Just when I was afraid that Yamada/Mayama story won't be moving anytime soon, something progressive happens to the story. I think this is the best thing that could happen to Yamada since now she won't have a choice but to let go of Mayama. The insert music of the week is Koko ni iru koto by Suga Shikao. This song comes from his Sugarless CD. There is also a rather good piano version of Fugainaiya included in the episode. I really hope that once this season is over, the official 2nd season CD will include this all piano version of the OP and ED theme. As a side note, the high-res images are now available. I also included some pictures of Hachikuro related items. The upcoming live action film has been covered by many magazines here. I am sorry for the bad photos but I don't have a scanner here in Japan. Packaged Foods Entertainment Magazine - Front cover Gyao Magazine - Front cover Gyao Magazine - Group shot Gyao Magazine - Girls side Gyao Magazine - Guys side
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

Yuki - Fugainaiya (25.1MB, for PSP/Quicktime) I can just imagine the ad that Yuki placed to obtain the extras in this PV: Wanted - Gaijins who are willing to dress up as maid, lamp, table, and portrait while screaming 'fugainaiya-iya'. That said, the PV is actually kind of amusing and a lot better than the one that was used for Dramatic. I personally prefer to see weird PVs like this one instead of the ones that bore me to tears. It's clear that lots of money were poured into the PV. The costume itself probably eats a quarter of the budget and then there is the actual maze which looks awesome. Overall, this is a fun PV that does represent Honey and Clover series really well. As a side note, I only jot down the TV size version of the lyric since I can barely understand what Yuki screams about. Once the official lyric is out, I'll update the romaji part of the lyric.
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

The only people who are interested in this light infomercial are probably just Honey and Clover fans. This is basically Chou-VIP (Super VIP) program featuring Kudou Haruka promoting Hachikuro Cafe. I wrote about the place in Kongetsu the last time I went to Japan. I haven't had the chance to revisit the place at the moment but I may do that just to see if there is any interesting merchandise being sold at the moment. Plus, that melon pan and mango juice look delicious. I wish I was around when the cafe still had the full menu though. I want to taste that blue cheese pizza with honey but never had the chance to do so. When I first visited the cafe, the menu consists mostly of drinks. Anyway, Kudou Haruka looks cute especially when she says "Oishii" after she bit the melonpan. Having said that, I can't help but wonder if the bread is as delicious as she claims it is. Japanese TV personalities tend to claim that everything is delicious when they are on TV. It's really funny when you watch this food adventure program because no matter what kind of food they eat, they always say it's delicious. In addition to this, they always have different facial expression everytime they say the word. Anyway, seeing all of these promos suddenly appearing simply means that the film will come to the cinema soon. I am actually excited to see it after seeing the full trailer.
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

「ふがいないや」 (Fugainaiya) is YUKI's newest song/PV, the opening theme for Honey and Clover II.
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

Hiccups are the order of the day, as Hagu avoids Takemoto, Morita has some nebulous thing he’s saving money for, and Ayu discovers just how much Rika really cares for Mayama. How does HachiKuro manage to be so much better than pretty much everything else without even seeming to try? I don’t understand how a [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

Hagu and Rika get hiccups!! It was really fun watching all those methods proposed to stop hiccups. I was baffled because I thought all you had to do was to just drink lots of water. And here comes Honey and Clover episode 2. I was thinking, what a stupid way to stop hiccups! [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

So I’m back after watching about more than half of Honey & Clover. I get it now why people love it. My reasons are simple: Gorgeous watercolour-like art. Manly nurse from hell! Morita senpai!!! Yamada and Mayama. Give it up, girl. He’s a lost cause. To be honest, when I started Honey & Clover, I really braced myself for a Windy [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

If I can describe what genius is in only three words, I would say ‘Honey and Clover.’ It’s a very good thing I held myself from watching the raws, because watching it with subs was nothing short of extremely fulfilling. My eyes are teary, yet I am smiling. I’d probably never see stuff like this [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

I'm not gonna say Honey and Clover lied to me… but there's only one true way to cure the hiccups and that doesn't involve drinking anything at all. Silly Harada/Shuu, when you drink water from the other side of the glass, it doesn't cure anything, except maybe the bad mood of other people. It's a [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

SPITZ - Mahou no Kotoba (15MB, for PSP/Quicktime) This is basically the main theme for the upcoming live action version of Honey and Clover. The song is performed by Spitz and is newly written specifically for the movie itself. I personally am a bit underwhelmed by both the song and the PV itself. I think the ending song that is written by Suga Shikao and performed by Arashi, Aozora Pedal is a bit more interesting. But then again I've always gravitated more towards Suga Shikao's songs than Spitz. The only exception to this is Spica, which I thought was perfect as the song to accompany Takemoto's journey back in episode 24 of Honey and Clover. The PV itself is nothing special. You simply see a door in the middle of the street and inside the door, Spitz members can be seen living their daily life and performing/practising the song.
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

Well, considering the first episode of H&C2 is pretty much entirely recap, it’s not all too bad. Alot of the scenes, narrated by Takemoto, have already taken place in the first series, but are presented in a little different aspect when Takemoto provides his thoughts on what his [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

OP - (YUKI) - OP animation isn’t that great (I don’t get it; is the sculpture important somehow? I recognise Hagu’s poodle, but what about the rest of it?), but YUKI doesn’t sound quite like she’s strangling herself, and the bridge/chorus is awesome. In fact, by the end of the OP I’ve decided [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

Other than feeling a surge of emotion while watching Honey and Clover, I also appreciate its smartness. The example I’m going to expound on in the following sentences may not be the most recent, but it certainly proves (to me, at least) that Honey and Clover’s simplistic [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

This episode is terrific and pretty much made up for last week's recap episode. First thing first, the animation is unbelievably good. At times, Yamada actually looks a lot like the actress who will play her in the live action adaptation of the series. I'm also glad to know that even now the series is still capable of presenting stories which is both funny and touching. I am also starting to like Split now especially since in this episode the song plays just as the camera zooms in on Yamada's face. Speaking of soundtrack, this week's insert song is SPITZ' Pool. The biggest question here though, how do you normally get rid of hiccup? In my experience, all you have to do is to hold your breath and count to 10 slowly. Anyway, I'll update this entry a bit later with high-res images and longer summaries.
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

These are the rantings and ravings of a very biased blogger on why Honey and Clover is good. There are people who must be wondering, ‘What’s so good about Honey and Clover?’, and there must be people like me (or maybe even just me) who are wondering ‘Why do a lot of people not find Honey [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

So, episode 1 was like a recap of the entire season 1 after all. It might be a disappointment to those expecting something else, but it might be quite useful for those who haven’t seen season 1. Takemoto is narrating in this one. We see significant events that happened from season 1. And [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

Okay, I give up. I’ll follow Honey & Clover. Because everyone ♥ it, so there must be a damn good reason to watch it.  I watched episode 1 a while back, and it left me bewildered. OK, there’s this bunch of art students. They live in this crappy hostel. And then there’s Morita-senpai, where everyone is [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

Finally, the anime I anticipated for a while has been released and subbed! However, I’m a bit disappointed it started with a big recap - a basic summary of Honey & Clover. Despite that, it didn’t started out that badly, like School Rumble Nigakki. One, the opening and ending song is sang by the same people. [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

Happy Independence day!  I’m so glad that they made a 2nd season of this sugoi anime. The first season was great and I hope the 2nd season will be too. When it comes to Anime genres, there’s nothing I love to watch more than Drama. Comedy? Sure. Romance? Absolutely. But there’s gotta be Drama! And the first [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta

Recap episode or not, I knew I would still enjoy this episode to the utmost level of enjoyment…ness. And surprise, surprise, I did. There are a few ways for me indentify which shows are keepers and I've experienced at least one symptom in pretty much Honey and Clover episode I've watched. Please step into my [...]
Read the rest of this entry Entry meta