Ready to open the book for a few more chapters on life at the Hidamari Apartments? Good, because Yuno, Miyako, Hiro and Sae are back. Find out what happened when Yuno and Miyako first came to live at the apartments, learn whether Chika passed her high school exams, and fill in all the blanks of that one eventful year.
Although completion compels me to write a review of the second season of Hidamari Sketch, it is perhaps as pointless as the series is enjoyable- what can I say that will really differ from my take on the first season? Then again, maybe therein lies the need for a review- to prove that this series bucks the trend by being a worthy second season.
If you enjoyed the first season, then x365 is basically more of the same, plugging a few more gaps in Yuno’s first year at Yamabuki High, from arrival to year’s end. Although it would have been nice to have a glimpse of her and Miyako as second years, the content of the series really cannot be faulted, bringing us yet more everyday antics, amusing Yoshinoya-sensei moments and a general blend of hilarity with slice-of-life.
Naturally, all four leads take centre stage once again this season, but with their personalities having already been established, there is also time to focus a little more on the supporting characters. The girls’ landlady, Sae’s sister Chika and rival Natsume all have their parts to play this season, and even the legendary Misato-senpai makes an appearance.
Visually, x365 maintains the look and style of the first season, although arguably a little more budget has been injected into making sure the series doesn’t look several years older than it actually is. Background music is basically identical to season one.
Final Thoughts
Like season one, Hidamari Sketch is highly enjoyable from start to finish, combining the best of comedy and slice-of-life to make for a delicious fusion. Bring on season three!
Tier: Gold
I actually thought that season 2 was slightly better because it benefits from not having to introduce the main characters which we’ve come to familiarize ourselves with from season 1. I also thought that the soundtrack for season 2 was just slightly better because the pieces carried a great deal more diversity and was more upbeat in general.
Rather confusingly, I ended up watching x365 before the first series of OVA of Hidamari Sketch, which probably completely skews my view of which series was better. It’s a really tough call, but I think the first series gave me marginally more outright laughs than this one – That doesn’t stop x365 being anything other than top-notch though.
I second the call for a third season!
Yup. It´s more of the same. I started watching this just after I had finished the first season, which turned me down a bit.
But now when it has gone so long this is a show I have to revisit when I have the time.
A third season would probably be nice. Only thing I´d want less of is the randomness of the eps. But that is Shaft´s trademark so, can´t complain that much about it :p