They kinda just need to sell their manga, don’t they? If anime is “just popular” and rises manga sells, it’s enough, like with Blend S or Yuyushiki.
Blends S manga stopped airing in ~2020 and there is absolutely no reason to make second season. I afraid if gochiusa will stop publishing, then anime won’t get new seasons. I thought so. But Kin-iro Mosaic looks out of this logic. It’s not so popular but have 2 seasons and 2 films… why
I guess there is indeed an incentive to have the anime not cover the whole story so you have to buy the manga. I thought anime is the biggest driver behind merch sales though, maybe I’m wrong about that. The logic is not always clear indeed. Hidamari Sketch never seemed very popular or well remembered by the general public (only real fans) but it has four whole seasons and many OVAs.
So yeah, I was obviously wrong with those hasty conclusions. Guess I was still hevily influenced by Oshi no Ko and its whole depiction of “Japanese” showbiz. At the end of the day, decision to greenlight a new season (or new adaptation) comes down to potential profit (merch, DVDs, source manga sales). How do they calculate this potential? - Audience loyalty, manga popularity, luck… honestly, who the hell knows. Kin-iro Mosaic got luckier than Blend S, which is why it got way more anime content (and higher sales overall). Also, Hidamari Sketch is (obviously) a massive hit in Japan rather than globally, which explains why it has so many seasons [google “TV anime sales ranking hidamari sketch”].
I surprised that Minami-ke is as popular as 1st season Gochiusa: 179位 vs 182位. Gonna try it on this week (I even forgot how long ago I added it in my towatch list).
Great question! Looking at it through the lens of my own life, I think the issue comes down to the difference in mentality between Japanese people and Westerners like us. Lucky Star with K-ON! and Azumanga with Nichijou – they all either trigger strong emotions (like when you are overflowing with moe) or rely on sharp, punchy gag humor (like in Azumanga). Both Japanese and Western audiences love that.
Japanese, however, are true aesthetes – they’re much better at noticing tiny details and appreciating quiet things. Take Zen Buddhism and the Japanese tea ceremony, for example. Any Westerner (without prior preparation) would lose their mind over how boring that ceremony is, yet Japanese people genuinely enjoy it. It’s the exact same thing with anime: in Hidamari Sketch (and in Yokohama and Minami-ke, which I also checked out), the pacing is just way too slow for most of us to fully appreciate.
It actually just hit me – there’s something similar in Red Dead Redemption 2. At first, everything feels so calm and simple: manually riding your horse between missions, the slow-paced dialogue… it almost feels like a slice-of-life Western. And then… the plot starts picking up speed, faster… and faster… and faster. You feel like you were already enjoying that quiet serenity, but near the end, once the story really kicks into high gear, you get hit with completely different - intense - emotions. K-ON! pulls off something similar (like in the episode with their final concert). Maybe, you can feel a bit of that same contrast in Hidamari Sketch between the first season and the final OVA, just not as strong. Meanwhile, Minami-ke is pure serenity and nothing else – no contrasts, no big emotions, just Zen Buddhism and tea. (I know you asked about Hidamari Sketch.)
So, all in all, every old Slice that got popular in the West is kinda different from Hidamari Sketch. Got any counterexamples?
You make a good point: generally punchy anime are popular in the west and those with a slow pace less so. But it does get a little muddy sometimes. K-ON! and Lucky Star both have a lot of really slow parts. Just like with how many seasons an anime gets, it’s not always clear. But Hidamari Sketch is definitely on the slow side of the spectrum. I also think the non-conventional art style could have had an impact. Btw, I remember Minami-ke to be more energetic, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen it.
I never played RD2 but I have seen it on youtube. I watched the film “Sinners” and it starts off quite slow with nice world building and characters. It’s kind of a western but with black people in post slavery southern US. But then the action bit starts and I kinda just preferred the first half of it. Maybe I’m too SOL pilled.
Got any counterexamples?
Non Non Biyori seems kind of popular in the west? Certainly slow. But not super popular maybe. Gochiusa is quite popular, but also quite punchy and slow at the same time. I still haven watched Yuru Camp. But that is definitely popular, and it seems like it would be slow?
Comparing to Oomuro-ke it is very slow. In OMRK, all the punchlines are (relatively) quick and evoke a stronger reaction – at least for me it’s very moe-moe kyun. Unlike Minami-ke, which is maybe just pioneer in that genre (I watched only 2 episodes, so idk).
Non Non Biyori and Gochiusa are newer than Minami-ke that’s the diff I think. Directors already know how to mix slow and energetic moments or smth. Anime itself became more popular in these years. I think 3rd season in Gochiusa go far away from 1st – cuteness is embedded in every movement, every moment, every character’s word etc.
I haven’t been watching much anime lately unfortunately, but I’ll try to check a few minami-ke episodes again before the new one comes. I’ve been rewatching stuff here and there. I can see what you mean with Gochiusa. I rewatched season one a while ago and a few days ago I saw the first two episodes of the second season. I noticed the moe was really turned up a notch. I guess they really understood the audience by then.
ah Hidamari Sketch by Shaft. That’s a bit different story as I remember - Shaft adapt their anime like Monogatari at their own will. For them, Hidamari Sketch might be very popular so they adapted so many chapters (I got confused with other anime.) . I will check details about it tomorrow.
![スロウ・スタート！ [Slow Start] (by Aosora Neko)](https://ani.social/pictrs/image/b3b2cc1d-142f-483b-ac25-4b86fbda14a0.webp){kind=link}
What kind of policy? Other Kirara works have multiple seasons right (Gochiusa, Kiniro)?
They kinda just need to sell their manga, don’t they? If anime is “just popular” and rises manga sells, it’s enough, like with Blend S or Yuyushiki.
Blends S manga stopped airing in ~2020 and there is absolutely no reason to make second season. I afraid if gochiusa will stop publishing, then anime won’t get new seasons. I thought so. But Kin-iro Mosaic looks out of this logic. It’s not so popular but have 2 seasons and 2 films… why
I guess there is indeed an incentive to have the anime not cover the whole story so you have to buy the manga. I thought anime is the biggest driver behind merch sales though, maybe I’m wrong about that. The logic is not always clear indeed. Hidamari Sketch never seemed very popular or well remembered by the general public (only real fans) but it has four whole seasons and many OVAs.
So yeah, I was obviously wrong with those hasty conclusions. Guess I was still hevily influenced by Oshi no Ko and its whole depiction of “Japanese” showbiz. At the end of the day, decision to greenlight a new season (or new adaptation) comes down to potential profit (merch, DVDs, source manga sales). How do they calculate this potential? -
Audience loyalty, manga popularity, luck…honestly, who the hell knows. Kin-iro Mosaic got luckier than Blend S, which is why it got way more anime content (and higher sales overall). Also, Hidamari Sketch is (obviously) a massive hit in Japan rather than globally, which explains why it has so many seasons [google “TV anime sales ranking hidamari sketch”].I surprised that Minami-ke is as popular as 1st season Gochiusa: 179位 vs 182位. Gonna try it on this week (I even forgot how long ago I added it in my towatch list).
Hidamari sketch is indeed quite popular according to the sales. I wonder why it didn’t catch on in the west as much as other similar shows?
Great question! Looking at it through the lens of my own life, I think the issue comes down to the difference in mentality between Japanese people and Westerners like us. Lucky Star with K-ON! and Azumanga with Nichijou – they all either trigger strong emotions (like when you are overflowing with moe) or rely on sharp, punchy gag humor (like in Azumanga). Both Japanese and Western audiences love that.
Japanese, however, are true aesthetes – they’re much better at noticing tiny details and appreciating quiet things. Take Zen Buddhism and the Japanese tea ceremony, for example. Any Westerner (without prior preparation) would lose their mind over how boring that ceremony is, yet Japanese people genuinely enjoy it. It’s the exact same thing with anime: in Hidamari Sketch (and in Yokohama and Minami-ke, which I also checked out), the pacing is just way too slow for most of us to fully appreciate.
It actually just hit me – there’s something similar in Red Dead Redemption 2. At first, everything feels so calm and simple: manually riding your horse between missions, the slow-paced dialogue… it almost feels like a slice-of-life Western. And then… the plot starts picking up speed, faster… and faster… and faster. You feel like you were already enjoying that quiet serenity, but near the end, once the story really kicks into high gear, you get hit with completely different - intense - emotions. K-ON! pulls off something similar (like in the episode with their final concert). Maybe, you can feel a bit of that same contrast in Hidamari Sketch between the first season and the final OVA, just not as strong. Meanwhile, Minami-ke is pure serenity and nothing else – no contrasts, no big emotions, just Zen Buddhism and tea. (I know you asked about Hidamari Sketch.)
So, all in all, every old Slice that got popular in the West is kinda different from Hidamari Sketch. Got any counterexamples?
You make a good point: generally punchy anime are popular in the west and those with a slow pace less so. But it does get a little muddy sometimes. K-ON! and Lucky Star both have a lot of really slow parts. Just like with how many seasons an anime gets, it’s not always clear. But Hidamari Sketch is definitely on the slow side of the spectrum. I also think the non-conventional art style could have had an impact. Btw, I remember Minami-ke to be more energetic, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen it.
I never played RD2 but I have seen it on youtube. I watched the film “Sinners” and it starts off quite slow with nice world building and characters. It’s kind of a western but with black people in post slavery southern US. But then the action bit starts and I kinda just preferred the first half of it. Maybe I’m too SOL pilled.
Non Non Biyori seems kind of popular in the west? Certainly slow. But not super popular maybe. Gochiusa is quite popular, but also quite punchy and slow at the same time. I still haven watched Yuru Camp. But that is definitely popular, and it seems like it would be slow?
Comparing to Oomuro-ke it is very slow. In OMRK, all the punchlines are (relatively) quick and evoke a stronger reaction – at least for me it’s very moe-moe kyun. Unlike Minami-ke, which is maybe just pioneer in that genre (I watched only 2 episodes, so idk).
Non Non Biyori and Gochiusa are newer than Minami-ke that’s the diff I think. Directors already know how to mix slow and energetic moments or smth. Anime itself became more popular in these years. I think 3rd season in Gochiusa go far away from 1st – cuteness is embedded in every movement, every moment, every character’s word etc.
I haven’t been watching much anime lately unfortunately, but I’ll try to check a few minami-ke episodes again before the new one comes. I’ve been rewatching stuff here and there. I can see what you mean with Gochiusa. I rewatched season one a while ago and a few days ago I saw the first two episodes of the second season. I noticed the moe was really turned up a notch. I guess they really understood the audience by then.
ah Hidamari Sketch by Shaft. That’s a bit different story as I remember - Shaft adapt their anime like Monogatari at their own will. For them, Hidamari Sketch might be very popular so they adapted so many chapters (I got confused with other anime.) .I will check details about it tomorrow.