Hidamari Sketch x ☆☆☆

Hidamari Sketch, in theory, should be one of my all-time favorite iyashikei for wholesome, relaxing slice-of-life. I like the idea of relatively nice girls with different personalities all attending the same art school, sometimes crossing paths, sometimes doing their own thing.

However, I found that Seasons 1 and 2 were inconsistently likable—sometimes a little too slow-paced and uninteresting, even for me. I tended to enjoy the episodes that slowly developed Yuno, along with the occasional ones where they all just hung out and had some comedy. But overall, I only liked the show sometimes.

As it turns out, the best way for me to more consistently enjoy ... the series was by Hoshimittsu (Season 3) introducing two very memorable, likable underclassmen: Nazuna and Nori. If I’m being honest, I think this duo is much more interesting and fun than Hiro and Sae, who mostly function as okay upperclassmen that occasionally give advice but not much more.

Shifting the dorm dynamics to six characters adds much-needed variety—not just for comedy but also for character growth and unique interactions.

For example, like the two other notable pairings, Yuno & Miyako and Hiro & Sae, Nazuna and Nori have their own yuri-bait close female friendship. They have a natural opposites-attract dynamic, with Nazuna being very shy and Nori being direct and blunt. Their interactions alone are super charming, but I also love how they affect the rest of the group.

They give Hiro and Sae more opportunities to lean into their low-key, mature, caregiving roles, and they allow more goofy moments for Miyako’s quirky humor. But most importantly—on a personal level, as someone who likes Yuno the most—this change gives Yuno a chance to grow even more.

In Seasons 1 and 2, most of Yuno’s memorable character development revolved around her lack of self-confidence. She’s an art major whose best friend is kind of an art genius, so she often doubted herself. But by the end of Season 2, she gained more confidence, and in Season 3, she gets to take on the role of a proper upperclassman for Nazuna and Nori. It’s great to see her naturally shift from the meek new girl to someone who applies what she’s learned to her two new friends.

Most of what makes the Hidamari series good (and sometimes not as good) is still here. There are plenty of scenes where the six characters just hang out, plus some interesting art discussions since almost all of them (except Nazuna) are art majors at an art-focused school. Those moments are thought-provoking in terms of how they improve their art.

Unfortunately, the most recurring character I don’t like is still around: Yoshinoya-sensei. I guess I can see why some people enjoy an adult female character who’s a little immature, likes being attractive, and craves attention, but by this point in the series, I’m really sick of the same joke. She tries too hard to get attention from students, the principal rebukes her, rinse and repeat. It’s not as annoying in Hoshimittsu, but the joke was already stale by the second or third time in earlier seasons. The fact that they keep doing it almost every episode is a case of Japan overdoing quirky humor until it gets really, really old.

While I liked the average episode of the girls just hanging out much more than in Seasons 1 and 2, there are still some dull moments, even as someone who enjoys cute girls doing cute things, slice-of-life, and hangout series.

That said, I still really like Hidamari Sketch Hoshimittsu for pushing the series in a much more consistently great direction—just by adding two new, very likable characters. It’s a shame this is one of SHAFT’s more underrated shows because some days, I consider it on par with Madoka Magica—and definitely way better than the -monogatari series.

The first season of Hidamari Sketch took its time to introduce viewers to the main cast and told its lessons along with some mild comedy and entertaining character interaction.

The second season of Sketch went ahead and gave this world much more depth with a higher budget to spend on making it look and feel more natural.

This third season seems to benefit from everything the first and second season offered, but decides to expand itself rather than giving much more depth to the main cast. While still developing the supporting cast.

Once again, the story is much the same as the first two seasons, the girls are ... a year older and two new main cast members get introduced to add something fresh to the group. This season probably has some of my favorite self contained stories thus far, yet the season's conclusion is the weakest of the series.

The art is what a viewer of the first two seasons would expect of Sketch, if not a slightly more subdued version of it. No major improvements or setbacks over the second season of Sketch that I found notable.

Sound in the third season is better than the first and second. The background music ranges from meandering bouncing to soothing melodies and when you notice them they really feel special. This season had my favorite ED of the series so far.

Characters are the same girls you'd seen for the first two seasons, slightly more mature, more comfortable to be themselves around each other. They're all familiar with the quirks of one another, so the two new additions to the group almost serve as the straight men to the OG 4's antics.
One is more technology savvy and the girls are at times intimidated by her ability to comprehend computers, while she at the same time is the first to deescalate a situation. The other is a very timid GenEd student that at first feels distant from the group because she believes them to all be naturally gifted at art, where she is eventually corrected by them that the reason they attend the school is because they believe they aren't. Overall, the interactions are more or less the same.

I enjoyed this addition to the Sketch series, but other than two new characters and some development for Natsume I felt it didn't do anything the first two seasons didn't. Still a fun watch as I make my way through the series.

Let's talk about mundane stuff! Why only a 6? What is Hidamari Sketch?

I have watched all the previous seasons of Hidamari Sketch for one reason; SHAFT made it. That's it, that's the only reason I have. When I first started watching the first season of Hidamari Sketch I actually dropped it because it was too trivial and tedious for me, but when I then started over 6 months later I found it slightly alluring and quite charming to tell you the truth. I don't know why, none of the seasons or ova's are any different, they're all about the exact same stuff with some slight ... alternations in settings, scenarios and activites, but maybe that's what's so charming about Hidamari Sketch.

Hidamari Sketch Hoshimittsu is no exception, it's exactly the same as the previous seasons with the addition of two new main characters. Everyone's been upped a year in school which invites two new freshmen to enter Hidamari apartments. Don't worry though, they're exactly the same as all the other characters in this show so you won't get too rattled up and your brain won't get overheated with the originality displayed on screen.

It's cute, it's charming, it's nonsensical, without substance and forgettable. Let's expand slightly on the forgettable part; it's actually so forgettable I can't really recall what happened in the last episode (11) which I watched the same day I'm writing this review, which means that the first two seasons which I watched sometime during the autumn of 2009 are basically two animes I've never seen before. This is not negative, if you like Hidamari Sketch it makes for great rewatch value!

In any case, as I mentioned before I think the charm of this entire anime franchise is the same as with all the other ones pertaining to this, such as; Minami-ke, Ichigo Mashimaro and then ones that are partly similar such as; Azumanga Daioh, Lucky Star, Hyakko etc. etc. They are all to different degrees about nothing and everything, just regular (or not so regular) everyday life. You have your set of characters with different attributes and traits and then you make a storyboard around that that has no substance and fill it with interesting screenplay instead and there you go!

Hidamari Sketch's biggest problem I think is that the characters are a bit too monotonous, you know they could have done with a bit more variety in their actions, they're a bit too milky white, they're vanilla icecream when you feel like eating strawberry icecream. And this is the main reason why this anime gets a 6, a 6 is not a bad rating, but it's nothing over the top, just like Hidamari Sketch Hoshimittsu.

For the people who dislike the animation and art style that SHAFT chose to go with; screw you, it owns.

TLDR: It's charming, it has refreshing art, characters are a bit too bland, lacks in originality which renders this anime a 6.

As usual, I am always right in my reviews, even if you comment on my profile saying I'm wrong does not change the fact that I'm always right, you can't be right if you disagree with me and that's one of the few truths that exist in this world.