Hidamari Sketch xHoshimittsu 11

Hidamari Sketch xHoshimittsu 11 includes the six Hidamari residents, Yoshinoya, the Landlady, art teacher Minaguchi*, Arisawa, and Arisawa’s classmate**. Part A involves Yuno, Miyako, and Nazuna visiting Nori’s room on a rainy day, while Part B focuses on senior art projects in the previous school year.

Scene 01: 00:04 - 00:49

C: Yo

Yoshinoya encounters the principal during a rainstorm. Her reaction to the thought of sharing an umbrella with the principal and self-justification that a short distance means doing so “doesn’t count” (ノコウントでいいですよね, “no kounto de ii desu yo ne”) both convey that she believes sharing the umbrella could be romantic in some way, a concern she would not have unless she was at least somewhat heterosexual. She gets a 0.

Scene 02: 00:49 - 01:07

C: Yo, La

The Landlady encounters Yoshinoya and the principal. Yoshinoya’s insistence that sharing an umbrella with the principal continues the same concerns from the previous scene and gives her a 0. The Landlady’s response to the situation does not suggest anything for or against yuri, so she also stays at 0.

Scene 03: 02:48 - 03:22

C: Yu, Mi

Yuno and Miyako watch television during a rainstorm. They commiserate that the rain makes it impossible to go outside, though Miyako was apparently able to go to Yuno’s room, getting a 2 for her dedication. Yuno’s mention that the weather is too bad to go out in response to Miyako’s question of what they should do could possibly suggest she had planned to spend the day with Miyako for unknown aims; ambiguity lowers her readings from this to a 1.

Scene 04: 03:24 - 03:36

C: Yu, Mi, No, Na

Yuno and Miyako go to Nori’s room. Nori initially seems pleased to see Yuno and Miyako, but quickly becomes unsettled by their silent smiles, conveying distrust or unease. After a few seconds, Nazuna appears behind Nori with little made of it, suggesting her presence in Nori’s room is normal, even mundane. Nori and Nazuna each get 2 for this since it implies a strong closeness to each other; Yuno and Miyako stay at 0 since they don’t do much and since, unlike in the previous scene, the difficulty of travelling in the rain is not mentioned and thus is not significant.

Scene 05: 03:38 - 10:25

C: Yu, Mi, No, Na

Yuno and Miyako visit Nori to look up the answer to a TV riddle. While they search for the answer, Miyako keeps her arms around Yuno’s shoulders and neck, increasing both of their readings for their comfort with this. Yuno notes that Nori doesn’t have much in her room, but spins it into a positive by saying that keeps her room nice and simple, an attempt to see Nori positively that helps her yurilevels. Yuno then uses Nori’s computer again, noticing a folder marked “Sealed Past” (過去封印) that Nori threatens her not to open; not enough information is given about its contents for it to fairly affect her readings (since it could be anything from old, embarrassing pictures to erotic writings or drawings). Later, Nori orders pizza and asks Nazuna what toppings she wants, a deferral to her that suggests trust in her judgment and slightly increases her readings. This increase is undermined by Nori then abandoning everyone else to talk to a friend on her computer since she’s subtly conveying that she doesn’t care for her friends at Hidamari as much. When Yuno draws with Nori’s graphics program, Miyako and Nori watch in entertainment, getting slight increases for their shared merriment with Yuno, and Nazuna takes a picture out of awe of watching and artist make a piece, even attempting to make it her phone wallpaper, showing an idolization of them that substantially raises her readings. Nori takes the opportunity to ask Nazuna why she came over in the first place. While Nori’s yurilevels drop since she feels Nazuna needs a reason to visit her (and not that she can’t just want to see her), Nazuna’s increase from her evasiveness and coyness about wanting to eat lunch with Nori. Nori becomes embarrassed by this admission and shakes Nazuna violently by her shoulders, and while her embarrassment shows yuri the physical contact does not since it is not positive in nature. Overall Nazuna gets 3, Yuno and Miyako get 2, and Nori gets 1.

Scene 06: 10:25 - 11:30

C: Yu, Mi, Sa, Hi, No, Na

Sae and Hiro join the others to also look up the answer to the TV riddle. They arrive together and thus must have been watching television together, getting slight increases since their implied desire to spend time together is yuri but merely watching TV isn’t very much so. When they ask to use Nori’s computer, Nori agrees, but Miyako places a hand on her shoulder and attempts to dissuade Sae and Hiro in an effort to spare them the disappointment she and Yuno felt, getting moderate increases for both. Toward the end of the scene Nori again abandons the main group to chat with a friend online, but tells her that she’s having fun living at Hidamari Apartments, actions which basically cancel out. Miyako, Sae, and Hiro end with 1, Yuno, Nori, and Nazuna with 0.

Scene 07: 11:36 - 12:06

C: Yu

Yuno looks at the sky after bathing. Nothing here notably conveys yuri.

Scene 08: 12:16 - 12:44

C: Yu

Yuno wakes up. Again, nothing worth mentioning.

Scene 09: 12:44 - 12:49

C: Yu, Mi

Miyako calls to Yuno. Yuno’s response shows insufficient emotional change to affect her readings, so both end with 0.

Scene 10: 12:53 - 13:22

C: Yu, Mi, Sa, Hi

Yuno, Miyako, Sae, and Hiro walk to school. Upon seeing Sae and Hiro, Yuno and Miyako excitedly run after them, getting 1 each for their glee to join them. Other than that, a quiet scene.

Scene 11: 13:23 - 14:08

C: Yu, Mi, Sa, Hi

Yuno finds she has big shoes to fill. The exposition about the third year students’ art projects is split between Sae and Hiro, who switch off as they talk, conveying a sense of connection between them that gives them each 2. Yuno and Miyako stay at 0.

Scene 12: 14:13 - 14:52

C: Yu, Mi

Yuno and Miyako look at art projects. As they walk down the halls, labelling everything around them as art projects, two of the things they encounter are a male student and a pair of female students. The male student is given the label “Tall Boy” (背の高い男子, “senotokai danshi”), while the female students (who, incidentally, seem amused by Yuno and Miyako looking at them) are labelled “Friendly Classmates” (仲良し同級生, “nakayoshi doukyusei;” “仲良し” breaks down as “on good terms”); that is to say, the man is given a simple physical description while the women are “on good terms” with Yuno and Miyako. The contrast in how they are presented suggests that Yuno and Miyako are more familiar with their female classmates than their male ones, making it likely that they are more comfortable around women than men overall and raising their readings to 2 each.

Scene 13: 14:54 - 15:28

C: Yo

Yoshinoya shows off a new outfit. Once more she is presenting herself to a mixed-gender group, precluding any yuri and holding her at 0.

Scene 14: 15:33 - 15:59

C: Yu, Mi, Yo, Minaguchi

Yuno and Miyako’s class ends. Miyako invites Yuno to lunch, after which Yuno proposes looking for more senior art projects together; each gets 1 for their attempt to spend time with each other. The rest of the scene is spent being alarmed by Yoshinoya’s actions, so Yoshinoya and Minaguchi get no opportunities for yuri and end at 0.

Scene 15: 16:01 - 17:05

C: Yu, Mi, Sa, Hi

Yuno, Miyako, Sae, and Hiro have lunch together. Yuno becomes upset upon realizing that Sae and Hiro will graduate in slightly over a year, referring to them both as “Sae-san-tachi” (沙英さんたち). Like Miyako’s reference to them as “Sae-tachi” in HSxHoshimittsu 04, Yuno is incorporating Hiro into Sae as if Sae is the preeminent of the two, suggesting a perceived subordination of Hiro beneath Sae which fits the series’ recurring comparisons of the two to a husband and wife pair. Invoking this image again significantly increases Yuno’s readings. Later, Miyako proposes that Sae, for her project the following year, could make herself larger breasts, an openly flirtatious comment that horrifies Yuno, angers Sae, and amuses Hiro. Yuno’s alarm at human sexuality lowers her to 2, Miyako’s remark on Sae’s chest gives her a 3, Sae’s discomfort keeps her at 0, and Hiro’s stifled laugh raises her to 1 for her subtle positive reaction to thoughts of Sae’s breasts.

Scene 16: 17:07 - 17:29

C: Yu, Mi, Sa, Hi

Sae and Hiro leave to go home. Their departure together is a reflection of Yuno and Miyako’s decision to stay at school and look at art projects and not a reflection on any yuri dynamics between them, so they each end at 0. Yuno appears melancholic when they leave and begins crying rivers upon seeing a calligraphy of the words “spring partings” (春の別れ, “haru no wakare”), a sorrow at the impending graduation that may be connected to her recognition in the previous scene that Sae and Hiro will graduate the following year but is not explained clearly enough to affect her readings. Miyako gets an increase for both noting Yuno’s sadness and attempting to resolve it by placing her hand on Yuno’s back, a display of physical affection. She gets 2, while Yuno’s temporary increased mood (to neutral, at least) gives her a 1 for appreciating Miyako’s touch.

Scene 17: 17:31 - 18:09

C: Yo

Yoshinoya is scolded by the principal. Nothing of note in this scene.

Scene 18: 18:10 - 18:47

C: Yu, Mi

Yuno and Miyako continue to look at projects. Since they’re both focused on admiring the art, there is little opportunity for them to convey any yuri toward each other, and they each get 0s.

Scene 19: 18:50 - 19:58

C: Yu, Mi, Arisawa, Arisawa’s classmate

Yuno and Arisawa bask in each other’s presence. Arisawa is introduced with a pan up her body, focusing on her feet, hips, and hand; if this is from Yuno’s perspective, it implies she is admiring Arisawa’s body, so mere moments into the scene she already has has high readings. Yuno’s depression disappears and she addresses Arisawa cheerily, conveying her pleasure at seeing Arisawa. Arisawa, meanwhile, is ecstatic to see Yuno: her eyes become more vibrant, she leaps off of the ladder she is sitting on to thrust her body against Yuno’s, and multiple hearts appear both while they are on screen and on their own as emphasis. After their initial greeting, Arisawa continues to hold Yuno around her shoulders, and she later suggests exchanging email addresses, presumably because she wants to stay in touch with Yuno. She also alludes to their first meeting (see Hidamari Sketch xHoshimittsu 05), the thought of which makes Yuno giddily laugh, conveying her fondness for the memory. Their parting at the end of the scene involves more physical contact in the form of a high five. On the whole the two are vastly more enthralled with each other than would be expected of two people whose sum time together is no more than a few hours, particularly for Arisawa, so the jubilation they have at meeting again and high degree of physical contact they share throughout both convey very intense yuri between them. Another student is also present (presumably Arisawa’s classmate) who is there to help Arisawa display her third-year project; she does little throughout the scene, but is angry when Yuno, Miyako, and Arisawa put up the painting together. This could be because she feels left out by Arisawa; she later refers to her by the nickname “Arisa” (ありさ), so she is probably a friend of Arisawa and therefore might even be jealous of the attention Arisawa is giving Yuno. Miyako barely appears. Overall, Yuno and Arisawa get strong 4s, Arisawa’s classmate gets a 1, and Miyako gets 0.

Scene 20: 20:00 - 20:33

C: Yu, Mi

Yuno and Miyako decide to go home. Yuno’s encounter with Arisawa left her in a very obviously elated mood, increasing her yurilevels for her pleasure at being with her. Miyako’s teasing of Yuno by calling her “Yuno-sempai” (ゆの先輩) and “boss” (ゆの親分, “Yuno-oyabun”***) are light-hearted enough to give her a slight increase, while Yuno’s reaction seems to be more in response to her realization that she will be a second-year rather than to anything Miyako is doing, so Yuno is not affected. Yuno ends with 2, Miyako with 1.

Scene 21: 20:41 - 21:16

C: Yu

Yuno bathes. She expresses concern that the impending graduation will leave her feeling lonely, but her use of “sempai-tachi” (先輩たち) to refer to them does not specify a gender, so it does not impact her readings. She ends with 0.

Scene 22: 21:37 - 21:47

C: Yu, Mi

Yuno looks out from Hidamari Apartment’s balcony. Her continued melancholy at the graduation of the third-years doesn’t suggest yuri by itself and doesn’t affect her readings. She is, however, substantially raised by her happiness at seeing Miyako, a swift change from her previous pensive countenance, ending with 2. Miyako, for her part, does little more than start small talk and gets 0.

Scene 23: 21:53 - 21:58

C: Yu, Mi, Arisawa

Arisawa is shown at her graduation ceremony while Yuno and Miyako discuss the cherry blossoms. The association of cherry blossoms with romance in Japanese media**** makes Yuno and Miyako’s shared appreciation of the beauty of nature somewhat yuri, giving them each 1s. Meanwhile, Arisawa’s sadness at graduation is not necessarily caused by her imminently leaving Yuno and her other female friends and thus she stays at 0.

Scene 24: 21:58 - 22:05

C: Yu, Mi

Yuno and Miyako smile at each other and congratulate the seniors on graduating. It’s not certain if their congratulation is directed toward the third-years overall or Arisawa in particular, though the previous scene could represent Arisawa being in their thoughts, which would increase their levels. The ambiguity results in a slight increase which is overshadowed anyways by the merry grins Yuno and Miyako exchange, ones that are indicative of a warmness between them that gives them each 2.

Final Yurilevel Readings: (both Aokis and Umes are out of 4)

Episode: 1.2344A

Characters:

1. Arisawa: 3.726U
2. Nazuna: 2.572U
3. Yuno: 1.506U
   Miyako: 1.506U
4. Arisawa’s classmate: 1.000U
5. Hiro: 0.973U
6. Nori: 0.890U
7. Sae: 0.688U
8. Landlady: 0.000U
   Minaguchi: 0.000U
   Yoshinoya: 0.000U

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This episode had fairly low yurilevels throughout, a result of Scene 05 taking up over a third of the scene time and leaving the rest of the episode with short scenes that meant there was no diffusion of yuri to boost overall results. Nazuna made out well, appearing only in Scenes 04 through 06 and thus being very strongly affected by her 3 in Scene 05, while Sae and Hiro fared the worst since they only appeared afterwards in shorter scenes. Curiously, Yuno and Miyako’s Ume readings tied, a result of nearly equal yurilevel sums (21 for Yuno and 18 for Miyako) and the very evenly spread out scene times. The only notable result from this episode is that Arisawa barely missed out on a 4.0 from her five-second appearance in Scene 23.

Further analysis will continue with Hidamari Sketch xHoshimittsu 12.

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*: Minaguchi’s name is not given when she is an on-screen character, but is shown on Yamabuki’s website in Scene 05 from 06:36 to 06:38. (The kanji of her name, 皆口, can be said as “Minaguchi” or “Minakuchi,” and because her name has not yet been spoken by any characters it remains unclear; a later appearance in the show could clear up this confusion, so this note is subject to change.)

**: Arisawa’s classmate in Scene 19 appears to not be given a name. She is not listed in the credits, and there is no information about her that I could find online.

***: “Oyabun” (親分) means “boss” and can be used as an honorific meaning the same.

****: Cherry blossoms have multiple meanings in Japanese culture, being at any one time a symbol of spring, renewal, beauty, love, romance, or Japan itself. Romantic connotations seem to come up more frequently in anime; some recent works that use cherry blossoms as a romantic image or play on its associations with romance are “Clannad,” “Love Hina,” and “Saki.” Hidamari Sketch xHoshimittsu itself employs cherry blossoms in the ED, “Sakura Sakura Saku” (さくらさくら咲く, “Blooming Cherry Blossoms”), though more likely as an image of renewal since it metaphorically represents the Hidamaris accepting Nori and Nazuna into Hidamari Apartments.

Hidamari Sketch xHoshimittsu 10

Hidamari Sketch xHoshimittsu 10 includes the six Hidamari residents, Yoshinoya, the Landlady, Chika, Mami, and Nakayama. The episode is about Yuno sleeping around.

Scene 01: 00:13 - 00:50

C: Yo

Yoshinoya cuts herself off from society. Though separately she has canonically been at odds with both Mashiko and the principal, her two animosities combined in one scene can suggest a general dislike of men, raising her to 1.

Scene 02: 02:30 - 03:04

C: Yu, Mi, Sa, No, Na

Nazuna joins Yuno, Miyako, Sae, and Nori for radio exercises. Nazuna’s apologies for oversleeping and the responses of the others telling her it’s acceptable each convey a sense of group mentality: Nazuna feels guilty for not being part of the group activity, while Yuno, Sae, and Nori each assuage her by reincorporating her into the group. This is not an especially yuri instance of shared mentality, but it raises everyone mentioned to 1; Miyako, who does not contribute to the attempts to bring Nazuna back into the fold, stays at 0.

Scene 03: 03:11 - 04:11

C: Yu, Mi, Mami*, Nakayama

Yuno, Miyako, Mami, and Nakayama clean the school bathroom. Overall there’s little character interaction in this scene, and aside from a very vague sense of camaraderie between Yuno and Nakayama at the start nothing suggests yuri from Yuno. Miyako and Nakayama each become concerned when Yuno screams from realizing she has lost her room key, which is enough to give them each 1; Yuno and Mami stay at 0.

Scene 04: 04:13 - 04:44

C: Yu, Mi, La

Yuno asks the Landlady for a new key. From the difficulty the Landlady has finding a replacement key, tenants losing keys appears to be a rare occurrence, which could theoretically have resulted in the Landlady becoming annoyed at Yuno; however, she responds with considerable ease and cheer, even despite Yuno being overly apologetic and ashamed at her misfortune. This conveys a sense of responsibility to the Landlady, giving Yuno a 1, while the Landlady’s acceptance of Yuno’s fault raises her to 2. Miyako displays no visible emotional response to the events of the scene and stays at 0.

Scene 05: 04:46 - 05:14

C: Yu, Mi

Yuno and Miyako walk back to Hidamari Apartments. Miyako offers Yuno the temporary use of her living space, which Yuno accepts with moderate gratefulness. The offer shows a high degree of comfort from Miyako that, while it can’t be said to be romantic for certain, gives her a 3; Yuno’s acceptance also raises her to 3.

Scene 06: 05:18 - 07:11

C: Yu, Mi

Yuno sleeps with Miyako. When they first enter Miyako’s room, Yuno calls out “sorry to impose” (おじゃまします, “ojamashimasu,” literally “I am about to disturb”), an expression used primarily by guests of a house rather than residents, which will hurt Yuno’s readings since it shows she is not comfortable enough with Miyako’s apartment to be able to think of it as a home, even temporarily. Miyako then offers to share a new shipment of food and asks Yuno what she wants, a show of consideration as a host that may give her a slight increase as it may merely be Miyako pragmatically dealing with the concern of feeding Yuno rather than a special gesture towards her. Later Yuno bathes in Miyako’s bathroom, again expressing unease by saying her bathroom feels different despite having the same layout as Yuno’s. When she leaves the bathroom to put on clothes, Yuno carefully covers herself in a towel and then by pulling down on a shirt, again showing discomfort around Miyako (here about nudity); Miyako has no apparent reciprocal discomfort, since she was able to take Yuno’s clothes and underwear from her balcony, and hence will likely receive higher readings than Yuno. At night, Yuno and Miyako recline together, briefly sleeping with their heads next to each other’s feet before deciding they are more comfortable sleeping with their heads next to each other, a more intimate sleeping position that gives each a strong increase. Overall, Miyako’s hospitality toward and comfort with Yuno gives her 4, while Yuno’s relative discomfort keeps her at 3.

Scene 07: 07:16 - 07:39

C: Yu, Mi

Yuno tries to break into her room. Miyako’s high degree of emotional involvement in Yuno’s attempts to pick her room lock shows a strong enough connection to Yuno to give her a 2, but Yuno, preoccupied with her door, doesn’t get similar readings and ends with 0.

Scene 08: 07:39 - 08:19

C: Yu, Mi, Sa, Hi

Sae and Hiro learn about Yuno’s predicament. Though initially unnerved at seeing Yuno attempting to pry open her door, both are sympathetic once Miyako relates what has happened to Yuno and offer her a spot in their beds. Yuno accepts and thanks them very formally, a strong gratitude that gives her readings equal to Sae and Hiro’s. Upon hearing Sae and Hiro’s offers, Miyako becomes excited, possibly because she believes she has also been invited, and gets an increase in her readings for a desire to spend intimate time with the others. Everyone ends with 2.

Scene 09: 08:19 - 08:27

C: La

The Landlady continues to look for Yuno’s key. Her alarm at seeing an old yearbook does not immediately appear to have yuri causes, so she stays at 0.

Scene 10: 08:31 - 08:48

C: Yu, Mi, Sa, Hi, No, Na

Nori and Nazuna offer Yuno a place in their beds. Nori is the first to offer, while Nazuna only does so after Nori prompts her, so consequently Nori gets a much more significant increase than Nazuna does, as she more clearly has a desire to sleep with Yuno. The brevity of this scene prevents a lot of other yuri from being conveyed, aside from Sae expressing that she has faith the Landlady will deliver a key to Yuno, a trust that raises Sae to 1, while Nori gets 4, Nazuna gets 2, Yuno gets 0 (as she has not responded to either offer yet) and Miyako and Hiro also get 0s.

Scene 11: 08:50 - 09:00

C: La

The Landlady reads an old yearbook. Her pain at learning about her past occupational desires is expressed with a group of arrows, which are likely phallic symbols (particularly as one points directly at her posterior). The association she creates between these images and pain is plausibly lesbian enough that she ends with 2.

Scene 12: 09:00 - 09:13

C: Yu, Mi, Sa, Hi, No, Na

Yuno accepts Nori’s proposition. Her agreement and gratitude toward Nori and Nazuna is tempered by the condition that she would only spend the night with each of them provided she did not have a key, lowering her to 2. Miyako says to Yuno that she can always spend the night again, an intimate offer that also gives her a 2. Everyone else gets 0 since they are either not present or silent.

Scene 13: 09:15 - 10:10C: Yu, Hi
Yuno spends time in Hiro’s bed. She is shown to be perfectly fine wearing a set of Hiro’s pajamas, giving her additional readings for the underlying closeness with Hiro that would permit such comfort. The two sit together on Hiro’s bed and Hiro shows Yuno multiple face creams, which Hiro may or may not have applied on Yuno (likely Yuno applied them to herself, which removes any yuri from the situation). They are not shown sleeping together, but Yuno does touch Hiro’s arm non-suggestively to wake her up the morning, getting a slight increase. She ends with 2, Hiro with 1.

Scene 14: 10:15 - 10:22

C: La

The Landlady gives in to her smoking addiction. As established previously in the investigation, her illness does not convey yuri, so she remains at 0.

Scene 15: 10:23 - 12:20

C: Yu, No**

Yuno rolls around in Nori’s bed. Nori, like the other Hidamaris Yuno has stayed with thus far, is a welcoming host to Yuno, allowing Yuno to read her magazines, offering to boot up her computer for Yuno, and asking about Yuno’s sleeping preferences in regards to nightlights. Yuno seems slightly more relaxed around Nori than she was around Miyako or Hiro, though is implied to believe Nori has decorated her computer case with lewd imagery, a low opinion of her that reduces her yurilevels. When they sleep with each other, Yuno again attempts to sleep head-to-foot since she feels odd sleeping next to Nori (a concern she didn’t have with Miyako), but Nori convinces Yuno to turn back around as she is discomforted having Yuno’s feet next to her. This desire to not be physically close to Yuno moves Nori down to 3, while Yuno ends with 2.

Scene 16: 12:26 - 12:42

C: La

The Landlady reads an old manga magazine. The only way the Landlady could earn yurilevels from this if the magazine is a yuri manga magazine. This is actually somewhat possible: the magazine is named “Pansy”*** (パンジー), which, like lilies (the primary Japanese symbol for female homosexuality), are a type of flower; its front cover has two girls on it standing close together; and a comic on the back appears to show a female character at odds with one or more male characters and is titled with two female-sounding names (日ペンのパッチちゃん [“[translation unknown but approximating ‘Sun Pen,’ presumed to be main character]’s Patch-chan”]) that are grammatically structured such that the first name is in possession of the second (implying the second character is owned by or in some way strongly influenced by the main character). That said, these are all traits that could easily be present in a conventional shoujo (targeted at young girls) manga magazine, so owning the magazine only gives the Landlady a 2.

Scene 17: 12:51 - 14:59

C: Yu, Na

Yuno and Nazuna fawn over each other. Yuno is much more comfortable around Nazuna overall than she was around the other Hidamaris: she helps Nazuna with her math homework, wears Nazuna’s pajamas, and says Nazuna’s hair looks “cute” (可愛い, “kawaii”) without braids. Nazuna comments on the closeness they exhibit in this scene by saying her relationship with Yuno is similar to what she believes having a big sister is like, expressing a very strong attachment and admiration toward Yuno from Nazuna; though initially stunned by Nazuna’s confession, Yuno soon ends up smiling warmly at Nazuna, which Nazuna returns while the background transforms into soft pastels, conveying happiness. At the end of the scene, when Yuno and Nazuna climb into bed together, Yuno is not shown to attempt to rotate like she did with Miyako and Nori, suggesting a deeper comfort around Nazuna than she had around the others. Their very close relationship gives both Yuno and Nazuna a 4 for the scene.

Scene 18: 15:01 - 15:10

C: La

The Landlady eats a sucker. It is a sufficiently phallic symbol to keep her at 0.

Scene 19: 15:14 - 15:51

C: Yu, Sa

Yuno and Sae talk in Sae’s room. Yuno apologizes for imposing on Sae, helping her readings for her regret at causing difficulties for Sae. Sae assures her she’s fine having Yuno over, but adds that she considers the Landlady difficult, cancelling out the increase she would have received from her hospitality. Yuno goes on to talk heavily about Miyako, possibly suggesting a fixation on her, until Chika calls. By being alarmed at hearing Chika is calling, Sae is again hurt since it shows a lack of fondness for her; she ends with 0, while Yuno gets 1.

Scene 20: 15:51 - 16:33

C: Yu, Sa, Ch

Chika calls Yuno and Sae. Her call is precipitated by Yuno having earlier sent Chika a message saying she would be with Sae that night; by involving Chika, Yuno shows a desire to incorporate her into events at Hidamari Apartments and thus to keep close relations with her, giving her a moderate increase. She first talks to Yuno, teasingly warning Yuno that Sae is trouble to be around and tosses in bed. Then, when speaking to Sae, the two argue (as is the norm for them) and Chika ends the call by jokingly telling Sae not to kick Yuno. Both calls convey tension and bitterness between Sae and Chika, which leaves them both with 0. Yuno gets 2 for her closeness with Chika.

Scene 21: 16:35 - 17:01

C: Yu, Sa

Yuno spends the night in Sae’s bedroom. Sae continues to work through the night, and Yuno briefly watches her before falling asleep. Though it’s not overtly yuri, Yuno’s interest in observing Sae raises her to 1; Sae stays at 0.

Scene 22: 17:05 - 17:11

C: La

The Landlady wallows in despair. Nothing of note occurs.

Scene 23: 17:14 - 17:35

C: Yu, Mi, Yo

Yoshinoya reprimands Yuno for not having her textbook. Miyako attempts to explain that Yuno doesn’t have her book because she can’t get in her apartment, only to have her excuse rejected by Yoshinoya, leaving her frustrated and Yuno saddened. Miyako’s efforts to help Yuno elevate her readings to 2, Yuno being let down by Yoshinoya’s lack of empathy suggests she views Yoshinoya as generally being empathic and gives her a 1, and Yoshinoya’s lack of compassion holds her at 0.

Scene 24: 17:37 - 19:41

C: Yu, Mi, Yo, Mami, Nakayama

Yuno talks about her predicament with Mami and Nakayama, and Yoshinoya confronts Yuno. Mami and Nakayama both show concern at hearing Yuno is still without a permanent home and say that Yoshinoya should have been more accommodating of her, shows of sympathy that give them each increases. Mami offers Yuno the use of her bed, which Nakayama attempts to extend to a sleepover that would include herself and Miyako, an unwarranted self-insertion suggesting she considers herself an equal partner in Mami’s activities and raising both of their readings. Yoshinoya overhears their conversation and inserts herself, showing great concern for Yuno, who she believes has run away from home; though misguided and unnecessary, she does shows she’s very worried about Yuno, and though some of this can be chalked up to her overly emotional nature it’s enough to give her a 3. Yuno feels responsible to find Yoshinoya after she runs away, but it’s not a responsibility that conveys yuri and as such doesn’t affect her readings. She ends with 1, Miyako with 0, and Mami and Nakayama with 2 each.

Scene 25: 19:43 - 20:26

C: Yu, Mi, La

The Landlady informs Yuno that a replacement key has been found. Before she does, Yuno tells Miyako that she intends to stay at her apartment that night, followed by Nori’s, a pattern that resembles her first run through Hidamari Apartments but omits Hiro; this either shows a disdain for Hiro or a preference for Nori, options which cancel each other out in terms of how yuri or non-yuri they are. The Landlady then arrives, but hands Yuno a box full of many keys, having not put forward the effort to locate the particular key Yuno needs and thus showing a decreased effort to assist her. Consequently, everyone ends with 0.

Scene 26: 20:26 - 20:54

C: Yu, Mi, La

Yuno attempts to locate her key. As she does so, the Landlady and Miyako each chant “do your best” (頑張れ, “ganbare”) to motivate her, showing a desire for her to succeed that raises them both to 1. Yuno stays at 0.

Scene 27: 20:54 - 21:35

C: Yu, Mi

Yuno reenters her room. She thanks Miyako before opening the door (presumably for her willingness to take Yuno in while she needed housing), a gratitude toward Miyako that will raise her readings. Upon attempting to enter and finding the room needs to be aired out, Yuno buries her face in Miyako’s breasts and hugs her, placing her hands on Miyako’s lower back just shy of her waist, and asks to sleep with Miyako again, gaining a considerable increase from her high degree of erogenous physical contact; while Miyako does not reciprocate by hugging Yuno, she seems comfortable with Yuno’s actions, and gets moderate side readings. Yuno gets 4 and Miyako gets 2.

Scene 28: 21:44 - 22:07

C: Yu

Yuno bathes in Miyako’s bathroom. She mentions to her rubber duck that she has had fun sleeping around, a warm attitude toward her sleeping partners that raises her to 2.

Final Yurilevel Readings: (both Aokis and Umes are out of 4)

Episode: 1.8511A

Characters:

1. Nazuna: 3.020U
2. Nori: 2.502U
3. Yoshinoya: 2.043U
4. Yuno: 1.869U
5. Nakayama: 1.673U
6. Miyako: 1.461U
7. Mami: 1.347U
8. Hiro: 1.080U
9. Landlady: 0.898U
10. Sae: 0.626U
11. Chika: 0.000U

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With the exception of Yuno and Miyako, scene time in this episode was very evenly spread out, with most characters having between 180 and 200 seconds of time. For the Hidamaris, their time was primarily concentrated in their scene when Yuno spends the night with them, so their readings end up reflecting how gay they were with Yuno during this scene. Consequently, Nori and Nazuna, who were both hospitable and friendly with Yuno, get very high yurilevels (2.5 and 3.0 Umes respectively), while Sae and Hiro, who had less interaction with Yuno, are near the bottom at near or less than 1.0 Umes each. Yuno herself ended up in the middle at 1.8 Umes, and Miyako, who tried to support Yuno, had stronger readings than she usually receives. The episode as a whole was based in a strongly yuri situation to begin with (Yuno spending intimate time with every other Hidamari, one after the other), so yurilevels as a whole were higher than normal, which is saying something given the standard set this season.

Further analysis will continue with Hidamari Sketch xHoshimittsu 11.

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*: At 04:00, the subtitles refer to Mami as “Nami.” This is likely an error, since it is clearly Mami and her name has been given as such in all her previous appearances.

**: It somehow took 10 episodes for this to happen.
***: While there is an actual manga named “Pansy” that dates from around the time the Landlady would have been in its target audience, what we see of the magazine in the episode bears no resemblance to it.