Ranked #561

Sketchbook ~full color'S~

Every once in a while, you just need to relax, chill and wach something easy. That's when Sketchbook is perfect. It doesn't hve a lot of humor, and the story is, well, not a story. The animation quality isn't anything outstanding either. What catched me when I watched Sketchbook was how calm and quiet it was. And of course, the cats! If you like cats, that's a reason in itself to give Sketchbook a try.

Story-wise, it just follows an episode-by-episode formula, with each new episode bringing abotu an event totally unrelated to what happened in earlier episodes. Each episode is very tranquil, and the pacing is very slow, but as I said earlier, it's perfect when you just need to relax, either because you've been very stressed or because you've watched some heavy anime earlier.

The artwork isn't especially detailed or vivid, but it's not directly bad either. I think the best description of it is "average".

Soundtrack-wise, Sketchbook is fairly good. I rarely notice the soundtrack, but when I do, it was some good piano pieces I heard. It fits right in with the calm mood of the series, so that's a plus. The first OP theme is very good though, and the same goes for the ED. I'll keep them for times I'll need something calming to listen to. The voice acting is great, too, and they manage to keep the calm tone of the series in their voice acting.

I loved the characters though, and they're very colorful. Since it's a slice of life anime, don't expect a lot of character development, but the varied and colorful cast may cover enough up for this since it's just a 13-episode series.

All in all, there's nothing spectacular about the series, but if you watch it at the right time (when you need some relaxation), you'll probably enjoy it anyway.

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When you first sit down to watch Sketchbook Full Colors you need to know what it is your getting in to. First if you are someone who needs action and a story driven series to keep you entertained, Sketchbook is not your kind of show. This is a very slow and methodical slice of life series that will have you feeling at ease and relaxed.. or asleep depending on the episode you’re viewing.

Almost the first thing I am reminded of when viewing Sketchbook is Aria, and rightly so as they were both produced by the same studio. There are even several appearances of Aria characters in the series. But even though Aria had the same sort of pacing as Sketchbook does, this series feels more disjointed and inconsistent. Some episodes are humorous and nostalgic feeling, the one that I probably felt the most emotional connection with was towards the end when Sora is home sick. I found it fascinating how some things, such as the boredom of lying in bed and the things one imagines or thinks about transcend culture and language. However this was not the case in many of the others. Slice of life tends to always walk the line between soothing and being boring. When we look at our own lives, how exciting really is most of the things that happen to you during the day?

The characters also hurt the series. They just aren't that interesting. In this genre the characters have to be strong to carry the lack of plot and action but I didn’t really find myself carrying all that much for any of them. Sora is the lead, she is a painfully shy girl who borders on complete anthropophobia. She can’t even so much as say her name to people she has just met and only finds any level of comfort with people she has known a while. She does make a breakthrough at the end of the series so in that sense that was good to see. The rest of her personality doesn’t make her all that much more interesting. That’s not to say she isn’t very sweet and moe, but really her only other character attributes is her love of cats and sketching and the blissful state she enters when drinking her favorite tea. The rest of the cast is pretty much just as socially awkward and strange. Many of them feel like they have some very deep seeded emotional issues. They grow on you a little by the end as only a cast of complete lunatics can. Most of the comedic moments revolve around the non human members of the cast, the group of cats that Sora is so fond of. As characters the cats are probably the most interesting the show has to offer.

From a voice acting and music standpoint, Sketchbook is truly brilliant. The music is outstanding, the songs are so beautiful and serene that I think I could have listened to them all day. The art is very inconsistent. Many of the backgrounds are really beautiful and the colors are vibrant, but when it comes to the characters themselves most of them look dull and boring. Individually characters like Sora sometimes look great but at others she doesn’t look good at all. Some of the character models are downright ugly. I do give the artists this though, these characters were probably the most realistic in terms of bodies than any series I have seen. No impossibly short miniskirts, fantastic busts, and waist lines a runway model would kill for.

Overall if you like the slice of life then this might be worth your time. Those of you didn’t like Aria you won’t like this one either. If you did, then this could be your cup of tea. For someone who has seen neither and wants to sample the genre, then I would recommend you check out Aria instead.
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