“Realism”, Endings, and Characters of Honey and Clover
Take note that I am clearly currently in a Honey and Clover phase. I am rewatching the series for the second time, and I think I like it even more than when I first watched it. (The first time I watched it, I didn’t watch any other anime for an year.) It remains my favourite anime, and my current posts will probably be a stream of Honey and Clover related material. As I just finished the series (again), I’ll write some general thoughts that are coming to me now, and probably will put a full review (be prepared for tons of gushing) later on.
I think the most important reason for the success of Honey and Clover, at least to me, is that it simply has fantastic, believable and complex – but likable! – characters. There have been many anime which have similar characters, yet none have been filled with them to the extent of Honey and Clover. Almost every significant character who appears on screen is a realistic and multi-faceted individual. I can’t help but think back to the anime I finished just prior to rewatching Honey and Clover – Kimagure Orange Road. Certainly there were characters who had depth to them. But many of the side characters, such as the school friends, were just cardboard cutouts, cliches with a single shallow purpose in the story. This isn’t always a bad thing – not every anime has to explore multiple characters and their background, yet the way this is done really makes Honey and Clover as enjoyable as it is.
There’s also something else – I believe the reason Honey and Clover strikes me as deeply as it does is because it is the closest representation of my idealist tendencies. Here you have a large group of people who are all fundamentally admirable and kind-hearted. Even characters who start out as jerks, like Nomiya, in my opinion, eventually soften and become more likable. Their friendships and love interests are always based on deeper concepts instead of the more shallow things which are probably more common in real life. Back in the good old days when Honey and Clover was still airing, I had an interesting discussion over at animesuki about realism and Honey and Clover. Someone there was discussing how, after watching NANA, he thought that Honey and Clover wasn’t realistic.
The points that this individual made were that Takemoto, as a young adult, “realistically” should have been more lustful and couldn’t hold onto an unrequited love for years. He says that Mayama “realistically” would have considered taking advantage of Yamada. That “realistically” the characters would have been more obsessed with lust, etc. That a real self-realization journey for college students is going to a bar and getting drunk, rather than riding your bike across the country.
If that’s “realism”, then send me to a looney bin because I’m obviously living in a dream world.
Maybe the majority of people act that way. But that’s why Honey and Clover is as effective to a certain small group of people – because it perfectly hits the idealistic notes that we haven’t seen elsewhere. Are we “unrealistic” people? It isn’t a question of realism. It’s a question of personality and background. There are more than enough shows out there for the people for whom getting drunk and having “one night stands” is indicative of realistic behavior. Honey and Clover, though, is perfect for the people who think a bit differently. And maybe those people are a less common in the real world – which is why it’s all the more satisfying that we have something like this series to enjoy. It isn’t perfect. For example, sometimes the Rika/Yamada/Mayama/Nomiya storyline may seem like it isn’t too different from what you may expect from a more typical “dorama” or prime time relationship drama. Sometimes. Yet……it’s different. It may share elements of those lesser stories at times, but when it’s at its best, it rises far beyond any of them.
Anyways, my next topic of discussion is the ending of the series. The discussion forums back during Honey and Clover’s run were probably at their most hostile right around the ending, because there were a few people who said they were so disturbed by the ending that they ended up hated the series. Of course, not necessarily the ending as a whole, but one aspect of it (clearly, I am just about to post a spoiler here). I’m talking, of course, about the whole possibility of Shuuji having romantic interest in Hagu. I haven’t read through the manga, so I don’t know if the mangaka explicitly said this about him. The anime seems to imply that very strongly based on the things he says. However, I don’t believe that’s the case, simply because it doesn’t match at all with anything that has happened prior to the moment in the series. So in this case, I take my own interpretation of events which make more sense in the context of where the story has gone up until that point.
So removing that romantic element, the remaining portion of the ending is that Hagu basically “chose” Shuuji (although it is technically a love triangle, it’s much more complicated than what that term implies) because she wanted to recover and continue to create art and knew that Shuuji was the person who could help her do that. Morita is highly talented and also highly mobile – despite the fact that he is much more of a “soulmate” for her, he can’t be the the dependable support that she needs. Neither can Takemoto. I remember one complaint behind the ending being that the scene where Morita takes Hagu away and they have a “moment” was too out-of-character (saying that Morita shouldn’t be the one telling her to abandon art) . I think it was brilliant actually, and I think the people who complain about it weren’t paying attention to Morita’s later monologue. There, he admitted that he had been blinded by his desolation because of Kaoru’s disappearance. It makes sense that Morita would have felt such a resentment towards his talent, the very thing which drove Kaoru away, that he felt like he had to try and “save” Hagu from her talent as well, thinking it would only cause her pain in the end. Of course, in the end he realized that Hagu had done the right thing, and also that she had seen through him and known that something was wrong.
Speaking of Kaoru, he’s probably tied as my favourite character in the series. From his first appearance until the end, he is a compelling and eventually very sympathetic character. I thought the scene right after he gets his revenge was well done – the emptiness, the hollow feeling, all of it was captured perfectly. Then, finally, it was seeing that cycle of revenge broken (when Morita and Shiroyama gave their childhood home to the President he had exacted revenge upon) that cured him and allowed to break free of that cycle himself.
The story closed with Takemoto – he’s the character who grew the most throughout the series. Although Takemoto’s the main character, at certain times it doesn’t seem that way, especially in H&C II, but that’s simply because H&C isn’t like most other anime where you have very dominant main characters with a lot of weak supporting characters. In episode 7, when the story shifted to Kaoru, it was as powerful as if it had been with any “main” character. But anyways, Takemoto underwent most of his development at the end of the first season, during the infamous bike road to the northernmost point of Japan. These episodes were the absolutely high point of the series – only Honey and Clover has managed to produce so many genuinely moving monologues that never cross that line of overt, manufactured sentimentality from which there is no return. I think Takemoto is probably the best main character I’ve ever had watched in an anime series (for films, it gets more debatable). But maybe that’s only because I can completely understand and relate with the character and everything he goes through.
And, like most other Honey and Clovers, I am very partial to Morita, or Morita-sama as his fans affectionally call him. I do think that Morita is one of the most well-conceived characters in manga/anime. In the beginning, the viewer may be led to believe that he is not much more than comic relief, yet throughout the series we get a glimpse of a truly interesting and complex character. What adds to this is the fact that we aren’t allowed into Morita’s mind with the same frequency that we are with Takemoto or Yamada. Morita remains a mystery to the viewers a lot of the time because we, like the on-screen characters, can’t truly understand what he’s thinking. In the beginning he seems like a shallow character, throwing away his education and schooling to earn money, yet we discover later that he did those things only to help Kaoru. It’s the fact that Morita so often hides behind his comedic exterior that makes his serious scenes all the more dramatic. I’m sure we can all think of people we’ve known who so consistently have an air of humor to them that it’s hard to imagine them acting serious. Observe the scenes between Morita and Yamada, for example, which many people say are highlights to them because you get to see a completely different side of Morita. The climactic scene between him and Hagu near the finale of the second season is another example – both the viewers and Hagu have never seen Morita in a state as he is now, completely devoid of any humor, his comedic wall completely shattered. That is why it was so obvious to Hagu that something was deeply wrong.
I think that this is enough droning on for this post. The purpose of this post was mostly to get a lot of these sort of opinions and reactions out of the way so that they won’t clutter my review, which I’ll try to keep spoiler-free.
10 responses so far
I can understand where people’s point about “not realistic” come from. But I am not interested in identifying realism of characters, I am interested in the becoming of characters. And Honey and Clover does that beautifully. Speaking of realism, this is an article I wrote on Honey and Clover recently that you might find interesting *sorry for the shameless plug…I should stop doing this x_X
Btw, I agree about episode 7 being the best episode of Honey and Clover II. I wouldn’t say it’s THE best, but it’s certainly one of the best up there with my other favourites.
Is realism something tanglible? Like you look outside from the window, “Ah, this is reality”. If a character is realistic, you need to look at it from the creators point of view, not your own.
You can’t say that “this or that” isn’t realistic because it doesn’t fit into the box of the observer. There are many places in the world, and most likely all of them have their own culture which affects the way you do things.
The bike trip for self-realization was pretty well done from my point of view, and was quite “realistic”. Well, where I come from, it would most likely be a school shooting rather than a cycling trip..
I’m all into realism, but I think its quite good to keep a small distance from getting too life like, which was pretty well done with the inevitable comedic reliefs after a period of “holding your breath” serious scenes. Since if you want super realistic, rather go outside and be the main character of your very own Honey & Clover, rather than staying an observer!
I’d say the best couple was Rika + Mayama. The ending was pretty shocking with the sudden outburst when she tries to leave to spain alone. And the whole suicide thing after the work would be done.
Have you seen the 2 extra DVD only episodes from season 1?
Indeed I have. They are mostly comedic, but good diversions. I think I prefer the Ham-sempai one slightly better, it’s good fun.
Watched the 2 extra episodes today, damn the ham-sempai was hilarious. The show totally deserves some spinoffs, I so like all the characters.
Finally, I find someone who is still watching H&C after all those years!
I must say I’m humbled by your thoughts on the series; wish I could delve deeper into the meanings of the story than what I’m capable of.
There’s one thing with the ending that still bugs me though. I can understand Hagu choose Hanamoto-senpai because she knew he could get her better enough to do art again, but isn’t that selfish of her? Morita comes back with every now and then with huge amounts of moolah, and he loves her very much; why did Hagu not take him? Takemoto is diligent and hardworking, and loves her just as much as Morita does, if not more; why did she not choose him? Both have had unrequited love for her since they were introduced, but she turned them both down and chose Hanamoto-senpai just so she could draw again. Both guys potentially could help her with that too, why reject their feelings?
Also, was Hanamoto-senpai’s revelation of love true? He had always been a fatherly figure to Hagu, so why the sudden change in feelings? Was there any part in the series which cultivated this concept?
I look forward to reading more from you!
Yep, though “rewatching” would be more accurate.
Morita and Takemoto couldn’t help her draw again in the same way that Shuuji could. Shuuji is an adult, he had money saved, he quit his job to dedicate his life full-time to her recovery. He was willing to dedicate his life to her. Morita loved her, yes, but he was a restless, talented person. He couldn’t dedicate his life to Hagu because there was so much more that he had to do. He was too flighty to spend every moment tending to Hagu’s recovery. Now, Takemoto wanted to help her and was willing to dedicate it all for him, but there is a scene where he himself realizes he can’t. He’s young, in order to support Hagu he’d have to get multiple jobs….but then he wouldn’t have the time to tend to her needs…..it was simply impossible for him to play the role that Shuuji could.
Now, your second question is one that I was argued a lot over at the Animesuki forums =) The anime seems to make it seem like Shuuji was making a love confession. The manga seemed to be slightly less ambigious.
Personally, I don’t think it was a love confession because it simply doesn’t match anything we’ve seen from their relationship. In this case, I prefer to believe my own interpretation, and it just doesn’t seem to make any sense, so instead I just prefer the explanation that it wasn’t a love confession.
Yes but isn’t that what real love is about? To bring happiness to the other party no matter what the circumstances are? If Morita really loved Hagu, no matter how flighty or ambitious he was, he would always stay by her, and in this case, get her well again. He had the material, he had the aim; surely he could be of equal (if not better) help than Hanamoto-senpai?
Unless, of course, his love for Hagu wasn’t “real”, or just a temporary liking. He’s a difficult character to scrutinize, so it’s hard to put a finger on what he really wants.
And that’s what makes Honey and Clover unique amongst many other anime. The character is forced to make a choice between her calling and talent in life – and her love. Morita may be in a better of position than Takemoto but he is still young and didn’t have the security that Shuuji could provide. Remember the scene where she thinks back to her memories of Shuuji? She simply believes that Shuuji can help her do what she wants – draw and create things. But also, just like Hagu, Morita has his own talent and desire to create, and he would have to stifle that in order to aid Hagu in her recovery. Hagu, a few times throughout the show, reveals how important her desire to create art was, and if she forced Morita to stifle his own talent in order to spend time caring for her, would that make her happy too?
I guess what we get out of the ending is that Hagu cares more about art than about love.
To be honest, I just finished watching Honey and Clover last night and blew through it in the last couple of days. It is in all likelihood my favorite anime ever. I have never encountered so many characters that are as introspective, passionate, lost, forgivably flawed, and completely real to me, as I have in this anime.
In response to this article’s perspective on realism in Honey and Clover, I completely agree. I think this is an anime filled with insightful characters with more on their minds than teenage lust. It’s filled with art students, each trying to find their way and find meaning through their art, each different enough to be able to choose something like art school instead of traditional college. Lust does not play a role in their actions and it is somewhat explained by the third generation shopping arcade heirs (or whatever they call themselves). The concept of lust is particularly dealt with when it comes to Mayama and Yamada – the point is made that lust does not play a role because the personalities of each character to one another are really too important in comparison to hormones. It is not so dissimilar from a pair in real life choosing not to advance their relationship because it would harm the friendship. Also, if you look at the rest of the anime, it tends to skip over fleeting emotions or just unnecessary things, and while lust is shown concerning Yamada, it is more or less unnecessary when it comes to Hagu. Unrequited lust would perhaps only come across as creepy instead of as a plight of the heart. Anyway, I think Honey and Clover is very realistic, as long as you’re not confining reality to one dimension.
I have some thoughts concerning the ending and Shuuji’s love for Hagu. At first I thought it was not romantic love and everyone was misunderstanding his proclamation and it was just fatherly love since Shuuji has been more like a father figure and elder brother to Hagu. However, after thinking about it more, in the ending episodes you see Shuuji holding Hagu outside of the hospital, in a very affectionate way, and not quite how a father would hold his younger daughter, but more intimate – not sexual, just intimate. Hagu is somewhat like Harada to Shuuji, but more precious and he is meant to protect her. While the love may be somewhat romantic I feel it is more complicated than that. Just as Harada and Rika were not Shuuji’s lovers, but inexplicably a part of him, I believe Hagu has come to mean the same. It is because of this that he begins to heal, it is because Hagu is restoring what was lost when Shuuji lost Harada – she is restoring the part of him that was lost, and in turn becoming a part of him herself. I think Shuuji initially loved her because she was special, then came to care for her as a father would, unsure of his place, as she grew, their connection changed for him to be more as a guardian and older brother, and as she grew still and passed adolescence entering into the phase of her life governed by her personal purpose, the relationship changed yet again to be something of a love of meeting of minds and souls. I believe that Shuuji is the soulmate, in that he and Hagu complement one another well and Morita is
the kindred spirit, in that he and Hagu can see the world through the same eyes.
From Hagu’s perspective the growth is similar. Shuuji thinks that she knows how he feels, and I imagine that Hagu’s difficulty’s in continuing her art would have been cause by not having Shuuji there, since he has similarly become a part of her that she cannot be without. What we’re seeing is a birth of that new spiritual bond, one that we saw die with Harada.
As for romantic love, maybe one day it will turn into that. Hagu continues to grow as a woman, and perhaps one day when she is fully an adult and has asserted herself, perhaps she and Shuuji will have that connection, and perhaps Shuuji knows this as one who has watched the path of students and watched them grow.
Someone asked about why Hagu didn’t choose Takemoto and Morita despite their affections. I think it is mainly because she cares for them, and does not want to use them. Hagu is very special – she is the character that actually is unwilling to give up her desire and her goals for another, for even love, she puts herself first, and it is not selfish, because she cannot exist without herself, so to speak. With this said, it is very possible for her to love Morita and be in love, though it’s not going to be that typical love where you want to touch and be affectionate, it’s a love that is rooted in sharing similar goals and being able to admire one another on a level that few others stand on. I don’t think Hagu cares more about art than love. Like Mayama said, it’s not about which is more important and there isn’t a right or wrong answer, but it is simply that Hagu cannot exist without art, and if she cannot exist than she cannot have love. Art, drawing, and her eyes and the way she sees the world, that’s who she is, that is her mind. It really is inseparable from her. Art is expression, it is her opinions on paper, it is how she expresses herself. So, taking that away really is like killing herself in a sense.
So, anyway, I love this anime dearly. My favorite characters are Takemoto, Yamada, Morita, and Shuuji. I think I also love Leader, but not quite in the same way. I always wondered if they would pair Morita with Yamada. Hagu is in love with Morita, will not ask him to come back for her, and only wishes for his happiness. Yamada wishes the same for him and gives him that same selfless love on the walk home where they hold hands…. oh well. I grew to like Nomiya quite a bit too.
I do think the series started and ended well. Everything was so concise (for me that is), a lot of people told me I couldn’t say that in a sense that I was not experiencing all of these (I was like 6th grade of 7th when I first saw H&C) but these characters…I could see my friends in them…it was like I was watching Honey and Clover everyday…for the realistic part, I guess it could be for some…it all depends on what kind of “world” you’re living in…I just happen to be in a fairytale…but for those select people it represents what life really is for them…
As with the Ending at first I was a bit disturbed, H&C is that kind of anime that you have to watch over and over again. There are just so many things going on, it’s hard not to miss the little details that gives eveything another perspective. In H&C, you have to take in every little detail and that’s what just makes it so believable-just like in real time, when you look back you see so many other alternatives, so many what-ifs-, so many little things you’ve not been able too see or little things that change everything…