Anime: Hachimitsu to Clover II

The original Honey and Clover was a wonderful series, and while it elegantly signed off on the most important romantic plotline, there were enough loose ends to provide a starting point for a sequel. Sadly, rather than branching out with more characters or fresh relationships, Honey and Clover II devotes itself (almost) entirely to tying up what's left from the original. Thus even at 12 episodes, there is a feeling of too little plot being stretched out to fill the time.

This is made worse by the large number of insert songs - there tend to be one or even two per episode. In a more action-packed series this would be brave, but here it smells of desparation. The songs themselves vary widely, but even the best are not terribly memorable. They're all slow ballad types, and while this fits the tone of the series well, it means there are no catchy tunes - thus all that's left are the words, which would probably make more impression on a Japanese-speaking viewer. Theme songs are another matter - the opening and ending are wonderful, keeping most of the tone of the previous series but being slightly more playful. The blatant, glossy CG of the opening sequence may disappoint some viewers, but its spirit remains faithful to that of the first, claymation-esque opening to the original series (though it is admittedly slightly less outright bizzare).

The same lightheartedness is present in the early part of the series, with the only really new plotline, Morita's backstory, initially telling of happy days with his inventor father. However, this shift is thoroughly reversed with the last arc, involving a severe injury to one of the characters. At first this feels contrived and melodramatic - particularly coming on the heels of the other two arcs, both of which are heavy, painful slow love dramas between characters from the original series' secondary love triangle.

But then Honey and Clover II comes into its own, reminding us what made the original so good. The characters' response to an admittedly unusual (but never unrealistic) situation is shown with beautiful honesty, the drama so utterly believable that one cannot help but be swept away by it. And it winds smoothly up towards the perfect conclusion, heartwarming and bittersweet in equal measure, the greatest disappointment being that the series is truly finished now.

Still, the earlier arcs take their toll. Morita was always a comedic character, his bizzare antics at odds with the realistic world, and the more serious, dramatic plot he is given here sits uncomfortably until close to the end. Only in his heartfelt signoff does he finally start to feel like a real person. The two couple arcs are good but there is too much retreading of old ground, and the death wish of one of the characters falls too far into melodrama.

This leaves us with a series that, while good, is noticably diminished from its predecessor. The only improvement is in the animation, which has moved to HD, but very conservatively - the show looks the same until close examination reveals more facial and background detail. The voice acting remains impeccable, so the overall effect is of a well-presented, high-budget show, but one that appears older than it is - as old as the first series, even. In fact, in all respects the series could easily be mistaken for its predecessor (which also had strong and weak arcs, just in better proportions) - but given how good Honey and Clover was, that's no bad thing.

I thought the second season was a lot better than first one. I actually didn't like the first one much at all. although the second season didn't contain much comedy as first which I missed but this was more mature and actually developed characters a lot more.

Animation was better in my opinion. More cleaned up, and it was really pretty to look at.

Sound was as good as first season with new songs. This show's OST is really good.

Story and the character development made this one better. It didn't leave you hanging like the first season and everyone found their respective paths. Second explains the background stories of more characters and developes them so I actually did care about them in the second season. I thought ending was weak. The writers perhaps thought "Hah! No one would expect this." Tried to create more unneccesary drama and deeper meaning of life theme. I guess they didn't know how to finish it with a bang. I did wish there were more comedy like the first season.

Overall, This show was less funny but still there was more meat to the story. I didn't feel as bored as I was during the first season.

Note: Honey & Clover (Hachimitsu to Clover) II is the sequal season of the Honey & Clover: The First Season. You will obviously need to watch the first season in order to fully understand the second season.

When I first heard that there is going to be a sequel to Honey & Clover I, I was so looking forward to the second season because I really enjoyed the first season and the ending of Honey & Clover didn't answer the remaining questions about any characters.(yes, even though it looked like it did with all those flashy fireworks o.o, it actually didn't, haha -.-;) As you might have guessed, Honey & Clover II is like a short dramatic story for each character after the ending of Honey & Clover I. In Honey & Clover II, it shows little background history of main characters that you wanted to know more about and how they get involved with others. This time, the story actually goes in details about every characters, and shows how they develop throughout the series.
Now, let's get started with the ratings, hehehe

Animation:
In overall, the drawings and pictures of the anime *did* change in the Honey & Clover II from the first season. People might not have noticed it because it was drawn to same scale and same style, but than in the Honey & Clover II, drawings are somewhat more smoother and softer than the first season drawings. The characters are drawn, of course, very smoothly and artistically as similar to the first season. Background drawings were also awesome and again, it fit the animation perfectly. But than again, it wasn't perfect to the point where I was really amazed or surprise. The difference was so meager and little that some people barely noticed or didn't notice the difference at all. THe first time when I saw this animation, I was like "ah.. it's nicely drawn... as the first one..?" But than aside from that, I think that they have drawn everything fabulous and I have no complaints over it. Some people actually complain that the opening theme animation is kinda weird but than I find it pleasing and somewhat unique, so no points off there. ^^
So in the end, I gave the score of 8/10

Sound:
yes... the sound in Honey & Clover II.. to me, personally, I always liked the songs from Honey & Clover even from the first season.(Yes. I love ending song in the first season. Suneohair - Waltz) The op and ed are also done by some group, YUKI and Suneohair, and I always liked them. Suneohair is awesome and done very nice job singing the second ed, Split. Some people do not like the singing style of YUKI however, I found it very unique. I thought that it was very fitting with the opening theme animation. (or is it just me?? ^^;;) The soundtracks that are added to this anime are also good. It matches very well with the animation and it just plays at the perfect moments. The inserted songs provide such a mood to the story and animation that I would have found it very weird (or awkward) without these songs.
So the score for me was 9/10

Story:
Story of the Honey & Clover series are amazingly well planned out. I can't say much more to it. The director did a perfect job to plan out these scripts and it matches with every episode perfectly. (I just love how they ended every episode >_<) In the first season, they paid more attention to comedy of Morita and Hagu's cuteness (ah. so cute *.*) and overall drama, but than in the second season, they pay more attention to the characters as indivisuals. So Honey & Clover II is not half-hearted comedy, drama, romance anime but now officially turns into drama, romance animation. The stories of indivisuals, however, are very well planned and it is now able to bring out more emotions of each character to the audience. I love the dialogue of Honey & Clover II. Romance in Honey & Clover II is also very well thoughout too. This time, now you will be able to get an idea who is with who, unlike they showed in Honey & Clover I. Even though it has now turned into drama/romance anime, this doesn't mean that they cut out every single comedy. But the comedies don't really make you laugh out loud but just gives you a pleasant smile.
So the score in this genre was 10/10 without any question for me.

Characters:
In the first season, they somewhat lacked in the overall character development in the animation. They did develop but not to the extend where it was a crusial to the story. (with the exception of Takemoto Yuuta, he indeed developed much in the anime) However, in the second season, the anime clearly shows the character development of each indivisual characters and shows how much they have changed throughout the anime.
So I gave a rating of 9/10

Value:
If this serie comes out in DVD in U.S. for some reason >.<, I know I'm definately getting my hands on it. It has excellent quality and replay value in this anime and is also higher than other drama animes. But than again, since it is a drama/romance anime, I wouldn't watch as frequently as the comedy anime since i already know the story. ^^;; but than again, this anime is awesome and is definately worth watching 2 or more times.
8/10

Enjoyment:
Waiting for this serie definately was not a waste of an efford. It really didn't fail my expectations and I have enjoyed it very much. I thought that Honey & Clover II was somewhat more enjoyable than the first season. ^^
10/10

Honey & Clover II is arguably one of the best drama anime of this year (maybe the best, haha) and I think it does deserve a place in the Top 10 of AniDB. I would be really sad if this anime does not get any anime reactor awards. T.T
Anyways, thank you for reading my review and I hope you will also enjoy this anime as much as I did.

As I've said in several reviews before, I'm a sucker for slice of life. I love it. Heart it, in fact. And that's why I loved Honey and Clover, as it is one of the greatest slices of life I've ever seen. It caught the nuances of art college life near perfectly: tiptoeing around the edges of sanity.

And now there's a second season and conclusion at long last.

Summary
Several students and ex-students at an art college, a clique of friends, replete with love triangle, quadrangles, and the occasional tesseract, play out a rather intricate drama. The heart-rending interaction between Mayama and Yamada, the slow burn between Mayama and Rika, the decision that Hagu-chan eventually has to make, the fire of revenge, the chill of rejection. H&C2 is life writ large.

Animation
Character Design: A good jump in quality from the first season. Where the first season seemed to have fuzzy and blurry people and features, this season gives much needed detail to their looks. The level of detail is superb. Check out Hagu's hair in several scenes - detailed down to the strand.

It's not all rosy though, as there are some minor nitpicks. Again, stick-limb syndrome strikes. If your leg was about a half-inch in diameter, you would probably not be able to stand up. Another thing I dislike is that all of the characters seemed to have permanent blush-marks on their cheeks. Thankfully, the artists avoided the "I have one set of clothes" syndrome.

Op/Ed: As with the first season, the op/ed is a weird artsy "thing". You have to see it to understand. It's not bad, but I don't think it's anything worth watching repeatedly.

Artwork: The setting for H&C is an art school, so a fair amount of detail is put into the backgrounds and setting. The apartment where Takemoto, Morita, and Mayama live is run down to the point of making me recoil from the screen. Cityscapes are details and lit. There are beautiful scenes with sunsets and flowers. Even someone like me without a bit of artistic taste will be mildly impressed.

Sound
Op/Ed: Hmm. I can't stand the singer's voice. Whiny and pitched to annoy. It fits the style of the series, but it's just not...pleasant to listen to. Combined with the weird-ass opening, I found myself skipping it more often than not.

Voices: All of the voices from the first season are back and equally pleasing. Again, Mayama and Yamada are my favorites, though Hagu actually speaks more in these 12 episodes than in the 24 preceding, I think.

Music: And again, in an excellent gesture of continuity, there are different vocal tracks that pop up during nearly every episode. Each one of them is meant to set the mood. They are mostly successful. Major credit here for not re-hashing the op/ed fifteen times.

Story
Plot: Well, the comedy/drama of the first season has been shifted to lots of drama and only touches of comedy here and there. While there are several laugh-out-loud moments, most of the story is spent working out several plots.

The style used is very interesting. Plots are resolved almost sequentially. First, they work on the Yamada-Mayama-Rika setup. Then they take a break and see what Morita and his brother were actually up to. Finally, they go take care of Hagu, Takemoto, Morita, and Shuu. None of the plots overlap greatly, which is a little disappointing. Why can't we have something a little more convoluted? Everything's resolved one way or another by the end, and it feels just a little too neat.

Writing/Scripting: Excellent. No complaints here. People act normally (well, as normally as artists can be expected to) and react appropriately. There is real emotion running here, and the ending...well, the ending hit me like a ton of bricks, personally.

Character
Interest: I actually liked all of the characters even more this time out. They were all further developed and even more multi-dimensional than before. If you want to watch a series with deep characters, H&C is one to watch.

Growth: This is it. This series is all about the growth and maturity of each of the characters. Each and every one of them changes and grows up over the course of the series. They still retain their old traits, but it's easy to tell that they've just...grown up. It's difficult to get this across in words, but it's something we've all seen. You meet an old friend, it's been years, they're more than who they were, but it's not like they're someone entirely different. If that doesn't make sense, that's your problem.

Value & Enjoyment
Sadly, I can't say as I thought this second season was as enjoyable as the first season. The story seemed a little too organized and set up, the focus shifted a little too dramatic, and it was all too short and a little rushed. For all these minor failings, I have to say that this is one of those series that has impacted me in a deep way, and that makes it entirely worthwhile.

Conclusion: If you liked the first season, you will like this season. Get both seasons and watch them together. It's entirely worth the time.

You need to see the first Honey & Clover to understand this anime. I was not a big fan of the first season. To tell the truth, the reason why I actually saw the first H&C was mainly because it was greatly coted in most anime forums I've been through. The first one was heavy and long, everytime I watch an episode, it seems like a 2 hours movie to me. But I did not regret it. It was a good anime to watch altho it doesn't fall into my top favorites.

I don't usually make review, but I felt like I needed to say something to get people into H&C2's mood before getting high expectation. Altho this last sentence may make you sound that H&C2 is bad, I, by far, prefer this one than the last. Also, this review is based on the first nine episodes, which I really like, each one of them.

Animation
The animation is actually not better than the first one.[/b] There is some nice new traits to the characters, such as Hagu and Yamada. Somehow I don't feel like they are the same as in the first one, cuz they look cuter and somehow more charming. But most of it, you will recognize clearly all the drawings that you saw in the first season.

Sound
I really don't understand the opening song of this show. Even in the first season, I disliked it in a way I can't clearly explain. I mean, I don't feel it... at all. Altho the lyrics (subtitle) are good, I just really don't like. Also, from time to time, during the anime, there is always this same singer(?) with a rather annoying songs played. I don't understand it, but bah...
Altho these, why such a high score? Because I haven't seen much anime that can place such melodies at the right time in the right mood. It's cannot be done better. Melodies in this anime will make you feel the way the anime wants to make you feel. [/b]This is why I give it a 9, despise the songs...

Story
At first, when I took up this second part, I thought of much similarity as the first one. But somehow, only the first few episodes make me feel different. H&C to me was not drama and was not comedy. So I can't really say for sure what it was. This is the main reason I didn't like it. But now, it's truly fall into one category than the other.
Drama is the center of H&C2.[/b] It is true there is some laughting matter here and there, but it is nothing compared to the heavy and intense feeling you get thorough the episodes. The main story has been changed to focus on characters and their events that make them change and evolve in the most serious manner.[/b]
Don't look at H&C2 the same way you used to as the first. I will bet that many of you will be unable to control your tears. Yes, drama is heavy, and I am a drama fan.

Overall, you'll see Yamada and Mayama's relation evolve first, then you will get into Hagu's and Morita's. And the best part is yet to come. Very well-paced. I'm not good to get into main plots or story telling without actually spoiling, so I will say those for now.

Characters
Indeed everyone is back, but they are in a totally different ways of feelings towards them. You won't be able to see much of Morita's comic side or Hagu's embarassment, which was the main comedy in H&C. Thus now, they are all by themselves, each one of them, evolving by their own thoughts and events.
But mixing thorough events, characters do develop and you will be see them struggle. This is one of the best anime to see character development at it best. The mood of each person will flow through you.[/b] That is what I really like about this one. To see and watch them grow, and wanting to know more about what will happen to them like they were your own friends.

Value
There is nothing to hide. I actually rewatch each of those episodes severals times to refeel those dramatic scenes, anticipating the next episodes to come out. Even the first episode, which was a review of the first season, was well done and had great value to it.

If you are a drama person and like that kind of show, you, like me, will adore this anime. Each episode had its own feeling, that I can't really explain.

Enjoyment
Altho all the stuffs I just said and it will make people think that I really LOVE this anime, why not a perfect score? Let me tell you why, because I cannot enjoy a show when it TAKES A WEEK TO SEE THE NEXT EPISODE! COME ON, RELEASE ALREADY!

To this last comment, I really appreciate both the company that made this anime and the fansub that translate it. I understand that they work as diligently as possible. But it had to go out my chest :).

To those who brought H&C2 to me, thank you. Thank You Very Much.

Well, I thought I would post a few impressions about this series so far. This is based on only the first six episodes, so don’t put too much stock in it. This review is intended only for those who have seen the first season. If you haven't, what are you waiting for - go watch that!

The sequel picks up where the last left off, and maintains the great production values from the first. The theme from the first is there, but the opening and ending songs are quite a bit worse, IMO, than the original’s. The animation is still very high quality, if a bit standard and unimaginative, and the voices are still excellent – maybe even better now that they have some experience playing their characters.

However, the main thing you’ll notice about the sequel is that it’s not funny anymore. The first H&C managed to strike a brilliant balance between comedy and seriousness that managed to create a touching and brilliant show. This one (nearly) totally forgoes the laughter (there’s usually one or two slightly funny things in an episode) in exchange for lots and lots of pain.

This series moves away from Takemoto, Hagu, and Morita, to focus on Yamada, and Mayama. I’ve always thought Takemoto was pretty boring, but he did make a good “anchor point” for the first series. Hagu, however, from the little we see of her, is NOT cute and funny anymore – she’s creepy and depressed. Morita is sorely missed, but when we do see him, he’s not that funny anymore, but we do get to see the other aspects of his character, which is definitely a good thing.

The other three, who take up the majority of the focus, fare a little better. Rika and Mayama’s relationship, in particular is very touching. I’m also glad we get to see more of Rika – she’s a very interesting character (she certainly doesn’t fall into any anime clichés), and only more so in the second season. However, Yamada’s undying crush on Mayama is getting tired. Here’s how it goes, pretty much every episode: she breaks down and cries for two minutes, or runs away or something, and the other architect guy (whose name I can never remember…) runs after her. Every. Episode. It’s presented well, but by episode 3, you’re getting bored of it, especially since we all saw it so much in the beginning.

Overall, as a fan of the first, I found this disappointing. It’s still an excellent and touching series, but the quality of writing has fallen, and it’s becoming repetitive. The story is developing, but not in any really unpredictable ways. There’s a lot to like here – but in my opinion it falls short of the brilliance of the first season.