Pimp Post: Hachimitsu to Kuroba/Honey and Clover.
I've wanted to do a pimp post for this series forever! The yakuza unicorns just gave the kick in the behind I needed. XD
Anyhoo, as you can probably tell from my journal, I have many many fandoms which can be very different from each other. But there are some fandoms that I think everyone can enjoy, no matter what you're into. Case in point: Honey & Clover.
The anime version. Don't get me wrong, I liked the drama version (kinda liked the movie version, but mostly cos of Sho! XD), but it's not as good as the anime version. For one thing, it keeps incredibly close to the manga storyline. For another, we get to see everyone's backstory (well, almost everyone, but I won't give it away).
The story is based around five college students and their lives as they go from adolescence to adulthood, (wonderfully) narrated by the main character Takemoto Yuta.
This is Takemoto Yuta (19 years old at the start of the series). He's probably the most normal out of all the characters, and is probably the one people relate to most when watching this series. He has a very sweet and gentle nature, which is often taken advantage of by the older two around him. He spends a lot of the series trying to figure out where he's going in life, wondering why he entered an art school etc. He goes through a lot in the series, and he was definitely the one I related to the most.
One thing I liked about Takemoto that isn't often commented on, is his dry sense of humour. Morita and Mayama tend to provide most of the humour in the show, but sometimes Takemoto will come out with one little snide comment that has me cracking up for ages. (A lot of credit for that goes to Hiroshi Kamiya, Takemoto's VA. Dude's got excellent comic timing) He can also be quite comically pitiful, he often reminds me of Charlie Brown! XD (They played on this aspect of Takemoto a lot more in the drama XD)
Case in point:
Click to viewThis is the clip that got me watching the show in the first place! XD Awww, Takemoto...
Another example; Takemoto is left with the task of waking up Morita. If he doesn't, Morita will miss class and he'll have to repeat the year. Somehow, it's Takemoto's fault! XD
This Morita Shinobu, probably the show's most loved character. Morita is...interesting, to put it politely! XD He's a bit of a nutcase, but there's actually a lot more to him than meets the eye. He lives in the cheap apartments with everyone else, but disappears for days and comes back with wads of cash in his pocket. He's a lot older than the rest of the characters, as he's been repeating college a lot. I won't tell ya how many times! XD Despite his kind of slacker-attitude, Morita is a very talented artist.
I love Morita a lot! He's lots of fun to watch, and never fails to make me laugh. See below...
He loves money....
He also likes to torment people a lot!
This is Mayama Takumi. He's not the oldest of the group, but acts like the dad most of the time. He's an Architect Major, and is a bit of psycho. Yes, psycho. But in a funny way, so it's okay! ;) He is in love with an older woman. Umm....there's not a lot we really know about Mayama! ^_^() He does add a lot to the story though, and is generally a good person. He can be very sarcastic though. I'd give you examples, but a lot of Mayama's funnier moments happen later in the series, and I don't wanna give any spoilers!
This is Yamada Ayumi. She's probably the character that a lot of people also related to during the course of the series. She is majoring in Ceramic Arts at the university. She has a reputation of being pretty tough, and has a big fan following at school. She is very much in love with Mayama, even though he doesn't return her feelings. I LOVE Ayu. She's such a real character, although sometimes I found myself wanting to throw a TV at her! XD I will, however, never understand what she sees in Mayama. Ever! She also has a dad who comes off as a bit Yakuza. XD
This is Hanamoto Hagumi. She's a quiet girl who has lived in the country all her life, but moves to Tokyo to study art. She's 18, but looks about five. XD She's not good at socialising with people, but does her best and soon becomes fond of all her friends. She's the daughter of the cousin of Hanamoto-sensei (we'll get to him next). Both Morita and Takemoto fall in love with Hagu at first sight...and you'll just have to see how that ends up!
She's very cute! XD
This is Hanamoto Shuuji. He's Hagu's second cousin (right?) but is more like a father-figure to her. I won't get too much into Shuuji's character (spoilers!!) but I'd love to have him as a teacher. He's a bit manic, very overprotective of Hagu and a very good-hearted person. He's also hella funny (something both the movie and the drama failed to pick up on!). I love Shuuji also!
There are other characters who come up later in the series, but like I said, I don't wanna give any spoilers. Let me just say, look out for the crazies from Fujiwara design and the spoof character of a famous American film director. Why do I always end up loving the side characters the most!? XD
One of the things I love most about this series is the attention to detail. There are so many running gags, little nudges about stuff that you wouldn't even think was important (Mayama's shirt FTW) and the obsession with adolescence!
Another thing I love about this show is the use of music. The opening and ending songs themselves are wonderful, but different insert songs (by the band Spitz and the singer Suga Shikao) are used almost every episode and it really gives the show a unique feeling.
The opening:
The ending:
Honey & Clover will make you laugh, make you cry and either really relate to what you're going through at the moment or remember the times when you were going through stuff like this.
It has two seasons, first season has 24 episodes and the second season has 12, with two special episodes in between the two seasons. The artwork is unique, yet more realistic than most animes. It's an emotional rollercoaster, but definitely worth it. You'll definitely end up loving at least one of the characters, if not all of them. And if the first episode doesn't make you almost wet yourself laughing, then I don't know what to do with you! XD