Hachimitsu to Clover (Honey and Clover)

Yuuta Takemoto, a sophomore at an arts college, shares a cheap apartment with two seniors—the eccentric Shinobu Morita, who keeps failing to graduate due to his absenteeism, and the sensible Takumi Mayama, who acts as a proper senior to Takemoto, often looking out for him.

Takemoto had not given much thought to his future until one fine spring day, when he meets the endearing Hagumi Hanamoto and falls in love at first sight. Incredibly gifted in the arts, Hagumi enrolls in Takemoto's university and soon befriends the popular pottery student Ayumi Yamada. Ayumi is already well acquainted with the three flatmates and secretly harbors deep feelings for one of them.

Hachimitsu to Clover is a heartwarming tale of youth, love, soul-searching, and self-discovery, intricately woven through the complex relationships between five dear friends.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Hachimitsu to Clover was the first anime to air on Fuji Television's noitaminA block.

Episode Videos

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Hachimitsu to Clover
Side story:	Hachimitsu to Clover Specials
Sequel:	Hachimitsu to Clover II

Aono, Takeshi
Japanese

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Staff

Kasai, Kenichi

Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Aketagawa, Jin

Sound Director

Nagai, Tatsuyuki

Episode Director

Masunari, Koji

Episode Director, Storyboard

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Opening Theme

"Dramatic" by Yuki (eps 1-12,24)

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Ending Theme

	1: "Waltz" by Suneohair (eps 13-23)
	2: "Mistake" by THE BAND HAS NO NAME

More reviews

Reviews

May 24, 2008

TheCriticsClub

Recommended

For many of us who watch anime, the medium can become something more than simply animated entertainment. Sometimes, we will find ourselves connecting on a deep emotional level with a character or characters in a show. Sometimes, the story will seem less like a fanciful escape and more like a reflection upon society or our individual lives. These are the kind of shows stick with us. They'll make us laugh, they'll make us cry, and sometimes they'll make us realize something new about ourselves. Honey and Clover is one of those kind of anime.

Based on the manga by Chika Umino, Honey and Clover follows the ...

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Mar 4, 2007

Kopanda

Recommended

Almost everything about Honey and Clover is unprecedented and perfected. From the unnerving OP to the moving ending narration, each episode is a dramatic and romantic take on the special lives of the six main characters. There is no action and there is no fanservice so the stereotyped teenage male audiences will avoid this series, however, the intelligent humor and very intricate intricate character development which dominates the show is sure to satisfy most mature fans who are sick of slapstick, perverted anime. At times it does get very similar to American soapies but I believe that Honey and Clover outdoes any love triangle stories. ...

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Jun 28, 2007

jet2r0cks

Recommended

Ever get that nice feeling after you finished watching a really good series? That’s how I felt when I finished watching Honey and Clover.

What a wonderful story. It’s a good mix of bittersweet growing pains, salty teardrops, and huge doses of soul searching, all brought about by Love. Ah yes, Love. That is what defines the plot of Honey and Clover. Through this anime, we see how love can go both ways – it can send you flying in the sky, or it can leave you with a knife in the back.

I can relate to mostly everyone in the story, and this is also why ... it was so easy to understand for me. Yamada’s frustration over unrequited love, Takemoto’s fear of the future and time quickly passing by (believe me, time in this anime is fast-paced), Hagu’s feelings of pressure from everyone around her, and of course, the loneliness that everyone felt from time to time. The ability to relate to each and every one of the characters made Honey and Clover such a good watch for me, and I’m sure it will be the same for everyone who will watch this series.

Despite the serious tones, there are still moments that are quite funny. Most of the comedic relief comes from Morita, who is actually one of my favorite characters. His idiosyncrasies are what made him great to watch. I love that scene where he accepted the Mochademy Award (A nod to the Academy awards) for best CG. There was also this great episode where Morita and Takemoto played some sort of twister game until their limbs were intertwined. Of course, you can’t forget chapters L and F which were both funny as well.

I liked most of the characters because they were all so relatable and they were all managed effectively. At the end of the series, you know everything that goes/went on behind their facades. They all had well thought of histories and wonderful unique personalities that go so well together. It’s almost like an anime version of FRIENDS. I already mentioned that I like Morita, but my other favorite is Mayama. I kinda developed a crush on him too; I actually see what Yamada sees in him. I was kind of annoyed that he picked that old hag Rika over Yamada. I really hate that woman; she’s only out to hurt Mayama. I’m definitely on team Ayumi “Tetsujin” Yamada (Even though she tends to ramble on a lot)!

Drawing style was something new. It reminded me of old school anime with a new twist. It had the same look and feel of 80s anime with except it was updated and fresh. It was probably because of the coloring technique - the colors were just lovely, they weren’t vibrant, like how I usually would like colors to be, but they were done well and the colors didn’t clash, so I actually liked it. It reminded me of water color paintings, a trend I noticed from watching JC Staff series. Usually the illustrations are done well, they barely change or if there are any changes it goes unnoticed. Although I did notice a huge shift in Hagu’s appearance – She was a lot prettier in the first episode compared to the rest of the series. Her look was done well though – she had beautiful eyes and hair (same thing with Yamada).

There were different animation techniques that were used. I like the use of stop motion, I’m guessing the first opening theme sequence was made using stop motion and clay figures. There was also the use of live action, which was for the second opening theme sequence (The poodle was just adorable). Some scenes had a more weathered look, and there was even an instance were vector art was used. Of course, there was the use of CG. CG is always good if it’s used to give depth to animation.

Voice acting was actually pretty good. My favorite seiyu for this series is Tomokazu Sugita, Mayama’s seiyu, who was also the seiyu for Kyon from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, another favorite of mine. I also like Morita’s seiyu, Yuji Ueda. I think it’s funny when his voice turns soft. The other seiyus, such as Keiji Fujiwara and Mikako Takahashi were already familiar to me, since I’ve watched/currently series they worked for before, and what they did for Honey and Clover were splendid as well, but as for Hagu’s seiyu, I’m a bit indifferent. Based on the information I saw about her, she seems to be a newbie (I think she’s only 18) and Hagu Hanamoto is probably her most notable role. Anyway, everyone did a good job because they brought out their character’s personalities really well, and the dialogues were easy to follow.

I’m surprised that most of Yuzo Hayashi’s work was for Sailormoon. I actually thought the music for this anime was done well – everything was modern and contemporary. I like the wide variety of insert songs that were used as BGM, and of course, the opening and ending themes weren’t bad either. At the end of the series I found myself humming and bopping my head to the catchy music of the series.

Thank goodness for the second season, plus the extra two episodes. If it weren’t for that, I Probably would be close to tears by now. This is undeniably one of the best series (Thank God to no fan service!) I’ve ever watched, and will watch again.

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Poll: Hachimitsu to Clover Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Kayro - Mar 17, 2008	75 replies	by Edmund_Nishikata »» Feb 26, 4:06 PM
Poll: Hachimitsu to Clover Episode 24 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Fentastic - Oct 5, 2008	122 replies	by ZXEAN »» Feb 12, 9:44 AM
Poll: Hachimitsu to Clover Episode 22 Discussion Kayro - Mar 23, 2008	42 replies	by OG_Otaku »» Feb 10, 9:23 AM
Poll: Hachimitsu to Clover Episode 19 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Kayro - Mar 22, 2008	64 replies	by OG_Otaku »» Feb 9, 4:17 PM
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