goes on an extensive rant about how much she loves Chitose. And even though Chitose wasn't around to hear this, the rant itself goes on to reveal the first 'bright side' we've seen in a while.

It's apparent that no one wants Chitose to quit -- particularly Gojo. In fact, the first scene of this episode even shows him staring at an old photograph from the 10th anniversary of Number One Produce -- the year he wound up quitting. It is also revealed that Koto actually worked alongside Gojo back in the day and that the two have some sort of relationship tracing back years prior. So when Koto approaches Gojo about how he needs to do something before it's too late, we're brought back to the times when Gojo felt like he just wasn't cut out for acting. Taking her (And Yae's) words to heart, he finally approaches Chitose about her situation.

Before he can even speak, however, Chitose bursts into tears. She goes on and on about how she just wants people to like her and how she gets hurt when no one pays attention and it really emphasizes and expands the needy side of her we've grown to love (Or hate) the past few months. Yes, she's cocky, but it seems like she only thinks and acts this way because it normally works out for her. So when she's finally feeling broken for the first time in the series, that ego of hers vanishes and we're left with a surprisingly human, normal girl begging for attention. Gojo, being brother of the year, then explains to Chitose why she needs to stick her chin up and not wind up like he did. Feeling reinvigorated, Chitose sets her sights on tomorrow for a final chance to redeem herself.

In Summary:

With just one episode remaining, Girlish Number still stands tall as one of the most surprising shows of the season. With not a single episode coming off as 'useless' or 'boring' in my book, I'd be shocked if the finale shifted in that direction. I firmly believe that the last episode of Girlish Number will wrap things up neatly thanks to the show's overall exceptional pacing thus far. This week's installment was nothing more than a well-executed set-up for what's to come. We're all cheering for you, Chitose! You can do it!

Grade: A-

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Girlish Number Episode #10 Anime Review

Chitose falls into darkness.

What They Say:

No one wants to get stuck in a boring profession, so when college student Chitose Karasuma storms into a voice acting training facility, she thinks that her future is poised for awesomeness. However, this bad-mannered beauty is in for more than she bargained for as she gets accepted into the talent agency “Number One Produce.” Together with her coworkers, including a girl with a Kansai accent and a cunning airhead, Chitose charges into the competitive world of professional voice acting.

The Review:

Content: (Please note that the content portion of this review may contain spoilers)

Having lost her brother as her manager to a younger, more determined seiyuu, Chitose's outlook on the industry begins to slope downward (As if it wasn't already tilted enough). When she meets her new manager, however, things get even worse. Instead of being the laid-back, cynical type, this new guy is forcing Chitose to actually...work hard? Oh no, this can't possibly end well.

As Chitose struggles to fight away the gloom overtaking her career, all of the other actresses seem to be doing pretty well. Yae and Koto have both landed more lead roles for other projects, Momoka and Kazuha (Who are completely absent from this episode) are steadily moving ahead, and even Nanami is beginning to take off. That being said, when Chitose is designated this new manager, she essentially loses all motivation and has to be forced just to do her job. Incapable of dealing with her problems, she begins moping harder than ever before. Surprisingly, her brother isn't much different.

Even though Nanami is clearly a better candidate for him to manage, Gojo can't help be brought down by the fact that his sister might soon fail. After a revelatory discussion at the bar with Namba, Gojo understands that Chitose's time is running out. Everyone knows by now that she isn't exactly a model-actress, but if she doesn't figure something out soon, she will be dropped entirely. One can take a few guesses on how Gojo sees this situation, but nothing is made apparent through any of his actions. More than anything, he just seems pissed off. Hell, he spends 90% of the episode just standing there with his hair in his eyes. Much of this might be due to the fact that Chitose totally insulted him in the last episode, but hey, who knows with these two?

The surprising part of this episode lies in the fact that, even though this is a celebratory episode in multiple ways, the entire twenty minutes of it seems nothing short of bleak and melancholic. With half the cast celebrating and the other half falling into a pit of despair, we're not really sure what to think anymore. Part of you wants to root for Chitose and hope that she makes it out alive, and the other part is probably saying, "Well...You did this to yourself". But regardless of how we're feeling right now, the importance and weight of this episode is really going to be determined by whatever happens next week. Chitose and Gojo are both dispensable, and they both seem to finally realize this.

In Summary:

Girlish Number has somehow managed to navigate itself back to the somber feeling the pilot instilled. Both Chitose and Gojo are having a hard time dealing with their issues and are doing the one thing a professional is never supposed to do -- let that carry over into their work. Anime waits for no one, and if Girlish Number is going to end on a good note, these two need to get back into shape fast. But in order to do that, they're going to have to confront each other instead of hiding behind their sorrows.

Grade: A-

Streamed By: Crunchyroll