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Reviewed by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane I'll start by confessing that I haven't read vol. 1 of Honey and Clover, although not for lack of trying--it's turned out to be surprisingly hard to lay hands on a copy through my usual avenues. I have seen the entire anime, however, and if vol. 2 is anything to go by, the anime version was a very faithful adaptation. I certainly didn't feel at a loss when I opened the book and jumped right in. Honey and Clover captures moments in the ordinary lives of a group of art college students, often with some time passing between chapters. Other than Morita, who's a bit larger than life (more so in the anime than the manga) and too busy disappearing on money-making missions to ever actually graduate, and Hagu-chan, who's remarkable in her sheer talent, the characters are incredibly normal. Their concerns center around love, life after college, and--on many levels--separation from the people they care about. This makes their story easily accessible, and manga-ka Umino has the gift of cutting right to the heart of their feelings. Romance isn't the only kind of love going on here, but it's very important and often unrequited. The love triangles in this series may be the most deftly-handled I've ever read: no one is "the bad guy" in these relationships, and no one is trying to hurt anyone else, although that doesn't prevent heartbreak. There's a particular poignancy to seeing a pair of friends where one is in love with the other, and the other knows it, and genuinely cares for her, and can't return her feelings. The other story element that I really appreciate in this volume is the relationship between Prof. Hanamoto and Rika, a close friend from his school days who recently employed Mayama before his graduation. Rika and Mayama's relationship is interesting too, but her friendship with Hanamoto is delved into a bit here, and it's a weighty history. The two of them are the survivors of a very close trio, and Umino isn't shy about showing how fraught and complex their friendship has become. This subplot addresses a kind of relationship that I've rarely seen touched on in manga, one that was once incredibly close and has left the characters' lives permanently entwined, and which has since undergone some profound changes. You'd think that would be enough for one volume to deal with, but there's still plenty of room in here for some lightheartedness and outright comedy, and all of the characters have their moments to shine. Takemoto goes home to see his family for the first time in far too long; the group fits in not one but two trips; some major life decisions get made; and the guys face a tremendous culinary challenge. Meanwhile, the rhythm of the school year is a constant undercurrent, a quiet clock ticking away the time until everyone will have to face the world beyond the school's walls--ready or not. As Joy noted in her review of vol. 1, the adaptation retains some of the Japanese honorifics, which I also appreciate; it's especially worth noting since that's not something I expect to see when I open a VIZ title. This volume includes a short behind-the-scenes comic from the creator and two pages of cultural notes. Review copy provided by VIZ Media. For the interested, VIZ also released the DVD of the live-action Honey and Clover movie this week (not to be confused with the recent live-action TV drama). Comment on this review of Honey and Clover v2 on the Manga Life Forums. |
6 October 2009
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