Sunshine Sketch

Infobox animanga/Header
name = Sunshine Sketch


caption = "Sunshine Sketch" manga volume 1 cover.
ja_name = ひだまりスケッチ
ja_name_trans = Hidamari Sukecchi
genre = Comedy, Slice of life Infobox animanga/Manga
author = Ume Aoki
publisher = flagicon|Japan Houbunsha
publisher_en = flagicon|USA Yen Press
publisher_other =
demographic = Seinen
magazine = Manga Time Kirara Carat
first = April 2004
last = ongoing
volumes = 3Infobox animanga/Anime
title = Hidamari Sketch
director = Akiyuki Shinbo, Ryouki Kamitsubo
studio = flagicon|Japan Shaft
network = flagicon|Japan BS-i
first = January 11 2007
last = March 29 2007
episodes = 12
episode_list = List of Hidamari Sketch episodes#Hidamari SketchInfobox animanga/Novel
light = yes
title = Hidamari Sketch Novel
author = Chabō Higurashi
illustrator = Ume Aoki
publisher = flagicon|Japan Houbunsha
first = March 31 2007
last = September 30 2007
volumes = 2Infobox animanga/Anime
title = Hidamari Sketch Special
director = Akiyuki Shinbo, Ryouki Kamitsubo
studio = flagicon|Japan Shaft
network = flagicon|Japan BS-i
first = October 18 2007
last = October 18 2007
episodes = 2
episode_list = List of Hidamari Sketch episodes#Hidamari Sketch specialInfobox animanga/Anime
title = Hidamari Sketch×365
director = Akiyuki Shinbo
studio = flagicon|Japan Shaft
network = flagicon|Japan BS-i
first = July 3 2008
last =
episodes = 14
episode_list = List of Hidamari Sketch episodes#Hidamari Sketch×365

"Sunshine Sketch", known in Japan as Nihongo|"Hidamari Sketch"|ひだまりスケッチ|Hidamari Sukecchi, is a Japanese four-panel comic strip by Ume Aoki revolving around the daily lives of a group of young girls all living in the same apartment where artists gather. It was first serialized in the seinen manga magazine "Manga Time Kirara Carat" in April 2004, published by Houbunsha. Yen Press licensed the manga for English language distribution, and released the first volume on May 27 2008. A twelve-episode anime based on the manga under the original title "Hidamari Sketch" aired in Japan between January 11 2007 and March 29 2007. Two more special episodes were aired on October 18 2007. A second season entitled "Hidamari Sketch×365" began airing in Japan on July 3 2008. Two light novels were written by Chabō Higurashi, with illustrations by Aoki, which drew its story directly from the manga.

Plot

"Sunshine Sketch" centers around a young girl named Yuno who finally is able to get accepted into Yamabuki Art High School, which she has longed for. To attend the school, Yuno moves and starts to live in a small apartment building named the Nihongo|Sunshine Apartments|ひだまり荘|Hidamari-sō located near the school. Once there, she starts making new friends like her classmate Miyako and the second year students, Hiro and Sae. The events of the characters' everyday lives are shown as they attend the school together and get to know each other better.

Characters

;Nihongo|Yuno|ゆの:anime voices|Kana Asumi:Yuno, sometimes called "Yunocchi" by Miyako, is a young girl and main character in the story. She lives in the Sunshine Apartments, along with her close friends and neighbors Miyako, Hiro, and Sae. Her friends think of her as a very nice person. Yuno dreams of being a great artist someday. Although she is a skilled artist overall, she considers painting and drawing her specialties. She rarely takes off a pair of X-shaped black hairpins.

;Nihongo|Miyako|宮子:anime voices|Kaori Mizuhashi:Miyako is Yuno's close friend, classmate, and next door neighbor in the apartment building where they live. Yuno refers to her as Miya-chan. She has an active personality and is always trying to have fun with her friends. Her exuberance frequently borders on the childlike, but she is undeniably creative. She is very spontaneous and claims the word "plan" does not exist in her dictionary. She loves to eat and has frequently asked for Hiro's leftovers when she is on one of her diets. She sometimes points out that Hiro may be gaining weight, which earns her a punch on the head by Hiro. Miyako's energy is frequently excessive and misplaced. Her rent is 5,000 yen cheaper than that of the other girls because her apartment is in poor repair, which is fortunate because she has less money than the other girls most of the time.

;Nihongo|Hiro|ヒロ:anime voices|Yuko Goto:Hiro is a year older than Yuno and Miyako, living directly under Yuno's apartment. Although she tries to be a supportive senpai to the girls, she tends to worry excessively about her weight, causing her to go on diets for periods while occasionally binging on sweets. A childhood friend of Sae, she is one of her neighbor's principal sources of support when she is involved with a deadline or other crisis.

;Nihongo|Sae|沙英:anime voices|Ryoko Shintani:Sae is an upperclassman and good friends with Hiro. Her artistic specialties are photography and fiction writing; she writes fiction professionally under the pseudonym Nihongo|"Aya Tachibana"|橘 文|Tachibana Aya and enrolled at the school specifically so she could learn how to illustrate her own work. Sae, who is tall, athletic, and generally mature, has a playful side that can be at the same time enigmatic and cunning; she has a habit of giving Yuno just enough warning about potential problems for the younger girl to fail to avoid them. She also has a fondness for playing detective when faced with such anomalies as Miyako's apartment. She tends to get upset when Miyako refers to her as having masculine qualities. She also gets very uncomfortable when asked about her love life, frequently inventing a history for herself that even cursory examination would show to be absurd, while blushing furiously.

;Nihongo|Nazuna|なずな:Nazuna is a freshman introduced in the July 2008 issue of "Manga Time Kirara Carat". In the manga's canon timeline, a whole year has passed. She lives in room 203. She has sandy blonde hair, braids, and large side bangs. She used to live in the neighborhood, but after entering Yamabuki Art High School her father was transferred somewhere for work and her mother followed with him. She appears very quiet and reserved, but has an inferiority complex. She is not in the art department.

;Nihongo|Nori|乃莉:Nori is another freshman introduced with Nazuna. She lives in room 103. She has lighter blue hair with pigtails. She is in the art department and likes to play with computers. She is honest and straightforward, similar to Miyako, but less erratic.

;Nihongo|Yoshinoya|吉野屋:anime voices|Miyu Matsuki:Yoshinoya is Yuno and Miyako's homeroom teacher and art instructor. She is buxom, exuberant, and a cosplay maniac. So much so, in fact, that she will frequently wear incredibly complicated things that are at times truly inappropriate. She has a fondness for modeling for her class, displaying her latest outfits whenever she can, and showing off in general. Moreover, she is shown wearing a pair of squeaking sandals in the anime series. It is later revealed that Yoshinoya still resides with her parents, and would often be criticized by them for not being mature. When asked her age, she will answer "eternally seventeen".

;Nihongo|The Principal|校長|Kōchō:anime voices|Yūichi Nagashima:The Principal is a thin, aging and balding man whose teeth are almost always chattering. Although he sometimes exhibits inexplicable behavior, when he appears it is most frequently to chastise Yoshinoya over her latest excess. Miyako can do a frightening effective imitation of him. His name is unknown, but in one episode of the anime, Yuno was writing the names of people on pictures on a paper. When she got to the Principal, the whole class thought his name was "Moi".

;Nihongo|The Landlady|大家|Ōya:anime voices|Miyuki Sawashiro:The Landlady is the female owner of Sunshine Apartments. She has quite a few masculine characteristics as she often wears baseball cap, goes out for a fishing in her spare time, and is a heavy smoker. Although she has a very laid-back personality, she is often seen very busy doing various part-time jobs.

;Nihongo|Chika|智花:anime voices|Rie Kugimiya:Chika is Sae's thirteen-year-old sister. She is more spontaneous and energetic than her older sister. She enjoys cooking and has an infatuation with a Kabuki actor. She has no artistic talent and prefers music and home economics to art.

;Nihongo|Natsume|夏目:anime voices|Misato Fukuen:Natsume is a rival of Sae's from class D.

;Nihongo|Shokora & Chokoyama|ショコラ&チョコ山:anime voices|Chiwa Saitō & anime voices|Hiroshi Kamiya:They are frequently-appearing anime-exclusive characters in a fictional TV program called Nihongo|"Charming Detective Lovely Shokora"|おしゃれ探偵ラブリーショコラ|Oshare Tantei Raburī Shokora. The characters are parodies of Behoimi in "Pani Poni Dash!" and Nozomu Itoshiki in "Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei", respectively.

;Nihongo|Ume|うめ:anime voices|Ume Aoki:Ume is a mysterious green creature that represents the manga's author, Ume Aoki. The character does not actually play any significant role in the story.

Media

Manga

The "Sunshine Sketch" four-panel comic strip manga is written and illustrated by Ume Aoki, and was first serialized in the seinen manga magazine "Manga Time Kirara Carat" in April 2004, published by Houbunsha. As of March 13 2008, three bound volumes of the manga have been published in Japan by Houbunsha under their "Manga Time KR Comics" label. The second volume was released in a regular edition, and a limited edition which included a calendar. The manga was licensed in English by Yen Press, and released the first volume on May 27 2008.citeweb|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=6813|title=Sunshine Sketch (manga)|publisher=Anime News Network|accessdate=2007-12-17]

Anime

A twelve-episode anime, under the original series title "Hidamari Sketch", was produced by the animation studio Shaft and aired in Japan between January 11 2007 and March 29 2007.citeweb|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6811|title=Hidamari Sketch (TV)|publisher=Anime News Network|accessdate=2007-12-17] A two-episode addition aired on television on October 18 2007. The first twelve episodes were released on six DVD compilation volumes containing two episodes each between March 28 2007 and August 22 2007. A DVD containing the two special episodes was released on October 24 2007. The anime's style combines normal cel and CGI-2D animation with frequent use of still photographs for props. It is also a series that is not in chronological sequence; each episode takes place on a single day during Yuno's freshman year, but that day seems to be chosen at random. Despite this, episodes do build upon each other thematically, with details shown in earlier episodes becoming important in later ones. A second season entitled "Hidamari Sketch×365" began airing in Japan on July 3 2008. [citeweb|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-11-18/hidamari-sketch's-second-season-announced|title=Hidamari Sketch's Second Season Announced|publisher=Anime News Network|accessdate=2007-11-19] citeweb|url= http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/hidamari/index-j.html|title="Hidamari Sketch×365" official website|publisher=TBS|accessdate=2008-03-11]

Music

The first season anime, along with the two-episode addition, used two pieces of theme music, one opening theme, and one ending theme. The opening theme is "Sketch Switch" by Kana Asumi, Kaori Mizuhashi, Ryoko Shintani, and Yuko Goto; the single containing the opening theme was released on January 24 2007. The ending theme is "Mebae Drive" by Marble; the single containing the ending theme was released on February 21 2007. The first season's original soundtrack was released on April 25 2007. A character song mini-album named "Hida Chara" was released on September 5 2007 containing songs sung by voice actors from the anime. For the second season, the opening theme is "Hatena de Wasshoi" by Asumi, Mizuhashi, Shintani, and Goto; the ending theme is "Ryūsei Record" by Marble. The opening theme single was released on July 23 2008, and the ending theme was sold on August 6 2008. The second season's original soundtrack will be released on October 8 2008. A maxi single entitled Nihongo|"Yume Delivery"|ゆめデリバリー|Yume Deribarī featuring songs sung by Asumi was released on June 4 2008. Four character song singles were released on September 10 2008 for the four main female characters. An image song collection sung by the voice actors from the anime will be released on September 26 2008. Two more character songs for the character Yoshinoya (voiced by Miyu Matsuki and The Principal (voiced by Yūichi Nagashima) will be released on November 5 2008. All albums were released by Lantis.

Light novels

Two light novels written by Chabō Higurashi and illustrated by Ume Aoki were released by Houbunsha under their "Houbunsha KR Bunko" label. The first novel was released on March 31 2007 entitled Nihongo
"Hidamari Sketch Novel: Yōkoso Hidamari-sō e"|ひだまりスケッチノベル ようこそひだまり荘へ, and the second followed on September 30 2007 with the title Nihongo|"Hidamari Sketch Novel: Hidamari School Life"|ひだまりスケッチノベル ひだまりSchool Life. The novels are not a new adaptation of the manga series, but instead draw directly from the manga's material.

References

External links

* [http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/hidamari/1st/index-j.html "Hidamari Sketch" anime official website] jp icon
* [http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/hidamari/index-j.html "Hidamari Sketch×365" anime official website] jp icon
*ann manga|id=6813