Hidamari Sketch

Hidamari Sketch (Japanese: ひだまりスケッチ, Hepburn: Hidamari Suketchi, lit. "Sunny Sketch") is a Japanese yonkoma manga series written and illustrated by Ume Aoki. It follows a group of young female art students, and following their daily lives as close friends and neighbors at the nearby Hidamari Apartments. The manga has been serialized in Houbunsha's monthly magazine Manga Time Kirara Carat since February 28, 2004, with its chapters collected in ten tankōbon volumes as of March 2020. Since 2008, Yen Press has licensed an English translation of the series in North America under the title Sunshine Sketch.
A 12-episode anime adaptation by Shaft aired in Japan between January and March 2007. It was followed by three sequels: Hidamari Sketch × 365, a 13-episode season between July and September 2008; Hidamari Sketch × Hoshimittsu, a 12-episode season between January and March 2010; and Hidamari Sketch × Honeycomb, a 12-episode season between October and December 2012. Two special episodes for each of the first three seasons were broadcast in October 2007, October 2009, and October 2010, respectively, as well as two specials entitled Hidamari Sketch × SP in October and November 2011. A two-episode original video animation, Hidamari Sketch: Sae/Hiro Graduation Edition, was released on November 27, 2013. Since 2010, the series and specials have been licensed in North America with English subtitles by Sentai Filmworks.
Hidamari 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 Hidamari Apartments located across the street from the school. Once there, she quickly becomes friends with three other occupants at the apartments, including her classmate Miyako and two 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. After a year has passed, the girls move up a year and two freshmen, Nazuna and Nori, arrive at Hidamari Apartments. After another year passes, Hiro and Sae graduate while another freshman, Matsuri, moves into the apartments.
The original manga, written and illustrated by Ume Aoki, began serialization in the April 2004 issue of Houbunsha's monthly magazine Manga Time Kirara Carat released on February 28, 2004; a total of 155 chapters have been published as of the December 2022 issue. It is formatted in yonkoma (four-panel) style, with two comic strips per page and six to eight pages per chapter; the manga's story is presented in chronological order, unlike in its later anime adaptation. As of March 27, 2020, ten tankōbon volumes (containing 146 chapters) have been published in Japan under Houbunsha's Manga Time KR Comics imprint. On December 8, 2007, Yen Press announced that it had licensed the series for an English-language release under the title Sunshine Sketch; the first translated paperback volume was released in North America on June 17, 2008.
A 12-episode anime was produced by Shaft and aired in Japan between January 11 and March 29, 2007. A two-episode addition aired on television on October 18, 2007. The first 12 episodes were released on six DVD compilation volumes containing two episodes each between March 28 and August 22, 2007. A DVD containing the two special episodes was released on October 24, 2007. A mini-episode/promo for Hidamari Sketch X 365 was screened at the November 18, 2007 "Chou Hidamatsuri in Nippon Budokan" event, where the second season of Hidamari Sketch was announced. It was released online on December 12, 2007. The anime is not presented in a chronological sequence though episodes do build upon each other thematically, with details shown in earlier episodes becoming important in later ones. The first season of Hidamari Sketch was licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks and distributed by Section23 Films; the first season collection was released on DVD with English subtitles on January 12, 2010.
A second season entitled Hidamari Sketch × 365 aired in Japan between July 3 and September 25, 2008, and contained 13 episodes with the 14th episode being bundled with the final DVD volume. Two special episodes for the second season were broadcast on October 17 and October 24, 2009. The second season has also been picked up by Sentai Filmworks, with Section23 Films as distributor. The complete collection was released on DVD, April 6, 2010. A third season, titled Hidamari Sketch × Hoshimittsu (ひだまりスケッチ×☆☆☆), aired between January 8 and March 26, 2010, and contained 12 episodes. Two special episodes for the third season aired in October 2010. This season was also picked up by Section23 Films and was released in North America on July 19, 2011.
Two special episodes titled Hidamari Sketch × SP (ひだまりスケッチ×SP, Hidamari Suketchi Supesharu) aired on October 29 and November 5, 2011, respectively, and were released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on November 23, 2011, and has yet again been licensed by Sentai Filmworks. A fourth anime season titled Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb (ひだまりスケッチ×ハニカム, Hidamari Suketchi x Hanikamu) aired on TBS and BS-TBS between October 5 and December 21, 2012, and has also been licensed by Sentai Filmworks. The series was simulcast by The Anime Network in North America and Anime on Demand in the United Kingdom. An original video animation, titled Hidamari Sketch: Sae & Hiro's Graduation Arc (ひだまりスケッチ 沙英・ヒロ 卒業編, Hidamari Suketchi: Sae Hiro Sotsugyō-hen), was released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on November 27, 2013, and aired on BS-TBS on November 29, 2013. In addition to the DVD and Blu-ray releases, all four seasons (excluding the Graduation arc) are streamed on Sentai's Anime Network website.
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" (スケッチスイッチ, Suketchi Suitchi) 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" (芽生えドライブ, Mebae Doraibu, Seedling 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. A maxi single entitled "Yume Delivery" (ゆめデリバリー, Yume Deribarī) was released on June 4, 2008, featuring the opening theme to the Hidamari web radio show sung by Asumi.
For the second season, the opening theme is "Hatena de Wasshoi" (?でわっしょい, Hooray for Something) by Asumi, Mizuhashi, Shintani, and Goto; the ending theme is "Ryūsei Record" (流星レコード, Ryūsei Rekōdo, Meteor Record) by Marble. The opening theme single was released on July 23, 2008, and the ending theme was released on August 6, 2008. The second season's original soundtrack was released on October 8, 2008. Four character song singles were released on September 10, 2008, for the four main female characters. An image song collection by Marble entitled Hidamarble was released on September 26, 2008. Two more character songs for the character Yoshinoya (voiced by Miyu Matsuki) and The Principal (voiced by Yūichi Nagashima) was released on November 5, 2008, and the character song single for Ume (voiced by Ume Aoki) was released on January 21, 2009. All albums were released by Lantis.
In the third season, the opening theme is "Dekiru Kanatte Hoshimittsu" (できるかなって☆☆☆, You Can Do It, Three Stars) by Asumi, Mizuhashi, Shintani and Goto; the ending theme is "Sakura Sakura Saku: Ano Hi Kimi o Matsu, Sora to Onaji de" (さくらさくら咲く ～あの日君を待つ 空と同じで～, The Cherry Blossoms Bloom: The Day I Waited For You, Under the Same Sky) by Marble. For Hidamari Sketch x SP, the opening theme is "Kimagure, Jan Ken Pon!" (気まぐれ、じゃんけんポンっ!, Whimsical, Rock Paper Scissors!) by Asumi, Mizuhashi, Shintani and Goto; the ending theme is "Nora" by Marble. For Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb, the opening theme is "Open Canvas" (おーぷん☆きゃんばす, Ōpun Kyanbasu) by Asumi, Mizuhashi, Shintani, Goto, Chiaki Omigawa, and Hitomi Harada; the ending theme is "Yume Gumo" (夢ぐも, Dream Cloud) by Marble. The ending theme for the graduation episode is "Mata ne, Yōkoso, Hidamari-sō" (またね、ようこそ、ひだまり荘, See you again, Welcome, Hidamari Apartments) by Asumi and Mizuhashi.
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 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 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.
A Nintendo DS video game developed by Idea Factory entitled Hidamari Sketch Dokodemo Sugoroku × 365 (ひだまりスケッチ どこでもすごろく×365) was released on February 12, 2009. The game primarily plays like a normal board game (sugoroku) with consecutive boards, each representing a month during Yuno's first school year. Depending on the square landed upon, characters may play one of numerous mini-games, experience mini-events—dialogue and sometimes imagery relating to minor occurrences around Hidamari apartments or the school, or encounter major events which play out similarly to the episode of the anime on which they are based. Points are accrued throughout the year to determine a winning character, and the points can then be used to unlock items in the extras menu. Characters from the series appeared in collaboration with Ameba's mobile game Girl Friend Beta in 2013. Characters from the series appear alongside other Manga Time Kirara characters in the mobile RPG, Kirara Fantasia in 2017.