Sketchbook (manga)

Infobox animanga/Header
name = Sketchbook


caption = The cover of the manga's first volume
ja_name = スケッチブック
ja_name_trans = Suketchibukku
genre = Comedy, Slice of lifeInfobox animanga/Manga
title =
author = Totan Kobako
publisher = flagicon|Japan Mag Garden
demographic = Shōnen
magazine = Comic Blade
first = February 30 2002
last =
volumes = 5Infobox animanga/Anime
title = Sketchbook ~full color's~
director = Yoshimasa Hiraike
studio = Hal Film Maker
network = flagicon|Japan TV Tokyo
first = October 2 2007
last = December 25 2007
episodes = 13
episode_list =

Nihongo|"Sketchbook"|スケッチブック|Suketchibukku is a Japanese four-panel comic strip written and illustrated by Japanese manga author Totan Kobako. The story revolves around a group of high school students, mostly female, in the art club at their high school. The main character is a young, shy and quiet girl named Sora Kajiwara who goes through life at her own pace. The manga was first serialized in the Japanese shōnen manga magazine "Comic Blade" on February 30 2002, published by Mag Garden. The manga has made additional appearances in another manga magazine published by Mag Garden named "Comic Blade Masamune". An anime adaptation, under the title "Sketchbook ~full color's~", began airing in Japan on October 2 2007, and ended on December 25 2007.citeweb|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=8031|title=Sketchbook ~full color's~ (TV)|publisher=Anime News Network|accessdate=2007-06-06]

Plot

"Sketchbook" revolves around a group of high school students who are members of the art club at their school. The plot follows a slice of life style via the students' experiences at school through the club. The main character is a young shy, and quiet girl named Sora Kajiwara who goes through life at her own pace. She tends to look at the little things in life, and is often in awe of the simpler things. Sora knows several stray cats around her town and has given them names.

Characters

Art club members

;Nihongo|Sora Kajiwara|梶原 空|Kajiwara Sora:anime voices|Kana Hanazawa:A shy and quiet first year high school student. The show is narrated mostly by her thoughts and observations. She always carries her sketchbook with her.

;Nihongo|Natsumi Asō|麻生 夏海|Asō Natsumi:anime voices|Asuka Nakase:She is in the same grade as Sora and was the first to approach her and joined the art club with her. She likes to make and play with hand puppets with which she enacts full-on conversations. She also keeps a dog named Kuro.

;Nihongo|Hazuki Torikai|鳥飼 葉月|Torikai Hazuki:anime voices|Yui Makino:A girl with short blond hair who seems to have become best friends with Natsumi. She joined the art club just after Sora and Natsumi. She is always on the look out for a bargain.

;Nihongo|Kokage Kuga|空閑 木陰|Kuga Kokage:anime voices|Momoko Saitō:A member of the art club that radiates a rather introverted and dark mood. She is a bit short and sports a black ponytail.

;Nihongo|Nagisa Kurihara|栗原 渚|Kurihara Nagisa:anime voices|Yukari Tamura:A short girl in her second year with a preference for insects and nature in general. She is rather knowledgeable about these subjects as well.

;Nihongo|Juju Sasaki|佐々木 樹々|Sasaki Juju:anime voices|Tomoe Ōmi:A tall (in comparison to the other female students) member of the art club. She likes to play the guitar and is friends with Nagisa who is in the same class as her.

;Nihongo|Asaka Kamiya|神谷 朝霞|Kamiya Asaka:anime voices|Ami Koshimizu:A short girl with a ponytail and an upbeat personality.

;Nihongo|Fū Himuro|氷室 風|Himuro Fū, Nihongo|Ryō Tanabe|田辺 涼|Tanabe Ryō:anime voices|Natsuko Kuwatani (Fū), Masumi Asano (Ryō):Two members of the art club who practically never leave each other's side but rarely show up to club activities. They often appear in the show for side gags.

;Nihongo|Kate|ケイト|Keito:anime voices|Yūko Gotō:A blond student from Canada. She transfers to the school in the second semester. She is a bit naive often mixes up kanji or uses them inappropriately (for example for foreign words) and on top of that gets taught some false concepts by Himuro and Tanabe. She also speaks with a very thick English accent.

;Nihongo|Tsukiyo Ōba|大庭 月夜|Ōba Tsukiyo:anime voices|Mamiko Noto:A second-year and rarely seen member of the art club, at least in the anime. Her only speaking appearance was in episode thirteen of the anime, with a number of inconspicuous cameo appearances before then.

;Nihongo|Ujō Sugyō|須尭 雨情|Sugyō Ujō:anime voices|Hideki Tasaka:A tall male third-year and the president of the art club. He generally acts as the straight man of the club.

;Nihongo|Daichi Negishi|根岸 大地|Negishi Daichi:anime voices|Hiro Shimono:A second-year with an anger management problem. However, he is normally friendly and never gets violent.

;Nihongo|Hiyori Kasugano|春日野 日和|Kasugano Hiyori:anime voices|Ryō Hirohashi:She is the teacher of the art club and has a distinctive fable for chickens. She also keeps a pet chicken named P-chan that she brings to school with her and often resides on her head. She is pretty childish.

Others

;Nihongo|Ao Kajiwara|梶原 青|Kajiwara Ao:anime voices|Sayaka Ohara:Sora's younger brother. He is caring and constantly looks out for his rather spacey sister.

;Nihongo|Minamo Negishi|根岸 みなも|Negishi Minamo:anime voices|Yōko Hikasa:Daichi's little sister. She is in the the first grade of middle school and always carries a camera with her. Often gets mistaken for a grade schooler.

;Nihongo|Mike|ミケ:anime voices|Tomoko Kaneda:One of the more dominant stray cats from the neighborhood who becomes the main character in episode five of the anime. She is modeled after the cat of the original artist. She has white fur with large light and dark brown patches.

;Nihongo|Haa|ハー:anime voices|Shizuka Itō:A stray cat with gray and white fur and thick dark gray stripes. She is more or less Mike's sidekick. She speaks cat-English, and translates for Mike who can only speak cat-Japanese.

;Nihongo|Grey|グレ|Gure:anime voices|Sayaka Ohara:A stray turned house-cat with white and gray fur and thin gray stripes and his back and cheeks. During the episodes of the anime that are about the cats, he does not speak but still meows.

;Nihongo|Kuma|クマ:anime voices|George Nakata:A cat with a big face and light brown fur. In the cat episodes he speaks in a very old-fashioned way and has a respect-demanding personality. He gets taken in by Asaka.

;Nihongo|Buchi|ぶち:anime voices|Miho Saiki:A grey and white Persian cat that belongs to Kate. He wears a red collar with a bell on it and only speaks cat-English, making Haa the only other cat who can understand him.

Media

Manga

The "Sketchbook" four-panel comic strip manga series, written and illustrated by Totan Kobako, was first serialized in the Japanese shōnen manga magazine "Comic Blade" on February 30 2002, pulished by Mag Garden. The manga has made additional appearances in another manga magazine published by Mag Garden named "Comic Blade Masamune". As of March 2008, five bound volumes of the series have been released in Japan.

Anime

The anime series, under the title "Sketchbook ~full color's~", is produced by the animation studio Hal Film Maker and began airing in Japan on October 2 2007 on TV Tokyo. The series is directed by Yoshimasa Hiraike.

Episode list

References

External links

* [http://www.sketch-full.net/ Anime official website] jp icon
*ann anime|id=8031|title=Sketchbook