Subculture Anime Blog

Hidamari Sketch ~full color’S~

Summary:

When Yuno wakes in the morning, she quickly gets ready for the day. When she starts sweeping outside of her apartment, she ends up going all the way down to the grounds below. Miyako eventually greets her, and the two see Yoshinoya-sensei soon after. When Yoshinoya tells the two about a wonderful shrine not too far away, the girls decide to visit it. After the train ride there, Yuno is surprised to see the large stairs in front of the shrine. Miyako is quick to start running up them, but Yuno can only take small steps. Yuno starts to get tired half way, but after Miyako’s cheering and meddling, she eventually makes it up a lot faster. When the two reach the top, they quickly take out their sketchbooks. A man meets them quickly afterwards, and when he begins to give kind words to all the women around him, the girls suspect that this was what drew Yoshinoya to the shrine.

Because Yuno can only draw alone, the two girls split up for awhile. Yuno is eventually interrupted by a young girl, and when she asks to have one of Yuno’s drawings, she agrees to give it to her. The young girl begins to describe Yuno as a genius, then hoping that she could watch her draw from not too far away. When the girl’s mother appears to pick up her daughter later, Yuno also goes to meet Miyako. Yuno is extremely happy on the way home, thinking about the young girl. Although her drawing was nothing special, the girl’s smile was certainly real. The girls reach home a bit later than expected because of their lack of attention on the train, but they quickly continue their sketches when they return to Yuno’s room. When Miyako talks about the details that she has difficulty remembering in her sketch, Yuno can only think of a certain tool that would have been useful.

Yuno and Sae meet the landlady while buying snacks in the town, finding that she is taking pictures for a part time job. When the girls mention this in Yuno’s room later, Yuno and Miyako mention that they have never met the manager. The girls start to discuss the trip to the shrines, and when Sae leaves the room to answer her phone, Yuno finds a lucky chocolate to the amazement of the other girls. Outside, Natsume coincidentally meets Sae in her usual frustration. Hiro mentions her disappointment for not being able to show Sae the lucky chocolate when she returns, as it was accidentally crushed. Sae also begins to talk about her encounter with Natsume, as Yuno and Miyako play with some of the snacks. At the school, Yoshinoya attempts to get help from Kuwabara with the papers she put off doing. When the Headmaster finds this out, however, he becomes angry with her once again.

The girls begin to discuss the young girl who had visited Yuno earlier in the day. When the girl had asked for Miyako’s picture, she had refused. When the girls look at this picture, they find that it is done quite well. Yuno’s was not as well developed, but the girls still suspect that something about it had moved the young girl’s heart. After hearing all of this again, Yuno’s ego seems to grow slightly. In the bath that night, Yuno wonders if she could continue to make people happy with her drawings in the future.

Preview: Eating cat food is for weirdos! ….and cats.

Impression:

I was seriously expecting that kid to pull out a digital camera out of nowhere. No really, this episode totally came out of a Sketchbook episode. Well, maybe it was just the sketchbook theme. This was such a great thing to touch on though, since it is something all artists experience at some point in their journey. I believe artists become what they are because they see the world in different ways, and when they can reach out to someone who sees something the same way they do, they are the only ones who can make such people happy. Just as Yuno moved the young girl’s heart in this episode, I think most artists have the same dream.

So like, yesterday I came home late and was really feeling down from work and the such. But after waking up today and turning on Hidamari Sketch, I couldn’t help but start smiling uncontrollably. This is easily one of the reasons I love anime so much, especially when it comes to slice of life. I tend to use phrases like “happiness power” in a rather silly way, but I think we all know that this is real. Things like Yoshinoya’s panicking in front of a mad Headmaster in this episode were just hilarious to watch, and things like the girls playing with and discussing their snacks made me feel so nostalgic towards similar experiences I have had in the past.

I loved Miyako’s representation of the shrine’s lions, and seeing her in a ponytail was cute. It also entertains me how much Hiro’s self consciousness is played on (She’s really not that fat…). I do wonder what Natsume’s deal with Sae is though, unless I’m missing something besides her trying to be Sae’s rival in general. I continue to enjoy seeing familiar sights in Yuno’s room too, including the art dummy. I definitely have one of those as well. Oh, but what else is there to say? Looking forward to next week.