Title: スケッチー Sketchy
Creator: マキヒロチ Makihirochi
Publisher: Kodansha
Serialization: Young Magazine the 3rd, Monthly Young Magazine, YanMaga Web
Books: 6 volumes (Dec 2019 - Jan 2023)
Genres: skateboarding, hobby, women's sport, drama
Makihirochi is a great mangaka for stories that feel very grounded in modern life and this is my favorite of her work.
In the build up to Tokyo 2020, there was a noticeable increase in manga about sports where Japan had medal prospects. Skateboarding was making its debut and women's skateboarding is a strong sport for Japan. That said, while this series does touch on the competitive sport, mostly its focus is women who took up skateboarding as a hobby. It's much more about the value of taking up skateboarding at all, rather than being skilled at it.
There's a moderately large cast of characters, with several plot threads. In contrast to the pleasure of skateboarding, the things the characters face in their lives are far from light, including terminal illness and misogyny, but crucially I don't feel it was mawkish.