Creative Staff
Writer/Artist: Ume Aoki
Translation: Satsuki Yamashita
What They Say
The adventures of Yuno and company continue in the third volume of this hilarious 4-koma series. Yuno is a high school student attending a school which specializes in the arts. With a group of quirky friends and crazy teachers, Yuno feels more and more like she is part of a family at the Hidamari Apartments.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The daily adventures of our favorite residents of Hidamari Apartments continue on in their delightful four-panel style, as they… draw their own four-panel comics? It’s the opening chapter, and one of my favorites of the volume as it shows off the various personality quirks of all four girls (even if they do throw in the “our life is too boring to be a manga” joke). Another highlight of the volume involves Yuno and Miyako inheriting a bike from a classmate, which they decide they will all share–until Yuno reveals that she doesn’t know how to ride a bike. It’s a nice chance for Hiro and Yuno, by all accounts the two more normal members of the quartet, to have some bonding time. Yuno also gets her required amount of “developing artist” growth in this volume when the class’s drawings are ranked and she finds herself near the bottom, only to be encouraged by her three friends in three very distinct ways.
However, my favorite of the bunch occurs about midway through the volume and features a stray cat that decides to take up residence in Miyako’s apartment. Unfortunately, the apartment complex doesn’t allow pets, and Miyako’s attempts to get around the rules are typical Miyako humor, but the ending to the story is surprisingly bittersweet for the series.
In Summary:
The third volume of this charming series doesn’t break any new ground that the first two volumes didn’t, but those who like the series should be equally entertained by this one. The relationships between the four girls continue on the same paths they have been, and there are some sweet moments that show how much they trust each other. But, in short, it’s another volume of the same light humor and cute characters that we’ve had twice before–and that’s not a bad thing at all.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: B-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: April 21st, 2009
MSRP: $10.99