Hidamari Sketch xHoshimittsu 07 includes the six Hidamari residents, Yoshinoya, and Chika. The episode revolves around Chika’s visit to Hidamari Apartments on a May weekend.
(Note: technical errors in Blogger have resulted in some format irregularities for this episode write-up. These issues have not appeared in other write-ups. Please excuse any resulting difficulties reading the write-up; the data, of course, are not affected.)
C: Yo
Yoshinoya and the principal do morning radio exercises. Yoshinoya’s choice of a revealing exercise outfit, despite exercising with a man, and her happiness after the principal holds her hand fix her at 0.
C: Yu, Mi
Yuno and Miyako wait for Chika’s arrival. Miyako is very excited for Chika’s arrival, a desire to see her that increases her readings, and while Yuno doesn’t make any such excitement explicit, her messages with Chika and eagerness to show Miyako a picture Chika sent show some degree of fondness for her. Both get 2.
C: Yu, Mi, Hi, No, Na
Yuno, Miyako, Hiro, Nori, and Nazuna wait for Sae and Chika. Hiro is especially cheery as she cooks, presumably from Chika’s imminent arrival, giving her an initial increase for her eagerness to see her. Nori asks about Chika, though her curiosity isn’t conveyed to be particularly yuri, and Yuno responds by saying she’s cute (a likely-yuri affection for Chika that bumps Yuno up significantly) with Miyako saying she’s like Sae (a somewhat neutral statement, particularly since the relationship between Miyako and Sae has been shown to be strained at times). Yuno and Hiro agree that Sae and Chika resemble each other, with Hiro specifying that their personalities are similar as they are both frank and stubborn, a comprehension and appreciation of their qualities that additionally positively impacts Hiro’s readings. Nazuna expresses a sense of excitement/anxiety (ドキドキ, “dokidoki”*) at meeting Chika but is scared to hear the doorbell signaling her arrival, keeping her at 0 for her fear of Chika. Yuno and Hiro get 3, Nori gets 1, and Miyako and Nazuna get 0.
C: Yu, Mi, Sa, Hi, No, Na, Ch
Chika joins the Hidamaris for dinner. Upon entering, Sae says “I’m home” (ただいま, “tadaima”) while Chika says “good afternoon” (こんにちわ, “konnichiwa”); Sae gets an increase in yurilevels for associating the Hidamaris with a family, but since Chika makes no such connection she does not. Sae’s increase is mostly undone throughout the scene by her continued difficulties with Chika, saying it’s a mess to have her over and again arguing with her about the Yamabuki Art Department’s merits at the school field day, for which Chika is also slightly lowered. Chika’s most significant decrease, however, comes from her admission of affection for a male actor, which, though not in itself proof of the absence of yuri, is a strong indicator and thus immediately holds her to 0. Hiro, meanwhile, sets up introductions for Nori and Nazuna, an assumption of control over affairs conveying a sense of authority that the others yield to; the comfort everyone has with this implicit hierarchy extends to a comfort with everyone’s role in their social circle, giving everyone a slight increase. After they are introduced, Miyako jokingly declares that Nazuna will be the Art Department’s enemy on field day by merit of being in General Education. Nazuna takes this seriously, a fear of hatred by the other Hidamaris that suggests a lack of faith in their acceptance of her, hurting her readings. When Sae and Chika argue, Nazuna becomes further distressed by their animosity, a desire for harmony and happiness that mostly makes up for the previous decrease, while Miyako suffers for her positive reaction of nostalgia. Hiro brings out a cake which Yuno tries to cut into sevenths, a commitment to fairness that reflects a view of the others as equal to herself; conversely, Miyako’s request to cut the cake into eighths and have two pieces places herself above the others and is a detriment to her readings. Much of the rest of the scene is spent building a friendship between Chika and Nori and Nazuna, with Nori praising Chika’s brass band skills**, Nazuna smiling as she listens to Chika speak to her, and Chika asking Nazuna if she would enjoy going on a picnic together with everyone; there is also a slight increase for Sae when Chika comments to Hiro that Sae has told her about everyone (みんな, “minna,” a neutral unfocused term for “everyone”) since Sae has seemingly said positive things about the other Hidamaris. Overall, Miyako and Chika get 0 each, Nazuna gets 2, and the rest get 1.
C: Yu, Mi, Sa, Hi, No, Na, Ch
The Hidamaris leave Hiro’s room for the night. Chika thanks Hiro for the meal and gives an additional goodbye to Nori and Nazuna, additional shows of fondness for them that gives Chika a moderate increase and Nori and Nazuna slight side increases. From the end of the scene, it appears that Chika is to be sleeping with Sae, which she also did in her previous visit but not in the first, a suggestion of an increasingly comfortable relationship between them that raises Sae to 1 and Chika to 2. Nori and Nazuna get 1 each, the others get 0s.
C: Yo
Yoshinoya and the principal do radio exercises again. Again she is wearing the revealing clothes from Scene 1, and though there is not as much friendly contact between her and the principal her comfort around him keeps her at 0.
C: Yu, Mi, Sa, Hi, No, Na, Ch
The Hidamaris and Chika ride a bus to the park. Their seating arrangements on the bus are split up along the standard delineations that the Hidamaris are usually divided into (Yuno and Miyako, Sae and Hiro, and Nori and Nazuna), with Chika joining Nori and Nazuna, most likely due to a stronger attachment to them caused by their similar ages. Everyone is engaged in some form of friendly activity, so everyone gets at least 1; Nori, Nazuna, and Chika are bumped up to 2 for how rapidly they formed a friendship.
C: Yu, Mi, Sa, Hi, No, Na, Ch
The Hidamaris return from the park. Hiro asks Chika to stay for tea, which Chika agrees too, adding that she wants to see Nori and Nazuna’s rooms. Her request for such access to their living spaces is met with concern from Nazuna and openness from Nori, who agrees on the condition that she cleans up first. Nori’s slight increase from her willingness to take Chika in is offset by her lack of cups, signifying a lack of closeness to the other Hidamaris in that she apparently didn’t think they would have ever wanted to visit or meet in her room (assuming it has been possible for her to buy extra cups, which is reasonable given that the episode takes place one month after she moved in and that her family can afford to give her a personal computer before sending her away, thus suggesting they are financially secure enough to send Nori money). Hiro, Nori, and Chika each get 1, the others stay at 0.
C: Yu, Mi, Sa, Hi, No, Na, Ch
The Hidamaris and Chika convene in Nori’s room. The main conversation concerns what happened at the park. Yuno notes that she was afraid Miyako would hurt herself on the boat they were riding together (apparently alone, which itself is somewhat yuri for both), helping Yuno for her concern for Miyako’s safety. Later, when Chika is asked what she spoke about at the late with Nori and Nazuna, Chika puts her arms around the two’s shoulders and merrily says it’s a secret, a desire for privacy conveying a feeling of intimacy with them, before relenting and saying they discussed what animals Yuno, Miyako, Sae, and Hiro would be: Yuno would be a hamster (explained as being because Yuno is small, cute, and a hard worker), Miyako would be a cat (because she’s free), Sae would be a gecko (because she’s nocturnal and stuck to her desk; Yuno and Miyako additionally say it’s because geckos keep houses safe and thus Sae protects Hidamari Apartments), and Hiro would be a swallow (because she feeds her chicks). Though Yuno objects to her description, Nori, Nazuna, and Chika’s description of her is overall very positive and gives all three a moderate increase; Miyako’s description is fairly neutral and serves to play into the existing motif connecting Miyako and a cat, so nobody is affected by it; Sae’s description is given with malice and thus hurts Nori, Nazuna, and Chika slightly, but Yuno and Miyako are moderately aided by their view of Sae as a protective figure for Hidamari Apartments, evoking a paternal image of her; this is supported by Hiro’s comparison to a mother bird, establishing a mother-father pair of her and Sae that has been seen repeatedly as part of the motif of the Hidamaris as a family, so Nori, Nazuna, and Chika get increases for this as well. When Sae and Hiro are asked what they did in the park, they say that they didn’t talk much while boating, instead content to park under a tree, relax, and say sweet nothings about the weather. Nori and Nazuna immediately swoon and compare the two to a couple in one of Sae’s romance stories, where two characters do nearly the exact same actions Sae and Hiro did together, possibly suggesting Sae is using her experiences with Hiro as source material for her writings (a theory that was also discussed in Hidamari Sketch x365 06); Nazuna also says that Sae and Hiro are like a pair out of a movie as Sae is cool and Hiro is elegant, another indirect comparison of the two to a couple that increases Nazuna’s readings additionally for her interpretation of Sae and Hiro’s relationship. Sae and Hiro end with 4, Nori and Nazuna get 3, Yuno and Chika get 2, and Miyako ends with 1.
C: Yu, Mi, Sa, Hi, No, Na, Ch
The Hidamaris see Chika off. Chika expresses gratitude to the Hidamaris for taking her in, and Yuno, Nori, and Nazuna (each of whom has been shown to be closer than the others to Chika, either in this episode or her previous appearances) say they were happy to have her, an enjoyment from her presence that gives them each slight increases. Nori and Nazuna gain further readings from their offers to send text messages to Chika and stay in contact, which express a desire to stay close to Chika after she leaves. Sae asks if Chika will be okay leaving on her own, showing a desire to see her be safe which Chika assuages very briefly. Miyako asks Chika to come back over spring vacation and Chika cheerily responds with a promise to stay longer; both get increased readings for their desire for Chika to be at Hidamari Apartments. Overall, Nori, Nazuna, and Chika each end with 2, Yuno, Miyako, and Sae with 1, and Hiro with 0.
C: Yu, Mi, Sa, Hi, No, Na, Yo, Ch
Yoshinoya and the principal run past Hidamari Apartments. The Hidamaris and Chika are all surprised that Yoshinoya suggested exercising, a low opinion of her physicality that gives them all 0s. Yoshinoya never acknowledges anybody else, giving her a 0 as well.
C: Yu
Yuno thinks about Chika while in the bath. Her pleasure at Chika, Nori, and Nazuna getting along well with each other shows a happiness that they have strong relationships with each other, and she has a particular appreciation for Chika who she remarks is growing up a little. Yuno also took lots of pictures at the park, capturing all the Hidamaris and Chika in fairly equal proportions, with one final picture showing her leaning against Miyako while the others are standing individually, a display of closeness that raises her to a 3.
C: Ch
Chika takes a bath. She sends Nori a message reading “I had fun today” (今日は楽しかったです, “kyou wa tanoshikatta desu”) and giggles as she wonders whether she’ll have muscle aches the next day from her exertion at the park, signifying very warm memories of her visit. Together with the group shot from the previous scene being shown to be her new phone background, it is evident that Chika highly appreciated being with the Hidamaris, raising her to a 3 as well.
Final Yurilevel Readings: (both Aokis and Umes are out of 4)
Episode: 1.4556A
Characters:
- Nazuna: 2.034U
- Hiro: 1.984U
- Sae: 1.929U
- Nori: 1.628U
- Yuno: 1.470U
- Chika: 0.870U
- Miyako: 0.407U
- Yoshinoya: 0.000U
The results here were very heavily weighted by Scenes 4 and 9, which took up over two-thirds of the episode. Scene 4 had fairly low readings and clocked in at 500 seconds out of 1206 in the episode (a new record, beating Scene 17 in Hidamari Sketch 01 by 46 seconds), so yurilevels overall were somewhat low by xHoshimittsu standards, though still higher than a majority of Hidamari Sketch episodes thus far. Sae, Hiro, Nori, and Nazuna all benefitted from their interactions with Chika, while Yuno, Chika’s former best friend at Hidamari, fared more poorly for being overlooked in favor of the newer models. Chika herself had a fairly low result, largely caused by her admission of heterosexual tendencies in Scene 4. This is good; seeing as the Hidamari Yurilevels Project is an investigation tracking the homosexuality of Hidamari Sketch characters, such expressions rightly lower her yurilevels and lend more credence to the methodology being employed, though 0.87 Umes is still rather high in light of her misstep.
Further analysis will continue with Hidamari Sketch xHoshimittsu 08.
**: Nori most likely got this CD from Yuno (who received it from Chika in Hidamari Sketch x365 05). Since neither Yuno nor Nori ever explain how or why Nori got ahold of the CD, it’s uncertain whether Yuno gave her the CD unprompted, taking pride in Chika, or whether Nori asked for it from Yuno out of curiosity about Chika. Consequently neither explanation is justified enough to affect either’s yurilevels.
