manganews.net

If you've been reading Sunshine Sketch up to this point then you should have a rough idea of what's going to happen – Yuno will be shy but cute, Miyako will be tomboyish and slightly spacy, Hiro with be worrying about her weight, and Sae will be maybe/maybe not wanting to be more than friends with Hiro – so nothing's changed in this volume, right?

Right?

Wrong! With volume four of this ongoing series by Ume Aoki, life in the Hidamari residence, after the drama of exams, is turned upside down with the addition of two new 1st years – even more shy Nazuna, and her outspoken, computer savvy opposite number Nori – which adds an all new set of personalities to the series. We are also given an extra treat in the form of a special episode, set around Sae's first meeting with her maybe nemesis/stalker Natsume, an episode in which an unusual twist is told in its entirety in a more standard comic format, rather than in the more normal four panel comic that we have come to know.

What more can I say about it? The artwork and writing is the same mix of introspective and comedy that makes this series such a fun read for me. Also, Yen Press has yet again done a sterling job with their translation and, as always, have included an appendix of some of the more obscure jokes. At the end of the day if your a fan of Sunshine Sketch then you should be already clutching a copy of this already! If you dont think much of this, nor of Sunshine Sketch in general (HERESY!!) then this volume wont do much to change your mind, as it's more of the same.

School's out!