Anime Review: Honey and Clover

Review Honey and Clover Written by Warpshadow Rating Excellent

I used to wonder when next Fruits basket (aka the next great shojo anime) would come out. I found out a couple of weeks ago and it's name is Honey and Clover.

Yuuta Takemoto goes to an art college and lives in a shabby dorm with his two friends Mayama and Morita. His world changes when a new student named Hagumi transfers the college. Despite the fact that she is eighteen Hagumi still looks like a child. Takemoto is quite taken with her but can't express his feelings. Mayama his own romantic problems to deal with. Namely he is in love with an older woman and a younger student is in love with him. As for Morita, people are starting to wonder if he will ever graduate.

One sign of a great show is the ability to juggle different themes and plots with care given to each. Honey and Clover has a strong theme of unrequited romance but intersperses high grade comedy in the middle to keep things from getting too heavy or boring. The cast of characters blend together well, meaning that each of them relates to the others in a complex and meaningful fashion. Although this is a Shojo anime this show is something that can be watched and enjoyed by people of both sexes as it relies on a solid story to grab the audience as opposed to fan service (which in Shojo anime means bishonen angst). This is a show that is to be a classic one day.