Ume Aoki

Sunshine Sketch is a manga, and now a popular anime series, that is quirky and cute despite it’s simple design and small cast of characters.

It tells the story of four girls who attend a private high school and specialize in fine arts. They become friends, grow and learn and have fun together over the course of the story. Similar to Haganai, the protagonists are strange and very imperfect. They make mistakes and have many shortcomings, but they succeed and strive toward their goals show more regardless.

The manga is done in a 4 panel comic-style strip while still following a linear storyline. Fans of Lucky Star and Azumanga Daioh will particularly enjoy Sunshine Sketch! show less

A fun, lighthearted book with more adventures of the Hidamari crew. I love the gentleness and simplicity of the everyday situations they deal with, which forms a pleasing contrast with the dramatic fare of most books. But these ordinary trials and concerns are overwhelmingly important to the characters, and Aoki evokes this well. They are charming and lively stories, and remind me of being at school, even though I wasn't in Japan.

More gentle, fun adventures of the art school girls, now joined by two new first-years. I found Nazuna a bit of a limp character - obviously she's meant to be helpless and ineffectual, but she also didn't feel very strong narratively. But Nori has some definite presence, and the others are fun as ever.

A very touching and enjoyable volume. I'm very sad to see Hiro and Sae finally moving on (not permanently, of course) but it was very nicely portrayed, and the interactions with the new character Matsuri were fun, as was the slow maturing of Miya and Yuno.