Anime Pilgrimage RTT

Honey and Clover – episode seven

June 22, 2005 on 1:17 pm | In Honey and Clover | Comments Off on Honey and Clover – episode seven

“We Look for a Miracle”

This episode could not hope to match the ultra revelations of the previous effort, but it still said quite a bit about what Honey & Clover is about; it also featured a gorgeous character montage of epic proportions.

Shuu-chan wants to go away for a year on a research trip with his former teacher, a man with whom he gets drunk and argues about World War II naval vessels. He wants to take Hagu-chan with him, because they have been such important parts of each others’ lives, but Hagu-chan wants to stay with her new friends …
… so they go looking for four leaf clovers.

This episode has a good deal of insight into Hagu-chan’s upbringing, and her artistic vision. A part that showed Morita’s respect for Hagu-chan was when he saw that her art is her vision of the world:

These characters are growing closer together as their circumstances are supposed to tear them apart, with Yamada deciding to stay on and Morita seemingly not graduating again; it was excellent for Takemoto to point out to Morita that he finds it hard to think of himself as a third year student because his “sempai” has been there all of the time.

Even Mayama and Yamada’s relationship improves in this episode; Mayama has changed, but so too has Yamada. They work in a more functional manner now, because neither is making unreasonable demands of the other. It is not exactly that Mayama has resigned himself, because their acceptance of fate is not dreary. Watching them interact on a less than insane level is more fun, although that is weird to say considering that this episode starts with Mayama hobbling on a cane as a result of taking Yamada home.

What really makes this series for me, though, is the way in which it presents memories. The following scene, with its flowing animation – a windy recollection, if you will – is marvellous:

The essence that this series captures, despite the fact that I’m not such a fond student, makes me feel special. Not a lot of anime makes me feel special; Honey & Clover is platinum.