Synopsis: Sora Kajiwara and her friends in art class are to draw anything of interest to them.

Sketchbook ~full color’s~ 01 – Sketchbook Girl 「スケッチブックの少女」

In a vacated lot, Sora tries her best to sketch Mike, a cat, not noticing that someone was approaching her. The stranger tries to engage her in conversation, but Sora, is unable to utter a word. Instead, she lets out whimpers and does some incomprehensible hand gestures. The girl soon runs off while telling Sora that she hopes to see her drawings next time.

As the showcase date draws near, Kasugano-sensei complains about the poor attendance of the class. Most of the students have yet to decide on what to draw for the assigned theme, anything of interest 「興味」. Finding an appropriate subject seems to be harder than expected.

The class goes about trying to draw something. They are momentarily interrupted after seeing Sora. From the door, Sora hesitates to come in when she sees Negishi Daichi, whose loud voice startles her. Kokage Kuga takes out a pair of paint brushes and places it on top of Negi’s head to serve as cat ears. Thinking of Negi as a cat, Sora relaxes and comes into class. However, she does not stay long when she sees a cat on the field. Natsumi Aso and Hazuki Torikai follow her.

The three girls take a stroll. The name of a restaurant, which has the same phonetic sound as their theme, catches Sora’s eye and the girls go in for a quick meal. They order udon. Sora thoroughly enjoys her meal unlike Natsumi and Hazuki, who both put too much chili power in theirs. She carefully places all the ingredients of the udon and eats it. A tidal wave of flavor and taste burst into her mouth, washing her away straight into udon heaven.

After their meal, they continue their walk and meet two upperclassmen. One of which is Nagisa Kurihara, whose interest in insects lead them to place overlooking town. They start to muse of their childhood at the sight of cockleburs. The girls end up staying there to draw.

The next day, the students show their work, but Sora is not there. She is back at the vacant lot trying to sketch Mike’s paw. As luck would have it, Mike steps on a puddle and leaves his wet paw prints on Sora’s sketch pad.

Sora shares her thoughts on how there are many things she wants to draw, though some of them she simply can’t. As she bathes herself with the light reflected from the mirror, she ponders on how this must be one of life’s mysteries that she cannot illustrate into paper.

Thoughts

I loved it, absolutely loved it.

I loved the playful and soft piano pieces played on the background. It was subtle and complemented the show’s relaxing pace perfectly. I found the watercolor tones, reminiscent of Honey & Clover, very pleasing to the eyes. I liked the character designs, nothing really special, but it fit the atmosphere of the anime very well. It was simple and even cute. The backgrounds and scenery was in themselves works of art. The animation was smooth and fluid. Props for the animators for not being sloppy and for making our favorite cat from Aria have a cameo appearance.

The first episode was also surprisingly funny. There was this scene when Sora’s mouth glowed blindingly, reminding me of Cooking Master Boy. You know, when a character tastes the godly dishes of the lead they would glow and instantly be in nirvana. Then, ingredients would start floating in the background, while the characters would be in an orgasmic trance. LOL.

With already so much going for them, the show still managed to make the characters stand out. The first episode did well in fleshing out each character’s personality. The characters have their own eccentricities and nuances that gave them that extra depth and charm.

Sora, our shy sketching heroine, reminded me of Osaka of Azumanga Daioh. I think it must be the way she zones out into her own little world and her timid disposition. She is moe, admittedly, but I liked hearing about her thoughts and her view of the world. She looks to be one of those mentally-challenged characters at first glance. Though, there seems to be so much to her that has yet to be shown. Her other friends are equally quirky and interesting. They all seem to be people I could actually meet in real life and be friends with.

Bottom line

I think all slice-of-life fans need to check out this anime.

Charming and funny characters, great art and animation, whimsical background music, a good sense of humor, a dash of moe, and some nice insights about life in general, made this first episode a memorable one.

And yes… the cats have names!

Episode 02 – The Same Old Scenery 「いつもの風景」

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