Hidamari Sketch in theory should be one of my alltime favorite iyashikei for wholesome relaxing sliceoflife. I like the idea of relatively nice girls with different personalities all attending the same art school sometimes crossing paths sometimes doing their own thing. However I found that Seasons 1 and 2 were inconsistently likablesometimes a little too slowpaced and uninteresting even for me. I tended to enjoy the episodes that slowly developed Yuno along with the occasional ones where they all just hung out and had some comedy. But overall I only liked the show sometimes. As it turns out the best way for me to more consistently enjoy the series was by Hoshimittsu Season 3 introducing two very memorable likable underclassmen: Nazuna and Nori. If Im being honest I think this duo is much more interesting and fun than Hiro and Sae who mostly function as okay upperclassmen that occasionally give advice but not much more. Shifting the dorm dynamics to six characters adds muchneeded varietynot just for comedy but also for character growth and unique interactions. For example like the two other notable pairings Yuno Miyako and Hiro Sae Nazuna and Nori have their own yuribait close female friendship. They have a natural oppositesattract dynamic with Nazuna being very shy and Nori being direct and blunt. Their interactions alone are super charming but I also love how they affect the rest of the group. They give Hiro and Sae more opportunities to lean into their lowkey mature caregiving roles and they allow more goofy moments for Miyakos quirky humor. But most importantlyon a personal level as someone who likes Yuno the mostthis change gives Yuno a chance to grow even more. In Seasons 1 and 2 most of Yunos memorable character development revolved around her lack of selfconfidence. Shes an art major whose best friend is kind of an art genius so she often doubted herself. But by the end of Season 2 she gained more confidence and in Season 3 she gets to take on the role of a proper upperclassman for Nazuna and Nori. Its great to see her naturally shift from the meek new girl to someone who applies what shes learned to her two new friends. Most of what makes the Hidamari series good and sometimes not as good is still here. There are plenty of scenes where the six characters just hang out plus some interesting art discussions since almost all of them except Nazuna are art majors at an artfocused school. Those moments are thoughtprovoking in terms of how they improve their art. Unfortunately the most recurring character I dont like is still around: Yoshinoyasensei. I guess I can see why some people enjoy an adult female character whos a little immature likes being attractive and craves attention but by this point in the series Im really sick of the same joke. She tries too hard to get attention from students the principal rebukes her rinse and repeat. Its not as annoying in Hoshimittsu but the joke was already stale by the second or third time in earlier seasons. The fact that they keep doing it almost every episode is a case of Japan overdoing quirky humor until it gets really really old. While I liked the average episode of the girls just hanging out much more than in Seasons 1 and 2 there are still some dull moments even as someone who enjoys cute girls doing cute things sliceoflife and hangout series. That said I still really like Hidamari Sketch Hoshimittsu for pushing the series in a much more consistently great directionjust by adding two new very likable characters. Its a shame this is one of SHAFTs more underrated shows because some days I consider it on par with Madoka Magicaand definitely way better than the monogatari series.