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Manga: Hidamari Sketch
Well, there goes my nutbladder.

Yamabuki High School's arts program attracts students from all around the country. The Hidamari Apartments is a small apartment block across from Yamabuki High School, infamous for housing weirdos from the arts program.
But they've all graduated! We're normal now!
—customary introduction to the Hidamari Apartments at every year's welcoming party

Hidamari Sketch is a Slice of Life anime series centering on a young girl named Yuno who is accepted into the Yamabuki High art school and moves into a small apartment building nearby. She makes friends with other girls living in the building, and cute things happen.

Animated by Studio Shaft based on a 4koma by Ume Aoki, this series is best known for its slow pacing, focus on artistically inclined characters, and nutbladder-busting levels of cuteness. A second season, Hidamari Sketch x 365, aired about a year after the first, and a third, Hidamari Sketch x ☆☆☆ ("Hoshimittsu"), was aired in the Winter 2010 season. The fourth season has been recently greenlit.

The manga is licensed by Yen Press under the title Sunshine Sketch, and the anime is licensed by Sentai Filmworks, commonly considered as one of the mini-ADV Films, under the original name in an subtitles-only release.

This series provides examples of:

  • Accidental Pun - Sae's embroidered poetry journal*.
  • Adaptation Expansion - Both Hidamari Sketch and Lucky Star started serialization in early 2004 and animated in early 2007. But the former is slow — as in about fifteen strips on the same story arc per month — while the latter goes much faster and story arcs are seldom longer than two strips. So why up to this point this series has 42 episodes of anime, the longest of any modern moe-style yonkoma? Studio Shaft has inserted a large amount of content in the three seasons of anime, most importantly:
    • The introduction of Chika, Sae's 13-year-old sister, who was only referenced and unnamed in the manga.
    • Initially played up the Romantic Two-Girl Friendship between Hiro and Sae, and gave more screentime to Natsume. Later manga volumes have begun to run with this, expanding it even further.
    • Episode 10 of Hoshimittsu, in which Yuno flushes her keys and has to bunk with all other Hidamari tenants for several nights in a row, was significantly expanded from the manga version, in which only one night with Miyako is drawn out- but the landlady still takes 5 days to find the keys (according to one title)- while the anime portrays Yuno's stay with every other tenant.
  • Adult Child - Of course there's Yoshinoya, but Yuno's parents didn't look that mature either.
  • Affair Hair - The incident described in Sprouting Ears, below, happened because Yuno's father found a hair (of Sae's colour) in Yuno's room, something he construed to be Yuno having slept with Sae.
  • Alien Abduction - Yuno gets abducted◊ shortly after relaxing on the school roof... but it was All Just a Dream.
  • Anachronic Order - Even though it's a simple Slice of Life series, its episodes don't take place in chronological order. Luckily, each episode gives a calendar date in its title, and the manga is somewhat in order.
    • For the sake of those wondering, here is the list the episodes in chronological order◊* . Note that 365 ended the day before season 1 began!
  • Anime Anatomy - Yuno's dream in the second 365 special. Also, her bathwater becomes transparent when Hoshimittsu rolls around and brings this trope with it.
  • Art Shift - Cleverly done in numerous scenes. In the love letter episode, Yuno has an Imagine Spot during an art history class, the imagined scene imitating the art styles of Fauvism and Cubism. A shift to watercolor style is used several times for particularly emotional scenes (Sae's moment of closeness with Chika after she passes her exams, Yuno's sadness when the stray cat they adopted runs away, etc). Numerous other brief art shifts are employed too, from cut-out silhouettes to black-and-white marker pen-style drawings.
  • Ascended Extra - Chika, Sae's younger sister. She was only referenced to and wasn't given a name in manga, but her role was greatly expanded in the anime, especially in 365.
  • Badass Grandpa - Despite appearances, the Principal is shown to possess lightning speed and reflexes, ninja stealth, and the physical prowess needed to jump the school gate and adjacent street.
  • Bait-and-Switch Credits - The OP for the first season shows Yuno walking in on Sae on top of Hiro in a suggestive manner, but the part of the manga where it comes from (sadly, a Not What It Looks Like moment) isn't adapted until 365. (See also Mythology Gag for the more minor details.)
    • Actually, it's only a Not What It Looks Like scene until the next strip, wherein Sae's painting is of lilies and accompanied by a collective wideface.
  • Bathtub Bonding - Miyako and Yuno, albeit not quite voluntary on Yuno's part.
  • Berserk Button - Hiro's weight and/or figure. Miyako pushes this button fairly often. Also, don't flip Yuno's eggs, or say Sae is in any way masculine (or flat).
  • Bifauxnen - Somewhat averted; Sae reacts badly to people implying she's masculine.
  • Bilingual Bonus: In the translated version, where it borders on Genius Bonus at points— a few of the puns and sight gags of the manga would require at least some understanding of Japanese.
  • Bland Name Product - Among others, Yuno's Echizen alarm clock (it was "Citizen" in the first episodes, though), Hiro's "Pony" television. Hoshimittsu Episode 11 shows us that Nori's computer is powered by "Shaftsoft Wonders". Bill Gates is still name checked, though. Also in the same episode, the "Furball".
    • The Gates question becomes even more entertaining once you realize that Nori's computer looks almost identical to an Xbox 360.
  • Blank White Eyes - Yuno does that all the time; while Hiro does that when the paranormal is involved.
  • Boarding School - Strange variation. Yamabuki is certainly not one, but as discussed in the page quote, the main characters came from different places around the country so they need to rent apartments — and Hidamari Apartments, our point of focus, is one of them.
  • Breathe On The Fan - Yuno and Miyako catch Sae talking into the fan, pretending to be an alien.
  • Chalk Outline - Played with. Miyako drew a chalk outline of Hiro at where she passed out, despite Sae's objection over taste. Sae ended up envying Miyako though, as Miyako drew the outline in the style of Amedeo Modigliani...
  • Chaste Teens - None of the girls show any real interest in boys (or girls, for that matter). Hiro passes on a rejection letter to the one boy who sends her a love letter. Sae was apparently a hit with the ladies back in junior high, but doesn't seem to have ever actually been in a relationship. Ship Teases aside, Sae and Hiro's relationship also stays purely platonic. Only Natsume seems to have anyone in mind, not that her target notices.
  • Christmas Episode
  • Class Trip - Quite commonly used as the art students goes out in the neighborhood to sketch sometimes.
  • Cloudcuckoolander - Miyako is sometimes like this, while Yoshinoya practically lives there. Yuno drifts into this territory on occasion when exposed to puppies and paintbrushes, and Misato (the previous tenant of 101) was portrayed like this in Episode 9 of Hoshimittsu.
  • Color-Coded for Your Convenience: And symbol coded as well — Yuno's X-shaped hairpins, Miyako's cat-paw mark on her stomach (which was an effect of a cat falling asleep on her while she was sunbathing), Sae's glasses, Hiro's tentacle-hair-accented hair buns, Nori's computer mouse (she's the only tenant that can use a computer)*, and Nazuna's jiggly headbands.
  • Color Failure - Sae and Hiro, when Yuno and Miyako first mentioned that Yoshinoya is their teacher. Nori and Nazuna also feature this, after hearing about Yoshinoya's Adult Child antics for the first time.
  • Coming of Age Story - The main premise of this story, if not particular clear to some, is on Yuno's wanting to be mature. It is kind of lampshaded when she was overjoyed on any suggestions that she has matured whatever small bit.
  • Corner of Woe - The Four Girl Ensemble was having a chankonabe — sumo wrestler's hot pot — prepared mainly by the weight-conscious cook Hiro. And then Miyako and Sae (probably) incidentally uttered lines usually reserved for sumo wrestlers, which prompted Hiro herself to leave her apartment and sit in the Corner of Woe in the backyard.
    • Yuno almost walked off into a garbage pile of woe in one chapter upon discovering that someone she thought as more talented than her was forced to leave school while she was still there. The anime handled this scene somewhat differently, by only giving Yuno a spotlight.
  • Couch Gag - A relatively subtle one; in the opening of 365 Miyako is shown eating a different dish in each episode (video). The scroll on the wall behind her also changes each time. The message Hiro writes on the paper plane sometimes changes from the normal "ayafu~ya roketto" too, though not in every episode.
  • Cram School - The series discussed the existence of a type of cram school for art-stream high school students that wanted to continue doing art in college, called research institutes. In fact, Arisawa's rendezvous with Yuno was related to this; she skipped Institute class that night because of the pressure and stayed at school to paint, and answered Yuno's cell phone when it was accidentally left behind.
  • Cranial Eruption - Especially when Miyako annoys Hiro.
  • Creepy Twins - The hairdressers, to Yuno at least.
  • Cultural Cross Reference - Miyako likes to invoke strange English references, especially in the anime. Even in manga, she discussed the The Gift of the Magi in the "Polaroidzilla" story — to the puzzlement of her very Japanese co-tenants.
  • Curtain Clothing - In the Festival Episode, Miyako wanted a yukata so she could get free sweets but didn't have one, so she thought of using the curtains to make a "modern" one. She ended up borrowing one of Hiro's, though and Hilarity Ensues.
  • Curtains Match the Window - With the exception of the Principal who is Eyes Always Shut, all characters are like that: Yuno is brown, Miyako is yellow, Sae is blue, Hiro is pink, Yoshinoya is green, and the landlady is brown, Chika is light purple, Natsume is blue-green, Nori is blue gray and Nazuna is blond.
  • Disturbed Doves - More of the disturbing kind, actually.
  • Do It Yourself Theme Tune - All three opening themes are performed by the voice actresses of Yuno, Miyako, Hiro and Sae.
  • Ear Cleaning - When Hiro, Miyako, and Yuno walk in on Sae's room and find her asleep on the floor with a note on the progress of the story she's writing, Hiro kneels down and puts Sae's head on her lap. Yuno, charmed at Hiro and Sae's intimacy, runs over and offers Hiro an ear pick, to Hiro's confusion.
  • Early-Bird Cameo - The two new tenants of the Hidamari Apartments, Nori and Nazuna, were de-faceless masses-ized among other admission exam takers in the 365 OVA.
  • Easter Egg: Pause at this frame◊ in the first episode of Hoshimittsu. The numbers in the middle (4-8322-7549-6) are the ISBN-10 number of the first Hidamari Sketch manga. Also, the ones at the bottom are pi to 13 digits.
  • Eenie Meenie Miny Moai - When others build snowmen, Miyako builds snow-moais.
  • Engaging Conversation - In one 4koma strip, Hiro offers to make some soup for Miyako, who is feeling nauseous from the alcohol she accidentally drank. Miyako and Sae respond with dual Visible Silence followed by dual "Will you marry me?" The title of that yonkoma is "Sae said it while sober".
  • Every Episode Ending - Yuno (or any character who's the center of the episode's story from the 365) taking a bath while reflecting on that episode's events.
  • Everyone Can See It - Everyone at the museum◊ gives Hiro and Sae some space.
  • Executive Veto - Aoki wanted one of the members of the Four Girl Ensemble to be a Wholesome Crossdresser, but was shot down by the publisher, or at least that's what The Other Wiki says.
  • Expy - Miyako is just a pointy hat away from being Marisa of Touhou. Their personalities are as similar as their appearance, to boot.
  • Eye Catch - Something like it is used for scene transitions. Sometimes an episode may have a common theme (e.g. the second half of Hoshimittsu Episode 6: giving the girls glasses).
  • Faceless Masses - Often color-coded by gender and labeled "BOY" and "GIRL".
  • Fanservice - Fairly mild in the first two seasons, but more common in the after-season Specials. Ramped up a bit in Hoshimittsu and accompanying specials.
  • Festival Episode
  • Fever Dream Episode - Yuno had one. Most of the episode is spent in dream, but there are still scenes in the "real world" from time to time. Oddly, some of Yuno's dreams turn out to be remarkably accurate to what happens at school that day. The episode also contains a very sweet scene, when Miyako decides to help out Yuno.
  • First Name Basis - Subverted; Miyako was just being a Genki Girl when she asked Yuno to call her on a first-name basis, and settled on Yuno's nickname.
    • That being said, all of the nonadult characters are referred to by their first names only (we don't even know what their last names are), meaning that this trope has been in effect for all the girls from the first time we see them.
  • Food Porn - Happens virtually Once an Episode, courtesy of Hiro.
  • Foot Focus - Especially prevalent in the third season.
  • Four Girl Ensemble
  • Four Temperament Ensemble: Yuno is Phlegmatic, Miyako is Sanguine, Hiro is Choleric and Sae is Melancholic
  • Fridge Logic - How did that cat lying on Miya while she was sunbathing leave such a perfect tan line of its paw?
    • Because the cat left a paw print of dirt on Miyako. That's what yuno pats away after she remarks how dirty Miyako is. The perfection of it may be artistic license.
  • Furo Scene - Once an Episode the viewers get to see Yuno reflecting on the show's events in the bath. The main cast also once attended a public bath together, which is typically used for the purpose of comedy and not so much for Fanservice.
  • Generic Cuteness - Hiro worries a lot about her weight, but any differences in body frame she may have aren't really that noticeable. On the other end, Sae is supposed to be Tall, Dark and Bishoujo. Yuno is still adorable, though.
  • Girlish Pigtails - Nori sports them, even she may not fit into the general stereotype so well....
  • Gonk: The Principal.
  • Goofy Print Underwear - Yuno was deeply embarrassed when a locker room prank exposed her kitten-print underwear. To be fair, she doesn't wear those every day, but still...
  • Gratuitous English - Miyako spells out "LOVE AND PIECE" in the snow and gets corrected later by Hiro; she also likes peppering her speech with English, even up to Mother Goose references. See also Motifs, below. The labels are usually right, except... "Hidamari Sckech"?
    • When Miyako pranks Sae by putting stuffed animals in her futon to make it look like a stranger is in there, Sae, who thought the "stranger" must be a foreigner as the shoes were put next to the futon, asks, "Who are you?!" when she first sees it. Hilarity Ensues.
    • To prepare for a make-up exam, Miyako has Yuno name almost everything she sees in English. Yuno continues the habit long after she takes (and passes) the test. During lunch, Miyako asks Yuno to name items which don't have a direct English translation.
  • Growing Up Sucks - After the girls start watching part of the new version of Lovely Chocolat, their old favorite TV show, Sae notes that they're still watching it even though they're in high school. (and are therefore supposed to be out of the Fleeting Demographic). Upon hearing this, Hiro's hair falls flat, and she laments about how growing up is no fun. This also becomes a plot point in the manga and later anime specials, due to a lack of Comic Book Time which means that Sae and Hiro will graduate soon.
  • Harsh Word Impact - Done with speech bubbles in the manga and arrows (the graphical symbol, not the projectile shot from a bow) in the anime.
  • High School Rocks - A lot!
  • Huge Schoolgirl - The opening of the first anime season has the girls running together and Miyako is the tallest of the bunch, beating even the willowy Sae by a small margin. This is seldom addressed in any version, though, except in comparison with Yuno who is at the other extreme.
  • Image Song - Both seasons, though much more extensively in the second season. Even the Principal gets to sing. Beyond that, the bug that lives on their roof (Ume-sensei) has an album!
  • Indirect Kiss - Natsume was certainly thrilled to receive Sae's leftover sandwich.
  • Intertwined Fingers
  • Intoxication Ensues - Hiro wrongly bought alcoholic juice at Yuno and Miyako's welcoming party, and the two freshmen got drunk. While Miyako is still herself, the generally innocent Yuno started ranting about It Just Bugs Me's...and Sae uttering an Engaging Conversation even she was not drunk...
  • In Vino Veritas - Yuno. Cheerful Teen into straight-faced Deadpan Snarker (?) ranting Headscratchers about various Nonindicative Names when drunk.
  • Headscratchers - (manga) Yuno starts ranting about various misnomers (like "goldfish") when drunk.
  • Iyashikei
  • Karaoke Box - Needs some special mentioning since the Four Girl Ensemble went there because Hiro found she can burn calories by singing. Also, Yoshinoya loves the place.
  • Kotatsu - Just look at the trope's image.
  • Large Ham - Miyako.
  • Les Yay - Of course there's the teasing between Hiro and Sae, but Miyako tends to take her flirting with Yuno pretty far at times. So many examples that now we have a separate page for this.
  • Lovable Sex Maniac - Yoshinoya, in the manga. She's able to suggest going nude at the drop of a hat, and comments that Yuno's small butt looks cute. Understandably, most, if not all, such references did not make it to the anime.
    • Some of the things that did make it into the anime involved one scene with Yoshinoya-sensei deciding to go Hadaka Apron style - which usually involves a girl wearing an apron and nothing else (although she did wear a small bikini underneath it), after seeing another class in the middle of cooking.
    • She also tries to kiss an unconscious Hiro.
    • And then there's the time when Hiro—walking home from shopping—encounters a smiling Yoshinoya in a heavy trenchcoat in the middle of summer. Just as Hiro finishes asking her what she's doing, Yoshinoya flings open her trenchcoat and appears to flash Hiro, causing her to drop her bag out of shock. (As revealed a moment later, Yoshinoya had been wearing a new swimsuit underneath, and that's what she had wanted to show off.)
  • Love Letter Lunacy - Hiro did receive a love letter from an unnamed upperclassman and she calmly rejected him. The ones who got nuts were, however, Sae, who freaked out at the prospect of Hiro having a boyfriend, and Yoshinoya, who ended up in hospital suffering from exposure after waiting on the roof all day to eavesdrop.
  • Love Triangle: Type 4, with Natsume at A, Sae at B and Hiro at C.
  • Magic Skirt - Read the page quote over there.
  • Measuring Day - Volume 4 has an entire chapter on this. If even Yuno skipped breakfast for the day, it's not hard to guess what Hiro did...
  • Memetic Mutation - Ow, my nutbladder!
    • "oh god yoshinoya is hot"
    • The fansubs for the first season extended this by adding memetic comments from a familiar source throughout. Your Mileage May Vary on the comedic value of lines like "Oh ho, why not eyecatch ourselves?"
  • Motifs - The show combines a variety of abstract visuals such as half-tone patterns, photographs, and labels to make the show seem like it's made out of a collage, which matches the characters' interests perfectly.
    • Colored backgrounds patterned with simple two-dimensional shapes and especially a half-tone relief pattern◊ are commonly used in place of realistic backgrounds or solid colors. They're used when the show is illustrating something abstractly. In addition, objects being talked about or used by a character are often abruptly shown on one of these backgrounds.
    • Photographs of real objects are spliced in seamlessly with animated objects. For example, Yuno's alarm clock and teddy bear are both depicted using photographs.
    • Objects or groups of objects are individually labeled in English. For example, a tea set is shown and each teacup is labeled "teacup".
    • The colors of the mailboxes outside the apartment are almost never the same, sometimes changing in the same scene. In an episode where Yuno stays home sick, the mailboxes each show the body temperature of their tenant◊ with Yuno's mailbox being a different color from the others.
    • Each character has a "symbol". Yuno's is her 'X' shaped hair clips, Sae's is her glasses, Hiro's is her spikey odango hair, Miyako's is the cat-paw shaped tan line she got when she slept on the roof with a cat on her belly, Nori's is a computer mouse as the only PC-user among the tenents, and Nazuna is her hair band. The characters' actions are often illustrated abstractly by showing their symbols on a patterned background. For example, Yuno's symbol is shown wobbling forward to illustrate her walking over to her friends.
    • There was one strip when Yuno entered a gift shop and found some of the animal toys fitting her co-tenents: for Hiro, a sheep; for Sae, a black cat, and for Miyako... a dancing flower.
      • Chika does something similar in Hoshimittsu episode 7; designating Yuno a hamster, Miyako a cat, Hiro a swallow, and Sae a gecko.
  • Ms. Fanservice - Yoshinoya-sensei's love for cosplay makes her fill this role on several occasions, in a rare mix with the Puni Plush style.
    • There's also an incident in Volume 4 of the manga (and Episode 3 of Hoshimittsu) where she describes the electives for the Junior class where she describes the electives (2D, 3D and digital arts) while framing various body parts with her hands in a suggestive fashion and inviting the students to 'touch them once they'd made their selection'.
  • My God, What Have I Done? - Played for Laughs when Miyako discovers to her horror how much Polaroid film costs. She starts picking up all the photos she took while counting out their value in terms of meals.
  • Mysterious Past - There are lots of rumors about Yoshinoya-sensei's past and the little information she gives just adds to the mystery.
    • Miyako also has one of her own, as she occasionally drops comments about having to navigate using the stars along with an incident involving a lack of lifeboats and having to learn to swim quickly. She also drops hints about her family history, including singing in bars and inheriting her brothers' toys.
  • Mythology Gag - The anime openings (at least x365's) make reference to scenes in the manga that never make it into the anime, such as Yuno's 4koma-robot and camouflage Santa. Even they put in some frames that had just went to press. See also Bait-and-Switch Credits.
  • Non-indicative Name - Yuno's aforementioned drunken rant was mainly about this.
  • Noodle Incident - Miyako is riddled with bizarre mysteries. Evidently, she had to rely on the stars for guidance at some point, and arrived at Hidamari with all her belongings in a two wheeled cart.
    • Misato's graduation project shut down the girls' bathroom for two weeks.
  • Not What It Looks Like - The second season has Yuno walking in on Sae posed on all fours over Hiro and starts freaking out. Turns out the two were practicing for the school play, with Sae being the criminal. Oddly, this scene is depicted in the OP for the first season, making it Bait-and-Switch Credits at the time.
    • Two examples of this appeared in the same chapter in manga volume 4, all related to Yoshinoya. At first, she invited Miyako to the art preparation room to properly fix the tear in her uniform, but she declared to the whole class "I'll have you strip there, and you can leave the rest to me. I'll take care of it nice and quick. (heart)" And the next day, when Yoshinoya came again... "Yuno, you... forgot something... (heart)" while holding up her missing uniform ribbon. Certainly the other students got the wrong idea. The anime fudged it a little, as Yuno is shown wearing the ribbon in a few scenes between leaving the art prep room and the following day.
  • Novelization - This series is made into a light novel—mainly the manga's story made into words, that is.
  • Odango Hair - Hiro. She was annoyed that she couldn't braid her hair into these when it's humid, and Miyako once saw Hiro's odango as cream puffs in one episode, when Hiro's class was making cream puffs in the home economics class.
  • Oddly Named Sequel - Hidamari Sketch x 365 and Hidamari Sketch x ☆☆☆, the latter also qualifying as a Lucky Charms Title.
  • Once an Episode - Yuno waking up to shut off her alarm clock, the Disturbed Doves in front of the school, the girls eating together, and Yuno taking a bath at the end of the day. Hoshimittsu replaces Yuno waking up with some Yoshinoya antics and having the girls do morning exercises.
  • One Head Taller - Subverted. Miyako is much taller than Yuno, and Miyako did tuck Yuno under her chin quite often, but those incidents were never romantic in nature.
  • Only One Name - Rather, No Two Names. Everyone.
  • "On the Next Episode of..." Catch Phrase - "We'll be waiting at the Hidamari Apartments, please come and watch!" (On occasion Yamibuki High School is used instead of Hidamari Apartments, in accordance of next episode's content.)
  • Origins Chapter - The last chapter of Volume 4 was used to explain why Natsume was such a Tsundere towards Sae. It is also one of the few chapters not deawn in yonkoma format.
  • Paper-Thin Disguise - When preparing to sneak by the "No trespassing" sign on the stairs leading up to the school's roof, Yuno dons the Cool Shades she first used to counter her motion sickness.
  • Parents as People: When Nazuna's parents first appeared to help Nazuna moving in, the other Hidamari residents instantly like them, since they're friendly and apparently doting. However, a few comics later there comes the entire revelation about why a girl needs to rent an apartment to study in her local school, above. Good thing the Hidamari residents are so close-knit.
    • To a lesser extent, Yuno's parents. They can be a little oddball and embarassing, but did at least worry about their daughter's decision to live alone. Her dad is also the classic Overprotective Dad, so they haven't completely abandoned their parental roles, even if they do like to recapture their youth by visiting amusement parks.
  • Photo Montage - Several episodes (including a special that actually featured the characters playing with a Polaroid camera) feature photo montages over spoken conversation.
  • Placeholder Titles - Studio Shaft was again unable to meet the deadline for Hoshimitsu's OP, so for the first 2 episodes it was just a very simple one with a lot of stars. The finished version first appeared at episode three. The ED remained similarly incomplete until episode four.
  • Puni Plush - The characters look very young for their supposed age, especially in the nude.
  • Right Behind Me - Whenever Miss Yoshinoya says or does something inappropriate, almost invariably the principal appears behind her and drags her away to reprimand her. This happens so often that she eventually becomes paranoid and whirls around to check behind her after she suggests going to a restaurant instead of a staff meeting. Cue the Principal's Sneeze Cut.
  • Romantic Two-Girl Friendship - Sae and Hiro, very frequently the subject of Ship Tease. Hiro talks about giving Sae chocolate for Valentine's Day and how Sae watched over her all night when she was sick; the OP even has the Not What It Looks Like moment with Yuno walking in on them (with the context not even being given until the second season). Sae spends an entire episode (the 2nd special) freaking out when Hiro gets a love letter in her shoe locker, complete with an excited Yuno and Miyako misunderstanding the letter as coming from Sae. And then there's the second season's opening...
    • Yuno and Miyako also have their moments, which usually are attributed to Miyako's extreme bubbliness and careless attitude toward nudity or physical closeness in general. Miyako also appears to be very open-minded about relationships (see Schoolgirl Lesbians) and hops in the bathtub with Yuno the day they meet, since her own water supply doesn't work. One time Miyako even tells Yuno that she thinks she is very pretty◊. Yuno in turn voices her wish to Miyako that they might one day have the same relationship as Sae and Hiro.
    • Natsume wishes she had this with Sae. Poor girl should be more honest with herself.
    • Nori and Nazuna have their moments as well—Nori is very protective of Nazuna, in any case.
  • Rule 34 - Carries the dubious reputation of having the first iPhone eroge based on.
  • Running Sequence - first season's opening has the four girls◊ running with images of art tools pass in the background for a portion of the opening, and season one's OAVs change up the order and add some weird stuff like an Afro◊.
  • Same Clothes, Different Year - Yuno's parents showed a photo of her from kindergarten and she has the same crisscrossed Bobby pins in her hair.
  • School Festival - Being in an arts class meant the Bunkasai is really cultural. Students have to put on display their art pieces and School Plays. This school festival arc was about Yuno's quest for a topic for the aforementioned art piece.
  • School Nurse - Kawahara-sensei.
  • School Play - Yuno is the stage technician for one in the School Festival, and Miyako, realistically, the horse. In that same episode, Yuno walks in on Hiro and Sae practicing for a play, ending up in the above-mentioned Not What It Looks Like moment.
  • Schoolgirl Lesbians - Subverted when Yuno runs into two flustered girls in the bamboo bushes behind the school, who tell Yuno not to tell anyone as they run off; Yuno calls out to them asking if they're going out, which they quickly and strongly deny (most likely just visiting a statuette there). Miyako also at one point thinks that Yuno has a crush on a female sempai and encourages her to "follow her true feelings". And back in Sae's junior high days...
    Chika: She even got valentine chocolate from other girls in class.
    Miyako/Yuno: I knew it!
    Sae: What do you mean you knew it?
    Miyako: Sae-san, is that where you got that wealth of love stories to tell?
    Sae: No way. Chika, don't tell such useless things.
    Hiro: It's nothing shameful to hide. Sae is also cool from the eyes of a girl.
    Miyako: Whoa! What a bold statement!!
    • Natsume is painfully tsundere for Sae (see below) but can't catch a break, being the losing corner of a Love Triangle. Played up to the hilt in episode 12 of x365 when Sae joins Natsume for lunch, with the latter first getting combative before quieting down. We even get a few Male Gaze shots in that episode; when Natsume watches Sae enter the cafeteria (focusing on her hips), watching her eat (focusing on her lips), and again as Sae walks away... The flowers, the spring out of her hair, and the luminescent blush seem to put it straight into Schoolgirl Lesbians territory. The very last episode has her praying at a shrine to become more honest with her feelings. And guess who wrote that passionate fan letter that Sae got?
      • She does get a few moments of happiness later on, including the x365 OVA where she gets to ride a bike with Sae to help return something one of the soon-to-be-tenants has dropped, after being ordered to 'get on' and to 'hold on tight'.
      • And this all began thanks to Sae just being nice to Natsume when the latter was scared and upset at being at a new school by giving a few kind words and a smile. The latter was having a very, very bad day up to that point.
  • Schoolgirl Rival - used by Natsume to hide her crush on Sae. It gets toned down as the series goes on.
  • Schoolgirl Series
  • Selective Obliviousness - How much more evident does Sae's crush on Hiro have to be to become recognized?
    • The same counts for Natsume's respective crush on Sae. In episode 10 of x 365 is nearly gets spelled out for Sae, for crying out loud!
  • Sex As Rite-Of-Passage - (cough) When Yuno says something that sounds mature to Yoshinoya, Yoshinoya worries that Yuno has "become mature" before her, complete with a rather suggestive imagination bubble of Yuno.
    • And in a similar vein in the first Hoshimittsu TV special, Yoshinoya is horrified when Miyako, sporting a noticeably bloated stomach, tells her she "beat her to it" ("it" in this case being a newly-opened family restaurant, where Big Eater Miyako rather over-indulged).
  • Shipper on Deck - In one episode of Hoshimittsu, two of Natsume's classmates downright encouraged her to get over her contrary responses to spend some time with Sae, getting her to walk Sae home (across the street).
  • Shiritori - in an episode the group played this while sitting around watching Miyako's apartment leak.
  • Shout Out
  • Show Within a Show - Fashionable Detective Lovely Chocolat
  • Single Stroke Battle - The principal defeating Yoshinoya during the athletic festival.
  • Sitting on the Roof - Miyako does it on the Hidamari Apartments' roof, usually with Stray Cats. Yuno, on the other hand, does this on the roof of Yamabuki High School, but for a different reason...
  • Slice of Life - So, "sketch."
  • Smashing Watermelons - There is no Beach Episode (only a pool episode) in this series. However, Yuno finds an inflatable watermelon-like beachball in the shed and plays around with it in this manner, "just to get the feeling."
    • The Nintendo DS game has a watermelon smashing minigame, where you are blindfolded (the screen blanked out) and have to listen to the other girls' directions to successfully hit it.
  • Smoking Is Cool: Outside of the landlady, Sae's character in the School Play is implied to fit too.
  • Spoiler Opening: Mostly averted in Hoshimittsu's first episode due to the Placeholder Titles, we only get a short clip of Nori and Nazuna.
  • Sprouting Ears - As a one-time thing, Sae sprouts cat ears and tail purely out of surprise/confusion when Yuno's dad angrily points at her and shouts "It's YOU!" as she walks in. (He mistook her as Yuno's boyfriend based on a stray hair he found in Yuno's room—after first asking whether it belonged to a cat.)
  • Squick - An In-Universe use: Hiro has this reaction when she's rummaging under the sink for something to eat. She manages to grab a very old, very moldy orange.
  • Strong Family Resemblance - Played with. When Miyako first saw Yuno's parents, the first thing she thought was their lack of hair clips.
  • Super-Deformed - At the drop of a hat. Its kind of superdeformation was even coined wideface.
  • Suspiciously Specific Denial
    Yuno: Ah, a Furbo! Does it still talk?
    Nori: It- it's not like I keep it because I think it's cute or anything!
  • Tanabata - The episode of x365 described in Crowning Moment of Heartwarming takes place on Tanabata; after Sae and Hiro make up, the girls spend the afternoon and evening decorating a bamboo the landlady planted in the garden, and hanging their wishes on it.
  • Theme Tune Cameo - The second season anime ends with the first season OP.
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl - two pairs. Miyako as the extroverted and boyish type and Yuno being much more introverted and soft-spoken one; Sae's "masculinity" was often lampshaded by Miyako while Hiro is overtly declared by the author as "wife material."
    • Let's see if Nori and Nazuna became the third...
  • Too Long; Didn't Dub - One particular example are the two strips on page 90 of Yen Press' Volume 3, quoted verbatim below:
    • Strip 1, from frame 3 on:
      Miyako: Maybe it's "chijou no motsure." (Lover's fights)
      Yuno: Chijou (on the floor)?
      Yoshinoya: Chijo!!?
    • Strip 2:
      Miyako: Hmm. Hidamari Apartments is going bara bara* .
      Yuno: Huh!? I guess so.
      Yuno: Bara bara... (Thoughts of Hiro leaving Hidamari)
      Yuno: Bara bara* ... (Thoughts of Sae breaking the entire building)
      Yuno: Bara bara* ... (Thoughts of roses growing on Hidamari's roof
  • Tradesnark - sound effects are commonly have the R symbol attached.
  • Twelve Episode Anime - All three seasons now.
  • Two-Teacher School - Sort of averted. There are only two named teachers, Yoshinoya and Mashiko, but there are a lot of unnamed teachers teaching other subjects—Yoshinoya and Mashiko appreantly only teach studio arts.
  • Unmoving Plaid - Part of the art style.
  • Unreadably Fast Text (Miyako's crossword puzzle, along with the proverbs displayed on the first episode of the second season.)
  • Visible Sigh
  • Visible Silence
  • Wacky Homeroom - This is an arts magnet anyway.
  • Wasn't That Fun?: In one episode, the girls visit a water park and go down a very high waterslide. Yuno screams the loudest of the four girls, and seems genuinely terrified as she goes down, but when she comes up out of the water, she's all smiles. "It wasn't as scary as I thought!"
  • White-Haired Pretty Girl - Nurse Kuwahara
  • Who Would Want to Watch Us? - In the manga, when the four girls attempt to draw yonkoma.
    • Hiro actually gave us four... pieces of rice cakes.
  • Yonkoma
  • You Gotta Have Blue Hair - Sae and Chika are actually blue. Hiro was pink, but it changed into a peach-ish color in season 2. Miyako is blond and Yoshinoya's hair is green.

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