Cinnamon Ass - Reborn Like a Zombie

Honey and Clover Chapter 11

Life continues as usual for the gang - Morita and Takemoto have moved in with Mayama, who lives in a one-room apartment with an outdoor shower, which brings new trials and tribulations (such as Morita wearing Mayama's underwear, for instance), but everyone's pretty much as usual - but then Shuu-chan returns, alongside Professor Tokedaiji. He brings gifts (including clothes for the girls and a rock for Morita!) and photos of all the people he saw, but Tokedaiji embarasses him with tales of how he pined for Hagu. Meanwhile, Morita shows an unexpected attitude for the sitar, and the guys realise that, now they're out of college, they're adults too, much to their horror.

The following day, Hagu asks Shuu-chan to take her shopping for new paints, and she ends up going with Morita on a semi-date - however, it's a disaster, as he doesn't speak to her for the entire time and seems to have his mind elsewhere, greatly upsetting Hagu. As she returns crying to Shuu-chan, the others muse on winter's coming as Morita stands on a bridge alone...

Much more comedy than we've had in the past couple of episodes, but another killingly poignant ending from a Honey and Clover episode there. Morita certainly seems to be a man of hidden depths, but he's obviously not really capable of a functional relationship with Hagu - he hides any real feelings he might have behind his crazy antics, and when he's stripped of those he can't really relate to her.

It's interesting that there was perhaps some evidence to suggest that Hagu really isn't that small, it's just how she appears given the way she acts - perhaps it was only for humourous effect, but when she's trying desperately not to cry at Shuu-chan's return he imagines that she's grown up like an adult before she shrinks down into the piggish crybaby (there was some seriously odd SD stuff here - Morita with duck lips like something off 2chan?). It's interesting to compare how she looks when Takemoto first saw her in the first episode, as referenced here - she's almost always depicted in some kind of SD/cutesy manner now, but there we perhaps see the real Hagumi.

You also notice that Takemoto's grown his hair long again. I guess Morita stopped forcibly cutting it, then.

Honey and Clover Chapter 10

The gang goes for a ferry trip to Odaiba in the freezing December weather, where the girls and Morita pig out on their interesting tastes in food while Mayama gives Takemoto advice on his feelings for Hagu via every blogger's favourite storytelling device, a montage! After they disembark they find the park they're visiting's completely empty, and they rush to grab seats on the second biggest ferris wheel in the country (yes, finally the ferris wheel shows up) - Morita deviously shoves Mayama and Yamada together, while he boards with Takemoto and Hagu. The atmosphere is tense until Morita breaks it in rather spectacular style - however, surprisingly enough he apologises for his crazy behaviour! Obviously he's not totally inhuman after all. We don't find out what happened to Mayama and Yamada, but the gang heads for home a little less stressed than before.

Random things to note - the coffee Morita drinks when Yamada's reminiscing about Mayama has the initials JCS on the top, as in JC Staff. Plus I could SWEAR that Hagu did one of Sakura Kinomoto's "hoeeee!" noises at one point.

You know, nothing happens in Honey and Clover at all, really. I can see us having a completely non-commital ending when it finishes - perhaps they'll all go off and get jobs in random parts of the country where they won't see each other any more or something. But what the hey, it's still great fun to watch.

Thanks very much to Omni for noting what the insert song is this time round, incidentally. I've been really impressed with the music used from Spitz and Suga Shikao in the anime thus far, and I'm looking forward to hearing the new ED whenever it starts.

Honey and Clover Chapter 9

Yamada is still not over Mayama (although he's not over Rika yet so what's new?), but the main focus of this episode is the Hagu love triangle. Morita makes a wooden brooch and hides it for Hagu to find, and Takemoto finally realises he has competition for her affections - when he sees just how much Hagu loves the brooch, he tries to tell her that Morita made it, only for Morita to interrupt. Who knows what's going on in his crazy head? The other subplot of the episode involves Yamada's family, whose grocery store is facing stiff competition from a local supermarket - using the power of Hagu's cuteness they manage to sell truckloads of chocolate over Christmas. Hurray for Hagu!

Hurray for Hagu generally, actually - I've definitely warmed up to her character a lot over the series so far, and her combination of childlike innocence and terrified spazzing out makes her a great character to watch, just like the rest of the cast. That said, I thought this episode was a little weaker than some of the others have been this season - it wasn't quite crazy or dramatic enough for my melodramatic tastes, I suspect, although it was still head and shoulders above most other anime. Ah well, one slightly off episode isn't exactly the end of the world.

Besides, in screencapping this episode I've realised just how well made Honey and Clover really is - I think all the shots I've captured are great, note the lighting detail in the shot of Hagu with the duck brooch in particular amongst other details. It's a really, really awesome show, basically.

Honey and Clover Chapter 8

Hagu and Yamada have the guys round for a party where they feed them some distinctly odd food before Takemoto accidentally blurts out that it's his birthday - an madcap game of artistic Twister breaks out, where Yamada rings home to find out the rules while Takemoto and Morita end up contorted in agony. So, as usual, the first half of the episode is the comedy half.

The second half is a little more serious, as Yamada and Mayama once more muse on their unrequited loves. Then Yamada, after her usual fanclub adulation sessions in pottery, gets a phonecall from her folks after their shop closes down, so she returns home and leaves Hagu on her own in Yamada's apartment with only her psychotic poodle Midori to keep her company. Takemoto, feeling bad for leaving her alone, goes round to visit and ends up staying the night (utterly chastely, of course).

See, while nothing really happens in Honey and Clover, it's still an absolute joy to watch because the characters are so likeable and the script is so well written! You could probably have them all sitting in dustbins like a Beckett play and I'd still love it (although only if they had as many random comic moments as they do here). Top notch stuff, as usual.

Honey and Clover Chapter 7

Hanamoto-sensei has "bad" news for Hagu in particular - he's going to Mongolia to work on a book with his old teacher. This episode basically tracks everyone's reactions to this - Hanamoto-sensei says goodbye to Rika, who obviously cares far more for him than she does for Mayama, whilst Hagu reflects on how Hanamoto-sensei was there for her when her grandma died. Hanamoto-sensei sets Hagu a task to take her mind off things - find him a four leaf clover. The others all pitch in to help, but unfortuntely none of them manage to find one - but of course, that wasn't really the point, and it looks like Hagu will be fine for the year.

It's really very difficult for me to write the summaries for Honey and Clover - it's the subtle moments that I can't really briefly skim over that make the show, such as the scene where Mayama gives a bracelet to Rika or Hagu's tearful apologies to Hanamoto-sensei, quite so special. The direction also seems pretty deft at this point - none of the major characters ever feel like they're being sidelined for any reason, and this episode even managed to pull off a cheesy montage sequence without being bad!

The animation was rather Gainax-esque this episode - I watched an episode of FLCL last night and the somewhat jerky and occasionally comedic movements of the characters here really reminded me of that. Also, everyone appears to have incredibly tiny hands. Nevertheless, I liked the look of the episode because it suited the comedy moments really very well indeed, and given how bad Speed Grapher seems to be getting I'm grateful for decent animation at the moment!

Honey and Clover Chapter 6

The gang takes a trip to the zoo, and while Hagu has a close encounter with a giraffe Hanamoto-sensei fills Mayama in on his relationship with Rika - he shared an apartment with Harada, who later became Rika's boyfriend and eventually husband, until their taxi collided with a truck and Harada was killed, leaving Rika horribly scared and disabled for life. Cue sniffles from me.

The second half of the episode centres mostly around Morita, who is in danger of getting failed by one of his professors - however, he manages to finish his artwork (even if it is somewhat unconventional) in time. After the gang celebrates with a LOT of alcohol, Mayama carries Yamada home, who makes a touchingly tearful confession along the way...

Honey and Clover continues to tug on the heartstrings, although the comedy is definitely less spastic than it was to begin with - I don't think this is a bad thing as such, just a difference to be noted. The writing is quite successfully drawing out the love polygon aspects of the series without annoying me, which is a pleasant surprise - note that by this point in AishiBaby I was screaming for Kippei and Kokoro to just GET TOGETHER ALREADY, and only the Fruits Basket anime has really successfully pulled off the non-commitment angle in shoujo romance recently. As it is, while I like Takemoto a lot as the "everyman" figure of the series, Morita and Hagu would be an insanely entertaining couple, and while Yamada is a wonderful character it's plainly obvious that Mayama cares so much more for Rika that I can't imagine any real kind of relationship working between them.

Oh, what am I saying, I'm talking crap. We've got twenty more episodes to thrash all this out with, although I suspect it'll just end with them all graduating and saying goodbye to each other or something like that, ho hum.

Honey and Clover Chapter 5

Takemoto returns home briefly to visit his sick mum and his step-dad, who takes him out for a quick practice of baseball while they catch up and Takemoto muses on his feelings for his parents. In the second half of the episode, Hanamoto-sensei drives Hagu, Takemoto, Yamada and Morita on a trip to a bath house - Mayama ends up turning up late after they're all horribly drunk and Hagu's crying because Yamada insulted her bust size (oh, and Morita runs around with a crab on his head for a while), before Hanamoto-sensei and Mayama end up in the baths together, where their rivalry over Rika is no less diminished.

Mayama was quite blatantly checking out Hanamoto-sensei's package at the end there. Crazy stuff. As usual, it's great stuff, and I'm liking the more dramatic flavour of the series that's developed since the crazy first episode while still leavening it with plenty of humour - this episode was a little on the superfluous side, although it was all very sweet and nice and lovely and all sorts of other insipid adjectives, as normal.

And then the next episode preview made me go nuts and wish it was next week already. "The Past, Tears, and Confession"! Poor Yamada...

Honey and Clover Chapter 4

Mayama muses on his relationship with Rika (the "disabled" woman), while coming into conflict with Shuuji, who has known Rika since college and still entertains feelings for her. Hagu suffers a massive panic attack after she gets picked on by some other students, so Takemoto looks after her while Morita totally doesn't grasp the situation.

Then, it's Christmas! Christmas is traditionally not a happy time for Takemoto, as his mother used to work all the time (as a nurse), but things perk up when Santa Morita invites everyone to a party (involving such Yuletide traditions as...spaghetti...), which ends with drunken antics for all - except Rika, who stands by an unknown grave, alone...

In a series of superlative episodes, this one stands out as the best yet. While none of them have thus far really totally captured the utter insanity of episode 1, Honey and Clover really hits a dramatic high here with backstory and angst a-plenty, even alongside Morita's bizarre antics (the "Moon River" section was brilliant, and SO appropriate!) and Yamada's Tetsujin displays. It'll be interesting to see how the Mayama/Shuuji situation plays out, but to be honest I find all the relationships in Honey and Clover compelling so that's not exactly saying much...

Seriously, though. Spaghetti at Christmas?

Honey and Clover Chapter 3

It's the end of the summer holidays, and Hagumi is about to return to college. She decides to hold a soba party, but Mayama and Morita fail to turn up - Mayama has girl trouble and Morita's dad spirits him off. Hagu shows Takemoto her room and her homemade dolls, which leads to disaster for Takemoto as he foolishly decides to please her by offering to make some clothes for them - she picks the Rococo Style, much to his chagrin.

The following day, while heading into college, Takemoto sees Mayama helping a mysterious girl in a car before Yamada (from the last episode) comes and attacks him. Takemoto spies the mysterious girl in the infirmary walking with a crutch, but Dr. Hanamoto sidesteps his attempts to probe him on her identity and relationship to him, whil Hagumi gets upset over her lack of female friends. Finally, Yamada confronts Mayama once more about why he always runs away from her, the outcome of which leaves her utterly confused about her feelings for him, with only Morita to comfort her.

Redundant statement - Honey and Clover is awesome. Every episode is absolutely packed with little juicy plot nuggets in the multitudinous strands running through the story, the voice acting and art are still top-notch, and it's all perfectly put together.

My one quibble is this - why on earth does Yamada get cross with Mayama for running away from her attempts to talk to him when she basically beats him up in front of her classmates? Strange girl.

Honey and Clover Chapter 2

It's all about Hagumi this time round. Morita makes a creepy webpage devoted to her as a forest sprite that brings odd fanboys to her door, but later makes it up to her by buying a pair of shoes she wanted. Mayama convinces Takemoto to hold a teppanyaki party in the apartment after seeing how much he likes her, while Mayama himself reflects briefly on his past relationship with Yumi, a potter who makes friends with Hagumi.

Morita is one scary bloke.

I'm trying not to say the same things I said about the first episode here, but it's proving rather difficult. Essentially, it's another series based around Ye Olde Shoujo Cliche of people in school/college going through life and falling in love, a genre I actually have very little experience with (aside from KareKano, I don't think I've watched any such series to completion before). Yet Honey and Clover is definitely an extremely good addition to the genre, and probably the best series I'm watching from the new season (I may love Aquarion, but it's not exactly brilliant quality!). Surprisingly enough, I plan to keep on blogging this.

I was particularly pleasantly surprised by Hagumi's voice acting this episode. Last time she only really had to do reactions (which she's really very good at it seems) but her voice isn't as fearsomely moe as I might have expected - obviously I'm applying shounen standards to shoujo, but it was a relief that she actually sounds vaguely normal and like her age rather than her size.

Honey and Clover Chapter 1

OP - Dramatic (Yuki) - the singer unfortunately appears to have something lodged in her rectum judging from her voice, but the song is pretty good - and what an AWESOME opening animation! Stop-motion stuff with bits of food, it's crazy but really really cool - and the end will surprise you!

ED - Waltz (Snowhare, I think it romanises as) - it's not a waltz, it's in 4/4... half-decent poppy song with a little extra scene at the end with lots of spinning clovers and stuff.

Takemoto is a poor, struggling art college student in Tokyo, living in a dormitory with his upper classmen friend Mayama and the distinctly odd Morita amongst others. After the trials and tribulations of attempting to get Morita to class on time (involving photographic evidence, wooden scooters and balletic dancing), they meet the daughter of a cousin of their teachers, Hagumi Hanamoto, with whom all three become immediately smitten, although Morita goes to extraordinary lengths to show this.

Of course, there's a lot more to the first episode of Honey and Clover than that, which Garten has already covered. As a school "slice of life" show in the grand tradition of many shoujo shows before it, it's quite difficult to summarise what happened here (i.e. not a lot), especially there were a lot of shots devoted to establishing characters that we haven't really met, such as Yamada (who has some kind of problem with Mayama).

But I must implore all of you out there to watch Honey and Clover, as I absolutely loved the first episode. I'm a sucker for shoujo, as I've said before, but Honey and Clover's first episode was really well done, a rarity in these days where shoujo shows get very little in the way of budgeting. The show is part of Fuji TV's "Noitamina" initiative, attempting to attract an older (i.e. college-age) female audience to late-night anime, and JC Staff appears to have pulled all the stops out - I once read that the studio aims to do shows that are "different" (note that their other offerings this season are Gokujyo Seitokai and Loveless!), and Honey and Clover certainly looks the part, with gorgeously detailed backdrops and a slightly "washed-out" look which, unlike Bleach's fuzz-filter, gives everything a hazy, wistful atmosphere - think Saikano crossed with KareKano and you'll have some idea of the visuals. While I don't "get" shounen comedy, I've never had this problem with shoujo usually, and I actually laughed more than once!

It's too early to tell much about a lot of the characters - Hagumi could potentially be a little annoying; although she's amusingly cute and terrified of Morita, she'll need a bit more substance before I fall for her - but after one episode I'm definitely interested to follow the slightly odd lives of the oddball cast.