Hidamari Sketch x☆☆☆ - Episode 9

While we're used to Hidamari Sketch jumping back and forth within its timeline from episode to episode (and indeed even between segments of episodes), this ninth episode of Hoshimittsu proves to be something of a first, as we actually travel back to the era before Yunocchi and Miyako were even a part of the proverbial Hidamari Apartments furniture.


Thus, the lion's share of this episode gives us a glimpse into life at the apartments in the time of Misato and Riri (the former of whom is of course already infamous in Hidamari Apartments folklore), while Sae and Hiro are still in their first year at Yamabuki High. This actually makes for quite a nice change of pace, as we watch Sae struggling earlier in her writing career while Hiro's constant worrying about and caring for her class-mate is already pretty well-established. Meanwhile, Misato proves to be more or less as crazy as you might expect from the rumours we've heard before, while Riri seems to be very much a Hiro surrogate (to the point where Hiro herself clearly looks up to her). Perhaps most amusing of all is a throw-away comment from Hiro that perhaps she should move next door to Sae to keep an eye on her, coming as it does from a time when they actually lived on different floors of the apartment block.

The final chunk of this episode brings us back to the present day, and a bit of a field trip for Yunocchi and Miyako as they get to spend time sketching in the local park. Of course, the return of Miyako also invariably means a ramping up of the joke ratio, where Yunocchi's attempt to promote good luck and improvement in her drawing skills takes a decidedly amusing turn in itself.

As per usual, I really can't think of anything bad to say about this episode of Hidamari Sketch - It was great to see Misato finally brought to life properly alongside her own class-mate, while the instalment as a whole still had enough feel-good conversation and jokes to be well worthwhile as ever.