[Anime Reviews]

Battle of the Backlog: summer 2008 edition

Posted by Martin  [Tags: First Impressions and Retrospectives, Hidamari Sketch, Natsume Yuujinchou]

So far I’ve found only two new shows for the summer season that have really caught my attention and even then one of them, Eve no Jikan, isn’t following a weekly schedule. I quickly realised how I need to really pull my finger out in sifting through the newest offerings before they’re swamped by the Autumn titles so here are the latest updates to my watchlist: Himitsu: the Revelation, Natsume Yuujinchou, Yakushiji Ryouko Kaiki Jikenbo and of course Hidamari Sketch x365.

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[OAVs, Movies and Full Series]

Hidamari Sketch season 1: iyashicomedy

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Akayuki Shinbo, Hidamari Sketch, iyashikei]

It’s been a healthy period of catch-up for me in getting through the first season of Hidamari Sketch in the last few weeks. It’s one of those shows I like to dip into frequently rather than marathon several episodes in one go; I found myself sitting down last thing in the evening to watch an episode in the same way that I did with Aria (which I will post about soonish, promise). As a matter of fact there are a few similarities between the two, mostly in regards to the iyashikei side of things. There are a few parallels with Lucky Star too I suppose, but while it’s easy to draw comparisons I’m reluctant to rely too heavily on this approach when trying to convey how much Hidamari Sketch rules in its own quirky, offbeat way.

May I present to you Exhibit A: Yoshinoya-sensei, the coolest teacher this side of GTO

The main reason why I didn’t cotton on to HS for so long is that I was put off by the superficial impression that it’s yet another saccharine load of moe rubbish (in other words, don’t take the appearance of the above pic out of context). What interests me here is that the original 4-koma manga was published in Manga Time Kirara Carat, a seinen magazine: this puts the likes of me squarely in the target demographic but it could alternatively be pandering to the fanboys. There is the issue of whether the series has more going for it than a bunch of saucer-eyed moeblobs who serve as mere otakubait, as opposed to being genuinely worthy of praise as a show with substance; maybe it’s just me but I really think it does because this is a delightful piece of easygoing entertainment that I’ve had to invent another loanword for: iyashicomedy.

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