Anime endings have a bad habit of being subpar to the rest of the series. Honey and Clover II is no exception to this, however, while the ending wasn’t as good as build up, it was not without its good points. Of which do NOT include Takemoto’s replacement seiyuu, maybe because I’m used to the onrmal Takemoto but I thought he didn’t fit the role at all.

I think the problem was that too many unresolved storylines had to converge and be tied off at the end. This led to a mashing of all storylines into a rough conclusion and vague linking. Although not poorly done it led to quick jumps in storylines and hastened conclusions, not consistent with the Honey and Clover that I’ve come to love over the past season.

*Edit* Upon rewatching the ending a few times and picking up a few missed subtleties, and having a few pointed out by others, I’ve changed my mind about this ending. It is not subpar to the rest of the series, just as my initial impression of the Hagu arc was, it’s just different. Though it was a little rushed I think everything was tied up quite nicely.

Synopsis

The episode starts off with Takemoto (blah @ replacement seiyuu) reflecting on whether an unrequieted love is worth suffering through. Fortunately this doesn’t last long and after the OP we get to Shuu-chan who is talking to Yamada about his confession. Yamada, obviously rattled by the revelation, bombards him with questions and unintentional insults in an effort to figure out how, when and why this happened. Shortly into their conversation, Mayama shows up and proceeds to grope Shuu-chan…literally, while congratulating him on his decision.

We then cut to Mayama talking to Yamada, who apologizes for being an inconvenience and doing unnecessary things. Mayama reassures her that, even without her intervention, things would have had no choice but to end up as they did. He goes on to explain that Hagu really does love Morita, but chose Shuu-chan because she wants to pursue what she feels is her purpose in life, art. Only Shuu-chan would lead her to her eventual recovery, and only her determination to recover could sway Morita to continue living his life rather than throwing everything away for her sake.

Cut to Rika! Wait…wth? Rika? Rika! *insert Leader-type happy fit* In Shuu-chan’s old room they reminisce about the past and look towards the future. Some flashbacks remind us of how close Rika, Shuu-chan and Harada were and how much Harada’s death affected the remaining two. The death of Harada was in someways the death of a part of Shuu-chan, and the only thing that seemingly kept him going was Hagu, she was breathing life back into him. And so, after being saved by this girl, it is now his turn to save her, to help her pursue her dream. We also get a flashback to a MayamaXRika lover’s quarrel about whether to return to Japan or not, I guess Rika won o.o

Cut to Kaoru! (seeing a trend here?) For some reason he goes to see the former president of the company he overtook, maybe he wanted to see him suffer? In any case, he sees that the former president is living how his family did before business got in the way. Everyone was happy, supportive and keeping each other’s hopes high in times of trouble. No longer able to stand the flood of painful memories, he leaves. He calls up his secretary and gets some much needed cheering up. Correction! Thanks to Theowne for pointing it out. Kaoru was going to visit his childhood home, not the former president, but when he got there that’s who was living there. His call to his secretary was not for cheering up, it was to confirm why his secretary (and apparently Shinobu) had set this up. Terrible mistake on my part for not noticing this >_< thanks again to Theowne for notifying me about this. Shortly after he returns home to enjoy a nostalgic curry dinner with Shinobu, curry saves all! That night the two talk about their futures, Shinobu is going to work with George Peter Lucas, inspired by his personality which is similar to their father. All this is thanks to Hagu of course, who’s reassurance and support have left him with no choice but to charge head on into life. Kaoru will continue to manage the company, the only task a man of his personality is suited for.

Flash forward a few months and it’s spring! Hagu is out of the hospital, but continuing her rehabilitation, Mayama and Rika have returned to Spain, Morita is becoming a famous CGI director and Takemoto (along with his crappy seiyuu) is off to work with the temple reconstruction team. Upon the mention that it will be their last night all together, Mayama, Yamada and Shuu-chan nearly burst into tears and send Takemoto and Hagu off to buy ice cream to avoid embarassment. Takemoto and Hagu have a heart to heart talk on the way to the store (with Takemoto doing the biking, naturally). Hagu compliments Takemoto on his dedication to his work and is happy for him and the temples that he will be repairing. Tekemoto reassures Hagu that she is not being a bother to Shuu-chan, that simply being with him is returning the favor as he continues to search for what it is he truly desires in life and that if there’s anyone who can do it, it’s him.

The series then comes full circle to its finale, reminiscent of the beginning episodes of the first series, Takemoto describes the dorm that they have lived in for the past few years of their lives and how sad it is to leave it. At the train station Takemoto enters the completely empty train that will carry him to his new life when all of a sudden he sees Hagu on the platform. Hagu gives Takemoto a parting gift and the two share a final embrace before the train doors close and tear them apart. Takemoto opens Hagu’s package which contains some rather dodgy looking but homemade sandwiches, inside he finds them filled with honey and four-leaf clovers. Sparking memories of the time when the whole gang was looking for that single four-leaf clover, he comes to the realization that everyone has finally parted ways and things will never be the same between them. Eventually their time at Hamabi will fade deep into their memories. Asking himself again if there’s any meaning to an unrequieted love and events that will disappear the same as if they never existed in the first place, he believes they do and casts off all lingering regret for falling in love with Hagu.

As the credits roll there are some minor loose ends tied up. Quick flashes of NomiyaXYamada, MayamaXRika…Xrandom spanish guy, Kaoru working, Shinobu working and Takemoto working, all to the tune of Split made for a very nice ending scene. The final line is delivered by Takemoto, basically that despite everyone going their separate ways, the bittersweet memories will remain as life continues revolving.

Thoughts

Not exactly a contender with episode 9 for the best ep of the season, but all in all I was pleased with the ending. Though not exceptionally done, I think it was fitting. The episode managed to cram in loads of conclusions and tie up all loose ends while still maintaining a sort of anti-climactic feeling. Although the rapid and fragmented torrent of information seemed too fast paced for H&C’s normally slow pacing, it managed to not completely ruin it. The sheer amount of drama that occured in these past three seasons needed to be resolved within a fairly short amount of time, and I think they pulled it off decently.

I still feel weird about the Hagu love square, it wasn’t truly resolved…Shuu-chan has the upper hand seeing as he is the one who will help her achieve her dreams, but Hagu threw her support and love behind Morita, while stringing along Takemoto in a pseudo-friendship type relationship. It’s just weird and I would have liked to see a definite resolution instead. I still say Morita-san FTW! XD

As for Hagu’s recovery, I still don’t think she’ll recover fully, but unfortunately we’ll never know the true resolution to that…though she does seem to be on her way to a comparable condition *shrugs* Your guess is as good as mine on this, but unless we get another season, it will forever remain a mystery.

Honey and Clover has evolved immensely from its slice-of-life, pseudo school life comedy roots. I never could have anticipated that depth that this anime reached on several levels. And although its content is just a little overhyped in terms of complexity and deepness, it will forever remain one of the bests in my mind. It’s really sad to see such a wonderful anime end, but I think that additional seasons would only serve to ruin the series. Maybe some more OVAs XD!

Victories

- Fitting ending, all loose ends tied up nicely
- Animation, consistent with the rest of the anime, which is fairly high quality
- Insert song, I loved this week’s song
- Yamada’s freak out XD
- Hagu, though she’s stringing everyone along, she’s still my fav char in all other aspects
- Full circle ending, I love that technique
- Rika!!!

Phailures

- Getting everything resolved cause a pacing a little too fast for my liking
- Takemoto’s replacement seiyuu
- Open ended Hagu relationships
- No NomiyaXYamada closure
- Worst of all, no more Honey and Clover to look forward to

It’s been a hell of a ride, this show really gripped my attention for the past few months and while it’s sad to see it go, it’ll have a spot in my heart and on my top anime list for some time to come. It’s been fun blogging, thanks to all the readers and thanks to Solar&Ideology for subbing this! I look forward to the ep 12 remake with Takemoto’s REAL seiyuu and possibly the movie/OVAs!

~ Shirukii ~

One of roughly 10 times I WTF’d in this ep

Synopsis:

This ep picks up right where the last one left off, Morita and Hagu sharing a futon. Hagu wakes up and smiles happily as she remembers the kind words from Morita the night before. However, the happiness does not last very long as she realizes that her hand is swollen and she can’t feel it. As she scrambles to get back to the hospital, she frantically calls out for Shuu-chan…I had a really bad feeling at this point, the type of feeling you only get when incest rears its head. Realizing that this is his last chance to win over Hagu, he tries to stop her, but concedes when he understands that she is serious. Cue insert song, off to the hospital we go!

Just past the entrance door to the hospital, Shuu-chan is waiting. With a slightly angry glare at Morita, he takes Hagu back to her room. After getting her settled in again, he confronts Morita, and by confront I mean punches him in the face. Of course this doesn’t deter him much, he sneaks into Hagu’s room via the window and we learn that the punch was returned and then some. After some randomly placed comic relief the tone turns much more serious, Hagu decides that she will not quit until she can draw again. Drawing is her life and cannot live without it, she doesn’t care if she can leave her mark on the world or not, just drawing with a pencil and paper is enough for her. This of course means that Morita just got rejected and the winner of the Hagu love race is…Shuu-chan! Incest, get! She also tells Morita to repeat those kind words to his brother as sincerely as he did to her.

Later, Takemoto finds Morita hanging around the hospital and tells him that Shuu-chan will kill him ifhe sees him. Morita tells him that they already exchanged fists *insert comic relief*. With both of them having been rejected, Takemoto decides to show Morita Shuu-chan’s resolve. Upon seeing that he abandoned his job and life just to help Hagu, Morita realizes that he’s no match for that type of man.

Back at the hospital, Hagu finally works up the courage to ask for Shuu-chan’s help. She asks him to devote his life to her, to stay beside her until the very end even though she has nothing to give to him in return. Of course Shuu-chan has already given up everything for her and nonchalantly agrees to her plea.

Flashback time! We are taken to Hagu’s childhood and get some backwards development on her relationship with Shuu-chan. In a rather clever metaphor she compares him to the rain. In her eyes the rain blurs the borders of the world, gently healing all that it passes over, provoking a feeling of relief that almost makes her want to cry. Hagu feels that being with Shuu-chan will let her breathe easier and grow bigger and bigger, much like how rain can help trees and grass grow. She realizes how important Shuu-chan is to her, always looking after her, smiling with a slightly troubled look on his face.

And what of our two rejected bachelors? What else can you do in the face of depression but drink your troubles away! They wake up not even knowing if it’s dusk or dawn and with empty stomachs. The scene that follows has led me to the derivation of a very simple formula:

(Morita – Food) + Food = Win

Where the first function (Morita – Food) refers to the fact that he’s hungry and the subsequent addition of “+ food” refers to the presence of not yet eaten food. More simply:

Hungry Morita + Sight of Food = Win

However, if you simplify the original equation…

(Morita – Food) + Food = Win
Morita – Food + Food = Win
Morita = Win

…we find that Morita is just plain awesome.

With a love triangle that became a square and was resolved within three minutes, what else could be done to add to the randomness of the show? Naruto parodies of course! Initiated by Takemoto saying that neither him nor Morita could make Hagu happy, only Shuu-chan can; Takemoto and Morita face off on the riverbank, only to be interrupted by dogs *points to leading image*. However, the fight was not completely useless. In the duration of the fight we come to realize that Morita falls short because all he can offer is money and telent. Whereas Shuu-chan has true virtues, compassion and honor; and Takemoto, seemingly lacking all of the above, is glad that Hagu made the right choice. This causes Morita to come to terms with the his talent being a mixed blessing, provoking envy and hate from others, who eventually drift away altogether. Morita realized this truth long ago and tried to use Hagu as an escape by dragging her down with him.

And so, Morita does the only thing he can do, he throws money and the problem, leaving a box of cash at Shuu-chan’s office. Shuu-chan only takes a small portion, just enough to cover expenses, and whips the box back at Morita, vowing to repay his debt one day. In parting, Morita asks Shuu-chan if he loves her. Moronically, he screams from the window at the top of his lungs that he does. The whole faculty hears and begin preemptive celebration. However, Yamada, who was right behind him, is left in shock.

Thoughts:

I found it very difficult to summarize and comment on this episode, mainly because it was so packed with plot twists and complete randomness. It was like watching a 20 minute YTMND, my mind was in a suspended state of WTF.

My theory of Hagu having to accept reality has been slightly cracked as she seems to be on a path to recovery. However, she did have to come to terms with the difficulty and possible failure of the rehab, so I was right in that respect. More importantly, she doesn’t seem to be suicidal anymore, which is always a good sign ^^.

*sigh* The Shuu-chan ending to the Hagu harem. It wasn’t like it was completely random, the hints were numerous seeing how much he did for her…but Honey & Clover was the last place I would have expected incest to crop up. If you look back, it makes sense why Shuu-chan was chosen, but if this was the plan all along why make him her cousin? The story could have had the same conclusion even if he was simply a childhood friend. But then again, cousin and sibling relationships are becoming more and more common place in animes today, but to come from HC which before this hadn’t done anything too controversial, is a little weird and unexpected to say the least.

On another note, the animation at the beginning of this episode was terrible! Thankfully it got steadily better as the ep progressed, but for the whole time that the insert song was running, it was crap! The faces looked monotonous and unexpressive and the scenery was bleak and uninspired. By the midpoint all was up and running at expected quality, but that first segment made me cringe.

All things considered, this was an excellent episode. It might have left me in a state of shock, but the impact was made. As everything comes to a conclusion, we seem to be heading towards a Gainax ending (if this ep doesn’t seal that fate already) but it doesn’t feel like a failure. Sure it was rushed, unexpected and morally wrong, but if you look at everything from hindsight and with an open mind, it makes sense. Onward to the last episode of what has been the summer season’s best title! (opinion of course)

Loli-er Hagu ftw!

Note to rejected bachelors: Do not resort to yaoi

Suddenly my random DBZ jokes aren’t so random anymore =P

Load Silver Cartridge!

Fire!

NO WAI!

ORLY?!

Victories

- Randomness and plot twists, though a little crazy
- Hagu’s decision, about her rehab, not Shuu-chan
- Loli loli hagu!
- Return of the Morita craziness
- Insert song, these all rock
- No stupid Mayama arc!
- Shuu-chan’s determination and will to help Hagu

Phailures

- Incest
- Animation during insert song
- Morita loses =(
- Not enough time to resolve Yamada/Nomiya & Mayama/Rika relationships, because…
- Only 1 episode left T_T

I apologize for my poor writing skills on this entry, the return of school has shoved more math in my face than I can handle, linguistics skills are nosediving D=

~ Shirukii ~

Loli Hagu for the ultimate win!

Synopsis:

No fooling around this time, a Hagu centric episode right from the start. Yamada goes to visit Hagu who is in the process of the painful rehabilitation process. While waiting for Hagu to show up Yamada notices another rehab patient, a boy who was in a car accident, who is acting much unlike Hagu and crying like a little girl. The rehab doctor tries to explain the immense physical and mental pain one experiences in rehab and says that most people will opt to quit when healed to a sufficient enough point. However, Hagu must undergo the rehab until its completion if she ever hopes to draw again.

Hagu then shows up and in a valiant display of Yamada’s support poor attempt at comedic relief, Yamada’s cooking is reborn. This time it’s boiled beef tendons mixed with kumquat…nice. As her cooking apprentice Hagu thinks it’s delicious, however it all but kills the rehab doctor, the other rehab patient and his mother.

Back at Yamada’s apartment she reminisces about Morita and his constant disappearances, especially at a time where Hagu is in so much pain. She eventually decides to send an email to Mayama asking for his undying love him to find Morita and tell him what happened to Hagu. This brings us to a brief visit of Spain, and thank God it was brief because this arc just plain sucks. Being the first time Mayama has heard of the accident, he’s a little shocked as well.

The next day, or what seems to be the next day at least, Morita comes barging in asking where Hagu, affectionately nicknamed “Mouse” at this point, is. Yamada tells him what hospital she’s at and off he goes, impressively hurdling out the window as his professor and peers appear at the mere mention of his name for various reasons. Takemoto goes all angsty and emo on us again and realizes that if he doesn’t do something, and most likely even if he does, Morita will take Hagu. And off he goes, trying to mimic Morita he tries to hurdle the window, and in an obvious attempt at foreshadowing, falls flat on his face. And so to reclaim his dignity, he does the only thing he can, rides a bike! >_>”

Back at the hospital we see Hagu and the boy from earlier on in rehab, Hagu bearing the pain and the boy whining like no tomorrow. Shuu-chan suggests going outside for a while for a change of scenery. This scene was absolutely beautiful, the animators somehow made Hagu look amazing. Beyond the animation we get some deep plot development, Shuu-chan tells Hagu that it’s alright to complain and cry. Hagu says that she’s afraid she won’t be able to stop venting her feelings if she starts and apologizes for burdening Shuu-chan. He reminds her that even when she used to wet the bed, he still took care and loved her, that will never change. Hagu then has a mini-breakdown and questions the meaning in her life if she can’t draw, we also get an elongated flashback of the whole “I met God and started drawing” scene from before, loli Hagu!!!

Cue Morita, stage left. Taking advantage of Shuu-chan getting something to drink, Morita sweeps in and snatches Hagu away, much to the dismay of Shuu-chan and the recently arrived Takemoto.

Morita takes Hagu to his secret base, where he and his brother used to hang out. Hagu seems excited from Morita’s arrival, she begins to bombard him with questions, what he saw, where he went, what he’s been making. She then promises that her hand will heal soon, asking him to wait for her so things can go back to how they were. Then Morita says what I’ve been thinking for the past two episodes and what the others SHOULD have been telling her: “It’s all right, you don’t need to draw anymore. It’s absurd to think that your life won’t have a meaning unless you leave something behind.” He says this obviously drawing on his own experiences, Hagu is left in awe by his words of sincerity and kindness. The scene fades with the two locked in embrace.

Cut back to the school, it’s revealed that Shuu-chan is taking a three year sabbatical from work to dedicate to Hagu’s rehab. But now with the arrival of Morita, it may have all been for nothing, he seems to realize this more than anyone. Takemoto also picks up on this and tells him to tell Hagu, to tell her how much he’s sacrificed for her and to pick him over Morita. Takemoto says this knowing the feeling, because he too, without any hope or means, told Hagu the same thing, albeit in a different context. And so the ED kicks in as scenes flash, Takemoto alone, Shuu-chan alone, Hagu and Morita sharing a futon.

Thoughts:

Honey and Clover II continues to look good heading into the ending stretch, will this anime finally break the chain of animes that fall apart at their endings?! Only time will tell. But as for this episode, it was amazing. At first I was worried that the Hagu arc was an indication that Honey and Clover had lost its flare and was resorting to cliche plotlines, killing its slice of life feel. However, it has turned out pretty well, although the atmosphere is drifting away from its slice of life mold, it’s actually a good thing.

The Hagu arc based on a more dramatic subject is a breath of fresh air for Honey and Clover. I suppose it wasn’t that they were resorting to distancing the anime from slice of life, but rather that they realized they hit a dead end and had to do a 180 to save the awesomeness. And save it they did, while keeping the subtle yet powerful one liners as good as ever they took the anime in a completely new direction without losing anything along the way.

The resolution seems to be lining up with my predictions, that Hagu will not make a full recovery and have to make the difficult decision of whether to end her life as she said she would, or continue in a new path. What I didn’t expect was such a serious speech coming from Morita of all people, he now has my respect for more than his awesome comedic relief. Both Morita and Takemoto genuinely love Hagu, but only Morita is effectively pursuing the relationship and advancing it, whereas Takemoto is horribly indecisive.

As for the Rika arc…as I said, it just plain sucks. Although rika and Mayama did get their spotlight screentime both last season and this season, it’s sad to see them relegated to cameo appearances (in Rika’s case, not even that). Where is the justice in the random Spanish guy getting more screentime than Rika!?!

But all in all Honey and Clover II is on the road to becoming immortalized very high in the list of my all time favourite animes. It has grown so much from the tale of a group of university art students and is set to have one hell of an ending.

Cause

Effect: Yamada Genocide! Nooooo~

I want that screensaver so badly! Someone, find it for me, nao!

The animators have done the impossible, Hagu attains bishoujo status! …

…errr…for a while

Morita: Takemoto: 0

Victories

- Insert song, just amazing
- Animation, *points to Hagu bishoujo pic* end of discussion.
- Morita ftw
- Sakura petal screensaver
- Shuu-chan comedic relief
- More awesome “one liner” cliches

As usual I’ll just cut it off here and say the whole Hagu arc in general.

Phailures

- Rika Spain arc
- Yamada comedic relief
- Lack of Morita’s random insanity, though it wouldn’t have worked
- Takemoto pwned, but one of them had to lose

~ Shirukii ~

This episode starts off looking like it was going to be more on the Moritas backstory, which would have caused me to put a whole through my new monitor. The first couple minutes were devoted to showing the aftermath of the brothers’ takeover/revenge plot. With nothing left to pursue, Kaoru breaks down, seemingly without a purpose in life he confesses to Shinobu about how jealous he’s been of him. Kaoru tells his brother that he was always the talented one, and they both knew it, that Shinobu was only tagging along because he felt obligated to help Kaoru. And most painfully to Kaoru, he admits that their father loved him more, that Shinobu was the one on his mind until the end. If you read my HCII 7 post and read my theory on the brothers, you know that I feel that is completely wrong, but it’s up to interpretation.

Onto the real content now! (Nothing against the Moritas, but you two just can’t beat out Hagu drama) Hagu has undergone her operation and in the aftermath still doesn’t have any feeling in her right hand. Knowing that time is of the essence if a second operation is needed, she refuses all painkillers and stabilizers until the pain in her right hand returned. It does eventually, but due to the stress she had put on her body, she passes out shortly after.

That was, however, the easy part (not to discount the immense pain) and the long road of rehabilitation stands in front of Hagu. As the rehabilitation progresses, we learn that Hagu has lost sensation in her fingertips, a bad sign. And while it is not unheard of that a person goes from that state to full recovery, it is a very long and harsh road. Added to that, Hagu’s parents came to visit their daughter, the father looking especially like an established presence in the world of art. As Takemoto puts it from his observations: “The place she was supposed to be able to return to isn’t the same anymore” In short, Hagu’s father has all but given up hope on her recovery, and pretty much disowned her as an artist and daughter, OUCH.

The stress from all these events piling up causes Hagu to begin to bite herself, as indicated by bruises on her left hand. These bruises eventually transfer over to Shuu-chan, indicating that he’s not only supporting her mentally, but also physically.

Through all this, Takemoto and Yamada are standing by as best they can, but as they both admit, she’s in a different world than they are. Nomiya uses this time to support Yamada by telling her not to run away from Hagu in fear that they’re from different worlds. He says that if everyone acted the same way, Hagu would end up alone, Shuu-chan also says this in a similar manner.

Yamada does her part by doing her best to keep Hagu’s spirits up. Bringing her a hand knit mantle, MDs, and various other etc items. (By the way, what’s up with animes referencing MDs, we’re in 2006! I-Pods anyone?) Takemoto on the other hand, is going through a dilemma. He wants to stay by Hagu’s side, but knows that soon he has to leave for his job with the temple repair gang. No matter how he adds things up, he has a simple choice:
i. Go to work and lose Hagu
ii. Stay with Hagu only to become a bum and a burden to her later on
Sucks for you Takemoto.

This episode was simply amazing, and completely justifies the previous episode which I didn’t like too much, but now have a changed opinion of.

Thoughts:

This episode and the previous one sure were different from normal Honey and Clover episodes, but it came together amazingly. Have you ever watched an anime and lost sense of time, the only way you knew how far into it you were was by that little half time cut most animes do? Well this did that, I witnissed half an hour of my life disappear in a blink.

Though angered initially because it looked like we were getting a Morita episode, things quickly turned around when the Hagu arc picked up. This girl has become centric to my love for HCII, I didn’t really like her much in the original because I thought she was kind of airy and childish. But whoa, what a turn around in season two, she has shown multiple personality facets. Courage, playfulness, innocence, realism, the list could go on forever, the fact is that Hagu is an amazingly developed character. Her sheer will to endure the pain just so she could know the status on her arm induced genuine sympathy from me, and I’m a pretty sarcastic and sometimes cold hearted person, so that’s an accomplishment.

My sympathy for Hagu has reached and crashed through the barriers of infinity, I’m on the verge of trying to leap through my monitor and give her a hug and some encouragement. Unlike Takemoto, who is being rather passive on the subject, though considering his dilemma, it can’t be helped.

I hate to sound like a skipping CD, but this episode was simply amazing. It justifies the direct drama, it justifies the blood stain glass teaser, it justifies almost everything I bad mouthed before. Not to sound like a fanboy, but HCII is without a doubt, the season’s best anime. (Opinion! Back off, Tsukaima fanboys!)

Words do not suffice to describe my sympathy for Hagu

It suddenly became clear why the ED is named “Split”

It’s scenes like this that render me unable to use screenshots and out of context subscripts in the name of comedy

Okay maybe just one, ahahahahahaha! Owned

Victories

- Insert song
- Hagu drama that didn’t seem forced
- Cliche, yet powerful one-liners that are still sending reverberating chills down my spine
- Imagery depicting the recurring theme of separation
- Animation

…I’m going to have to stop here and just sum up with, EVERYTHING, except

Phailures

- Deceptive beginning, leading me to think it was a Morita-centric ep
- No Rika side arc…though considering its content, maybe this should be listed above

Looks like Hagu will be out of the hospital next ep, according to the preview, so we’ll see how things go. I personally still don’t believe she’ll make a full recovery, but who knows, let’s pray this girl gets a break!

~ Shirukii ~

Synopsis:

If last week’s teaser shot at the end didn’t give it away, this episode of HCII takes a more depressing road. The episode starts off with a monologue from Hagu and some teaser shots of more broken glass. She basically says that when she was small she saw God and that inspired her to begin drawing. Furthermore, that if she ever lost the ability to draw she might as well die at that moment, foreshadowing anyone?

So with the Hamabi festival underway, things are being moved around in preparation. Hagu and Takemoto are reviewing his huge…tower…thing. Hagu praises it and Takemoto blushes like a shy bishoujo in mid-confession. As the conversation switches gears to the future, Takemoto tells Hagu that he plans to join the reconstruction team and travel japan repairing temples and such. Hagu falls into a sense of nostalgia, thinking of how sad it will be when everyone parts ways and won’t be able to see each other anymore and do the things that they take for granted in daily life. Takemoto takes the opportunity to ask her if she really intends to go back to Nagano and stop her art career. Hagu still thinks that it’s unreasonable to ask Shuu-chan to divert his life for her sake.

And so as that conversation ends and Hagu takes a walk, a strong wind picks up and blows a pane of glass into a ledge, shattering it and sending the glass projectiles onto the victim below…Hagu. Slowly the news begins to spread around campus and eventually Shuu-chan gets a call informing him of what happened. Takemoto hears the news through word of mouth and rushes to the scene to see a blood covered sidewalk and news that it was indeed Hagu. Yamada meets Takemoto there and tells him what happened and that Shuu will call them when there’s news and until then to stay on campus.

At the hospital we learn that Hagu needed a considerable amount of stitches to a gash on her head and severe damage to her right hand. Takemoto and Yamada are at her bedside and ask her how she’s doing, she tells them that her head hurts a little but her hand feels no pain…not a good sign >_< And indeed, Shuu tells Hagu that the nerves and tendons in her right hand have been cut and it will take months of recovery and rehab to ensure they heal properly, even then there's no guarantee that her hand will be able to function as it did before. Lesson? Never foreshadow your own downfall.

In other events, Rika seems to be doing much better with Mayama acting as her guard dog. As he distracts the Spanish dude with copious amounts of drinking and arguing, Rika is free to do her work in peace and get a good night's sleep. She also acknowledges the fact that it is probably because of Mayama that she is able to enjoy herself.

As for the Morita brothers, they finally reach their goal, exceeding the 35% share holding of the company that bought out their father's company, they stage a takeover. Kaoru totally owns the guy, he hands him workers overalls, evicts him from his house, threatens him with lawsuits and tells him that his descendants will go through the same hardship as they did, many times over. As with many people who achieve revenge, Kaoru breaks down. With nothing left after directing his anger and energy into seeking vengeance, he goes into a fit and falls apart on the sidewalk. His brother remains quite calm throughout the whole ordeal and consoles his Kaoru as he apologizes to his father for being unable to move on.

Wow, what a ride.

Thoughts:

I didn’t particularily like this episode, it had a whole lot of drama and the plot twist didn’t live up to it. Not to say that I’m heartless though, I really feel for Hagu. The most important thing to her in life is to be able to create art, she even goes as far to say that without it she’d rather die. And what happens? Exactly that. Although it’s not set in stone that she won’t recover, I think it would be too optimistic to think that she will.

The glass shattering scene was amazingly done, even though I saw it coming from a mile away. The angles, reflections, morement and animation of the shattering glass was breathtaking, when it rained down I cringed as I could imagine the pain. This, everyone, is what happens when glass breaks. You don’t jump through a window completely unharmed, you get pwned, there’s blood and pain. It’s nice to see anime being more realistic than Hollywood for once ^^.

As for the MayamaXRikaXSpanish Guy triangle we’ve got going on…to be honest, it’s a rather weak sub plot. It serves the purpose to show that Rika is warming up to Mayama, but then it’s completely refutes it later on by showing that Mayama is still acting like a stalker and that Rika hasn’t fully accepted him yet. As for the Spanish guy, he’s a completely redundant character, although should he prove to be a parallel to Mayama, his worth may be redefined…we’ll see.

And finally the Morita brothers, with their plan executed perfectly, what do they plan to do now? Continue to inflict suffering onto the corporate tycoon who bought their father out and pass the suffering to his kids? That makes them no better than he was. I’m no idealist and I won’t say that two wrongs don’t make a right or any other patronizing falsities, but I will say that what they are doing is not right. The man is a typical business man, he played his cards and came out on top, you did the same and beat him in round two, leave it at that. No need to threaten him and relegate him to nothingness, I understand that they are mad, but it’s business, it’s a harsh world. Not to say that I hate them though, they are admirable in their actions, but they’re just being sadistic if they continue.

All in all it was a well done episode, but I just think that they strayed from the unique feel that only Honey & Clover has, an indescribable drama that rises from a sense of calm. The drama used in this episode was very direct, cause and effect drama. Whereas the rest of the series conveys drama rather subtely, using small yet distinct recurring themes and events to slowly build character attatchment and then uses slight changes to offset the situation and create drama. This episode relies on a direct dramatic turning point to convey emotion and although executed well, it was just too much of a change from the HC that I’ve come to enjoy. It was an excellent episode, it just felt like a completely different anime.

Not much to work with in terms of screencaps this week >.>

Creepy…

So, so creepy >_< Stalker!

Apple juice anyone?

Hagu sympathy…rising….rising…infinite.

Victories

- Glass shattering scene, very well animated and executed
- Hagu drama, although predictable
- Takemoto screentime!
- Hagu screentime!
- Takemoto’s reaction to the accident, shocked and saddened yet unable to cry, poor guy =(
- Hagu’s courage to stand up to reality

Phailures

- Insert song, though it matched, I didn’t really like the backtrack
- Mayama, he’s seriously creeping me out
- Rika, they’ve been making her seem childish lately
- Spanish guy…ok shall we just say this whole arc in general?
- Kaoru’s cruelty and misunderstanding
- Weakness of the foreshadowing

That’s all from me until next week! Ja ne

~ Shirukii ~

]]> http://animearimasu.animeblogger.net/2006/08/22/honey-clover-ii-8/feed/ 0 http://animearimasu.animeblogger.net/2006/08/14/honey-clover-ii-7/ http://animearimasu.animeblogger.net/2006/08/14/honey-clover-ii-7/#comments Mon, 14 Aug 2006 18:37:03 +0000 Shirukii http://animearimasu.animeblogger.net/?p=15 Synopsis:

As expected this episode was a background builder for Kaoru and Shinobu. As hinted before, their father (Morita Tsukasa) once owned his own electrictronics company. The workers were laid back and happy, their products were top of the line, revered even overseas. With a fun loving, energetic and creative president and a stern, serious and dependable assistant (and childhood friend) the business was going strong. While the presidents methods were rather unorthodox (ie. declining interviews and instead using a practical test in which his son owned all employee prospects) they seemed to work.

However, all was not well, Tsukasa’s levelheaded assistant Tatsuo felt as if Morita’s company was being held back by his lack of seriousness. Coupled with a deep sense of envy and a lack of involvement on Tsukasa’s part, Tatsuo backstabs his friend and sells off the company. On the surface Tatsuo claims he did it for the benefit of the company and its workers, providing better pay and funding. However, the real reason was to test Tsukasa’s will, his unwavering love of integrity over wealth.

This decision by Tatsuo was made after some deep philosophical thought about the paths of life and the dividing line between those with skill and those without. Knowing that he was going to die soon from a terminal disease, he wanted to either overcome the barrier between Tsukasa and himself, or be completely defeated. As Tsukasa opted to stick to his morals and pursue a greater purpose than money, Tatsuo accepts defeat. On his death bed, Tsukasa vows that Tatsuo is an idiot and he’ll hate him forever, but still retains an air of friendship. He also instructs his two children to not bear grudges, that he will bear that burden, Kaoru declines but Shinobu obeys diligently.

Add the continuing theme of Kaoru being neglected and Shinobu being treated as the favourite and that sums up HCII episode 7…or does it. UNLESS YOU THROW IN A RANDOM FLASH OF HAGU SURROUNDED BY BLOOD STAINED SHARDS OF GLASS!

Thoughts:

As I said before, every single episode of this anime serve as a reminder to its awesomeness. The amount of emotion is perfectly conveyed whether it be direct or subtle. The backstory of the Morita brothers was done superbly. The personalities of the two in childhood reflect who they are in the present. Shinobu has always been the talented one, destined to follow in his father’s footsteps in terms of success. While Kaoru was the level headed one, watching out for his brother with all he had and facing neglect in return. The two also serve as a parallel to Tsukasa and Tatsuo, who shared a similar relationship. Whether Kaoru will end up in the same position of envy as Tatsuo did, is still unknown, though the two brothers seem to get along well enough for it not to happen.

The philosophical monologue in the middle really struck with me, I have always felt that one is either has talent in an area, or does not. It is true that with copious amounts of practice a student who is terrible at art can produce a skilled piece of art. But how can you compare that with a student who effortlessly creates masterpiece after masterpiece with little to no practice or instruction. To go against your talents is to swim against the tide, you may get there eventually, but it’ll take you much longer and require much effort.

I really felt for Kaoru in this episode, he’s always seemed like the cool and collected business tycoon. However, now I understand why he’s that way, it’s because he has no other choice but to adhere to his talents and use them to reach his goal. Having no siblings of my own, I can’t understand how it feels to be relegated to second best, but I’m sure it hurts. That’s not to say that this was intentional on their father’s part though. He most likely saw that Kaoru was capable of taking care of himself and would most likely grow to a mature adult even without guidance and therefore left him to himself. Whereas Shinobu was like him, and knowing the path that lies ahead of him, Tsukasa wanted to nudge him along in the right direction.

As for the teaser with the characters saying “No one could have predicted what came next” and then showing the teaser with Hagu and the broken glass…that’s just evil. Plain EVIL! But oh so brilliant >_

I have friends who would kill for one of these

Aww…poor Kaoru *hugs* …in a totally non-gay way

[philosophy] Two roads, one path, infinite decisions [/philosophy]

I know this is supposed to be a serious scene, but how can you not laugh at that face -.-

Hagu? Hagu? Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaguuuuuuu?

Victories

- Amazingly portrayed background on the Moritas
- Animation
- Multiple parallels between characters, whether intentional or not
- The “interview” scene, that was brilliant

Phailures

- Severe lack of screentime for the other characters (to be expected in a flashback ep though)
- Tatsuo, while an overall good character, he seemed rather generic
- The lack of Tsukasa’s remocon invention irl =D

As for the Hagu teaser…I don’t know whether I should classify it as either. But it certainly does leave me wanting to see the next episode VERY badly.

~ Shirukii ~

As placing the events of Honey & Clover II (henceforth abbreviated as HCII) in chronological order is a difficult IMPOSSIBLE task, I think it makes sense to approach summaries with relationship based format.

Takemoto, not much to say about this guy anymore, the character who I had originally thought was the focus character of season one. He is now relegated to a side-character at best. Random scenes of his thesis project and his dream of going to work with the shrine repair gang again seem to be the only screentime Takemoto’s going to be getting from now on. Though, hope for HaguXTakemoto development still glimmers in the distance.

Hagu! For some reason I feel really sorry for this girl, she’s an amazing artist with unquestionable talent and endless inspiration, simultaneously her greatest strengths and weaknesses. Her talent leads her down a difficult life path riddled with the obstacles of pressure and criticism. Her endless stream of creativity and inspiration is also a disaster in disguise, with innumerable projects that she wants to undertake, there is no way she can address them all. Hagu visually interprets this problem as an endless field of boxes, each containing something she wants to create, which spans accross the horizon. She knows that one human lifespan is not enough to accomplish her dreams. However, if there were a special someone to help her, it might be possible. She considers asking Shuu-chan, but realizes that it’s not fair to tear him from his own life’s path.

Morita and Kaoru, the mystery of their fund gathering seems to have been solved, they wish to repurchase their father’s electrical company. Morita has a flashback in which their father is depicted as a warm and loving man who did not hesitate to drop his work at a crucial deadline to play with his sons. He shows them what he claims to be the smallest robot in the world who’s only function is to move toward a light source. A metaphor which I will address in the ‘thoughts’ section.

Mayama and Rika! With the pseudo-couple separated by miles upon miles of sea and land, troubles are bound to arise. Rika’s architectural design partner, Mac Carlos, has fallen madly (more like rabidly) in love with her. After struggling against his advances for some time Rika realizes she’s in a bind and sends an S.O.S. to Mayama, basically calling for him to be his guard dog. Mayama of course has no objections to this, he seems to think it’ll bring him closer to her…everyone together now *cracks whip*. And so Mayama begins to prepare a care package for Rika because she seems to be stressed and not eating properly. In the course of his rambling he blatantly insults Yamada’s cooking, just as she appears standing behind him…

Which brings us to Yamada, perhaps the most tragic character of this cast. Upon hearing Mayama badmouth her cooking, surprisingly, she does not run out crying. She instead cooly recommends that he use daikon seasoning and walks out after being thanked by him. Nomiya chases after her and congratulates her for saying it so well, by that I assume he means not breaking down in front of Mayama, she of course breaks into tears at this point.

Thoughts:

Every episode of this anime reminds me how supremely amazing it is. The sheer amount of emotion that is conveyed is immeasurable, and yet they manage to do it subtely, unlike other animes which use direct methods (death, reunion, love, etc) to dramatize the plot.

The Rika and Mayama relationship is maturing quickly, a nice contrast to the depressing feel it had through the first season and the first quarter of the second.

Yamada finally seems to be getting over Mayama! Though the progress is as slow as ever, made apparent by her counting him in Takemoto’s beach plan, done purposely in my opinion. But progress is progress and while I don’t expect a flourishing YamadaXNomiya relationship by the end of HCII, I do believe she’ll be able to finally let go of Mayama soon.

As I said before, my heart really goes out to Hagu. Being challenged in every aspect of art, I can’t even begin to understand what she feels under all the pressure. And yet, the sadness and helplessness she feels is being conveyed perfectly. Even though I can’t identify with her, I still feel her pain, THAT is a difficult feat to achieve.

As for the story with Morita and Kaoru, I understand why they would go to such lengths to reclaim their father’s company. The love their father had for them is so powerful that even now, they continue to pursue his dream. As for the robot, I believe it is a metaphor for the entire cast of HCII. Much like the plot of HCII, the robot is simple, continuously chasing the light. The entire cast have dreams they are pursuing, like the robot they know their paths. The world passes by as a blur as they chase their dream without a thought. However, as illustrated by the scene where the bugs being attracted by the light were being killed by that very light, these dreams can sometimes result in suffering. And if that’s not what the animators were going for, then my grade 12 English literature class is biting me in the ass again, overanalysis was the key to success in that class XD

So…he’s just always been insane. Morita, you rule!

Rika sympathy meter: [||||||||||||||||| ]

Rika sympathy meter: [|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]

T_T…eeny meeny miny moe

Victories

Shall we just keep this short and say “almost everything”

Phailures

- I’m not sure if it’s intentional, but the stories seem very disjoint. As opposed to the first season where the group was very tight with each other, it seems as if I’m watching ~5 different arcs. The final scene which addressed this reminded me of how much I miss the whole gang being together.

- Takemoto getting such little screen time

~ Shirukii ~