Waifu Wednesday: Aoi Miyamori (Shirobako)

Waifu Wednesday is here again! Today I want to talk about a very special girl, and that is Aoi Miyamori from Shirobako. I did a piece on motivational anime last month and in that, I included a scene from Shirobako that takes place towards the end of the series. Writing that piece reminded me how special Shirobako is as a series, and how much I love Aoi Miyamori.

I was slightly torn on whether to talk about Aoi or Shizuka the voice actress in this piece, as they are two of my favourite characters. I decided on our focus girl Aoi — but you can probably expect to see something about Shizuka from me in the future. 

Who is Aoi Miyamori?

Aoi Miyamori is the main character of Shirobako, a series that focuses on five girls who want to work in the anime industry. The story begins with the girls all being a part of the same club in school and making an anime together, and it’s here they all promise to one day work together and create something great in the future. 

Each of the girls takes different paths on their way to becoming professionals in the anime industry, and this is one of the best parts of the series as you get to see all of the different cogs that make up the machine that is anime. Aoi Miyamori, the character we spend the most amount of time with.

Aoi is extremely passionate about anime, and her chosen path is to be part of the production team. After graduating, Aoi tries her best to find jobs in the anime industry and faces rejection after rejection until she gets lucky at Musashino Animation, where she is hired as a production assistant. 

Why we love Aoi

I think it’s very easy to come to love not only Aoi, but all of the main five girls of Shirobako — we’re watching an anime about people passionate about anime. Aoi is a tremendously passionate person who tries so damn hard even if it’s a small task she’s been given, and I adore that aspect of her character. 

Each of the girls is presented with some form of obstacle throughout the series, whether it be finally getting that big break as a voice actress, taking a leap of faith and leaving a secure job to follow your passion, or taking a break from the thing you’re trying to get better at in order to slow down and grow.

Aoi, despite working in the anime industry, still doesn’t believe she has proper skills like acting, or animating, or drawing. This negative thought is quickly tossed away when her friends reassure her in knowing that they couldn’t be where they were without her. That without her, the anime they made back in high school that started all of them on this passion-fuelled path, would never have happened if not for Aoi’s constant support and hard work.

Lastly, one of the favorite things about Aoi is that she’s cute as hell! Something I really appreciate about Shirobako is the outfits changing over time. Aoi is a character we see in every single episode, so it only makes sense that she would have numerous outfits throughout the week, and I love that this is something very present in the series. 

Why you will love Aoi Miyamori

As I mentioned above, if you’re a fan of anime, it’s hard not to love a cute girl who is passionate about this medium that we love. We get to see her origins in school, the struggles she goes through on her first anime, and we get to see her reap the rewards of her hard work. 

Aoi is incredibly kind, and you will see her at numerous points throughout the series helping those around her that she notices are struggling. Her ability to feel happy for her friend’s successes to the point where she breaks down in tears — I have never cried so many tears of joy because of Aoi’s response to Shizuka’s breakthrough. 

Check out even more waifus HERE!

^{Disclosure: Some links in this article may be affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on them. This is at no additional cost to you and helps support Rice Digital!}