So the first episode of Tamayura - Junichi Sato’s (and HAL Film Maker’s) new slice-of-life OVA project – aired on AT-X, as what I figure to be a teaser of sorts. It teases, alright. Having marathoned ARIA the Natural and ARIA the Origination instead of taking it easy on getting through the series out of fear that I’d put it on hold yet again, I might even go so far to say I might’ve been going through SatoJun iyashikei withdrawal. (As an aside, thank you very much, RightStuf — let it be known that I love you guys!)

For a moment, I went through a bit of a phase: what was I supposed to do to get my fix of fresh iyashikei, having finished ARIA? Well, I guess there’s Kaleido Star, of which the second season boxset sits shelved right next to the first boxset of Someday’s Dreamers — neither of which I’ve actually really gotten my hands into.

I prefer it, however, when there’s not too much emphasis on competition — as with ARIA or Hidamari Sketch, both of which have some elements of competition that aren’t not shown very often if they’re not lighthearted. Or series where there’s not really anything going on at all, as with Sketchbook. Or, maybe, if it’s got one main conflict that quickly resolves itself, then sets up a huge sign that tells you when to say “AWWWWWW,” as with the Animal Crossing movie.

Or, I could talk more about Manabi…but if I’m going to talk about Manabi (as iyashikei or otherwise), I’d rather link to people who can describe the experience much better than I can, then link to the one guy aggregating ‘em all.

Anyway, it’s funny how the third point (“nothing really happens a la Sketchbook”) works: when there’s nothing really going on at all, everything mundane suddenly takes center stage, thus making it a top priority to take those things and make them seem more significant than they actually are. That’s probably one of the things that makes Sketchbook one of my favorite shows — I love it when Sora or Hazuki or Kurihara-senpai point out stuff, because they all point out the things I usually don’t pay too much attention to and make them somehow sound interesting…even when at the end of the day, most of the things they point out are truly just plain. (As an aside, I’ve got an alternative hypothesis: the ‘observation’-slash-pun humor in Sketchbook — especially the manga, but certainly present in the anime — is sometimes eerily similar to a handful of my friends’. Like, say, pointers about cheese steak. Cheese steak? That sounds like you’re making a meal out of a frickin’ hunk of cheese — and so on, and so forth.)

Tamayura feels like a Sketchbook 2.0 to me. It’s slow. There’s not much going on. Fu-chan’s got two missions: to take pretty pictures, and to try and become more extroverted — analogous to Sora wanting to capture her life in drawings and perhaps become a bit more extroverted, herself. It’s the change in media — from sketch to film — that really strikes me. I’m not the best person to ask for a sketch (although I could try), but I share the same sentiment as Fu-chan when it comes to photography. That coupled with her shyness — it isn’t quite as bad as Sora’s, but she’s still pretty shy! — made her character someone I could definitely connect with.

I can’t wait to watch the completed work — fifteen minutes is simply not enough. On the other hand, like I said, I guess it’s supposed to be a teaser for a reason…

Something that caught my eye on a repeat watching of Hidamari Sketch x☆☆☆…Yuno wasn’t supposed to ace that test.

Hidamari Sketch x☆☆☆‘s first episode was oh-so-sublime. Also, it might be the whole buildup-of-hype thing, but I think the OP and ED are probably the best OP/ED yet. I’m especially liking how the ED is faster-paced than both of its predecessors, keeping that signature marble synth violin thing while rocking out.

I’m anticipating the second episode, if only because of those last two budget-saving minutes…new characters, banzai!

I’d be continuing the streak of posts I’ve got about character birthdays (today’s Kanon‘s Ayu Tsukimiya), but in about six hours from the time of this post airs the first episode of the one thing I’m committed to following during this 2009/2010 winter anime season: Hidamari Sketch x☆☆☆. And thus, all of my hype is being focused accordingly.

Therefore:

Yeahuh.

iTunes is sometimes useful. Yeah, I know, I hear ya, it’s a piece of bloated thing of music management, but I quite enjoy the concept of cheap and instant gratification of legal music purchasing.

Like, say, downloading the Loosey Goosey single, a Halko Momoi song used for the opening to Yurumates (which was quite the fun watch), for just a buck.

Looking through their selection of anisongs, though (because Loosey Goosey itself is tagged with the genre “Anime”; I was curious), they have a number of artists that have things on the JP iTunes Music Store, but not on the American one. They pop up regardless.

The above picture is one instance of where Apple (or Lantis?) fails me. There are plenty of Hidamari– I mean, Sunshine Sketch fans here in the US…!

I didn’t realize, until a little while ago, that Hidamari Sketch x365‘s first OVA episode had been fansubbed, so I promptly obtained it, and it was quite the fun watch.

I actually quite like how, for special episodes like these, they try to cram most, if not all of the cast in; the karaoke box event was a pretty fun side dish of sorts that Shaft could’ve chosen not to animate. But they did, and it rocked.

Matsuki Miyu banzai!

Took you forever, Shaft.

Call me a month late to the party (apparently it released on January 21), but holy crap, I didn’t know Aoki Ume got her own character single.

I need to find myself a copy.

This post was originally an ode to Hidamari Sketch x365, having just finished it off two days after the guys at SpoonSubs released the last episode. Why is it so good? Why did the show never fail to envelop me in a blanket of warm slice-of-life goodness? Why are Hiro and Sae so damn lesbian and why do I find such a pairing so amusing?

But then I watched episode 9 of Clannad After Story and it flashed back to a handful of scenes in the original series that involved Nagisa Furukawa, and I wept.

There’s certainly enough space in my heart for both. I can’t say yet that a single Nagisa can stand in for my love of the wonderful Sunshine Apartments crew. There’s a good chance that she might, as I bear witness to After Story, and perhaps weep some more.

Oh, and I watched the first episode of Toradora!. It was okay.

College finally gave me some free time. I decided that I should use my time productively and actually catch up on this thing called “modern-day Japanese animation” and “the fall 2008 season”.

Hidamari Sketch x365 (12 episodes watched): THEY NEED A THIRD SEASON HURRY UP AND ANNOUNCE IT DAMMIT HOUBUNSHA/SHAFT/WHOEVER OH AND MAKE IT 52 EPISODES AND GIVE IT A REALLY HUGE BUDGET

Kemeko Deluxe (1 episode): The most random thing I’ve ever seen since FLCL. In short, I’ve got a love-hate affair with it.

Tales of the Abyss (5 episodes): A pretty good adaptation of the game. Also, a pretty fast-paced adaptation of the game (but that’s to be expected). Good going, Sunrise.

Lucky Star OVA: This actually had me laughing all the way. Also, best ending ever (“It’s true that I asked for water, but this is SORTA DIFFERENT, YA GET WHAT I’M SAYIN’”).

Natsume Yuujinchou (completed): Episodes 7 and 13 are the best. He’s too damn good. He better come back in Season 2.

Strike Witches (4 episodes): I initially was really wary of this, due to the copious amounts of fanservice, but once I got over the culture shock (if you can call it that), it became tolerable. Also, Gonzo fails at rendering 3D; I’m not sure whether or not it’s me, but there are a lot of places in episode 1 in which the 3D rendering lagged a bit.

Bounen no Zamned/Xam’d (12 episodes): As Rome pointed out to me, this series holds the honor of being an action series in which all the episodes are good, but none of them really stand out in any way in that Code Geass SHIT’S GONNA HIT THE FAN THIS EPISODE way. Also, Furuichi is a dumbass and needs to die already.

Quiz Magic Academy OVA: Konami continues its track record with really bad anime (read: Saint October, Sky Girls, TokiMemo Only Love)! Alas, I kept watching it anyway. Aloe is awesome.