Sketchbook

Most people are familiar with the comedic slice of life that you would find in Azumanga Daioh, Lucky Star or K-ON! where the comedy is joke driven with a great deal of physical comedy and that is the driving part of the story. Although all of those series have a charm of their own that complements the humor, the charm is second place to the humor. Sketchbook ~full color'S~ is a series where the charm comes first and the humor follows, often in the form of subtle wit and the eccentric observations of the main character, the ever shy Sora.

Sora is a refreshing main character in the slice of life genre. She is introverted, doubts herself, and sees the world with a wonder and amazement in the people around her and the things around her. In some ways, her childish wonder is a little annoying, but it also serves to remind the viewer to appreciate the wonder that we take for granted. In a contemporary anime world where too often the focus is on turn-ons and explosions, Sora gives us a reason to go outside and stand in amazement at the things we see every day. Experiencing the world through her eyes, the audience sees the world anew, and it is a rare media (anime or otherwise) that can so easily remind us of the wonder and amazement in everyday life.

In addition to Sora, you will find a standard cast of eclectic characters, all filling a niche in the slice-of-life genre, but at the same time, each character is given enough time in 13 episodes to really develop and become fully fleshed out. I could spend time going through each character and telling you how they grow and how they become round full characters, but the fun of a good slice of life story is to experience that growth for yourself.

While the character designs and effects may be off-putting to some, they perfectly match the mood that is created within the series. Is it the best art ever? No, but it is the best art for the story that it is trying to tell. The music similarly matches the story and complements it. Each note breathes fresh air into the listener as you take a journey through Sora's world.

If you don't enjoy slow paced, character stories, Sketchbook will not change your mind. This is perhaps its only real flaw: it cannot figure out how to reach those who are not already in love with the genre. If you need your slice of life to be a laugh-a-minute fest, again Sketchbook doesn't do that. That's being said, it isn't trying to do that and we should always strive to judge things on what they are trying to do on their own merits first before we start saying "Well Azumanga Daioh is much better because it's funnier." Sketchbook isn't trying to make you laugh, although you will from time to time, rather it wants to remind you that the world you live in is worth living in.

Please give this series a real try before you cast judgment on it. It is subtle and delightful, charming and amazing, and if you take it simply at face value, you will see the wonder and amazement in your own world, your own life, through experiencing Sora's world.

This is a very slow show, but beautiful in its simplicity. The story follows a artist who is just too shy and sits and draws pretty much all the time. In this way, I feel rather close to her in that respect. As an artist myself, I can understand her feelings and so this story really hits home for me. Even though it’s a slice of life, it doesn’t rely on crazy over the top comedy, and goes for the very slow and cute gags that make it almost a opposite to Azumanga Daioh or Lucky Star.
Now there are some things that really seem bothersome to me though, for instance, most of the characters seem a little dumb and eyen Sora has her times when she does get annoying. I normally do have to ask myself just how shy do you have to be till you’re stuck in the house the whole time. I can tell she is trying to be around people but still, even with her friends, she seems shy.
The animation is rather sweet and pure, a bit like Azumanga Daioh in that sense. The colors are bright pastels and give it a relaxing mood to the story line. It’s a treat to watch just for how the animation is.
The music fits the mood, again rather sweet and once in a while, it made me feel rather sleepy because of how gentle it was but I think it’s rather nicely made.

Sketchbook Full Color'S is just a very calm, sweet, and funny anime. Story is very simple to understand, which is about a daily event that goes on around Sora, who is what many people may call unique but for some reason feel calm around. That art work for the anime also just fits the calm and relaxed atmosphere. Also the music that plays through out the series sound just so adorable. Overall this is a anime that one should not miss out on.

Storyline: 3.5/5

The storyline is a bit slow paced, you get a bit tired in some episodes really quickly but the pace allows you to connect to the scene and situation much better than a fast-paced anime. Since it's a slice of life anime, there is no definite plot it. Sketchbook is quite cute, but not overly moe. In fact, some of the cute scenes are actually funny and charming.

Music: 4.5/5
The music is quite upbeat and well-done. The music fits well into the very peaceful mood of the series.

Characters: 5/5
A lot of character development. Some of the characters' behaviors change overtime. In particular, Sora have more confidence on herself over the course of the entire series (particularly on the way she introduces herself to new people). Each character have their unique personalities that are really enjoyable. Kate is quite a unique portrayal of the foreigner. The character speaks in a surprisingly nearly flawless English and an accented Japanese (despite the character voiced by a Japanese seiyuu) unlike how other foreigners in anime are portrayed where they speak their native tongue crookedly.

Animation: 5/5
Lots of beautifully drawn scenery, the animation is very smooth and fits well to the peaceful, calm mood to the series.

Overall: 4.5/5
Sketchbook is an anime I would recommend to other people for those who are looking for something that is cute, but not moe or a slice of life anime. In fact, I would say it's probably one of the best slice of life anime I've ever watched. The pace of the series is reasonable enough that you can connect to the characters even without a dub. The show gives a calm, peaceful feeling to the viewers. Unfortunately, Crunchyroll happened to removed most of the episodes in their website without giving a reason. I hope this show gets licensed for R1 distribution.

I don't know the original 4 window manga. I watched all 13 episodes in one go, without subtitles. I watched Saki a few days before this.

My summary.
A collection of insightful and aesthetic inspiration that comes from a shy high school girl's curiosity of the world around her.

Storyline. 5
Animes that arise from 4 window mangas rarely ever fail story-wise. There's Lucky Star with its crazy otaku neta, Azumanga Daioh with its extraordinary average high school life, the SHAFT style Hidamari Sketch, etc. This one in particular is astounding in that it resorts to no moe despite its broadcasting year of 2007, and instead resorts to the elementary essence of 4 window manga comedy to elaborately decorate a solid backbone based on the concept of the peace of life. There is neither a main plot,nor a series of character-oriented stories. The staff succeeds in expressing the main concept of a my-paced and calming impression of life, not just through the growth of the protagonist or general human life, but also through the entirety of nature as well (and cats of course). The moral of this anime is analogous to that of The Phantom Tollbooth, the novel. Realize, recognize the world around you. This anime makes good use of the idea of art, and the symbolic meaning of a sketchbook. I can make no complaints about the quality and fulfillment of the staff's efforts in conveying their significant concept.

Although I watched all 13 episodes in one go, this anime shouldn't really be watched that way. Its rewatch value is extremely high, because this anime's concept is something that can always be referred to throughout your life. I would love to watch a random episode from this anime when I feel tired from everyday life. It would remind me of the peace and quiet that can be found in the nature around you.

Music. 4.5
The main OP and ED are both memorable, and very fitting to the anime's concept. Not to mention, Yui-san is one of my favorite singers/voice actresses. I never dared to skip the OP or ED once, in fear of missing the slight changes that the OP and ED go through as the protagonist's conscious world grows. The bgm and insert songs within this anime are fabulous, much like the Koppepan (Lucky Star) and various Key/Visual Arts songs from animes like CLANNAD.

Characters. 4
Going back to one of the unique elements of this anime, there is no moe emphasized in any character for the sake of variant characterization. Every character has a humane personality, and shows differences and variation in a way that's similar to Azumanga Daioh (although there is no 10 year old high schooler). What I like more however, is that non-human subjects, (in this case, cats) were used to appeal the primary concept of this anime. Imagining life as viewed from a stray cat sheds the same surroundings a new light.

I have one complaint, and that's the voice actress for the foreigner. The voice actress is clearly Japanese, and is showing off a bad example of a national stereotype concerning foreign Japanese pronounciation. Patty from Lucky Star is another bad example. This voice actress also works primarily in the visual novel branch of animation projects. I would have preferred they hired an actual Canadian (or something close) that spoke Japanese. It's not that hard to find one these days. CLANNAD After Story's foreign voice actor for the worker at the electronics office is an excellent asset of more accurate foreign Japanese (though it was more mideastern than Canadian in accent).

Animation. 4.5
Amazing motion works, and a high rate of consistency concerning general structure. The background may at first glance be a bit rough, but to me, it seems more fitting to the idea that it "looks sketchy" as if it was the world from the protagonist's eyes and imagination. The image style for the characters was great, and the animation held facial proportions fantastically, regardless of the amount of (= =) faces. I believe that some of the motion concerning the sketchbook art was CG oriented (objects with sketchbook texture on the surface), but it was hidden very well. The fireworks CG blended well and wasn't discreet or awkward in any way. The smoothness of the raw animation in episode 11 was quite memorable.

Overall 4.5
Grand anime. A bit short unfortunately, but the concept comes through with depth and understanding. Definitely an anime that I would rewatch periodically, perhaps with my family.

Key bullets.
-Watch it if you like Azumanga Daioh.
-Watch it any way, because there's nothing bad about this anime in general.
-Don't watch it if you can't appreciate the concept of this anime (peaceful life)
-If you're annoyed by the pace of this anime, you should get some calcium.

If I were to make a claim towards this anime, it would not be the anime itself but the subtitles. Unfortunately, there is a limit to how much English can do in accurately and precisely translating the variant expression of Japanese. The Japanese dialects spoken in Kyuushuu give certain characters a very unique aura so-to-speak. Considering a 4 window manga, one must be able to identify the 3 rise windows and the 4th ochi in a comedic structure to get the full laughter. It is impossible to translate a dajare (a type of Japanese wordplay) into English while maintaining its comedic value. There are also many neta (which means source of comedy) that relate to Japanese common sense/knowledge not found in the US. If you are to watch this, I would recommend you either learn fluent Japanese, or rewatch it again after you've learned Japanese to understand the true value of what I'm saying here.

Genre: Shonen, School Life, Slice of life, Comedy
Abstract:
If you don't like the pilot, most likely you will not like the series.

The story is a light comedy based on an art club school life. Adapted from the manga which is a 4-panel manga, its revolves around a shy high school girl, Sora, and the new friends she meets in the art club. The anime starts out after she is already in the art club and given an assignment.

The pilot does a good job defining the tone of the series. Accompany with the music, It gives a sense of a laid back atmosphere. Additionally the majority of major characters appears in the pilot along with a glimpse of their personality, including the cats.

You might enjoy this anime if you've like 4-panel manga adapted into anime like Azumanga Daioh. But in this anime adaption it attempts to revolve mainly on one character, Sora, as a backbone to the storytelling and jumps around less between pairs of characters. Occasionally there is a side story with the cats.

Characters:
The protagonist, Sora, has aspects of a playful child. She is soft spoken and tends to shy away from any social contact. Often this is seen when she has trouble introducing herself to new people. Although she is a rather observant person, she is not all too bright. Such examples as she attempts to sketch things like fireworks, hence her childish like character, which also plays as a comedic style in the series. Most of the time it seems like she is in her own little world.

Sidenote:
The series is linear storytelling, although not in the order of the manga. However, due to the light story it is possible to skip episodes without missing too much.

Sketchbook is an anime that doesn't really have any meaning to it. It is similar to Lucky Star and Minami-Ke.
The music isn't the type that would make you hum it all day (this is MY opinion, not a fact), however it isn't that bad as for you to hate it. It is decent.
The characters of Sketchbook are mainly all from the Art Club or are cats. Sara doesn't have much lines, which is unusual as she is the main character. My favorite character is Natsumi Aso. She is a lively character. Overall, the characters are interesting, with a variety of personalities.
The animation is good, though they do not have those really special effects (this is probably because this isn't a magical girl anime).
Overall, Sketchbook is a great anime and I highly recommend it.