Honey and Clover (Hachikuro) - Pantheon Anime
The wonder years

// Synopsis: Three friends live in a dump of an apartment and attend the same art college. One day a gifted petite girl enrolls and Takemoto and Morita instantly fall for her. The rest of the story follows these characters and their transition to life after graduation.

// Review: College was easily the best years of my life. New experiences, community of friends, self-discovery. It's truly a coming of age time period and Honey and Clover captures it so well that I often found myself fondly reminiscing while watching it.

/ Story? There really isn't one in the conventional sense. No major conflict to overcome. No enemy that needs to be defeated. It doesn't even focus on one particular character. Instead this anime follows the lives of each of these students as they interact with one another and learn things about themselves. All of the characters have their own odd idiosynchrasies that are funny, and all of them respond and act human as well.

/ Usually most romance I see in anime makes me want to slam my head in a car door. But this didn't have the sickening drama of high school puppy love where in the final episode the guy and girl finally hold hands or share an accidental embrace. Rather it dealt with the common realities of unrequitted love and the pain and frustration that comes with it.

/ Honey and Clover has a lot of goofball comedy that's pretty amusing, but then can seemlessly transition to serious and poignant moments. One minute you can laugh at their ridiculous behavior and the next empathize with them as they contemplate friendship, love, identity, and dealing with change.

/ The art style was great. The quirky food plate intro, water colored animation, and effects reflected the creativity of the art students. I enjoyed the music as well. It wasn't too J poppy and I found it worth downloading.

// Wrap up: This anime was originally targeted to a female audience, but you don't have to have a skirt to appreciate and enjoy this nolstalgic series.

Entertainment rating: 5