DVD Menu Disc 2
Disc 2 contains episode 8 through 12 of season 1 + the 2 OVA specials. Special Features just has endless opening and ending. A reviewer at Rightstuf has informed people about the inconsistency of the visual track for this release: they used TV source instead of the retouched DVD version for some episodes. I was wondering why.. some episodes looked slightly less vibrant and the audio seemed inconsistent as well. I guess the motto of "we get what we pay for" couldn't be any truer.
But what about the title itself? I have been slowly watching Hidamari Sketch ever since I got my copy and I finally managed to finish it tonight. Here is my impression:
EPISODE 8 - "March 13: 3% of Hope"
In this episode, we find out that Sae is some kind of a professional novelist. Her pen-name is Tachibana Aya. Miyako and Yuno asks Hino "then why is she still attending art school?" Sae supposedly wants to draw her own illustration for her work, that's why. I personally prefer Hidamari Sketch when it doesn't involve the topic of 'art', so this episode was just lukewarm. Plus, I'm not too much of a fan of Sae.
EPISODE 9 - "Sep. 4th: The Wolf of the Shinjuku Backstreets"
This episode started with Miyako and Yuno finding 10 lottery tickets on the ground. They managed to return it to the original owner and got 4 tickets as a reward. The jackpot is 300 million yen and they all start daydreaming about what they would do with the money if they actually win. The episode eventually leads to career goals as well. This is one of the stronger episodes of the first season, in my opinion.
EPISODE 10 - "Nov. 3rd: Her Highness Yuno"
I consider this episode my absolute favorite of the first season. Although the first half about Yamabuki Festival and school play was not as strong, the second half about onsen (public bath) made up for its slack. The title of this episode refers to a sign they saw at the onsen: "Yuno-sama," and Miyano jokingly asks if Yuno is a V.I.P. there. The highlight of this episode for me is when Miyano decided to play Jenga with bath seats. Hehe. Miyano <3
EPISODE 11 - "Apr. 28th: A Round Cabbage"
The class decided to take a trip to the zoo to improve speed sketching. They all took a bus there and Yoshinoya-sensei soon get car-sick (or bus-sick? XD). The zoo part was pretty fun with Miyano's improvisation comedy, but the star of this episode was Yoshinoya-sensei and her cosplay, which she claims is NOT cosplaying. The Hidamari girls talk about several rumors surrounding Yoshinoya. It was a treat to see them focus on Yoshinoya-sensei. ^^
EPISODE 12 - Part A "Dec. 24th: Christmas Eve"
Part A introduced Sae's younger sister, Chika, who came for a visit. They hang out and eat okonomiyaki. Yoshinoya-sensei dressed in a santa outfit also visits and gave the girls a homemade cake. Chika asks Sae to sign one of her novels for her but she refuses, and they get into a small argument.
Part B "Dec. 25: Goodbye Ume-sensei"
For part B the girls decided to accompany Yuno to the store to get some kind of paper for New Years. Chika has already left but she has left a special "thank you" note for Sae, which the other girls finds. When Sae is questioned about it, it is revealed that she has given Chika a signed copy of her novel as a Christmas gift. This last episode of the first season ends with the girls sitting around as usual and reminiscing about the year. A pretty solid ending to this season.
OOVA SPECIAL 1 - "August 11th: Put Her Back Where She Was"
I quickly realized that this OVA is a prequel because of the missing handmade Hidamari Apartment sign that the girls created back in episode 2, was it? That and the landlord was attempting to meet Yuno for the first time.
Regardless, it's summer time and what's the tradition? Somen (type of Japanese noodles usually served cold during summer), pool, fireworks, and watermelon, of course! Highlights of this episode includes: the cool looking action type scene with the principle, Miyano bringing bamboo for somen (in some places in Japan, somen is served through a stream of water that runs over bamboo stick. It's hard to explain with words), the water slide scene of the girls, and the SZS cameo.
OOVA SPECIAL 2 - "Nov. 27th: Is It Love?"
This entire episode was dedicated to Hiro and her love letter that she received from a male senior from a different class. Miyano and Yuno are curious as to what Hiro's reply will be and start assuming silly things. But Sae is extremely bothered by it like a jealous boyfriend. Yoshinoya-sensei is also more than curious and attempts to get more information about is in a sneaky way. In the end, Hiro wasn't interested in the person who sent the love letter. This episode was pretty average and I don't remember anything that specially stood out.
Thoughts?
If you have read my previous impressions about this series, you already know that I struggled to get through the first few episodes of this series. But I'm really thankful that Sentai has released this set so cheap because I don't think I would have gave a second chance otherwise. The quality of the physical content is another story, though - inaccuracy of subtitle (not that I really care since I watch it raw, but it's still worth a mention), lack of subtitle off feature, lack of scene access, inconsistency of TV and DVD tracks, etc.
I'm really beginning to love Hidamari Sketch but certain episodes stand out more than others. Oddly, this show revolving around art students and all, I find Hidamari Sketch weak when it involves actual art, and strong when it strays away from that topic. Another huge contribution to my change of heart for this series has to be Miyano herself. If it weren't for her, I really don't think I would have been able to finish the first season at all. Don't get me wrong, the other characters have their moments here and there, but they're not as intriguing for me as Miyano.
I also have to compliment SHAFT for making Hidamari Sketch anime what it is. I really can't see any other studio on Hidamari Sketch at all and wouldn't have it any other way. I have always loved SHAFT but when I hate their anime, like Natsu no Arashi & Vampire Bund, it's usually the original source that's to blame. Thankfully, it didn't turn out that way for Hidamari Sketch. I ordered the "x356" set which comes out on April 6th so I am looking forward to continuing my Hidamari journey! ^^
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