Hidamari Sketch

The least I can say about Hidamari Sketch is that I'm glad it was recommended to me. This season is 12 episodes long, 24 minutes each that feel longer because of the extremely well paced format. I'm told the character designer later went on to design characters for Madoka and it shows.



Story: 7/10

The main character (and best girl) Yuno begins her classes at
Yamabuki Art High School and makes friends with the girls in the Hidamari apartments where she will be living by herself after being dependent on her family for so long. The characters bond and their bonds allow them to depend on each ... other for support, whether they're unhappy with their physical appearance, can't make their own meals to save their lives, or didn't quite get a project finished on time and are unhappy with it.
The girls are there for each other and Sketch makes this apparent without ever delivering the message in a heavy handed way.
This tone blends beautifully with what is now possibly one of my favorite art styles.



Art: 9/10

The art style alone is something you could write pages on.
From the first scene it caught me off guard with a mix of real object renders and drawn animation. This use of real objects and products was something unexpected from an anime that mostly uses flat colors and simple techniques but it works really well with the jumps between the Chibi design and character backgrounds. There's a lot of unique charm to the way Sketch looks, and it works because of the very artist oriented story it tries to tell.
It's fast. It's moe. It's simple. And it works.



Sound: 8/10

The VA's all did fine jobs, and every time Yoshinoya (their teacher) would get excited about something or fawn over herself it cracked me up because the delivery was perfect. The OP is catchy and when I wasn't watching the show I'd find myself humming it while doing chores and other activities.



Characters: 9/10

The characters are all lovable and great from the perspective that they aren't supposed to be groundbreaking or have complex moral dilemmas. They're 4 girls having a good time in a slice of life show about an art school. Their interactions with each other are fun, sweet, and simple.

Enjoyment: 10/10


Overall: 8/10



Conclusion:
I enjoyed Hidamari Sketch a LOT more than I thought I would have after seeing the first episode. As the series went on I felt attached to the characters and wanted to see them succeed and felt for them at their most minor inconveniences. Thankfully, there's a lot more of Hidamari Sketch and I'm looking forward to the rest of it.

I was originally going to review both the two seasons separately, but I felt like they were too similar to warrant separate reviews, so this review kind of sums up both. Don't worry, it's a comedy, so I doubt I could spoil anything from the second season that would make you dislike watching the first; it is not a drama, after all. I would have wrote this on the second season, but I want people to watch this, so I figured here would be the better place to advertise.

Actually, I was originally going to wait until I finished the entire anime and then I would ... write a single review on this season alone describing them all, but the third season onward began to show different vibes that I felt were worthy of another time. With that out of the way, let's begin.

What's to be said about Hidamari Sketch? Well, not a whole lot, and yet a whole bunch. If I had to use one phrase to describe this anime, it would be nonchalantly sparkling. It comes off in this nice, calm school setting surrounding four young girls; all possessing pretty unique personalities for this genre.

Before I go on, one thing I would like to note is that this anime actually shows boys. And I mean, shows them talking and everything, to the point where a whole scene had two of them talking to each other and, at one point, to one of the main girls. This is quite a departure from most girl comedies that normally only show them as background characters, either due to not wanting any romance involved (well, besides one special exception) or because they would not fit into the girly atmosphere. Though, from what I have seen, there has yet to be one that is a recurring character thus far. Note how I did not mention minor.

Anyway, the girls' are very fun to watch and their personalities are very fitting of interacting with one another. If you want a girl comedy where you will feel warm and fuzzy on the inside with a relaxing tone of anecdote delivery, look no further than Hidamari Sketch. Even better, this one will last you a good fifty Or so episodes. And, to top it off, it is made by Shaft. Yes, that is a synonym of the male (...) I heard it all before, but these people also made the infamous Madoka Magica series. So, expect some wide faces to exist here as well. Oh, and once they are drawn in their comedy form, your prior conceptions of how far an anime face can stretch will be outmatched.

So, yes, this review basically sums up the essentials of the first two seasons. Both deliver nearly identical comedy and all the characters are the same from the first season, though a few of them develop quite a bit in the second and it is quite enjoyable to watch. Most notably is a girl in their school that basically became a breakout character, as she had only appeared one time in the first season and immediately became, not a minor, but recurring character in the second season.

This is a pretty short review, but I do not have to say much about Hidamari Sketch. It delivers comedy, and delivers it well; it is made by Shaft, whom made my favorite anime (which I loved Hidamari Sketch for referencing) and it also carries over their tradition of having a goofy mascot appear randomly throughout the entire ordeal.

At the very least, you would feel neutral if girl comedies are not up your ally, but this one delivers no cringe humor in the slightest. The comedy feels natural and the production value was more centered on the dialogue more than the backgrounds, so expect some simplicity on them when you first start it. In fact, expect a lot of comedic things done with the art the more you watch it.

So, I hope you at least give this one a go before you shove it away. It is a bit hard to take in at first due to the backgrounds fooling you into thinking it is a low production, but the characters become very lovable. You will have at least one favorite by the end of the first season.

Hidamari Sketch commits to the idea of slow television, or at least the anime equivalent of it, which to some might be a good thing, but true to its name, slow television is sluggish, my eyes, ears, and thoughts all move much faster than the onscreen characters, and it leaves me wanting more. Within a slice of life where ‘nothing’ happens, enough has to actually happen to keep me focused and engaged with the characters, but Hidamari doesn’t quite do that.

It’s not a bad anime by any means, the basic components are still functional enough, I’ve certainly seen a whole lot worse, but if there ... is a single issue I have, it is that of the main cast, nobody is of any particular interest. Yuno is okay, I guess, but she’s not got any memorable lines, and for a supposed comedy, there is a considerable absence of any real jokes, an issue compounded by the fact most the jokes you do see are just kanji puns, which of course, don’t make any sense when they’re translated. Compared to Lucky Star for instance, you had various archetypes, which while basic, worked well with each other, making one main character an otaku, and another a hard worker is going to create humorous interactions, but nobody in Hidamari Sketch has any distinctive traits, and while you can compartmentalise them, a lot of the time, they end up slipping into the roles of each other – Sae is meant to be ‘the shy one who gets embarrassed easily’, but Yuno acts embarrassed in the exact same manner plenty of times, which means none of them are hugely distinct. When it comes down to it, the most memorable character was the teacher, whose performance seemed to have a whole lot more energy put into it than any of the main cast, which certainly isn’t a good thing, considering she’s a side character.

In actuality, these flaws are not major, while they aren’t something that can be entirely ignored, they also aren’t something that I should give more prominence than is necessary. Hidamari Sketch certainly does a better job than most at providing a relaxing atmosphere, the characters are not particularly distinctive or expressive compared to most anime, but that is because it would conflict with the overall aesthetic of the show, which is to provide a relaxing atmosphere, and it does that well, the colour palette, the seiyuus’ enunciation, and the music, which is probably the best part of the show, all contributes to a calming atmosphere. Hidamari Sketch is an anime you could have an easy time falling asleep to, whether or not that is a bad thing depends entirely on what it is you want from it. And that summarises it rather well, the characters aren’t that great, the comedy even less so, but it’s definitely relaxing, I wasn’t particularly impressed, but it is good at what it does, and maybe if you’re some crackhead who wants to watch anime and try and sleep at the same time, maybe you’ll like Hidamari Sketch more than I did.

Hidamari Sketch is one of those wonderful animes that never peaks because it just gets better and better until it's done. There are a lot of episodes, over 4 seasons, so you can consider this my review for the whole show.

The first episode is a snowy January day, everybody is a bit sluggish and tired, and it isn't particularly fast paced, you just get to know the characters you'll be following throughout the show and the kind of people they are. I've only seen this anime once, and while most of the show is very memorable, not many full episodes stick in my mind, but ... I distinctly remember this one. The aesthetic is so relaxed and peaceful; they do some schoolwork, play in the snow, and then chat under the kotatsu, it's the most theraputic thing and I love it.

That's what this show is all about, unlike most slice of life animes where a lot of exaggerated things happen to boost the comedy, Hidamari Sketch takes it slow and easy, the episodes follow a format of 12 days throughout the year, sometimes not even in chronological order, and the plot devices for some episodes are as simple as cleaning an apartment or cooking some fried chicken. There's no comuket, no crazy otaku self insert or exaggerated fictional anime, the characters are simply art students learning to live independantly. It's another thing that makes the show feel so peaceful and homely.

I'm a big soundtrack junkie, and I can confidently say that Hidamari Sketch has the best music I've heard in an anime. I am being 100% honest when I say that at one point, the music moved me to tears.
The OPs and EDs are all fantastic, and the background music is just something else, it fits the aesthetic of Hidamari Sketch so perfectly, and the show would not be the same without it. The singer duo Marble, who performed the music for Hidamari Sketch, recorded full albums based on the show, you can find them on the youtube channel Deses, and for God's sake listen to them, it's just another gem out of the diamond mine that is Hidamari Sketch.

During the latter seasons, things start to get a bit more lively; a lot of new characters are introduced, some running jokes are dropped, and it generally feels like it's been kicked up a notch, but this is what I mean when I say it just gets better and better, the show just builds on itself and never runs out of great stories to tell. During the last season there is a very wistful atmosphere with both the characters and the viewer, because the upperclassmen Sae and Hiro are going to graduate at the end of the year and leave Hidamari Apartments, and the show will come to an end.
...
And I'm getting emotional recalling it now, this isn't even thought-out review script this is happening as I write the damn thing.

As the winter starts to come in, I can't think of a better time to watch Hidamari Sketch again or for the first time, it's one of the most soothing shows I've ever seen, and it puts me in a good mood just thinking about it.

If I had to pick one way to describe this anime it would be that it grows on you. This is evidenced by how I really didn’t much care for Hidamari Sketch after first finishing it, but for reasons I’m still trying to articulate it continued to bounce around in my head even after I had completed all the episodes, a state that has persisted in my brain until now, about 2 years after first watching, where I would now easily place it in my top 5. I could forward many arguments as to why it has grown on me so much – perhaps it’s ... an attachment to the characters; I find Yuno and Miyako to be especially relatable (for different reasons of course), and the magnetic chemistry between those two in particular is highly charming. It could also be the audio component – many of the tunes that effortlessly float through the background have me tapping my foot along every time I hear them, and the consistently great VAs only further accent the characters. But the thing that I find most impressive and truly innovative about this show is the visuals. Despite obviously not having a high animation budget, the talented workers at SHAFT managed to create so much visually striking and iconic imagery. Again, despite mostly consisting of extended still shots and other simple animation techniques that I could probably recreate in powerpoint, almost all of the symbolism and visuals in this anime are instantly recognizable as distinct and serve to make it visually entertaining always. I would even argue that this first season of HSketch in particular, more than the other seasons or even the rest of SHAFT’s visually excellent repertoire, is the best example of why an anime does not need to have quality animation to be visually interesting. In fact, I think this season makes a good foil to many overproduced shows such as Demon Slayer which, for all their “fluid” and noticeably high-budget animation cuts, end up feeling visually stale and boring due to the lack of creative vision behind the direction. As HSketch’s subject matter of art serves to show, it is reductive to view the artistic medium of animation as solely the pursuit of creating motion that is as fluid and realistic as possible. What really matters is whether or not the creators are able to create a compelling vision with their animation – if this is present, as in HSketch, it will be interesting without even needing extensive animation, and if it is absent, no amount of hyper-detailed animation will be able to save it.

This review will definitely be unnecessarily long. However I am doing it not only to help others realize how great and innovative the visuals of this show truly are and to push back against the common understanding of what makes an anime look good, but also to try and figure out for myself just why it is I find the franchise to be so endearing.

The best way that I can describe the way this series is so visually compelling to me would be to say that it has this persistent rhythm that is constantly driving the framing of shots, the timing of cuts, and the placement of sound effects. It is through the constant energy provided by the shifts between all the stills it uses that the show feels warm and alive despite not containing much traditional animation. To be sure, each and every still frame in this show is impeccably designed from a color and graphical standpoint, but the directors somehow know just how to shift between these diverse and interesting framings at just the right times that it always commands your attention despite the obvious banality of the topic matter. This is all without even mentioning the impeccable sound design and perfect use of sound effects – they are always timed to either compliment the shot transitions and make it feel as though scenes flow effortlessly from shot to shot and from each scene to scene. They also add a great deal of punchiness and comedic effect to the jokes due to their perfect timing. The last thing I want to touch upon in regards to the visuals and sound are the use of idiosyncratic symbols and sound effects which add a feeling of familiarity and symmetry to many of the moments. The show so often transitions to these highly reduced, minimalistic cuts placed in between shots of more traditional visuals in order to add visual variety, and the characters are typically represented with a specific symbol that the viewer quickly learns to associate with that character. Not only is this just a really interesting technique that further diversifies the visual repertoire, but it makes each of the character designs feel that much more iconic and memorable when there is a symbol that can be associated with them. In most other shows, Yuno’s hair clips would just be a completely unremarkable part of her design, but the visual design in this show is so strong that it managed to turn such a banal trait into an instantly recognizable part of her character as well as a great running gag (such as when other characters put on the clips). In my view the core cast of this show have some of the most iconic character designs ever made and much of their iconic nature is owed to the strong symbology. The framing of shots within the characters’ rooms uses a similar technique, wherein a small set of specific, static angles was deliberately used for each separate room – in this way, the viewer is actually able to subconsciously realize which room a scene is taking place in just by recognizing the angle that is being shown. The sound effects do the same thing, as the viewer begins to associate specific sound effects with specific actions due to how they are used. Not only does it make me grin like an idiot to hear those familiar little chirps play when, say, the show is rapidly showing a bunch of cuts of the food Hiro made or something, but the use of that same golf sound effect every time Miyako gets clobbered in the head makes me burst out laughing every time. This repetition of familiar sights and sounds might not even be noticed by first-time viewers but I think it goes a long way in making the setting and the characters feel familiar which is crucial for the overall feel of the show. The whole point of this genre is to make the viewer feel like they are comfortable in the company of old friends, and by adding all these repeated, idiosyncratic bits of sight and sound it feels as though you are “in” on some sort of secret language that the show uses. There is simply just a very specific, unique, and instantly recognizable sort of communication that this show uses through its visuals and sound which is absent in the vast majority of other shows I’ve seen that makes HSketch stand out among its contemporaries as unique and full of personality.

Another great choice made by the first two seasons is the choice to air episodes in an asynchronous format. The episodes jump back and forth between the seasons of the year with little care for chronology, with the first chapter of the manga actually not even being adapted until the second season. The anime adaptation never even takes the time to introduce its characters and instead just throws you into a random day in their lives in the middle of winter. Evidently, many have found this choice to be arbitrary and annoying, but I think it’s actually genius. The whole point of this show, as I view it, is to allow the viewer to completely relax in the hypnotic rhythm of the presentation and enjoy the company of these wholly likable characters in the context of its comforting setting of the Hidamari Apartments, and in this view, the actual order that events or even time happens is of little significance. The asynchronous structure helps to take the emphasis off the specific things that happen and reinforces that the show is about how relaxed the characters and the environment make you feel. In this sense I really feel like HSketch is the ultimate Slice of Life show because it is fully focused on taking these perfectly contained little vignettes of a single day in life at the Hidamari Apartments and focusing on making the presentation as warm and charming as possible.

Unfortunately, it seems as though the success of seasons 1 and 2 may have been the downfall of the series. With seasons 3 and 4 came an obvious significant increase in the animation budget and visual style – these seasons lose the charming “hazy”, almost dreamlike feel of the first two and replace it with a more sharp feel, and the director team behind these seasons is completely different than the first two. Furthermore, the aforementioned asynchronous format is abandoned in these two seasons for a strictly linear progression of time, which just makes it feel less interesting. Although seasons 3 and 4 are by no means bad I think they lack most of the particular visual charms of the first two and are generally inferior – again, I think that the creative forces behind the first two were so instrumental to why they felt idiosyncratic and endearing, but those staff members were absent from the last two seasons which kind of removes the point. Also, it’s not that I even dislike Nori or Nazuna, but the chemistry between the original four was so perfect that I think it’s impossible to add characters to and have it stay as perfect.

Again, I really cannot stress enough just how great all the character interactions and sound design is, but the main focus of this review is on the visual design, and you can experience the strength of all of these aspects if you just watch it. The first two seasons of Hidamari Sketch, especially the first, are in my view a classic case study into how strong color design, interesting framing, and unique symbology can be used to create engaging visuals even in the absence of traditional animation. Given all this, it is both puzzling and saddening to see that HSketch has fallen by the wayside in comparison to its contemporaries. Most internet users probably know what K-On, Nichijou, or Azumanga are or have at least seen a few memes containing their characters, but I’ve literally never seen an HSketch meme in the wild. I just think HSketch should still be considered as relevant and innovative today as it was when it first aired over 15 years ago, because it is proof that smart, intentionally designed shows focused on the characters and setting can be made for cheap, and will have infinitely higher quality and shelf life than overproduced CGI crapfests with massive budgets.

Collage dominates the aesthetic direction of Hidamari Sketch, careful use of pop-art patterns, photos, words in place of objects, and flat colours carefully creates a visually distinct appeal to the anime, that becomes its main strength - you could easily watch the anime with no sound and it would be watchable purely for the strength of its visuals alone.

Outside of its visuals, it's standard cgdct SoL fare: the girls all have very distinct personalities from each other, being very cute and likeable, and most of the plot centres around their discussions and interactions with each other. Whilst the events aren't particularly comedic compared to other ... examples from the 2000s such as Azumanga Daioh or Lucky Star, there are a few guaranteed laughs each episode, and the cuteness of the visuals and character interactions are appealing enough in their own right.

It is an anime that simply has some very nice visuals, though it can be said that it doesn't expand upon them enough, and interactions that are definitely enjoyable.

Artsy but not in a gay way

All the characters are wholesome and genuinely fun to watch as they go through their daily life in this staple of the Cute Girls Doing Cute Things/Slice of Life genre. To top it off, Akiyuki Shinbou’s fantastic directing and talent for storyboarding in addition to the mixing of various styles of media makes what appears to be a relatively low budget show quite visually engaging.

Would also recommend thanks to a lovely lack of modern degenerate art school culture that is all consumed in endless self gratification and postmodernist drivel. Truly a very pleasant viewing experience!

Hidamari sketch embodies and balances its creativity and silly lighthearted nature extremely well, and I believe it's a really enjoyable and soothing slice of life series.

The animation, while feeling a little low budget, works fine but could be better. I find the art style extremely appealing. Verrrrrry 2000s moe cuteness with big eyes and simple designs that express the girls' character well. I love that this anime does the thing where it makes the characters all wide and chibi, but like cranks the WIDE factor to 100%! It's so silly, and I find it so funny and endearing xD.

Being a show set at an ... art school, Hidamari Sketch consistently has a plethora of inspired and unabashedly unique direction that studio Shaft is known for. The show makes heavy use of colorful abstract patterns, solid color as backgrounds as well as imitating Ben-Day dots, those polka-dot patterns on comic books, as backgrounds. Much of the direction of the show is very artsy and bizarre, especially in the dream sequences which happen occasionally. A lot of unconventional camera movement and framing is part of what I think makes Hidamari Sketch so unique. The constant use of real photos of objects in place of a more traditional drawing just adds to the slightly odd and artsy vibe I think the direction is going for. Almost like a collage!

On the other side, Hidamari Sketch is a goofy anime full of dumb gags and humor focused heavily on character interactions at heart. It's pretty standard slice of life silliness, and I love that kinda thing, though it doesn't innovate much on the character front. Still, the characters are all endearing if not a bit tropey and their interactions are fun to watch! Much of the humor is based around Japanese wordplay and puns, some of which I got and others I didn't fully understand. It could be a bit perplexing to those who don't know Japanese wordplay and culture very well.

In conclusion, Hidamari Sketch is a pretty run-of-the-mill yet still quite fun and charming anime with a lot of value to be found! Being a simple slice of life comedy anime about cute girls being silly and doing quirky school and art class things, there is no real overarching plot, and that's okay. If you're watching this anime you're just here for some good vibes and silly banter that is constantly a joy to watch! If slice of life anime is your thing, I think you'd get a lot out of the show and even outside of that, I find the striking direction reason enough to watch ;P