Honey and Clover

 Honey and Clover (ハチミツとクローバー) is a 36 episode slice of life romance series based on the manga of the same name by Umino Chika.  The first season of the series was broadcast over the Spring and Summer of 2005 and the second season was broadcast over the Summer of 2006.

    Honey and Clover follows the lives of people connected by a rundown apartment building near an art college in Tokyo over a four year period.  While there is no one central character to the story much of the narration is done by Takemoto Yuta, a sophomore at the beginning of the series.  Yuta has come to Tokyo as a way to escape the discomfort he feels at home after his mother remarries.  Yuta and his flatmates have a close relationship with a professor, Hanamoto Shuji, who is an alumni of the school.  When he introduces them to his relative, the childlike Hanamoto 'Hagu' Hagumi, Yuta immediately falls in love with her.  Shuji convinced Hagu to attend the school as a way to break free of her isolated childhood with their grandmother, to help her grow as an artist and experience more of life.  Hagu is immediately preyed upon by Morita Shinobu, one of Yuta's roomates, in his sixth year of school.  Shinobu is fascinated by the living doll before him and begins to use her in various art schemes, much to her terror.  A third year pottery student, the beautiful Yamada Ayumi, comes to Hagu's protection and is the first new person she warms up to.  The core group is rounded out with Mayama Takumi, a forth year student who looks after everyone like a parent, while struggling with unrequited love for an older woman and friend of Shujis'.

    Yuta and Shinobu compete for Hagu's affection but she is more focused on her drive to create products that will last beyond her years.  She is shy, timid and cloistered by Shuji but over time she becomes friends with the group.  Ayumi struggles with her one sided feelings for Takumi, who sturggles with his feelings for Rika, whom he works for at the suggestion of Shuji.  Rika suffered a sever injury earlier in her life, leaving her crippled and weak.  Her determination drives her to continue the company she started, even if it means shortening her life.  Takumi is drawn by his desire to protect her, willing to throw everything else away to be with her, even if its only as an assistant.  Ayumi struggles with knowing that Takumi will never return her love but can not stop from feeling the way she does.  Shinobu doesn't express his feelings for Hagu in traditional ways, but he and Yuta understand they are competing for the small woman's heart.  Can the aloof man really provide her the attention she needs?  Shinobu frequently disappears for long stretches of time, doing unknown things for vast sums of money, only to return unexpectedly, as if he had never been gone.  Yuta's own level of maturity prevents him from being honest with Hagu as he coasts along watching the drama unfold around him.  Does he really have a plan for his life or is he running away from his feelings?  What does Hagu want?  She is a brilliant artist who is taking the opportunity of college to expand her abilities but at what cost and demand from those around her?

    Honey and Clover is a well written and complicated tale about young adults finding their place in the world.  The story passes quickly from year to year, skipping large portions of time while focusing on pivotal events that can cover hours, days or weeks.  The characters stories intersect at various points in time but are rarely all connected.  The story begins with Hagu entering school and ends with her graduating, with requisite back story to establish and reinforce the characters various motivations along the way.  Even though Hagu is the virtual center point of the story she remains an outside figure, with the story focusing very heavily on Takumi.  Even though much of the narration comes from Yuta he is a small player in the series as well, playing the part of the observer.  In the end the story deals with youth finding its place in the world of adulthood.  The struggles for acceptance and the paths that lay ahead of them.  The characters are well rounded and realistic, even if their antics are more for comedic effect at times, at its core this is a drama about humans trying to be humans and it does a good job at expressing that.

    The artwork in the series is fantastic and does well to translate the original authors creations, even as it fast approaches its 20 year mark.  Characters and story concepts may seem familiar if you are coming to this series late.  Umino Chika is the same author/artist who created March Comes in Like a Lion.  It is even set in the same 'world' as Ayumi makes a cameo appearance in that title.  Over all, the work is incredibly satisfying, if shorter than it should have been.  The story develops at a good pace and ends in a satisfying way.  While quite a bit old, it is a reminder that anime can be mature and steer wide of common tropes.  This is a story of humans interacting with each other in a realistic way.

   The anime and manga have been commercially available in the United States and elsewhere for a long time now.  The anime is currently available on Crunchyroll in both sub and dub formats.