Hidamari Sketch [TV]
Yuno, a young girl with a dream to become an artist, is finally accepted into her dream school Yamabuki Art High School. Despite knowing that she will be leaving her family to attend school, Yuno is comforted by the fact that she will be staying at the Hidamari Apartments, where fellow art enthusiasts also live.
Hidamari Sketch follows the everyday life of Yuno and her newfound friends, and the challenges they face as art students.
About the Show
Hidamari Sketch is an anime adaptation of the comedy four-panel comic strip under the same name created by Ume Aoki. Produced by studio Shaft, the anime series aired a total of 12 episodes between January 11, 2007 and March 29, 2007.
Characters
Yuno
Yuno is the main character of the series, and the story is told through her viewpoint. She is a short young girl with light brown hair, which is usually adorned with a pair of x-shaped hair pins. Despite her excellent skills as an artist, Yuno has a low self-esteem and confidence. However, this attitude pushes her to seek self-improvement, usually by seeking for advice from her friends in the apartment. Aside from her talent in the arts, she is shown to be knowledgeable in cooking.
Miyako
Classmate and best friend of Yuno, Miyako is a young girl that lives in room 202. She has a short blonde hair, similar to her eye’s color. Miyako is from a poor family, which is why she lives in a cheaper room compared to the other residents of the apartment. No matter, she is a very outgoing and active person, paired with a voracious appetite. Miyako is fond of teasing her friends, particularly Yuno and Hiro. Talented and quick in learning new skills, Miyako is not only an artist, but is also a strong and athletic girl.
Hiro
Hiro is a year older than Miyako and Yuno, and lives in room 101 right below Yuno’s. She has a curly, double bun, salmon colored hair. She is very supportive of her best friend Sae, who she makes sure is fed and morally supported. Hiro is also supportive of the younger girls, helping them whenever she can. She loves eating sweets, which prompts the mischievous Miyako to tease her about her weight.
Sae
Sae is Hiro’s best friend, and lives in room 102. She is a professional writer, particularly about fiction and dons the pseudonym “Aya Tachibana”. She has enrolled at Yamabuki Arts High School so she can learn to illustrate her works. Sae can be seen blushing when telling her non-existent love story, or when Hiro expresses her affection for her. She can be playful at times, but usually displays a mature demeanor.
Season Summary
Episode 1: January 11: Winter Collage (Based on Chronological Order – 10)
Yuno had to finish her homework over lunchbreak after to do it the night before. After school, Yuno and Miyako visit Hiro’s apartment to thank her for the rice ball she gave for lunch.
Episode 2: August 21: Japan’s Summer (BCO – 05)
Yuno and the other residents have been ordered to create a new signage for the Hidamari Apartments. After discovering that Miyako pays lesser than the other residents, Sae decides to ask the landlord about the matter. Later that night, the girls go out and have fun at the summer festival.
Episode 3: June 17: …or an Indian (BCO – 03)
Yoshiniya orders her class to sketch her wearing various outfits. After the intervention from the principal, they settle on sketching a bust of Brutus instead. Later, the girls hangout at Miyako’s leaky apartment.
Episode 4: May 18: The Singing Shortcake (BCO – 02)
Taking advantage of the pleasant weather, Yuno’s class is assigned to sketch outdoors. After school, they decide to visit a local karaoke bar.
Episode 5: February 13: Heart and Body (BCO – 11)
Yuno catches a cold causing her to miss her classes. While resting, she begins to have an odd dream about her friends and school. Meanwhile, her friends do their best to hasten Yuno’s recovery.
Episode 6: July 14: Cool and Comfy (BCO – 04)
Summer has arrived, and finally summer vacation. After learning that Yuno does not know how to swim, Miyako sets up an inflatable pool for them to play in. Finding that the inflatable pool does not suffice, the girls decide to go to the beach.
Episode 7: October 12: Stormy Drying Agent (BCO – 07)
The Sports Festival is postponed after a typhoon arrives. Meanwhile at the apartment, the girls get busy ridding of the drying agents in Miyako’s room, worrying that it might cause a fire and burn the apartment down.
Episode 8: March 13: 3% of Hope (BCO – 12)
Yuno and Miyako enjoy the morning by drawing together, as they had no classes for the day. Later, Sae texts Yuno and invites her to her room. They then find out that Sae is hiding from her editor, and is racing with the clock to finish her novel.
Episode 9: September 4: The Wolf of the Shinjuku Back Streets (BCO – 06)
Yuno receives 4 lottery tickets as reward, after returning a dropped envelope from a man. At school, Yuno’s class is visited by an alumnus, prompting Yuno to wonder about her future as an artist. Later, Sae eagerly buys the evening paper to see the lottery results and finds out they had not won, much to her disappointment.
Episode 10: November 3: Her Highness Yuno (BCO – 08)
Yuno prepares an art piece for the cultural festival coming the next day, but accidentally falls asleep without finishing it. After waking up, Yuno discovers her work is gone, and that Miyako had already taken it to the art gallery. Much to her surprise, Yuno’s unfinished artwork was well-received by the other students. Later, the girls go to a local bathhouse and talk about the festival.
Episode 11: April 28: A Round Cabbage (BCO – 01)
Yuno and her class visit the zoo, after Yoshinoya asks them to sketch animals. Yoshiniya tries to be a tour guide, but gets terribly carsick. She is then taken to Hiro’s apartment to rest.
Episode 12: December 25: Goodbye Ume-Sensei (BCO – 09)
On Christmas Eve, Sae’s younger sister Chika comes to their apartment to visit. The girls toured her around their school, and they encounter Yoshinoya in a Santa Claus outfit.
