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REVIEW: Honey and Clover DVD Box Set 2

Funnier than most comedies, more touching than most romances, more powerful than most tragedies. Better than most series.

Hagu is sweet but such an empty china doll of a character, less developed than a so-called moe-girl (this coming a fan of so-called moe characters).

In particular, Ayumi's unrequited attachment to Mayama is sure to arouse plenty of indignation about the portrayal of women in Japanese entertainment. But maybe that anger is because Ayumi openly reveals everything we hate about themselves: weakness, insecurity, and the tendency to do really stupid things in the name of love. She is the most human character in a cast of incredibly human characters.

I just finished this on Hulu this week and haven't read the other talkbacks but from pachy_boy's comments I guess my critiques aren't so unique and wish the review better acknowledged this and am not even sure what "Differentially rewards the patient" means. I was patient with this series but didn't feel I was completely rewarded.

Spastic Minnow wrote:

Hagu is sweet but such an empty china doll of a character, less developed than a so-called moe-girl (this coming a fan of so-called moe characters).

So having her be someone that just stayed inside all day at her grandmother's place just drawing whatever she sees, and watching her progress (another word for develop) socially from the shy and quiet girl of the first few episodes, to someone who could enjoy being around Morita, Takemoto, Mayama, Ayu, etc. is not considered development for you?.

Maybe her charcter finally gets expanded in the second series but that is that and this is this. By the end of 24 episodes and what happens in it I feel like I should have some idea of how a main character should react to it, but I don't

Megiddo wrote:

Spastic Minnow wrote: Hagu is sweet but such an empty china doll of a character, less developed than a so-called moe-girl (this coming a fan of so-called moe characters). So having her be someone that just stayed inside all day at her grandmother's place just drawing whatever she sees, and watching her progress (another word for develop) socially from the shy and quiet girl of the first few episodes, to someone who could enjoy being around Morita, Takemoto, Mayama, Ayu, etc. is not considered development for you?.

No, she's just a pitable character, she has no actual personality. The dogs have more personality, needs and desires than Hagu.

Okay, that's mean. When she first befriended Ayu, that was a great sequence, you could see her wanting something and actually clumsily pursuing a relationshiryp by herself. Truly she had little choice but be friends with Morita, Takemoto and Mayama, they were Shuu's friends and therefore she got to know them.

Hagu reminds me of Tsubasa in Kare Kano, but not the fully realized character that loves Kazuma for a concrete reason, but the shallow, little girl comedic foil that eats candy and is totally useless at any point in that the show that isn't focused on her.

Even when Hagu's charmed by spoiler[Mayama's broach I don't really understand why she's so impressed by that but apparently unimpressed by the doll furniture Takemoto makes] I rarely understand her motivations and feelings. She just acts.

tell me, Is Hagu more lazy or motivated? Is she more neat or messy? Is she basically a silly person or a serious person? These are some some basic personality features I think I should know pretty soon after being introduced to a character in a story.

Maybe her charcter finally gets expanded in the second series but that is that and this is this. By the end of 24 episodes and what happens in it I feel like I should have some idea of how a main character should react to it, but I don't

Maybe she's supposed to be an enigma, I think Rika is supposed to be an enigmatic figure we're not supposed to fully understand but she's just a supporting character. Is Hagu a supporting character?

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Oh ... and the fact that you can't peg her as "a serious or silly person" etc. etc. just goes to show how realistic this show is ... people aren't just one type of personality/trait - humans are multi-faceted, and you often CAN'T understand all their motivations/thoughts/feelings.

1. She is cute (two instances of love at first sight) .

Spastic Minnow wrote:

1. She is cute (two instances of love at first sight) .

Takemoto's "love at first sight" is obvious, but what is the second instance? Surely you're not referring to Morita's haste to get her a big leaf so he can take pictures of her due to her looking like that one Japanese mythical creature whose name I cannot recall.

Okay, she may feature a wide array of traits, sometimes silly, sometimes serious, neat/messy, lazy/motivated. I'm not saying you have to be one or the other all the time, but you should have an opinion, right? You should have an impression?

Let's not confuse vagueness with complexity.

If Hagu is such a complex realistic character, what are her character flaws? What is it that people don't like about her? Everyone projects some negative trait people don't like. What is Hagu's? She's weak, she's scared, she's oblivious, these scratch the surface of possible faults- maybe low self esteem issues. Is she petty? Greedy? Resentful? Proud? Jealous? People who don't know her resent her talent and even her friends envy it, but that's their fault, what would be a valid reason not to like her?