Forum - View topicREVIEW: Honey and Clover DVD part 1
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jenthehen
 Posts: 835 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio |
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I can't believe you don't like Waltz! I could listen to that song a million times and never get sick of it! I think it's perfectly fitting for the show!
Honey and Clover is one of my favorite series - right up there with Nana, Welcome to the NHK, and Princess Tutu. Maybe it takes seeing the whole thing to appreciate it (including the second season) - the whole story just plays together so perfectly and wonderfully. It's realistic and heart breaking. It's really a show for fans of nostalgia and calm day-to-day slice of life stories. |
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Megiddo
 Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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I just cannot agree with this review.
You think that the series is weakest with comedy? I have to strongly disagree with you there, as the antics involving Morita, Mayama, Takemoto, and the rest are some of the funniest I can recall in recent years. Also, it's saying something to have an anime take place during college. So many times we get junior high or high school, but rare is the slice-of-life show depicting higher education. I also appreciate how faithful J.C. Staff stayed to the manga's visual style. While I agree that the animation is nothing amazing (J.C. Staff has never blown me away animation-wise, but they always do the work justice), the artwork is quite impressive, at least to me. Anyway, I'm just happy Viz finally released it. Also, I love "Waltz", and while I'm of the same opinion that the opening animation is quite unique, the song "Dramatic" itself is just frankly too high pitched and quite often causes me headaches. |
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Splitter
 Posts: 1276 Location: Knockin' on Heaven's Door |
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Coming from Theron, I'm a little surprised in this review. Honey and Clover is all about college relationships, be them friendship, romance, or rivalry. No one ever went through college in a completely dramatic fashion. We all did silly, even downright stupid things, and a lot of the laughs come from that in this series. Really, Theron, did you not get even a chuckle out of spoiler[32-color Twister]? To me, it seems Theron enjoyed one particular aspect of the series so much that anything that interrupted it felt out of place to him.
Regarding Hagu, it does feel relatively out of place when you first meet her, and a little like "okay, where's the hidden camera?" but as you get to know Hagu's character, how she has constantly lived a sheltered and overly stilted life, she hasn't ever flourished on her own. Her physical aspects are but a signifier of how immature Hagu is to life despite her prodigy status. |
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Hentai_JP
 Posts: 605 Location: Toronto, ON |
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I find those exact flaws in Honey and Clover as well. The whole idea about "loli" college student Hagu is just wrong (and lets not forget her TRAGIC PAST; *sob*?); humour is repetitive, I didn't find it funny even in the beginning; drama... where is it? It's kinda there but never gets any attention(not focus of the series?). And what should I think about any series if by episode 10(!) it still doesn't get involving/interesting?.. I want to finish it, I just don't know when it's going to happen (or if it's even worth it, as ratings suggest). |
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neocloud9
 Posts: 1178 Location: Atlanta, GA |
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The humor was hit-and-miss for me too, but I absolutely loved the art style and animation. I'm not used to that level of detail!
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MetatronM
Posts: 281 |
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I'm not sure I've ever heard someone say a bad thing about Waltz before.
Also, Hagu's character design is a reflection of her personality. She appears less and less loli-ish as the series progresses and she both gets older and grows as a person. Granted, she never looks like someone like Ayu or anything, but I don't know about the rest of you, but there were a fair share of cute little art girls when I was in college. It's kind of weird for like the first two or three episodes, but that's about it. |
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luffypirate
 Posts: 3187 |
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One of the funniest moments in the entire show. I like how they used some of the Japanese cover arts for the Viz release. |
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pachy_boy
Posts: 1341 |
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It might just be me, but I found the animation of the opening theme rather creepy and disturbing.
I watched the series in its whole subbed run. I have to say that I object to anyone who persists that Hagu isn't an exaggerated loli character, and I think the humor feels artificial (everyone abruptly screaming seems to dominate the comedy) which in turn makes the drama feel artificial, and it all really just leads nowhere. Even so, oddly enough, it still wasn't a bad show overall to watch a couple episodes at a time to pass the time away, if just to see what all the fuss is about. Again, that's just me. Out of curiosity, does anyone know if Viz has licensed the Honey and Clover 2 series? |
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luffypirate
Posts: 3187 |
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A third collection of Honey and Clover is set for release in March so I'm guessing yes on the second season.
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jenthehen
Posts: 835 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio |
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Wow, I'm just in shock that everyone doesn't love Honey and Clover. I know different strokes and everyone has their own subjective opinion and all that, but ... wow. I mean, wow.
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atunderdogk
 Posts: 74 |
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Unfortunately, I can't agree with this review either. I'm a little surprised by the lack of love for Waltz too. I thought it was a great segue for the end and it invokes so much emotion. Every time I hear it, I can't help but think of all the characters and what they went through.
At first I would have had to disagree about the comment regarding how the first few episodes seem like theres no big picture at all. But I do remember getting past the first 4 or 5 and then dropping it to come back to it later. And the Hagu design did throw me for a loop at first too, but I agree with Splitter on this one. I think her design reflected the type of character she started out as. And I like that because it makes me feel like not only was there reasoning behind it, but Hagu (as well as the others Im sure) were fleshed before the story started and not as it progressed. Personally it makes me feel like the characters which are obviously the biggest part of this show, were sincerely created with time and thought. |
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Joe Mello
 Posts: 2312 Location: Online Terminal |
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For the record, "Dramatic" and "Hachimitsu" are in my iPod. "Waltz" is not.
I think a B is fair. H&C's reputation likely precedes it, and it does seem to take a bit to figure out where the plot is headed. It probably also helps your enjoyment of the show if you watch it while in college. |
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chrisb
 Subscriber Posts: 642 Location: USA |
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I can't say I'm a fan of 'waltz' either, Suneohair has done much better works, especially the ED for season 2 of Honey/Clover.
I have to agree with this review sadly as much as I love the series, the first half of season 1 is rather 'meh.' The humor in the show just only barely works and it's dramatic elements are the highlights. I will say the series gets MUCH better in the second half and A LOT more in the second season and I think Theron will enjoy it much more when it's released. The loli college student becomes a much more likable character later on as well rather than just a gimmick to attract "certain" fans. Kinda similar to NANA, first boxset is... decent, cool, meh but the second boxset totally outshines it. |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18461 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Really? I'm shocked that it apparently has so many fans. I found it so unimpressive that I only sat through it, at most, twice - once because I felt obligated to, and a second time because I wanted to make sure my first impression wasn't wrong. It won't even be on my radar when I do my end-of-year picks.
If this really is what's going on then I might change my mind later on (assuming I actually watch more - this one is not high on my priority list to continue), but it's definitely not apparent in the series' first half. And while I'm a fair amount removed from my college days, I certainly don't remember seeing girls like that in college. To answer another poster: Yes, the spoiler[32-color Twister] was one of those "sporadically works" moments I referred to in the review. I have seen comedy of this sort done more consistently good in other dramedies, though. |
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jenthehen
Posts: 835 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio |
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I say it can be enjoyed so long as you've experienced some college. I almost feel like it's even more enjoyable AFTER college since it brings back all those wonderful memories - that's what I meant about it being nostalgic. From both seasons of H&C Waltz, Split, and Fugainaiya are my favorites  Waltz and Split just have this peaceful, nostalgic feel to them ... reminds me of good times with friends. Fugainaiya is just a great song! I'm really glad Viz will be releasing H&C II.
I dunno, I just can't give H&C anything lower than an A (A+ in my book). It handles so well that awkward transition time from the beginning of college to ... *gulp* life after college that is so difficult and can be really stressful and painful. It's a coming of age story for the slightly older generation, and I love it. It's easy to embrace the feelings of the characters. |
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