Honey & Clover

I was surprised to check back 10 pages here and find no thread on this series. I know we’ve discussed it (or was it on another forum – anyway…) so I thought I’d just start the ball rolling really. Seiji and Theowne got me into watching it and at first I was a bit puzzled by it, frustrated even, because nothing was happening. Episode after episode went by and nothing happened except some people went to an arts university and lived their lives.

Then after a while I got it. That’s the entire point of the story, it has no real story in the way some anime have a major plot focus and there is a climax in the last episode and the Good Guys win or the Bad Guys win or Some Guys win… in Honey & Clover the story just goes on.

It’s one of the nicest animes I’ve ever watched. Nothing fantastical happened, nothing too dramatic, nothing too violent, nothing really exciting. But I liked that. The depiction of the lives of a dozen or so ordinary people over the course of several years centreing around an arts-facing university and during these years the characters grew up emotionally and experienced all sorts or relationship complexities.

I wouldn’t say it is a romance story although there is a lot of romance in it, its certainly not a harem story or a school life story, in fact I think it might be unique. It’s a simple slice of life story.

Its nicely told at a nice gentle pace. The artwork is lovely, all the characters are strong and believable and some of their motivations are not revealed until late in the series when you only then find out why they have been acting the way they have.

Love and relationships are I guess the main focus of the series but just “growing up” is the other – not physically but the characters’ journeys.

It deserves to win some awards but probably hasn’t as its so understated.

Highly recommended, very relaxing, lovely, lovely music. Very emotional.

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"An old man like me stands no chance fighting against a high school girl in her underwear" - Oshino Meme, Nekomonogatari (Kuro)

Yes indeed. Honey and Clover. My favorite anime series ever up to this point in time. You can really feel the years as you move with the characters. And while like Saddles said, it is just about some ordinary people (though very gifted people), the series is extremely affecting. I just love the characters and their relationships. And yes, there is quite a lot of growing up done during it all. For me, the whole experience is more moving than grave of the fireflies, which is saying a lot.

The art is so beautiful, with watercolor-like backgrounds and what is a toned down version of one of the most uniquely appealing character styles I've ever encountered, and the music is fantastic, with some good original compositions and at least one great insert song per episode.

It's also very very funny, at least in my opinion.

I can't quote any awards the anime has received, but the manga has gotten some. I'll be reading it as soon as it is released. BTW, it's by Chika Umino, who started her next big work, a seinen series done in the same style as honey and clover. It's called Lion of March, which is an old famous Japanese movie. In spite of that though, the official English title is some stupid idiom about a lion leaping or something.

its on my list for after exams, squashed inbetween Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and the Ghost in the Shell series

Just a heads up; a Live Action TV series of H&C was just announced and is set to begin airing in Japan in January.

On to the anime...

A very poignant series indeed; in some ways it is a lot like Only Yesterday, where not much is happening physically but a definite sense of journey and growth can be felt. I think many are able to relate to Takemoto and all of his frustrations and anxiety as he moves through university, and although it does sound cliche, H&C presents it in such a way that you can never tell where the characters are heading. In fact, one of the highlights of the series, for me, is the ending of the second series. It is not at all conventional, it is very much bittersweet and realistic; the characters have chosen the best path for themselves given the circumstances. An accurate portrayal of life...exactly what I like!

I must also give kudos to the excellent soundtrack and scoring. I think the series would lose much of it's charm without the insert songs (take for example, series 1, chapter 24)

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It's also very very funny, at least in my opinion.

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Twister. nuff said

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Originally posted by fizzy
Just a heads up; a Live Action TV series of H&C was just announced and is set to begin airing in Japan in January.

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unfortunately this means it most likely wont air anywhere but japan. however im sure it will be on the internet somewhere (illegally no doubt) within a month or so of its realease.
i'll go with the anime first. one thing at a time

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Originally posted by fizzy
Just a heads up; a Live Action TV series of H&C was just announced and is set to begin airing in Japan in January.

On to the anime...

A very poignant series indeed; in some ways it is a lot like Only Yesterday, where not much is happening physically but a definite sense of journey and growth can be felt. I think many are able to relate to Takemoto and all of his frustrations and anxiety as he moves through university, and although it does sound cliche, H&C presents it in such a way that you can never tell where the characters are heading. In fact, one of the highlights of the series, for me, is the ending of the second series. It is not at all conventional, it is very much bittersweet and realistic; the characters have chosen the best path for themselves given the circumstances. An accurate portrayal of life...exactly what I like!


I must also give kudos to the excellent soundtrack and scoring. I think the series would lose much of it's charm without the insert songs (take for example, series 1, chapter 24)

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It's also very very funny, at least in my opinion.

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Twister. nuff said

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Post last edited by Seiji on 11.07.2007, 10:06 PM.

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Hmm... I wonder if it will use the cast from the movie or not...

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Don't have enough time to say all I want to but this is probably my favourite anime series (separate from favourite film). It did have the negative effect of making me realize that most anime aren't really as great as I thought they were (maybe it's also a consequence of getting older).

It's a fine series with very well-defined characters. It shows the drama and tension of life, but not in that superficial way that you see in soap operas and even in some anime like "Nana". No, everything in Honey and Clover is genuine. Perhaps this also appeals to my idealistic tendencies. Something I found really sad was one episode near the end where the group, who had been slowly drifting apart, were talking enthusiastically about getting together again, perhaps going to the beach, and dreaming about what fun it would be. Then, as the episode closes, Takemoto says, "In the end, we never went to the beach together." It's not a tragic scene by any means, but that bittersweet emotion is surprisingly intense, especially as it's something we've all experienced. It's the little things like this that, in aggregate, make it such a great series.

The ending of the final episode from the first season is a really wonderful moment, as the old "Waltz" ending music comes back to close off the season.

Post last edited by Theowne on 11.08.2007, 01:21 AM.

It doesn't? Aw man, why not? Aoi Yuu is just perfect for Hagumi's role (not to mention the cute factor). Narumi Riko just doesn't look right compared to Aoi Yuu.

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Originally posted by fenkashi
Screw your opinions, they are not relevant ^^.

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Ayu's movie character perfectly resembles her anime counterpart. Shame she won't be recast:

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Something I found really sad was one episode near the end where the group, who had been slowly drifting apart, were talking enthusiastically about getting together again, perhaps going to the beach, and dreaming about what fun it would be. Then, as the episode closes, Takemoto says, "In the end, we never went to the beach together." It's not a tragic scene by any means, but that bittersweet emotion is surprisingly intense, especially as it's something we've all experienced. It's the little things like this that, in aggregate, make it such a great series.

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i.e. it didn't go into melodramatic overkill *cough*NANA*cough*.

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Oh, Ok, well I guess I won't be watching Nana anytime soon.

Damn...! Why did someone have to mention H&C? I'd only just forgotten about not finishing it after a certain t.v-links went down.

Well, all I remember was watching this dull slice of life anime and then realizing i'd been completely addicted to it for the last two weeks. It's such a great show...

Man, I'm going to have to get the DVD's now, I mean I was anyway but now I will have to, to finish it off.

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Originally posted by Seiji
Oh, Ok, well I guess I won't be watching Nana anytime soon.

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Is anyone aware of other anime that borrow this premise and don't do anything too fantastical? Although I do like a bit of serious emo now and again.

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"An old man like me stands no chance fighting against a high school girl in her underwear" - Oshino Meme, Nekomonogatari (Kuro)

A few suggestions Saddletank:

NANA
Give it a shot, I've made it pretty clear that I didn't find it as engaging and poignant as Honey and Clover, but many people are fond of both series. The series chronicles the events in the lives of two twenty-something women, both named Nana who meet on a train to Tokyo. Both come from very different walks of life but quickly form a friendship when they coincidently meet up with each other again.It is more mature in the sense that it involves sex, drinking, rock music....etc. 47 episodes long.

Nodame Cantabile
Follows Chiaki, a student who wants to pursue a career in orchestral conducting. He meets Nodame, a free spirited pianist- the series follows his and her crazy antics as they and their friends journey through (music) university. Very light hearted.
Anime= 23 episodes

There is also a live action drama which many prefer over the anime. The anime suffers from lack of funding, especially when it comes to scenes where the orchestra are playing (many static shots)- this is obviously not a problem in the live action. (which is the one I prefer)

Paradise Kiss
A romantic anime, but not really your standard fare. It's about a model high school student who gets dragged into the world of fashion designing (or at least group of students studying fashion called "paradise kiss" ). Has mature content, sex and from what I remember minimal violence (eg. slap in the face). Short series, only 12 episodes long. Watch the theme song, you'll get a good feel for the series from just that-very retro.

There are many other series, I guess what your looking for a those categorized as "slice of life". However keep in mind that there are varying degrees of how close series(labeled as "SoL" ) portray real life, for instance kamichu! and Someday's Dreamer contain a touch of fantasy and magical elements (like Kiki), while others like Piano are strictly Slice of Life.

There is a wealth of titles out there, the above titles mentioned are just those that immediately came to mind. Hope that helps.

Nodame Cantabile is, in my opinion, the safest bet, it involves a music university rather than an arts college but it still has the same sort of part-comedy part-drama fusion with a nice group dynamic. It emphasizes the comedy more than the drama. As for fizzy's other suggestions, well, you all know how I feel about NANA. I don't consider drinking and rock music indicate a mature series by any means. To me, Nana is like a soap opera. Though I guess it would be idealistic to say that Honey and Clover is more realistic than Nana. Then again, I'm an idealistic guy.

Thanks for that Fizzy and Theowne, I've heard good things about Nodame Cantabile and it's already quite high on my "intending to watch" list but I'll add the others too.

I agree. I've started Nodame Cantabile, and yes it is good. The main character is quite a jerk in the beginning too.

Interestingly enough, 2 of the three shows that Fizzy recommended are part of "noitamina" the programming block that aired Honey and Clover. I suggest that you hop on over to wikipedia and read the "noitamina" page for even more suggestions.