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Canvas 2: Niji Iro no Sketch
Canvas2 〜虹色のスケッチ〜 (Canvas 2 ~Rainbow Colored Sketch~)
Genre	Romance, Harem
Game
Developer	F&C FC01
Manga
Author	Miki Kodama
Publisher	Kadokawa Shoten Kadokawa Media (Taiwan)
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Monthly Shōnen Ace
Original run	April 2005 – September 2006
Volumes	4
TV anime
Director	Itsuro Kawasaki
Studio	ZEXCS
Network	TV Kanagawa
Original run	3 October 2005 – 27 March 2006
Episodes	24
Anime and Manga Portal

Canvas 2: Niji Iro no Sketch (Canvas2 〜虹色のスケッチ〜 ^?), also known as just Canvas 2, is a dating sim by F&C FC01 with a 24-episode romance anime produced by Kadokawa Shoten based on the game, along with a manga series of the same name.

Plot

The series focuses on the lives of some students and teachers at Nadesico Academy both at school and their private lives. The main character of the series is Kamikura Hiroki, who lives with his younger cousin Elis. Hiroki is training to become a full-fledged art teacher while also trying to take care of Elis. When his childhood friend Kiri starts working at the school, drama begins to flare as he has to juggle his work, private life, and the feelings for these two important girls.

Character histories

Nadesico Staff

• Kamikura Hiroki (上倉 浩樹, seiyū: Takahiro Sakurai): The main character of the series. He is the older cousin of Elis as well as her current guardian. At the time of the series, he is an adviser to the art club as well as an art teacher in training but he used to be an artistic prodigy when he was in high school. During high school, he was good friends with Kiri and Yanagi. When Kiri confessed that she liked him, Hiroki turned her down even though he had feelings for her. It is believed he did this because he knew that Yanagi also liked Kiri so he didn’t want to get in the way of his friend’s feelings. However, Yanagi didn’t know of Hiroki’s good intentions and stole Hiroki’s composition of Kiri for a national art contest. This destroyed their relationship and left Hiroki alone and heartbroken since he had also turned down Kiri. Since then, he has taken in Elis into his home as her legal guardian. Throughout the series Hiroki struggles with managing his emotions for both Elis and Kiri and ability to paint again. After seeing a painting of red angels that Elis made for him, Hiroki is finally able to make another painting of his own...a painting of blue angels. He leaves Kiri alone on Christmas and runs to the airport to stop Elis from going to Paris. He shows her the painting...revealing his true feelings for Elis.

• Kikyou Kiri (桔梗 霧, seiyū: Hitomi Nabatame): Childhood friend of Hiroki as well as a Physical Education teacher at Nadesico Academy. She confessed her feelings for Hiroki while the two of them were in high school but was turned down. It is believed that Kiri took the job as the Physical Education instructor at Nadesico Academy because Hiroki was working there. Kiri still has feelings for Hiroki but has had a difficult time in telling him. She finally works up enough courage to confess to him again as adults.

• Saginomiya Saya (鷺ノ宮 紗綾, seiyū: Yuka Inokuchi): She is the acting superintendent at Nadesico Academy. This tall and purple haired beauty has a well meaning and caring personality but is surprisingly disliked by the rest of the administration at Nadesico Academy. She looks up to her younger sister who is a very competent superintendent at a French school that is associated with Nadesico. She likes to practice with her naginata in the school gym while it is empty as a way to relieve the stress of her job.

Students

• Housen Elis (鳳仙 エリス, seiyū: Kaori Nazuka): Elis is a freshman at Nadesico Academy. Her parents died in a tragic car accident and she was left in the foster care of her cousin, Kamikura Hiroki. Because of the accident, she was left traumatized and unable to tolerate the colour red—since it reminds her of blood—to the extent in which eating red colored food or using the colour red in her artwork can became very painful. Like Hiroki, she is a very talented artist but her fear of the color red prevents her from realizing her full potential. Elis develops strong affections Hiroki and confesses her feelings for him but only to be turned down because Hiroki thinks of her as a little sister rather than a woman that he could love. She has a tough time dealing with her feelings as well as the distance that seems to be created between her and Hiroki when he begins to spend more time with Kiri. She eventually intends to go to France on a scholarship and live with a relative there but is stopped by Hiroki who returns her feelings.

• Hagino Kana (萩野 可奈, seiyū: Ai Tokunaga): Despite her short stature, Hagino is actually a sophomore at Nadesico Academy. She is a novelist that focuses mainly on romance stories. To keep her identity hidden, she writes under the pen name of Naka Nogiwa (那珂 野際). She is very interested in the relationships of the other characters in the series so that she can generate ideas for her novels. She is constantly badgered by her editor, Sugihara Shie, to finish writing novels by her many deadlines. She has a crush on Hiroki.

• Fujinami Tomoko (藤浪 朋子, seiyū: Mikako Takahashi): A friend of Elis. She has a medical problem concerning her heart, and is often absent from school. This prevents her from making many friends and leads her to have anti-social behavior. Hiroki reaches out to her and she eventually begins to open up and become friends with the other girls. When she was a child, she always moves from one hospital to another, she had been in a hospital in Hokkaido (at the same hospital that Elis was admitted after the accident), and she always meets up with a person that shows her his sketchbook. In the end, it was revealed that the person whom she remembers as "the oni-chan from the hospital" is actually Hiroki. It is shown at the very end during the credits that Tomoko's surgery was a success as she opens her eyes.

• Takeuchi Mami (竹内 麻巳, seiyū: Megumi Toyoguchi): The president of the art club at Nadesico Academy. Although she sees Elis as a rival, she is there to help Elis when she is in need of advice. She encourages Elise to try to use the color red.

• Misaki Sumire (美咲 菫, seiyū: Aya Hirano): Youngest daughter of a family of great musicians. She is always compared to her parents and older sister and thus has high expectations. She feels a lot of pressure and anxiety because of this. She cares deeply for Elise. She is part of the choir and has a soprano voice.

• Hashidsume Shouta (橋爪 彰太 seiyū: Junji Majima): One of Elis’s classmates. He is a good natured boy but he likes to have fun with the occasional prank. An enthusiast in ceramics and pottery, and occasionally can be found looking through wooded areas for good quality clay. He has a crush on Elis and confesses to her during a camping trip but gets rejected.

Other Characters

• Sugihara Shie (杉原 紫衣, seiyū: Miho Miyakawa): She is Kana’s editor and is constantly pressuring her to finish within writing deadlines. She is strict but understanding of others. She is also a high school friend of Kiri and gives her advice on love and how to approach Hiroki.

• Yanagi Shin-ichirou (柳 慎一郎, seiyū: Kishō Taniyama): Childhood friend of Hiroki and Kiri. His relationship with Hiroki went sour after Yanagi had stolen Hiroki’s composition of Kiri and then went on to win a national award with the painting. He has a crush on Kiri and confesses to her when they are adults but Kiri turns him down. He then supports Kiri into confessing her feelings for Hiroki.

Episodes

• All of the episodes are named after colors.

Theme songs

PC Game

Opening

• Plastic Smile(^^ by A BONE featuring YURIA

Ending

• Hibi by Rena

PlayStation2/Canvas2 DVD EDITION(PC)

Opening

• Blue Sky by Honey Bee(YURIA)

Ending

• Primary Memory by Sweets Tankentai

Anime

Opening

• Plastic Smile (Niji Iro Guiter VERSION) by Honey Bee (YURIA)

Ending

• NA NA IRO by Sweets Tankentai

Manga

A manga based on Canvas 2 was serialized in Shōnen Monthly Ace magazine from April 2005 to September 2006. The series was authored and illustrated by Miki Kodama, and four tankōbon were published by Kadokawa Shoten.

References

• Taniguchi, Hiroshi et al. "The Official Art of Canvas2 ~Nijiiro no Sketch~". (November 2006) Newtype USA. pp. 101-107.

External links

• (Japanese) Official Canvas 2 website
• (Japanese) Miki Kodoma's website (manga author)
• Canvas 2: Niji Iro no Sketch (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• (Japanese) Canvas2
• (Japanese) Canvas3