(L) Hachimitsu to Kuroba/Honey and Clover

[Leo_Otaku]

totally the best shoujo comedy I have ever seen to date. I even got my brother and his friend to watch the series. I even got bunch of people to watch it too.

I can't wait for the other special ^-^

I loved the Twister game XD

[Vexx]

I can't even class this as a "brand" of comedy .... it crosses boundaries nicely. I've gotten so many people who can't even fathom anime hooked on this show and they can't believe it ends.

[Noodlehead]

Definitely up there with Haibane Renmei and Full Moon wo Sagashite as one of my favorite series. The more I think about Honey & Clover, the more I like it. It has so many hilarious moments, along with all the the more poignant parts of the series -- it all balances out. Ahh! If only it hadn't ended so soon. I think it has something for everyone, even non-anime watchers. I want to show it to my friends now.

Everything about it, the art, characters, music, easygoing slice-of-life feel to the plot -- I loved all of it! It's something rare among all these cookie-cutter harems floating around these days. When you watch it, it gives you a sense of being part of the gang, watching as their personalities develop as they take their first steps into the real world. I think I got too attached to the characters. XD I really enjoyed the last couple episodes, when it focused more on Takemoto. It made me want to go on a journey of self discovery as well; I feel like I can relate to him in some ways. Heh heh, I can't wait until Solar subs the specials.

Regarding what arias (by the way, nice review thing there, I loved reading it) said about "being quite the age" to appreciate Honey & Clover -- I think whether or not you enjoy the series depends more on the individual's personal preference, for the most part. For example, I'm 14, and I enjoyed it immensely! But I really get how some people say Honey & Clover is a good anime to watch if you're in the college/university age group. Gah, I wish I had waited 4 years before I watched it, I'd probably enjoy it even more.

~ Noodlehead

[Kaoru Chujo]

Ayu fans, run, don't walk to see episode one of Hanbun no Tsuki, starring Ayu's seiyuu, Takahashi Mikako. In my opinion, she's fantastic in it.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

Ayu fans, run, don't walk to see episode one of Hanbun no Tsuki, starring Ayu's seiyuu, Takahashi Mikako. In my opinion, she's fantastic in it.

Crud... this one sounds very sad.... aieeee, where's the light comedy?
Anyway.... <sigh> back into the dungeon of shadows where I shall take a look.

[mangafanatic]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

Ayu fans, run, don't walk to see episode one of Hanbun no Tsuki, starring Ayu's seiyuu, Takahashi Mikako. In my opinion, she's fantastic in it.

I had highlighted this series as one I had wanted to see. Now that I know that Ayu's seiyyuu is in it, I'm even more determined.

[Josidhe]

Originally Posted by mangafanatic

I had highlighted this series as one I had wanted to see. Now that I know that Ayu's seiyyuu is in it, I'm even more determined.

Ya, and go figure, her character's name is Rika.

Honey & Clover is probably my all time favorite anime. I have roots going back to Utena, which had a huge impact on me in terms of the depth of the story and the ideas you could walk away with, and it's number one for me in its own way. Still, I've never rewatched a show as many times as I've rewatched Hachikuro.

I think the easiest coupling is Yamada and Nomiya. They go well together, and the story leads them to each other without feeling forced at all. And if there's one thing I can't stand, it's writers who have to force attraction to make romance happen at all (eh, I saw Brokeback Mountain the other day and am still peeved about its shortcomings).

People who obsess over Hanamoto and Rika, Mayama and Yamada, Morita and Hagu, well, I don't think they pay much attention to the anime. These couplings aren't going to happen. Shuu and Rika are very close friends who share a tragic loss on top of a strong friendship, and a healthy relationship just plain can't come out of that sort of thing. It was pretty much explained point blank that Mayama's ignorance of Harada's existence gave him the ability to connect with Rika in a way she needed. He can open her eyes to a world outside of her past. Does that mean Mayama will wind up with her? Not necessarily. But it means Hanamoto definitely can't.

People who cling to Mayama and Yamada need to get over it. Mayama isn't stupid for not getting closer to her. In fact, the story hammered it into us WHY they couldn't be together, going far enough to throw in Yamada's four childhood friends proposing at once and her realizing (and explaining for the viewer) what Mayama must have felt.

Morita and Hagu share something very neat but which can't quite become romance. They connected to each other, saw bits of themselves in each other, and it confused them because they felt something from it and didn't know what it was. And when you feel something new like that, it can easily be confused with love. This is something a lot of people face out here in the real world, and unfortunately causes a lot of relationships between people who think they can 'save' each other and junk like that, and almost always turn out badly. Takemoto is far more hopeful in that he sees himself wanting to share life with Hagu, rather than use her so he can feel alive at all.

...so yeah. I get irked when people let character favorites get in the way of seeing what can reasonably happen. :P

I love this show! And I demand the manga be licensed and brought over.

[Grifis]

When there are favorites, there are inclinations and inclinations trigger a tendency to defy logic and reasons (though we see it clearly.) No matter how realistic the characters and story may be it's still a story therefore defying logic and reasons to bring a satisfying ending for the self is really inevitable.

[Cal-Reflector]

Loved the Epiesode L that showcases the awesome character, the man among men, Romiya Sempai; definitely a real treat. It's cool that they even included the side story at the end of volume 7, espeically when Romiya appears in chapter 2 in the manga way early on.

[arias]

Originally Posted by Cal-Reflector

Loved the Epiesode L that showcases the awesome character, the man among men, Romiya Sempai; definitely a real treat. It's cool that they even included the side story at the end of volume 7, espeically when Romiya appears in chapter 2 in the manga way early on.

Agreed. The "special" episode (which has just been subbed) was incredibly funny.. brought alot of laughter to an otherwise drab day. ;; I really had to pause the episode a couple of times throughout just to finish laughing.. ;;

And I'm really glad to see the thoughts of other posters like Josidhe and Noodlehead.. Mina.. T___T; It really gives a sense of being connected when two people really like the same (somewhat obscure) thing, eh?

Noodles; with regards to the age thing.. I don't think it's an absolute, but that "age group" really does help in some sense. But it's true that people of a certain type of character or whatever so could probably enjoy H&C as well. It's fantastic, after all. But trust me on this; watch it again in 5, 6 years time.. you'll possibly see it from a different point of view, and "feel" it differently.

[Lilith]

Hahaha! I loved the special episode L. Ro-maiya senpai is awesome~ and because Morita-senpai succeeded him in being Nyan that means Morita is awesome, too! :B Not like it needs to be said or anything.
<--- is a Morita fan <3 <3

Maybe this is a stupid question, but is there any meaning behind naming this episode "L"? Or was it just randomly chosen?

I assume the next special will be about another extra stories or something. I hope they do "why Morita is popular" (3rd chapter in the manga). HILARIOUS. XD

But I hope more they make a closing for the many relationships that appeared in the series. >.>

[beansprouts]

Just watched Episode L, it was totally hilarious. I thought I wouldn't find it that funny since I already read the manga and knew where were the funny bits, I was so wrong. Watching Romaiya senpai animated was even funnier!!

I hope the next episode will be about Why Morita is so popular as well, I enjoyed that story in the manga alot. I am a mega Morita fan (who isn't??)!!

[aliensporebomb]

It was nice to get a "light humorous" episode versus a super heavy
emotional episode.

The story of Romaiya-sempai and the amusement park was very
funny.

Has the manga-ka of this series written anything else or are there
discussions of him doing another season or is that it?

[cipotlar]

Originally Posted by aliensporebomb

It was nice to get a "light humorous" episode versus a super heavy
emotional episode.

The story of Romaiya-sempai and the amusement park was very
funny.

Has the manga-ka of this series written anything else or are there
discussions of him doing another season or is that it?

the manga-ka is Umino Chica-sensei..She's a woman..I've never seen her other works before and haven't heard rumor the second season is coming..the manga is still running at the moment..currently on volume 8 already (there are a lot of surprise scenes in volume 8)

According to ANN, one of the next special episodes will include the story of Fujiwara design..my best guess on the corresponding chapter of the manga is the side story included in the end of volume 6..

[Josidhe]

I've been wondering what the L stands for, too. It's probably something obvious, and any speculation will therefore be wrong (isn't that how it seems to go?). At first I thought it had to do with the guy's name, and that they spelled it with an L instead of an R, as Loh Meyer. It confused the heck out of me since Yuuta said straight up he's Japanese, but the phonetic equivalent of his name is all over the meat he brings home, with the first letter torn off it seemed (so you see 'oh Meyer' written nicely in our alphabet).

I've been calling him Roh Meyer, but maybe it's Loh Meyer, or maybe it's Romaiya and the brand of meat is just a romanji joke. Beats me. But leave it to them to name the chapter after one of the letters the Japanese have difficulty with. Maybe the next bonus chapter will be V? :P

[Grifis]

That's the L from Lohmeyer but the JP pronounciation turns out to be romaiya. They probably gave him the nick name romaiya after the brand of the ham because when they think of him, they think of the Lohmeyer (romaiya) ham.

I want to see Morita special. ;_; I think it's even funnier than romaiya senpai story.

[marclemagne]

It's been a while since I finished watching this show and hearing the music again was such a treat, especially the ending theme which I love! And I was just laughing so much watching this special episode. It really reminds me how great this show is and how much I like these characters.

[misakichii]

i just watch episode L yesterday and it was great. it sure made me laugh. i was so happy to find it on animesuki cause i've been waiting for this special episode to come out for so long now. it was different from what i had expected but i love it. h&c really is one of my favorites.

[Burner of Anime]

On the name.

Spoiler:

Loh Meyer refers to the brand of meat this guy keeps bringing back. No suprise that a crew of starving college men would start calling their savior by this name

[The Crappinometer]

hi guys! i've just finished watching the anime... and I uhmm... I consider Honey & Clover as the best anime of 2005. It's really great. But... I'm really curious about what happened after the show so I want to read the manga. Can someone please give out a link for the mangas? Thanks ^^

And one more thing, why do you think was Honey and Clover entitled "Honey and Clover"?