Anime Pilgrimage RTT

Honey and Clover – episode 24

October 13, 2005 on 10:49 pm | In Honey and Clover | 3 Comments

“… I’m here”

I’m not sure that I could have been more satisfied with this ending. So much was so right; this series was an excellent way to spend six months. This episode featured many profound images and a purely fitting conclusion; that’s right, conclusion.

If you’ve made any head way into Honey & Clover, don’t come here …

Takemoto reaches the most northern point of Japan. Then he goes home.

One has to respect someone who has the ability to go ahead without looking back; and, of course, glare at them for being so inconsiderate. Takemoto’s adventure was excellent to watch: the kindness that he experienced was wonderful, exemplified here by the old lady who ran the convenience store and fed a grateful Takemoto.
This kindness extends to things that make considerably less sense, such as a hand offering Takemoto a rice ball out of the window of his car. I can understand people giving him water, shelter, and food … but car rice balls? I just don’t buy that one.

The first half of this episode is Takemoto reaching his realisation, with some reflection on his father’s death. As he’s alone, there is little dialogue and only a minimum of inner monologue. At least, it feels that way; perhaps it’s just so thought provoking that I got lost in it all.

The lead-in to the eyecatch was heart warming:

Such a great shot.

Okay, time to stop speaking in ambiguities. Takemoto and Hagu holding hands in their sleep was that little something magical and, at least for the first few seconds, Shuu-chan couldn’t begrudge them that. Shuu-chan was an excellent father figure for Hagu-chan, even though he was only about fifteen years older than her. Their relationship was one of the only constants in the series; they could always be relied upon to support each other. Their dynamic never changed and they never argued.

I realised that, in preparing the images for this, I only captured the essences of Takemoto and Hagu-chan – that shot of Morita is a ring in. That’s because this episode made it feel like Takemoto and Hagu-chan were the most important people in the world; they were, in their own way.
Takemoto did change after his journey, and this was most obviously evidenced by his tan; he stood apart from the other characters in a jarring but logical manner. The observation “he can take on Morita at an equal level” was well done – I don’t think that Takemoto will be quite so … overbearing … as Morita, but he can deal with him now, and that makes all the difference.

Yamada doesn’t get to put much of a say in, but the other profundity of this finale was at the festival, wherein Shuu-chan and Mayama drank together.
“Didn’t we do this last year?” they say. “Nothing has changed.”
But really, they don’t mind; the company is more than good enough, and more than once the strength of all of the characters is emphasised throughout the episode.

The quality of this episode as a conclusion is paramount; I feel that enough is resolved for now. I really don’t care about the Yamada and Mayama thing, that could potentially go on forever; to ask for it to be resolved in this, Takemoto’s episode, would be unreasonable. When Takemoto told Hagu-chan “I like you”, the series was over for me. The audience didn’t even really need to hear her response, just having Takemoto unleash his feelings of three years was good enough.

So, of course, life goes on for Takemoto and his friends; it would be unrealistic if it didn’t. The series ends at the perfect “chapter stop” in their lives, and while a second series would be welcomed, J.C. Staff chose to conclude at exactly the right time, and on exactly the right line:

Takemoto’s insight, like this series, was perfect.