Title: Honey and Clover Collection 2
Alternative Title: ハチミツとクローバー
Published by: Madman Entertainment (Australia / New Zealand)
Based on: Manga Series by Chika Umino
Audio: English and Japanese Dubs
Subtitles: English
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen (16:9)
Runtime: 325 Minutes
Cost: $AUD 59.95
Classification: This title has been rated M for Mature Themes
Previous Reviews: Collection 1
Blurb: “The second collection of episodes in the three collection series Honey and Clover. Having a previous score of A-, it had to continue deliver in the storyline department, however with the introduction of new characters and a continuation of the previous romantic elements of the previous collection, this set of episodes seemed less exciting then the previous. However, the interesting design elements, music and voice acting still makes this a decent anime series for your viewing.
Special Thanks: Special thanks goes to the Madman Entertainment PR Team for providing me with a review sample of this title.
The second in the third part art school series once again attempts to take love traingles to the next level, but making them even more complicated, introducing new characters and new surprises then what was in the first collection. For those who have not read my review on the previous collection at least, scroll up and read my previous review for an overview of the graphics and music, as you will be glad to know that the quality hasn’t dropped at all! Anyway, read on for my review of Honey and Clover – Collection 2!
Shinobu has disappeared to America, leaving both Yuta and Hagumi with very mixed feelings. But talk about mixed up! If Takumi’s feelings are so tied up with Rika, why is he tied up in knots over his coworker, Nomiya’s romantic pursuit of Ayumi? Plus, senior projects are getting everyone down, but none more then Yuta, who in a sudden burst of reckless abandon, takes off on his bicycle on an epic journey of self-discovery….
Now, lets recap on the love triangles from the end of the previous collection….. The two primary female characters are Hagu (Who could more or less be defined as this seasons obligatory “loli” character) and Ayumi, on-again-off-again yandere character. In Hagu’s case, she has both Yuta and Shinobu after her, whilst in the case of Ayumi, she only lusts for her one and only Takumi. The plot changes for both of this young ladies, with the disappearance of Shinobu for the first part of the season, it leaves the hesitant Yuta free rein over making his advances on Hagu (Although as you most probably expect, he doesn’t), whilst in the case of Ayumi, she is naive to the fact that, whilst Takumi has some feelings for her, that his colleague is also making his advances towards her.
The thing the series does well, is that while Shinobu’s departure lingers over the characters the entire time, I found myself as a viewer actually forget about him, and then when he returns, in one of the more comical, yet so appropriate means possible, bringing with him the comedic side to him I grew to enjoy. During his disappearance however, the romantic triangle between him, Yuta and Hagu disappeared and instead allowed there to be more of a focus on Takumi and Ayumi, as well as Takumi’s colleagues. Besides the randomness of the text talking dog, I didn’t enjoy the new characters, they seemed too generic to me and the change from the art school life, which besides this aspect, the series is. It must be noted that the romantic element of this collection felt very dry and overused from its rather good application last set, however, the slice-of-life and school elements were still rather enjoyable.
With the exception of Takumi’s work colleagues, the only other characters that may get on your nerves are Yuta and Takumi. Sure they are most probably two of the main characters in this collection, however thankfully their personalities are saved by every other character in the series. Ayumi and Hagu are the two who are not bound to the constraints of the romantic depression as the other characters, with Ayumi being on-again off-again comedic in her attempts for love and drunken episodes, whilst Hagu, once again playing the loli and moe roles of the series, not bound by any romantic depression, visible to the camera at least, does fulfill her role well. My two favourite characters however are Shinobu (For his sheer presence in the series) and Shuji (Hagu’s carer who is not only defensive of Hagu, but the only one who at times can see that the ongoing love triangles need help). The character development, whilst coming off slower then in the previous set, is still good enough.
Overall, the storyline is not as engaging as the first collection, however still offers enough to make it a worthwhile watch.
For a full analysis of the design and sound related aspects of the series, please refer to my review for Collection 1. In Japan, there were only two seasons (Honey and Clover and Honey and Clover II) each covering 26 episodes and 12 episodes respectively. Therefore, this collection is the second part of season 1, therefore there are no differences in quality between the first two collections. However, the opening animation was changed from the previous set. I loved the first opening animation and I thought the still image animation was one of the more creative ones I have seen, however they have opted for an animated opening, that whilst having the same song and artistic style, it is very lackluster when comparing the two.
As with the first collection, there is a rather decent collection of bonus content. This includes:
- Cultural References – However these were only on the first disc for some reason….
- Screening Tea Party – A two minute fifty-five second feature showing a tea party that took place for Honey and Clover and shows off some of the art used in the series as well as a short presentation.
- Tokyo Anime Fair – A seven minute nine second feature showing a panel held at the Tokyo Anime Fair regarding the show.
- KABA.chan tries out voice acting – Didnt really watch this….
- Textless Opening and Ending
- Production Art
- English and Japanese Production Credits
- Trailers for Haruhi Season 2, Summer Wars, Nana Collection 1 and Evangelion 1.11
So yes, a nice collection of extras!
Time for the moment of judgement, with my personal opinion. In comparison to the previous set, it was not as good full stop. The romantic elements felt more forced and drawn out then I would have liked, however other elements such as the slice of life and the school elements (Even if the series is drawing away from the school element) were decent, and hell, even Yuta travelling around Japan allowed the design to differ a little and offered some decent storyline elements. If you enjoyed the first set however, the few flaws with this set will most probably not turn you off watching this one.
Final Score
Storyline: B-
Character Development: B-
Design: A
Music: B
Voice Acting: A-
Extras: A-
Personal Opinion: B
Overall Score: B
