Line #11 Manga/Sketchbook


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sketchbook_full_colors2.jpg]]
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3	Kajiwara Sora and her friends in the art club sketch what they see and make observations on life. [[{{Iyashikei}} That's really all there is to it]]. ''Sketchbook'' features [[SceneryPorn beautiful scenery]], plenty of feel-good moments, and cats. Can't forget the cats. It's just the kind of series that puts a smile on your face.
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5	''Sketchbook'' is a SliceOfLife manga written and illustrated by Totan Kobako, which was serialized in the {{Shonen\|Demographic}} anthology ''Monthy Comic Blade'' from 2002 to 2014, and later moved to ''Monthly Comic Garden'' where it ran from 2014 until its conclusion in 2019. A ThirteenEpisodeAnime by [[Creator/{{TYO}} Hal Film Maker]], titled ''Sketchbook ~full color'S~'', aired in the Fall 2007 anime season.
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7	For more stories about art classes, compare running 2000s mates ''Manga/HidamariSketch'' and ''Manga/GAGeijutsukaArtDesignClass''. Also check ''Anime/DoItYourself'' for a loose SpiritualSuccessor.
8	----
9	!! ''Sketchbook'' contains examples of:
10	* AdaptationDistillation: The manga consists largely of Japanese word jokes, but only some surrounding Kate found their way into the anime. At the same time...
11	* AdaptationDyeJob: The anime versions of the characters have much more saturated hair colors compared to the colored manga illustrations. Natsumi, for example, has her brown hair turned into a dark pink.
12	* AdaptationExpansion: The stories that did find their way into the anime had more gags and runtime devoted to them, to the point where they feel like very different versions.
13	%%* AllInARow
14	* AlternateCharacterReading: The Suzukaze of "Suzukaze Combo" can also be read as "Ryoufuu", the names of both members of the group.
15	* AllThereInTheManual:
16	** Additional information about the characters, their situations, and what they do outside of school come in volume extras. You'll rarely see it occur in the manga itself.
17	** All of the sexes of the cats are available in the fanbook. To make a long story short, Milk, U, and Doku are undetermined, Kuma is male, and the rest are female.
18	* AnimalTalk: There are times where Mike and the other cats are given some screen time and we hear what they’re saying. It’s established that they can’t communicate with humans other than with writing. This is especially imperative when Sora gets sick and is trying to feed Mike and Haa spoiled sardines and they can’t tell her the food has gone bad.
19	%%* AnimeAccentAbsence: Averted with Kate.
20	* AuthorAppeal: The mangaka seems to be quite fond of cats and apparently knows quite a bit about animals in general--especially bugs and fish.
21	* BalloonBelly: Natsumi in episode 12.
22	* BeachEpisode:
23	** Chapter 79 serves as this for the club, but they have theirs towards the end of summer. It goes about as wacky as you would expect.
24	** Another Beach Episode happens in Chapter 138.
25	* BeautifulAllAlong: When Tsukiyo puts up her hair in the manga, nobody recognizes the girl with the pretty face.
26	** Also Asaka when she untied her hair.
27	* BreadEggsBreadedEggs: Kurihara is once asked about the number of whiskers a catfish has--whether it's four or six in total. The answer is ''both'', but they have four when young and six when matured.
28	* BrilliantButLazy: Ryou and Fuu are both quite good at studying, but their grades end up terrible because they always write joke responses instead of actual answers.
29	* BreakingTheFourthWall:
30	** Ryou and Fuu tend to talk to the audience at regular intervals. This doesn't bother the other characters ''too'' much since those two are already known to be rather ... [[CloudCuckooLander eccentric]].
31	** One of the cats chapters has Buchi give the strays a translator device. The device actually gives off bits of trivia the author forgot to mention previously...not that the cats really get that.
32	* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS: Ogi's MegaNeko Mop has a marking that looks like an "M" on its forehead, something that Sora immediately notices and laughs about.
33	* BunglingInventor: Kamiya is good at construction, but her inventions are always strange or impractical.
34	* CallBack: Kuga covering herself in the art room curtains in chapter 65 echoes a rather infamous scene in chapter 34 when she does the same while meeting Shibata, and again in Chapter 143 where she just runs around in the curtain.
35	* CanonImmigrant: Minamo, Daichi's little sister, first appeared in the anime adaptation, but was introduced into the manga about two years later in chapter 97. They had to do a [[RememberTheNewGuy minor explanation]] for new readers when she showed up again.
36	* CatchPhrase: Sora's "uh huh".
37	* CharacterDevelopment: All of the characters go through this in the anime version, but it applies most to Sora. [[spoiler:Compare to how she introduces herself to Natsumi, Hazuki, and Kate to how she introduces herself to the waitress at the diner in the last episode]].
38	* CharmPoint: Mentioned in Kuma's first scene. He finds that his best points are his wide and spaced out facial features.
39	* CherryBlossoms: One of the funniest scenes involves a cherry blossom viewing party.
40	* ChristmasEpisode: Chapter 154, though it takes place on December 6th. Instead they replace a "Christmas" celebration with one for St. Nicholas Day (which is held on the 6th), but largely treat it the same as a Christmas party.
41	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Ryou and Fuu, although most of the cast is a bit wacky.
42	** Arguably Sora fits just as well.
43	*** The big difference is that Ryou and Fuu seem to do it on purpose, for fun. Sora doesn't notice there's something off with herself.
44	** Kokage has her moments as well.
45	** In fact, it'd probably be faster to list the characters who ''aren't'' {{Cloudcuckoolander}}s.
46	* ClassTrip: The Art Club eventually has their club camp, but their funding is so little that Kasugano has all the students board up and take a bus...back to school.
47	* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Upon learning that many people in the Art Club frequent the local restaurant, Ryou, Fuu, and Kurihara can only get hung up on the fact that the owner could actually remember Ooba.
48	* ContrivedCoincidence: Sora, upon finding an unfamiliar bug, decides to call it a ''korogisu'' because it looked like a grasshopper (''kirigisu'') and a cricket (''koorogi''). As Kurihara can attest, that is the bug's (a Prosopogryllacris japonica) actual name.
49	* CuteKitten: A Five Cat Cast by the mid volumes--Mike, Haa, Grey, Kuma, and Buchi, who all get their fair share of strips and focus episodes. There's a few other cats that show up in the manga too.
50	** Ironically, by the logic of their universe, this trope is subverted. The cats that get most of the screen time are stated to be ''ugly'', or very unconventionally attractive, which Sora likes. The only explicitly ''cute'' cat in universe, Yutanpo/Nise (Mike the 2nd), is [[ButtMonkey often ignored]] by the other cats and the narrative in the early series.
51	* DeadpanSnarker: Kokage.
52	** Haa is the one among the cats.
53	* DemotedToExtra: Tsukiyo Ooba's role, already not that big in the manga, has been assigned only a few seconds of spoken dialogue in the anime--which is a shame, since she is a genuinely funny character. It is, however, [[ForgettableCharacter very true to her narrative purpose]].
54	* DissonantSerenity: Played for laughs when Kurihara introduces a kind of planarian and mentions that it can regenerate parts of it that get cut off. Kate [[ActorAllusion promptly pulls out a]] [[VisualNovel/{{Shuffle}} box cutter knife]] [[{{Yandere}} while smiling happily]].
55	--> '''Narration box:''' Kate had a very angelic smile.
56	* ADogNamedDog: Mike is a calico, or ''mike'' in Japanese. Other calicoes fall under this as well, but for the purposes of identification they call those calicoes another name.
57	* DontExplainTheJoke: The owner of the restaurant Ryou and Fuu visit in Chapter 170 was actually able to decipher one of the pair's jokes[[note]]"Oshidori [=FuuFuu=], a play on words for the phrase "Oshibori Fuufu"/Lovey-Dovey Couple and the fact that they're blowing (''fuu fuu'') on their Mandarin Duck (''oshidori'') dish[[/note]]. Rather than be impressed, they're more disappointed that she had to loudly explain it.
58	* EvolvingCredits: Changes slightly depending on the cast.
59	* EyesAlwaysShut: The club president and Juju. Also Asakura-sensei, who appears in the manga from time to time and does magic tricks.
60	** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]]--when the art club goes to see fireworks, they all decide to squint at the fireworks and see what that looks like. No one can tell if these two are squinting or not.
61	* FailedASpotCheck:
62	** In Chapter 102, Kamiya and her sister Sekka start putting up fliers for Kuma, thinking he got lost after he doesn't come home for five days. In comes Raika with Kuma in tow, wishing them luck in putting up missing posters for the cat in his hands.
63	** One chapter has Kamiya make a device that lets bikers do turn signals when they ride, so they don't have to take their hands off the handlebars. It's only seconds after she showcases it to president Ujyou that she realizes her device still needs at least one hand to operate, making the whole effort redundant.
64	* FamilyThemeNaming: "Sora" means "sky". Sora's brother is called "Ao", which means "blue".
65	%%* FearOfThunder: Natsumi
66	* FestivalEpisode: Chapter 54 serves as this, with the Art Club of course attending.
67	* [[SurnameFirstNameSurname First Name Surname First Name]]: In the final episode, [[spoiler: this is how Sora introduces herself to the waitress.]]
68	** [[spoiler: Well, Asou was gonna introduce her to the waiter before she interrupts and says this trope because of it.]]
69	* FlyingSaucer: In "Mike-san and Flying Objects", Mike becomes convinced that she saw a UFO and ends up discussing the nomenclature of it with Haa and Kuma.
70	* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Ao and Sora's relationship in a nutshell. While Ao is the younger brother, he's constantly exasperated by Sora's antics and airheaded nature, usually playing her [[CloudcuckoolandersMinder minder]] at home.
71	* ForgettableCharacter: Ooba's series-wide gag is that nobody in the club can remember her. She eventually takes some measure of pride in this fact, even congratulating Sora for capturing her lack of essence in the final cast image (i.e. Sora forgot to include Ooba in the drawing at all).
72	* FormulaBreakingEpisode: Episode 5 and a good chunk of ''Shuuchoban'', done from the cats' point of view.
73	* FriendToAllLivingThings: Subverted in that the cats don't view Sora as such. Double subverted at the end of episode 11. Played straight with Kurihara's love for all things living.
74	* FunnyForeigner: Kate. Her cat Buchi counts as this for the feline cast.
75	* GenericCuteness: Many of the female characters can be hard to tell apart other than hairstyle in the yonkoma, especially since they tend to make blob-faces a lot.
76	* GenkiGirl: Kate is a highly energetic person in any language.
77	* GoldfishScoopingGame: Sora decides to think of it as "goldfish saving" (the same in Japanese). She then decides it sounds better without the "goldfish" part.
78	* GratuitousEnglish: Kate, being the English speaking foreigner, often exclaims things in her native language. She also has quite a bit of IntentionalEngrishForFunny in addition to her heavily accented Japanese in the anime.
79	%%* GreekChorus: Fuu and Ryou
80	* HighSchoolRocks: Sora's fellow club members and teachers may be eccentric, but they're also absolute sweethearts.
81	* HiveMind: Ryou and Fuu, elevated to sometimes creepy levels in the anime.
82	* HowIsThatEvenPossible: Ryou and Fuu, in their typical way, even make Othello a crazy game. They once had a tie that involved a clean black/white split across the board. Negishi responds with the trope name in perplexion.
83	* HugeSchoolgirl: Juju, although it doesn't particularly bother her or the others.
84	* InnerMonologue: The main reason Sora even needs a voice actor.
85	* {{Irony}}:
86	** During a drive home, Kasugano finds a sign that warns against the temptation of looking to the sides while driving...when the sign ''itself'' was just on the side of her peripheral vision.
87	** Kurihara points out a case of IronicName--the phrase ''oshidori fuufu'' is often used to describe loving, joined-at-the-hip lovers. The ''oshidori'' of its namesake, the mandarin duck, is likewise seen as an animal that couples for life, but they often change partners at least once a year.
88	* {{Iyashikei}}
89	%%* KewpieDollSurprise
90	* KindheartedCatLover:
91	** Sora doesn't officially have a cat (Hangou is just a stray that likes coming over), but she's your typical FriendToAllLivingThings...however, the cats are [[TheDreaded all afraid of her]] because she keeps giving them expired food, which her brother calls her out on. Not that she's aware of their displeasure, of course.
92	** Ujyou turns out to be a cat magnet in Chapter 107, and he doesn't even have to bait them with food.
93	* LargeHam: Tsukiyo tends to be... rather melodramatic.
94	* LastEpisodeNewCharacter: Tsukiyo and Soyogi-sensei in the anime.
95	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: When Ueno expresses some disgust at a particularly odd colored fish, Asou tells him to start thinking of things in monochrome to ignore the weird palette.
96	* LineOfSightName: Every single name Sora christens the stray cats with takes on this form. Best seen when she formally names Hokuro and Hige, who have a splotches that look like a mole and a mustache respectively.
97	* LiteralMetaphor: Chapter 110 features Kamiya making a mouse firework into a literal mouse shape. She does note the irony that regular mouse fireworks were called such because they scuttled along the ground like mice, yet hers is stationary.
98	* LookADistraction: During the club dodgeball game, Kuga manages to score an out on Ujyou by making him think a cat was brushing up near him. Kuga being weak, she only barely manages the victory by having the ball scrape the side of his arm.
99	* LostInTranslation: A lot of the early scans of the series translate many Japanese puns literally. They have notes explaining the joke, at the very least. For example:
100	** Buchi asks Haa the directions to "Canada Town" (full English), the area where he lives. What he's actually trying to look for is ''Kaneda-machi'', the Fukuoka town.
101	** A good number of the jokes about animals rely on the Japanese pronunciation of their names, such as the one listed under ContrivedCoincidence above.
102	* LuminescentBlush: In the final episode, the shy Sora's entire face turns a luminescent red as her teacher compliments her artwork.
103	* MegaNeko: Kuma is a rather fat cat, and by and large the biggest of the feline cast.
104	* MoneyDumb: Zigzagged. Hazuki is always trying to penny-pinch and conserve money as much as possible--because she impulse-buys cute things and doesn't have much left over for stuff like food or supplies.
105	* NoCartoonFish: Insects and other creepy-crawlies, including fish, tend to be drawn in a more realistic style--unless it's funny.
106	* NoCommunitiesWereHarmed: Although never mentioned explicitly, the series appears to take place in Shime, Fukuoka.
107	* NoEnding: The final published chapter wasn't very conclusive for the story nor for anyone's character arcs. While it did feature [[BackForTheFinale quite a few side characters]] coming back for the occasion, the chapter itself was just about a party celebrating the addition of two new members of the club, with the extra comic afterwards explaining the existence of the final chapter's color page/magazine cover.
108	* NoHuggingNoKissing: It's a coed art club, but there's very little, if at all romance going on between the members. The most one gets towards that development is Kasugano throwing some ShipTease towards Negishi and Kuga, but that's it.
109	* NoMouth: Kokage is depicted without one, which the other characters mention is a "poker face". Her eyes still make expressions besides her usual half-lidded stare, sometimes.
110	* NoodlePeople: Appear commonly in manga. Especially when characters are in shock or disbelief.
111	* NoTrueScotsman: Joked about in Chapter 11; Sora looks at the stray cats who don't respond to the toy she presents them with, and ponders if they "aren't really cats" since it's such a popular cat toy.
112	* ObfuscatingInsanity: WordOfGod (in the notes), says that the socially-awkward Kuga pretends to be stranger than she actually is as a way of communicating with others, although pretending to be strange has become part of her nature.
113	* ObfuscatingStupidity: Asou eventually figures out that Kate's bewilderment at the Japanese language is at least partially feigned for laughs.
114	* OlderThanTheyLook: Daichi’s little sister is frequently mistaken for being an elementary student when she’s actually a middle school student. During the tree viewing, she wears her school uniform so that people would believe her.
115	* OnceAnEpisode: You can't truly get through a chapter without Kurihara discussing animal facts.
116	* OneDialogueTwoConversations: During the second beach trip, Asakura talks about a school of manybar goldfish (''ojisan'') that Kurihara found. Kasugano misunderstood and thought she was talking about a group of human ''ojisan'' (old men), which only made her more confused as Asakura describes the fishes' children being captured and thrown back into the ocean.
117	* OneSteveLimit: There is more than one "Mike-san" that exists in the story, and even more than one per district; however, Kajiwara's cat Yutanpo (also a calico like Mike) is referred to as Nise to avoid confusion. Other calicoes referred to as "Mike-san" are here referred to as Tama and Doku.
118	* {{Otaku}}: Kurihara Nagisa, one of the rare examples of an otaku about something other than anime. She likes nature, especially insects.
119	* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: For an Art Club, they don't do much art. Occasionally they will get supplies for their work or try to make a piece, but for the most part they will talk about other topics or have fun. Lampshaded in Chapter 54:
120	-->'''Ryou:''' When you think about it, it's a bit of a mystery whether or not everyone is doing art.
121	** Even the final chapter gets in on this, with [[spoiler:new club member]] Kirishima admitting that she was interested in the Art Club but didn't expect to actually do art there.
122	* PhenotypeStereotype: Kate, more so in the anime than the manga.
123	* PictureDrama: A six-part picture drama was bundled with the rest of the episodes on DVD, following Sora, Hazuki, Natsumi, Kurihara, and Kuga all going on a trip together.
124	* PragmaticAdaptation: The anime, while still featuring some of the more episodic elements of the manga, decides to make its overarching story about Sora overcoming her shyness and learning more about the world around her in relation to art.
125	* PreciousPuppies: Inuo, a bit of a clueless pup and one of our token recurring dogs in a cast of cats (alongside Kuro).
126	* ProductionThrowback: To ''Manga/{{ARIA}}'', as all seasons of its anime adaptation were Hal Film Maker productions like ''Full color'S'' (although only the first season and ''The Natural'' were completed at the time). The "president" of the Aria Company makes an appearance in the first episode as the mascot of a bowling center. Also, at the very end of the last episode, there's a [[http://fabien.li/tvtropes/Sketchbook%20Full%20Colors%2013%2024.26.jpg picture]] of President Aria and Akari meeting Mike and Sora.
127	* TheQuietOne: Sora, who's actually the protagonist. Though she does InnerMonologue to the audience quite often.
128	** In the manga, there's no confirmation as to whether or not she ever speaks at all. None of her dialogue (if it is that) is conveyed with speech bubbles.
129	* RealPlaceBackground: The anime contains locations from the city of Fukuoka, but the show proper takes place in Shime, a nearby former mining town. Shime's old coal mine winding tower is often used as a backdrop.
130	* RecognitionFailure: Sora has problems recognizing ''her own best friends'' when they change their hairstyles. On the other hand, she can easily tell the difference between four calico stray cats by their faces.
131	* RefusalOfTheCall: Kirishima and Ogi repeatedly deny joining the Art Club throughout the series despite being somewhat cast regulars. [[spoiler:They finally relent in the very last chapter.]]
132	* RightInFrontOfMe: When Natsumi comments on Hazuki's [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall increasing lack of]] [[OutOfFocus presence]] come Chapter 133, she says that the latter is becoming more like Ooba. While Hazuki has her worries about badmouthing Ooba behind her back, they ultimately let it slide since she's not in the room...or so they think, because in true Ooba fashion, she's right behind them without them noticing.
133	* RunningGag:
134	** Sora renaming the fat cat that lives around her on a whim. It gets RunningGagged when she settles on naming him Hangou.
135	** Kamiya coming up with crazy art projects playing on words or just for fun.
136	** Kasugano breaking art supplies with her antics.
137	* SceneryPorn: The anime moreso than the manga, but when the cast goes outside the series really likes to hammer in the beauty of nature.
138	* SchoolgirlSeries: There are a few male characters that get quite a bit of focus, but the anime focuses on Sora, Hazuki, and Natsumi while the manga focuses on [[EnsembleCast everybody]], who just so happen to have a bigger proportion of girls to boys. Kasugano's ManChild personality and the focus on the wackiness of the art room cement this series as a Schoolgirl one.
139	* SenseiChan: Kasugano-sensei. Kurihara-sensei to a lesser extent.
140	* ShipTease: In the anime's version of the in-school training camp, Kasugano waxes hypothetical about Kuga and Negishi getting together. While Negishi denies that anything is going to happen, Kuga looks away and softly responds that she doesn't dislike him.
141	* ShoutOut:
142	** A discussion about ''Paracerura tattaka'' turns into a shoutout to ''Anime/{{Hamtaro}}'' in the manga.
143	** Sensei is shown singing Yuki Nagori's "Iruka" in order to pass the time away waiting for her instant ramen to cook.
144	** According to the extras, the sock puppet Kerokichi is made to resemble the ''Series/FraggleRock'' muppets.
145	** In chapter 60, Tori mentions that the pose she made opening an automatic door looked like one of Ken Shimura's poses.
146	** In Chapter 91, Sora mistakes the ''nagatogariba'' moth for [[Literature/GulliversTravels Nagato Gulliver]].
147	** The song Sasaki sings for Minamo in one chapter features lyrics to the Japanese theme song of ''WesternAnimation/TheImpossibles''.
148	* ShownTheirWork: Some of the insects seen later are discussed in the notes.
149	* ShyBlueHairedGirl: In the anime, Sora plays this trope completely straight. (In the manga, her hair is just drawn black, but it's still blue in colored pages and covers.)
150	* SiblingYinYang: Daichi and his sister Minamo. He’s very grumpy, gets loud when he’s mad, and is reluctant to be around Inuo while his sister is cheerful, doesn’t get mad, and loves being around Inuo.
151	* StatingTheSimpleSolution:
152	** Kasugano loves cooking things on a gas grill, and is shown to do it multiple times. In comes Asakura, who tells her fellow teacher to use the stove they already have in school.
153	** When Ryou, Fuu, and Sora make sushi, Negishi pulls out an electric fan to help cool off the rice faster. Sora, who liked using a hand fan for the endeavor, gets mad at him for suggesting it.
154	** Kuma discusses the problems of communication between humans and cats, and suggests ideas like sign language or rock paper scissors to provide a shared method of understanding. Haa, noticing he does this by making a sign with his mouth, suggests writing, but Kuma and the rest ignore her.
155	* StealthInsult: When Sasaki explains the basics of music notation to Minamo, the latter praises her for her knowledge "despite how [she] usually looks" like a space case.
156	* TokenMiniMoe: Minamo.
157	* ThoseTwoGuys:
158	** Ryou and Fuu are rarely seen without each other; which is rather a good thing, considering their very different style of humor from the rest of the cast.
159	** The Going Home Club members and Sora's classmates, Kirishima and Ogi, are also a pair of this type.
160	%%* TrueCompanions
161	* TwoTeacherSchool: Kasugano and Asakura are about the only important faculty members to mention in this series. Somewhat justified on account of it focusing on the Art Club, of which Kasugano is the advisor for and Asakura is a veteran of.
162	* TheUnintelligible: Gure (or Grey), who can only meow (probably because he's the youngest).
163	* VerbalTicName: Woo is called such by Sora because that's the sound his cries make when he talks.
164	* VisualPun: At times, Kamiya likes to make art pieces as literal versions of phrases or names. For example, she made a ballpoint pen as a ball with a pen tip sticking out of it, and a mouse firework in the shape of a mouse.
165	* WackyHomeroom: Wacky Art Club, same thing.
166	* WhyAreYouLookingAtMeLikeThat: Kasugano gets some accusatory stares from her students in Chapter 81 when they find that one of the club busts is broken. Well, sure, [[IResembleThatRemark she did it]], but they didn't need to jump to that conclusion so soon.
167	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes:
168	** Juju Sasaki is terrified of caterpillars, though she develops a tolerance for the cuter ones, as long as they don't touch her.
169	** Kurihara loves nature, and collects things like insects and reptiles. But even ''she'' draws the line at yellowjackets.
170	* {{Yonkoma}}

Context Manga / Sketchbook