[WT!] Hidamari Sketch

"Slice of Life" is a strange genre. It's a term that is almost exclusively related to Japanese animation; it usually features your usual mundane tasks performed by number of characters in a story that is sometimes even hard to call a "story" - a snail crawls faster than slice of life progresses (which doesn't happen all the time, by the way). No wonder it's hard to discuss slice of life anime - "it's a journey that matters", that's what they usually say about such shows. Consequently, composing WT! for slice of life show is also a thankless, tiring task, because you constantly run out of things to say and go back to square one. However, there is one anime that made me want to try it out nevertheless - and it's a subject of today's thread, Hidamari Sketch.Anime: Hidamari SketchYears: 2007-2013Genres: Comedy, Slice of LifeTell me, tell me about it!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.Previous paragraph is as far as the plot in Hidamari Sketch moves. Well, it's slice of life genre, what would you expect from it? Lovely characters? Hidamari Sketch, as almost every other great representative of the genre, focuses on everyday life of tightly-knit group of characters - this time, residents of Hidamari Apartments. They say that only weirdos usually live here, and over the course of the series we get to know them better and better. We get to know Yuno, the main character of the story, who is extremely talented in arts, loves taking baths with her rubber duck and suffers from low confidence, always seeking pieces of advice from other people, especially those who are more self-sufficient than her. We get to know Miyako, best friend of Yuno, who is a very spontaneous moodsetter, has voracious appetite and enjoys to playfully tease her neighbors. We get to know Hiro, who is one year older than Yuno and Miyako; skillful cook who cares too much about her weight, not a morining person and is uncertain about her future. We get to know Sae, best friend of Hiro, who is a talented published author, has trouble with expressing her true feelings yet cares deeply about her friends. Finally, we get to know Nori and Nazuna, who appear later in the series and make the cast even more diverse and likeable."Get to know" is repeated here numeral times, and for a reason - Hidamari Sketch requires time to grow attached to the characters. Initially, you may find their personalities bland and boring (consequence of very slow pace), but don't drop the series, give it time - and you'll see all these almost invisible threads that bound characters together, as well as their traits, habits and ideas. Think about it - in real life we rarely encounter shining personalities whom we immediately adore, but only with time, as we spend more and more time together, we see how interesting they are. Slice of life, being closest reflection of real life, works with the same concept, and Hidamari Sketch is an epitome of that. It feels like a magic trick, like a miracle - you don't notice any difference to characters themselves, yet you seem to enjoy their antics a lot more.It doesn't mean that the characters do not change at all, however. Hidamari Sketch masterfully and gracefully develops its characters with almost every episode. It doesn't present impossible obstacles before the girls, it's completely drama-free, which allows the characters to move towards their goals and become mature artists. Insecure Yuno, carefree Miyako, attached Hiro and solemn Sae - all of them have their own bits of subtle development, but the main focus is still on their friendship. Only via interactions with other people can move forward, and Hidamari Sketch knows it better than any other anime - the girls always support each other, try to cheer in tough moments and share the joy when something good happens. Characters use the word "family" to describe their relationship, and it wouldn't be stretch to call them one. It's only further emphasized with large and colorful cast of side characters - exuberant art teacher Yoshinoya, the omnishaking Principal, Sae's sweet friend Natsume, jack-of-all-trades Landlady and many other. All of them not only act as foil to main characters, but have their own little stories, which are considered by many as highlights of entire series."Gram, grammar, glamorous!"- Miyako, about degree of comparison in EnglishIt would be wrong to think that life of Hidamari Apartments' residents consists only of developing skills in art and constant studying. Being high school students, they love to slack, eat delicious meals (thanks to Hiro, though other characters master cooking as well) and visit various interesting places. Comedy is an extremely important aspect of Hidamari Sketch, and as series at large, it's genuine and light-hearted. Admittedly, Miyako's peculiar sense of humor requires some time to appreciate, but once the characters become closer and closer, humor improves naturally - every girl is amusing in her own way, and they play off of each other extremely well. Ability to induce smile of Hidamari Sketch is second to none. However, anime doesn't consist only of jokes - there is a solid number of touching moments in the series, especially towards the end. It wouldn't be hard to guess what the ending has to offer, but thanks to smartly written characters it is a very moving and sincere moment.Hidamari Sketch is fairly known thanks to Shaft production and Aoki Ume's (mangaka) way to draw characters. You probably know her as the character designer of another Shaft series, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and... yes, their faces are a bit wide (oh, if you wanted slice of life-ish PMMM - you came to the right place). It could be viewed as offputting and weird, but it's ultimately here for comedic effect and usually perceived as trademark of Hidamari Sketch - cute scenes become even cuter, funny - funnier. Other features are characteristic for Shaft, especially pre-Monogatari Shaft - distinct minimalism, usage of real images and photos, lack of head-tilts (well... almost, and only in later seasons). With seasons passing, art improves and continuously manages to impress - after all, we're watching anime about art students, so abstract backgrounds and vivid colors makes sense in their own way. OST is pretty good as well, with number of catchy adorable openings and slower, gentle endings which are always pleasure to watch."I wonder what tomorrow will bring."- YunoHidamari Sketch is not an ideal anime. It takes its time to roll, it's very slow (at start), wants you to grow attached to its characters, has its own style and humor. But once you open yourself to its undeniable charm, you'll find one of the most bright, creative and imaginative slice of life anime out there which improves drastically with every season. Marathoning is no-no - stick to it a little bit longer and it will reward you with a shiny mood for entire day.It may be hard to write WT! for slice of life, but not to smile while watching Hidamari Sketch is even harder. http://ift.tt/1SClttx