Anime Hajime Review: Hidamari Sketch

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Hidamari Sketch. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

Yamabuki Arts is a top vocational academy for aspiring artist. And across the street is the small Hidamari Apartment building.

Yuno (voiced by Kana Asumi) has dreamed of attending the famous art school and she lives in room 201. Soft-spoken and compassionate, she soon befriends the other residents.

Miyako (voiced by Kaori Mizuhashi) is Yuno’s neighbor, classmate, and closest friend. She is a skilled artist and the polar opposite of the low key Yuno. Loud, bombastic, and spontaneous, she moves with little rhyme or reason.

Hiro (voiced by Yuko Goto) is a year older than Yuno and Miyako and lives on the floor below them. A source of moral support, she is the mother figure for the group.

Sae (voiced by Ryoko Shintani) is best friends with Hiro as well as her next-door neighbor. A published author, she attends Yamabuki so she can draw the illustrations for her novels.

These four spend their time bettering their art, living their lives, and always together.

Series Positives

The short answer is that it’s good. A promising sign seeing how this is the first in the Hidamari series.

On the surface, this looks like your typical slice of life comedy. There's truth to that, but there’s also a lot more going on.

I saw aspects of both Nichijou and Azumanga Daioh. If anything, this was the what-if of these two shows coming together. The elements those shows excelled in blended well and gave Hidamari Sketch a persona of its own.

The Art Style

I imagine some of you are thinking the same thing. Give Yuno pink hair and she is the spitting image of Madoka Kaname for Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica. It was what caught my attention and there's a reason to why this is the case.

Ume Aoki, the creator of Hidamari Sketch also did the character designs for Madoka. And that's not the only connection.

Akiyuki Shinbo, the director of Hidamari, directed Madoka too. He is also responsible for a series called Monogatari. I may have mentioned that one once or twice before.

Thus, the person behind two of the most visually breathtaking anime of the last fifteen years was at the wheel here. And it shows.

The style of Hidamari Sketch was amazing. It was a fantastic melding of slapstick and visuals. The artwork that enhanced Madoka Magica’s dark overtones and Monogatari’s philosophical dialogues, added to Hidamari's humor.

It felt like this series was always doing something. Though not always important, something was going on. This worked because there was nothing important. With this being a slice of life anime, that was okay.

When I started this show, Monogatari levels of animation was the last thing I expected. Seeing such a thing in a comedic light, and seeing it work so well, made watching Hidamari all the more fun.

Series Negatives

To say that there are funnier shows out there would be harsh. Though other stories have made me laugh harder, I don't want it to sound like Hidamari didn't have its own merits.

This series was hilarious and put together well. Separating this show was the type of humor it used. Feel good comedy instead of laugh-out-loud moments were the norm.

Though I prefer the latter, anime like Hidamari are great for their own specific reasons.

A Little Much

Although I praise the animation, it did have a tendency to go overboard.

The drive of any slice of life anime is its characters and Hidamari had four outstanding ones.

Unfortunately, they were sometimes overshadowed by the visuals.

It doesn’t matter how pretty a show looks, the style cannot be the main focus.

Can artwork play a pivotal role in telling a story? Yes. In fact, since anime is a visual medium, they should be playing the main role in telling the story.

Shows like Monogatari thrive because the visuals feed off interpretation. What’s going on is not always clear. The same level of scrutiny feels out of place in something like Hidamari Sketch.

In one episode, Yuno got sick. She fell into a surreal fever dream. Nothing wrong with this setup, but remember the director we are dealing with. Needless to say, this got rather out there.

In Monogatari and Madoka Magica this worked and fit. In Hidamari Sketch it was a tad overkill.

Final Thoughts

Hidamari Sketch x 365, Hidamari Sketch x Hoshimittsu, and Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb, these are what I have to look forward to. Bring them on.

This is another fantastic series in a growing line of fantastic series. It was funny. The characters were a lot of fun. It was something different as well as familiar. Seeing this visual style with something so different made for a great viewing. Even though it could get a touch heavy-handed at times.

Hidamari Sketch marks the first in a series that I am continuing with great anticipation.