AKA: GA 芸術科アートデザインクラス GA Geijutsuka Āto Dezain Kurasu

Genre: Slice-of-life Comedy

Length: Television series, 12 episodes, 24 minutes minutes each

Distributor: Currently unlicensed.

Content Rating: G (Mildest innuendo)

Related Series: GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class OVA

Also Recommended: Hidamari Sketch, Sketchbook: Full Color's, Azumanga Daioh.

Notes: Originally a manga published in Comic Gyutto! In 2004.

Rating:

GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class

Synopsis

Five friends attend art class together. Let the slice-of-life comedy commence!

Review

For some reason, even with the myriad plots and settings an anime show could possibly have, groups of friends doing art and other random activities have attained a certain amount of popularity. Honestly, I care very little which show had the idea first - the setting is hardly a revelation - but this combination of art and light comedy has proved to be a good mixture. While GA never reaches the highs of slice-of-life comedy that Hidamari Sketch achieves, GA proves an effective and enjoyable show overall.

The five friends that the show centres on are a fun bunch and the group dynamic works. The energetic tomboy, Tomokane, and cutesy princess wannabe, Noda, are the comics of the group, instigating the majority of the comedy with the grown-up Namiko playing the "straight man" to the pairs' silliness. Kisaragi is the show's Yuno (to compare it once again with Hidamari Sketch) and fills the same role as heart and sweetness of the show and finally Miyabi offers a little oddness those who have watched and enjoyed Pani Poni Dash might appreciate. One major difference it has with Hidamari Sketch is that much of the comedy is actually art based. Expect jokes about different kinds of pencils, art styles and so on and so forth but don't be put off, I don't know my 2B from my HB yet I still found it to be a funny series and I even learned a few things about art too. The comedy is not solely of this variety, though, and there are plenty of the standard slice-of-life comedy tropes around like strange dreams and personality based laughs.

On the negative side, the series only ever really maintains a strong comic sense with its main characters. Fine Art club president, Awara, is mildly amusing (her house, particularly, made me chuckle) but the scenes where the focus is away from the main five girls are the weakest the show has to offer and there are too many for me to ignore. Also, the art is a bit of an acquired taste and the music is of no particular interest. I would have thought a show about art would have more effort put into the aesthetics but it does not seem to be the case.

Overall, GA is not an easy show to rate. It is nowhere close to bad and I feel a reasonable degree of affection for the show and its characters but it has so little that I can really get excited about that I feel unable to rate it too highly. It is not a show graced with any great deal of wit but it has charm and it certainly is funny enough to be a credible comedy. As I said before, Hidamari Sketch is still the pinnacle of art-school anime shows but credible, GA definitely is.

I could have easily given this a four. If you're interested in art at all then add a star. — Aiden Foote

Recommended Audience: Unless you're offended by art, there is nothing too objectionable.