Uni Star is a great, all-purpose pencil for writing and drawing. It's made in Japan with the same expertise, design sensibility, and quality control as Mitsubishi's higher-end pencils. But it's a simplified design, not as glossy as the Hi-Uni and made with humbler materials, and the result is a pencil of outstanding quality at a surprisingly low price. Mitsubishi even includes a reusable plastic storage case with each set of 12, which gives Uni Star a level of polish that similarly-priced pencils can't match.

In our tests, we enjoyed the smooth, dark graphite inside Uni Star pencils, which runs a bit harder than the famously soft Hi-Uni lead. That gives the HB grade a firm, precise point, as you'd expect from a traditional #2. It sharpens cleanly and doesn't break easily, even when held at a shallow angle for broad marks and shading.

Uni Star shares the good looks of its older siblings, too. It's finished with burgundy lacquer (fewer coats than Hi-Uni, but still nice and shiny) and stamped with the Mitsubishi brand in gold foil.

About Mitsubishi Pencil Co., Ltd.:

Founded in the 19th century in Tokyo, Mitsubishi Pencil has been one of the world's leading pen and pencil manufacturers for generations. Well-known around the world for their Uni brand of pens and pencils, Mitsubishi continues to innovate and release new products, like POSCA paint markers and an ever-expanding lineup of writing pens.

Fun fact: "Mitsubishi" means "three diamonds," and the name and three-diamond mark of Mitsubishi Pencil predates the better-known Mitsubishi Group by ten years. Despite sharing the same name and symbol, Mitsubishi Pencil is not related to any of the numerous other Mitsubishi companies in Japan.