A gorgeous sunny day.

Even a drizzly day brings out the beauty of the landscape.

A lot of anime series come barreling in as each new season kicks off. You have mighty fanfare for the newest Gundam, a celebration for anything by Shounen Jump, a rise from the crowd should CLAMP debut their latest brainchild, and these days, a wild roar from fanboys across the world whenever Kyoto Animation pulls something fresh out of the oven. What happens more often though is a little tiny mouse of a show also squeeks it's way into the weekly line-up, usually happy with just its small niche audience and not demanding full-scale attention. Little do anime fans realize is that the series like this are usually the most interesting.

Summertime in the schoolyard.

Students prepare for summer break.

For Autumn 2007, the little-series-that-could is none other than Sketchbook ~full color'S~. From the anime production company Hal Film Makers, it's a story presented in very much the same way as its sister-series, Aria the Animation and Aria the Natural. Ironically enough, it is also a blood-relative of Bokusetsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan, another one of Hal's more infamous creations. However, as I remarked that Sketchbook is more like Aria, know you can expect a wonderful slow-paced, low-energy, calmly-soothing story.

Sora gets very flustered when she's nervous.

Hazuki is a kind, caring best friend.

It is summertime in a small Japanese mountainside city. Academic classes are on hiatus, yet club activities continue. For the students of Kasugano-sensei's art club, summer days just mean working in hotter weather. Though moaning and groaning in the humid air fills the classroom, the girls (and two boys) make the best of their time together and find ways of entertaining and inspiring themselves and eachother. Though a few episodes either start or end in the classroom, often times they venture out into the real world and enjoy their youthful days. This is how the story pushes forward.

Asou-san is very energetic and extremely friendly.

Kuga-senpai ponders her next project.

Sora Kajiwara is a shy young girl. Though she rarely speaks, her mind is always rambling on with thought. As the audience, we are privy to what she is thinking as she wanders around town and the wilderness looking for inspiration. Often times her thoughts lead her to dwell on what it would like to be able to draw the things that cannot be seen, like warmth and happiness. Those are the things we can sense and feel, but they cannot be captured on paper and thus, as an artist, she struggles with not being able to fully express what she wants to convey. She doesn't let it bother her, for she knows one day she'll figure it out. Until then, she has her friends and classmates to keep her busy.

The boys of the Art Club are being distracted by whackiness.

Kurihara and Juju might be responsible for the zany antics.

Fellow Art Club members, perpetually energetic Natsumi Asou and the frugally restrained Hazuki Torikai, are Sora's closest friends. Though Hazuki-san slips in some good gags with her constant worry about food prices and the like, Asou-san brings the most life to the series (more on her later). The club has plenty of other members to fill out the whole cast. Childish Asaka, stoic Kuga, comically short-tempered Negishi, and even the club's live chicken-obsessed advisor all keep the show moving. And that's just one half of the entire cast.

Sora sits motionless during another monologue.

Asou-san's excitement reaches unprecented levels.

So how does an anime about day-to-day life of an art club keep up with so many participants? In the spirit of viginette-laden school-daze comedies like Azumanga Daioh, Doki Doki School Hours, Pani Poni Dash, and Lucky * Star, Sketchbook rotates it's episodic attention amoung two or three side-stories featuring different groupings of character. But don't read into that the wrong way. Though there is a decent amount of comedy in this anime, it is very low-key and very subtle. A lot of the humor is based on sight-gags and quick point-outs of eachothers' behavior, mostly from Asou-san and Negishi. If you've seen Doki Doki School Hours/Okijan no Sensei, you might have a clearer understanding of this.

Negishi's outer frustration also reaches its peek.

Sora slinks away when Negishi is erupting..

Of course, Asou-san is my favorite of the whole cast. Her raspberry-colored pigtails, her cheery smile, and her endless arsenal of various facial expressions always have my attention. And just when you think she's going to calm down and be normal, she whips out two hand puppets and begins to have conversations with whoever is within earshot. So adorable, she would make an awesome friend, especially when you're in the mood for a pick-me-up. But despite all that, Asou-san is NOT the wildest girl in the anime. That superlative goes to a tie between the art club's continually truant members, Himura-senpai and Tanabe-senpai. Though they still actively draw, they're too hyper to sit in a classroom, so thus we get to interact with them whenever they decide to (literally) jump into the screen and entertain us with whatever has decided to enter into their heads... like playing rock-paper-scissors with lobsters. "What beats lobster in rock-paper-scissors," you ask? DOUBLE LOBSTERS!!! hahahahahaha

"haha, double lobsters... I get it!"

Sora pledges never to lose to double lobsters.

Perhaps the most impressive element in the production of this anime is its artistic value. Only seems natural in an anime about art, right? Sketchbook employs a style that I wish I would see more in anime. A lot of the emphasis is on the characters, and you'll notice this by the frequent use of thicker-than-usual outlining and the solid colors of their hair. In fact, the hair colors stand out more than usual since the backgrounds and the clothing of the school is predominantly whitish and lighter colors. The thick outlines of the people really seperates them from their environment. Imagine the art-style of the popular videogame, Okami placed on the beautiful background artistry seen in Aria, Dennou Coil and even Lucky * Star. These elements combined make for a wonderful viewing experience.

Notice the brightness of the colorless backdrops? You notice what's going on, but it forces your attention onto the girls.

Even in shots with darker backgrounds, the characters are still the most distinctive elements.

If the soft-tones of the artwork isn't enough to sooth you, then the music will definitely mellow you out. Being a slow-paced series, the soundtrack does what is appropriate to keep that mood. So what we get is a lot of light piano ballads and acoustic guitar solos that almost melt into your subconscious. Half the time you don't even realize you're listening to any music at all. The first episode lacks an opening, which is typical for most anime, but after the second episode, you will find the OP theme, "Kaze Sagashi" performed by Natsumi Kiyoura. It's a light melody accompanied by a whispy female vocal, much similiar to the ED, "Sketchbook o Motto Mama" by Yui Makino. The only difference between the two is the ED doubles its tempo after the halfway point of the song.

Sora gazes over the city festival blanketed in twilight.

Every Japanese community has their annual festival.

There is a lot going for this series. Six episodes in, I'm finding myself thoroughly enjoying it. It is unknown what the full length of the initial run will be, but judging by it's similiarities to Aria, I would have to guess it will run for 12 episodes with an ending open enough to invite a second season, should the viewer response warrant one. As for story, beyond the basic premise of its being an anime about the daily lives of Japanese youth attending summer art club sessions, there is very little to no plot. There is no antagonist, there is no love interest. The sixth episode ended with the hint of a mysterious new character making waves as an adversary, but the next-episode preview already spoiled the suspense and introduced her as a friendly, English-speaking exchange student. Well, it's not like I would have bought the idea of any festering evil anyway. That would be like a nuclear explosion on Man-Home, hahah (Aria-reference... get it?).

The tori-i of the local shrine standing tall.

Asou-san celebrates with some fireworks.

So the art is beyond stunning, the characters are interesting and entertaining, the music is soothing, and the pacing is set to normal-life. Sketchbook ~full color'S~ is the perfect way to relax while watching anime and soaking up some culture. No big overlaying menace, no complicated drama... just a few metaphorical musings, a couple of playful cats, and a sketchbook. Sit back and enjoy!

Screencap Gallery and Scores on the next page...

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