I really intended on writing my own review today. Then I ended up sacrificing some hours to the gods of Tech Support and by the time I was done, I just couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t. Sorry. Bravely, George R. has leapt into the gap to save my shattered nerves and so, I commend him and his review to your care. It’s all yours, George!

I enjoyed the first Hidamari Sketch novel enough to go right on and try the second one, and I was not disappointed. Hidamari Sketch: Hidamari School Life (ひだまりスケッチ―ひだまりSchool Life) concentrates on Yuno’s life at school, as opposed to the first one at her apartment. We are again treated to a set of short stories, where the characters are the focus, not the action.

Autumn has come to Hidamari-sou and tomorrow is the day for everyone to change from summer to winter school uniforms. I’ve always been amused that the Japanese schools change their uniforms according to the calendar regardless of what the weather may actually be. Apparently consistency schedules trump practicality.

Aoki Ume, the manga-ka, has again done the illustrations. Each of the four chapter illustrations show one of the characters partly wearing the blazer of their winter uniform, as if they aren’t sure if it’s suitable for the current weather or not. Their characters clearly show through in they way they handle their blazers.

I like the way Yuno still looks at the world with innocent pleasure, and enjoys simple things like her new uniform. This gets her thinking of how she might grow during the rest of her school career, though maybe only a few millimeters. She even tries out standing on cushions to see how the world will look from a taller perspective.

The other residents of Hidamari-sou are fun to meet again. Miyako is as off-the-wall and full of energy and appetite as always. She has a good heart, but ends up causing trouble and amusement. Sae and Hiro are the “Yuri couple” that everyone knows of, though this is more told to us and hinted at than actually shown. In fact, if you take off your Yuri Goggles and tilt your head, all the Yuri can disappear.

In addition to new uniforms, Autumn brings falling leaves. As Yuno and Miyako rake them up at school, Miyako’s thoughts naturally turn to food, in this case roasting potatoes in a bonfire. Miyako’s solution to the school forbidding this is to bag the leaves up and have the bonfire at Hidamari-sou. Yoshinoya-sensei joins them as do Hiro and Sae, though Hiro only agrees to join if Sae promises to keep her from overeating. They all try the potatoes and agree the leaves lend an especially good taste (they sounded so good I made baked potatoes for dinner). The principal comes by and tells them they shouldn’t be doing this unsupervised (I agree Yoshinoya-sensei doesn’t quite count). They convince him to join them and help pass on this school tradition of roasting potatoes instead of stopping them.

Autumn also brings exams, and Yuno finds her room has too many distractions to let her study successfully there. Sae promises to help, and the four meet after school in the library. Yuno sees how each of them have different individual methods, and we are treated to some more teasing about Hiro supporting Sae while she’s writing her novels. Yuno finds that this environment and study partners really do help. Time comes for them to leave and Sae gives Yuno the “certain victory” she promised earlier, a collection of her and Hiro’s tests from last year as a study-aid. Their sempai helped them out in the same way last year.

A student teacher comes to Yuno and Miyako’s class to do her practice teaching. Maejima-sensei is polite and reserved, and Miyako thinks she looks a tall version of Yuno. Yoshinoya-sensei wanted to be her mentor, and she went to great effort cleaning up in preparation for her arrival. Her running around confused Miyako and Yuno, in fact. However, the principal puts Maejima under the teacher in her field, Modern Japanese.

Lunchtime in the cafeteria after Maejima’s first appearance is crowded, so Miyako invites her to join the Hidamari-four at their table. When she finds the four know each other from living at the same apartment, Maejima says she often visited friends living there while she was going to Yamabuki-high. Yoshinoya-sensei later joins the table, to Maejima’s delight. We find that she actually was Maejima’s inspiration to go into teaching.

When Maejima-sensei has finished her observing and stands up to try teaching the class, Yoshinoya bounds in to “help” with her combat nervousness. I think it’s actually her concern rather than the make-up that helps Maejima. Maejima does pretty well teaching until the principal and assistant sneak into back classroom door to observe. This quite flusters her, and it takes the attention and good wishes of the class to calm and restore her spirits so she can continue.

Maejima returns to the university after completing her classroom practice. She sends the class a letter thanking them for helping and inspiring her, both while she was there and with letters afterward. She closes thanking both the class and Yoshinoya-sensei and resolves to become a good teacher so she can return to Yamabuki-high.

I think Higurashi Chaboh manages to capture and maintain the essence of the characters, and they’re what drew me to Hidamari Sketch in the first place. Maejima fits well with the rest of the cast, in fact Higurashi-sensei was able to use her to improve my opinion of Miyako and Yoshinoya. Their interactions with her show they both have caring hearts under their annoying behaviors. These two are the favorite characters of some. I still find them annoying at times, but am happy to also see them in a better light.

Now, if only Higurashi-sensei would write a novel focusing on Sae and Hiro.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 6
Characters – 8
Yuri – 1
Service – 1

Overall – 7

If light novels in Japanese aren’t your thing, I still recommend the Hidamari Sketch manga. The four-panel format doesn’t allow as full a story as a novel, but Yuno and friends are just as fun. Yen Press has done a good job with their English versions, too. Here are reviews of the first and second English volumes.

Erica here. Thank you George! This Light Novel sounds like a relaxed, pleasant time spent with characters we like to spend time with.

Thank you, thank you George R. for providing us with another guest review. My head is exploding and I’m running out of the house, and like magic, there in my inbox is a review. Phew. Anyway, once again, our applause and thanks to guest Reviewer here at Okazu, George!

After enjoying Memories Off 2nd ~ Precious Hearts, I decided to find more that Higurashi Chaboh had written. A novelization of Hidamari Sketch caught my eye. I enjoyed the manga (the first three volumes are out in English as Sunshine Sketch, Volume 1 and Volume 2 have been reviewed here on Okazu) and was curious to see how the transition from 4-koma comic to light novel would work, so into my amazon.co.jp cart went Hidamari Sketch: Youkoso Hidamarisou E (ひだまりスケッチノベル―ようこそひだまり荘へ.

The illustrations are spot on, though few, but that’s to be expected since Aoki Ume, the original manga-ka, did them. While they’re good pictures of the characters, they don’t illustrate events in the story.

I feel the strength of Hidamari Sketch lies in the characters and their interactions as they go about their daily lives. This holds true for the novel as well. If you’re looking for a deep, involved plot, this is not the place to find it. But I still find myself entranced by the residents of Hidamari-sou.

This novel also begins with Yuno getting ready to move in and start high school. This is her first time living on her own, and both she and her parents have to make an effort to let go. They do, and Yuno is able to have a fun and busy time in her new apartment.

We’re then introduced to the rest of the residents as we follow Miyako as she wanders around seeking fun and food. Miyako lets nothing get between her and food, going so far as to ask Yuno for hikkoshi-soba, the noodle dish that instead should be given _to_ Yuno on her moving in. While some readers enjoy Miyako, I find myself sympathizing with Sae’s irritation at her antics. She does keep things lively, though. Thankfully the other characters make up for her.

Sae and Hiro, the two upper-classmen living at Hidamari-sou, make a nice couple, though what form their feelings for each other take is never explicitly stated. In addition to being a schoolgirl, Sae is a published author. Thanks to Hiro’s care and feeding last year, she was able to finish her prize-winning story and turn pro. Since then Hiro has become an indispensable part of Sae’s personal life as well
as her literary creation.

In addition to caring for Sae, Hiro becomes the defacto “mother” of our little “family” at Hidamari-sou. Miyako even refers to her as Oku-sama (someone else’s wife or mother). This naturally leads to Sae being called Otou-san (dad), much to the embarrassment or annoyance of Hiro and Sae. If Sae and Hiro are the “parents,” then Yuno and Miyako fill the roll of “children,” with Miyako being an lively and sometimes irritating sibling to the cheerful but unsure Yuno.

I like the way Higurashi-sensei chooses to flesh out the characters by giving Yuno and Miyako the school assignment to draw portraits of people they care for or feel grateful to, and to put these feelings into their drawing.

We get to know Yoshinoya-sensei better when she comes over for a “home visit” to Yuno and Miyako. She seems completely focused on two things, cosplay and her students, almost to the exclusion of all else. She’s an interesting foil for the others, and is probably the most immature of the bunch. For example, she figures that an unoccupied room in Hidamari-sou that the landlady neglected to lock is free for her to store her various costumes in. If it weren’t for her genuine care for her students, I’d be have a much lower opinion of her.

The last adventure of the novel has Yuno taking care of Yuta-kun, the child of the landlady’s friend. Miyako stops by and drags them both through the fun of a game of hide-and-seek which ends up bringing in Hiro and Sae as it runs through their rooms. Everyone has a fun time, especially Yuta, and Yoshinoya-sensei even comes by and captures a group photo of them all as a memento for him.

Ratings:
Art – 6
Story – 6
Characters – 8
Yuri – 1
Service – 1

Overall – 7

I had a good time reading this novel, even though “nothing happens” in it. All the characters are firmly planted in my mind, and I’m looking forward to meeting them again in the second novel. Yes, I enjoyed this enough to buy the next one. I share Erica’s wish to see further Yuri adventures of Sae and Hiro, though I doubt these will appear in the second novel. I’d also like to share a meal with the girls,
talking about cooking with Hiro, writing with Sae (and also read her work, though it would embarrass her) and art in general with the others.

A few Saturday news reports ago, I mentioned that George R. gleefully volunteered the news that he had discovered a light novel with Yuri. He also offered up a review for our entertainment and edification. I am delighted to be able to introduce you to our newest Guest Reviewer, George.

You wouldn’t normally expect to find much Yuri a light novel based on a romance adventure game for guys. This one seems to be the exception, and you don’t need strong Yuri-goggles to see it. I picked this novel up when I was in Japan in 2003, and on a whim decided to re-read it. I’m glad I did. I haven’t played any of the Memories Off games, and I feel you can quite enjoy the novel without any knowledge of the game. I also like the way the author, Higurashi Chabou, told the story using a minor girl character from the game in place of the male lead.

Memories Off ~ Precious Hearts 2nd falls into the category of light high-school Yuri. Things never develop much beyond blushes and flirting as a underclassman befriends and helps the sempai she adores.

Maikata Kana is an ordinary, shy Japanese school girl in her first year of high school [yes, her name is a deliberate pun on “Dancing Katakana”]. She has worn glasses with no correction since junior high for appearance and, we find, to put a wall between herself and the world.

One day she stops by a park on the way home from school to watch the sun set, but a pair of thugs accost her wanting to “play.” She is saved by a slender, graceful, strong girl wearing her same school uniform. A couple aikido throws later and the thugs are gone. Kana thanks her savior and find she is Suzuna Takano, a senior. She is further smitten when Takano gives her back her glasses, saying looks good in them.

A boy in Kana’s class tries to get her to join the soccer club, but accidentally lets her know Takano is in the swim club. Kana immediately heads there for a look. Takano invites her in, reassuring her there are no guys in the club. When Takano offers to teach her, Kana’s hesitation over her own ability crumbles. A couple laps by Kana convince Takano she has unexpected ability. A couple laps by her sempai, and Kana signs up with the Takano Fan Club.

In addition to joining the swim club, Kana becomes a good friend of Takano’s. They go together to buy a couple new swimsuits for Kana to use in the club–ones just like Takano’s–and also share dinner and conversation. Takano pleases and embarrasses Kana every time she calls her cute. When Kana later claims she’ll do anything for her, Takano claims this sounds like a line for a boyfriend. This embarrasses Kana, who proclaims undying attachment to Takano. Takano says this would be hard on Kana’s boyfriend, but Kana declares,”I… I’d never date someone like a guy!”

The other girls in the swim club recognize and respect Kana and Takano’s special relationship, as does Takano’s other friend, Futami Shion. Shion is a polite, gentle lady Takano’s age, who regularly uses “gokigenyou.” Her two passions are books and black tea. Takano explains her silver hair and gray eyes: “I think she’s a quarter Scandinavian. But there isn’t a Japanese who loves Japan more than she does.”

Takano lives with her aunt and uncle above their small book shop.They’ve raised her since childhood as if she were their own, and she feels a strong sense of obligation to them. When she hears business at the bookshop is doing poorly–in spite of Shion’s purchases–she even looks to abandon her college plans and start working so she can pay back her aunt and uncle, even though they may not want it. This crisis is averted by the talk with her aunt and uncle Kana recommends and a full-ride athletic scholarship for Takano. Takano’s reaction to stress is to disappear from school and swim club,worrying both her friends and guardians. She first does this when worried about money and college. A very concerned Kana goes looking for her and calls in Shion to help. They find Takano practicing swimming alone after hours. As the three relax over the tea Shion brought, Kana notices the banter between the other two and comments that the two of them are really are good friends. Takano and Shion take Kana’s hands and correct her that it is “The three of us.”

The next time Takano has a bad reaction is to the cold, dark, sea while trying to rescue a little girl. This brings back bad memories from a childhood trauma where she almost drowned and threatens to upset everything as her new fear of water makes her useless as a swimmer – invalidating her scholarship. It does provide a chance for Kana and Shion to look for Takano again, and this time help her overcome her fear.

Kana and Takano grow closer as Takano invites Kana to hear her uncle tell them both about her drowning incident. His tale includes the story of her parents and how she ended up being raised by her aunt and uncle. This leads to a heartwarming conclusion in which Kana and Takano rediscover Takano’s mother, who lost all memories regarding Takano in the incident. She remarried and named her new daughter Takano–though she’s not sure why that name seemed so right. Takano (the elder) is reconciled with her father her to let her mother enjoy her own happy life now without their interference. As her mother leaves, she tells her young daughter that her greatest treasure is not the amethyst pendant she wears–just like Takano and her dad–but it is …Takano.

The novel finishes the day before Takano and Kana’s big swim meet. Shion promises to come cheer them on, and make them tea to relax. Kana is very glad she met these two: people she can believe in, people she can rely on so she can try hard. They opened a door for her to grow. She concludes the novel telling them, “Thank you. I love both of you.”

While the novel leaves it open, I can see Kana and Takano, and possibly Shion, continuing on to lead a life of happy Yuriness together.

Ratings:
Art – 7 (Both front color pages and B&W ones interspersed are nice,but only the B&W ones illustrate scenes from the story.)
Story – 6
Characters – 8
Service – 2

Overall – 7

In the end, I’m glad that I followed my whim and reread Memories Off~ Precious Hearts, letting me renew my acquaintance with Takano, Kana and Shion. While some of the events in Takano’s childhood seem a bit contrived for melodrama in the game, I like the characters and would enjoy sitting down for a cup of tea with these girls.

Erica here once again. It sounds to me that this is more shinyuu than Yuri, but it still sounds like a nice read. :-) I’d also up the Service score – sounds like a *lot* of bathing suit service. Thanks George for the review and the new perspective here on Okazu!