Honey and Clover II ep.6

August 4, 2006 | 29 Comments

I think of all the second season episodes, I like this one the best mostly because it focuses on three characters that I like: Takemoto, Morita, and Kaoru. I especially feel a lot of sympathy for Kaoru here. The insert song of the week is Happy Birthday by Suga Shikao and was used during the Morita Brothers' story. On a related note, most of you probably already know that the manga series which serves as a base for this anime has recently ended its serialisation. I have written my impression about the ending for those of you who want to check it out. The series ended in a bittersweet note and in my opinion, it's one of the best manga ending I've read. A spin-off of the manga is coming this autumn so maybe you'll get to see some of your favourite characters from this series making a guest appearance in the spin-off. Anyway, the large-size screencaps are now available and I'm writing the summary right now.

Morita is sleeping soundly on top of the university's grass field, dreaming about his father who was the President of a company called Morita's Synthesis Technology Research Centre. A flashback then shows an employee of the company looking for Morita's father. Another employee told him to check the President's room since he heard a big singing voice coming from the room. The first employee couldn't find him there and is confused about this because Morita's father had told him to make something and finish the job by 8PM. Otherwise, he'll have to run the schoolyard 10 times. Another employee came out and informed him that if he is looking for the President, he's already gone home. The first employee is shocked to hear this and wondered what will happen to the presentation of the new plan, which will happen the day after tomorrow. Unfortunately the other employee told him that the President really has left after saying "Tonight is Curry night".

Cut to a shot of Morita's father arriving back at his house and greeted by Chibi Morita and Chibi Kaoru. Once they're inside the house, Morita's father took a flashlight and pointed it at a table because he wants his kids to see something. On a closer look, the thing is a miniature robot in the shape of an alien. According to the boys' father, if they shine a light on the thing, it'll face the light and moves towards it. He believes that this is the world's smallest robot and its name is Kabu-tan. The "Ka" is from "Kaoru" and the "Bu" is from "Shinobu" and that is why its name is "Kabu-tan". Morita was excited to see the little robot and agreed with his father that it's cute. The three then have dinner together and Morita is shown trying to spoonfed Curry to his kitten. In the present time, Morita wakes up and finds a white cat sleeping on top of his body. He picks up the cat and puts its nose close to his as he invites the cat to go eat Curry with him.

Meanwhile Takemoto is in the middle of continuing his tower structure project. He realises that he finally knows about building large structure after doing it himself. When making a large structure, it is necessary to construct a scaffold larger than the structure itself. That way, the work will be simpler to achive instead of seemingly endless. Takemoto feels that he will be okay now. He thinks about how everyone was impressed and surprised after he went to Wakkanai using only his bike. However, all he did was alternately step on his left and right pedal. Right, left, right, left, it was seemingly endless. Because he knows this, Takemoto believes that he's going to be fine. At the same time, Hagu is in the library studying the works of French Sculptor, Auguste Rodin. She admires the smoothness of the sculpture and how they look as if they were made of cream. She also wonders how much white marble is needed to make it and how to carve one.

Hagu realises that a lot of work go into making such sculpture. Inside her mind, she can see boxes scattered endlessly on a field. As she opens a box, one by one images fly out of it and she proceeds to give them a chase and a struggle. She then tries to use them to see if they are the ones that she wants before giving each of them a name. She will then do this over and over again. However, a great amount of time is required to do this. And before she even finished making one, Hagu already sees the sun rises revealing a lot more boxes in the field. She tells herself that she wants to open all of these boxes. But unfortunately, a human's lifespan is too short and makes it impossible for anyone to open all of them. Hagu looks disappointed upon realising this and tells herself that within a person's life, there are limits to the number of boxes that one can open. However, if there is another person who is willing to work together with you....

Shuuji then appears next to Hagu and recognises the sculpture in the picture as Rodin's Gates of Hell. He correctly tells Hagu that the National Museum of Western Art (in Ueno Park, Tokyo) should have the sculpture. The gate was based on Dante's work, Inferno and is supposed to be a place where people abandon their hope before entering Hell. Shuuji points out that Hagu's favourite artist, Gustave Doré, also painted an illustration of the same gate. Because of this he wonders what troubled these artists to the point that they chose this Hell motif. Shuuji continues by saying that the marble looks as if they shine from the inside because the light that enters the object is reflected back onto the surface. In other words, Marble allows light to pass through its surface. Upon hearing Shuuji's words, Hagu wants to ask something from Shuuji but decides against it. Later on, however, Hagu tells herself that Shuuji has his own life and she has no right to take it.

At Fujiwara Design, Mayama arrives carrying a letter from Rika. Upon reading the letter and the magazine that comes with it, everyone are shocked to see a picture of Rika bear-hugged by Mac Carlos, a brutish Spanish construction designer who will work with Rika on the project. A comical flashback shows how Rika got body-grinded by the Spaniard and made a futile attempt to stop the big guy from coming into her room. Nomiya wonders if Rika is going to be okay there since she looked as if her spirit has left her. Miwako thinks that this is the reason why Rika sent Mayama a fax requesting him to be a watchdog. Mayama tells Miwako that she can say anything she wants but once he arrives there next to Rika, no one can lay a finger on her. He then starts to laugh in a psychotic manner, freaking Miwako out in the process. She can't believe that the man with the most dangerous intention of them all will be close to Rika. This means the watchdog is more like rabid dog.

Yamazaki is distressed to hear this as well and likens Rika's situation to someone who is trapped inside a house with a rabid dog while a big bad wolf is waiting outside. Nomiya makes thing worse by saying that the scale seems to be higher on the negative end of balance, causing Miwako to burst into tears for Rika's fate. In addition to this, she thinks Rika looks thin and wonders if she should fly there and take care of her. Mayama, however, tries to prove that he's one step ahead of Miwako by showing her a Rice Cooker that he'll bring with him as well as a power converter for the appliance. He then shows them other items he intends to bring for Rika while saying that even if Rika doesn't feel like eating, she's always willing to eat Okaka (bonito flakes) mixed with a dash of soy sauce. Upon seeing all of the items that are on display, Nomiya, Miwako, and Yamazaki think that the entire things look like a package from a countryside mother.

When Mayama mentions that he's also bringing Soumen (Japanese noodle), Yamazaki wonders about spices. Miwako agrees and chimes in that Soumen won't taste good without Shiso (beefsteak plant) and Negi (Welsh onion). Miwako also suggests adding Mint leaf or Lemon Balm. Mayama is horrified upon hearing this and tells them that Soumen should not contain Mint or Lemon Balm since they are not things that human can eat. Moreover, he thinks this recipe is similar to Yamada's special menu. All of a sudden Yamada appears behind Mayama, scaring Yamazaki, Miwako, and Nomiya. They try to warn Mayama but Mayama ignores them and digs his own grave by saying that he won't feed that kind of things to Rika. His head is promptly hit by a large size bento box that Yamada carries. Much to his surprise, however, Yamada is not angry and instead tells him he should bring Radish because its root has a good, stinging, spicy taste.

Yamada suggests that Mayama wrap the Radish on a wet absorbent cotton for 3 days before eating it. However, if he plans on bringing the seed to Spain, he better plants it once he gets there. Mayama thanks Yamada for the advice and promises to do just that after he arrives in Spain. Later on Yamada walks alone looking sad after she remembers what Mayama said about arriving in Spain. She, however, is surprised when she hears Leader barking and sees Nomiya walking not to far from the dog. Yamada curtly asks Nomiya what he is doing so Nomiya tells her that he's just taking Leader for a walk. He, however, asks Yamada to admit that the truth is she wants him to go after her. Yamada denies this and asks Nomiya not to stare at her. She then tries to cover her face with her purse but Nomiya can see tears forming on her eyes. Nomiya smiles and pats Yamada on the head, telling her that she that she talked a lot and did her best just then.

Meanwhile, Morita is in the middle of watching Hagu from behind a curtain. After a while, he closes the curtain and tries to leave the room. Before he can do this, however, he is confronted by Shuuji who asks him why he didn't say anything to Hagu. The two then go to the rooftop and Shuuji tells Morita that he surely knows what Hagu is stopping in front of at the moment. Cut to a shot of Hagu looking at her artbook and empty canvas. Shuuji warns Morita that if he doesn't speak to Hagu now, at this rate their path will diverge. Shuuji wonders if that is okay with him. In reply Morita tells Shuuji that he can't help it so Shuuji tells him that those words don't suit him. Because of this Morita tells Shuuji that being seperated is fine with him since he and Hagu were not close to begin with. Shuuji is surprised to hear this and wonders what Morita could possibly be thinking. Morita, on the other hand, smiles faintly and makes his way towards the street.

On the other side of the street, Kaoru is standing in front of a company called Floyd Electric. A quick flashback reveals that this company used to be Morita's Synthesis Technology Research Centre. Kaoru remembers the time when he saw his father patted Morita's head while he looks on sadly from nearby. In the present time, Kaoru swears to himself that he will regain his father's company because this is the only thing that he thinks he can do. His thought, however, is interrupted by the sound of an electric zapper killing a bug that is drawn to the light within. This reminds Kaoru of the way Kabu-tan moved towards the light. At the same time, Hagu is seen staring at her notebook and blank canvas while Shuuji is smoking in the rooftop of the university. And while Yamada and Nomiya sit on a park bench, Yamazaki and Miwako are working at Fujiwara Design. The last shot is of Mayama packing his suitcase and Takemoto still constructing his tower.

The next day, Takemoto looks up at a plane flying in the sky, wondering if Mayama has arrived in Spain now. His thought, however, is distracted when Yamada asks him about his driver's license. Takemoto tells Yamada that it's limited only to driving automatic cars. When Yamada wants to drive around, Takemoto admits that he is usually accompanied by an instructor and never went beyond the training area. Moreover, he doesn't have a car. Upon hearing this Yamada points out that Shuuji has a car, causing the poor teacher to spew his coffee. Shuuji tells them that he won't allow those who's just got their driver's license to take a first drive in his car. Yamada, however, ignores his protest and tells everyone they should go to the Ocean. But a normal car can only fit 5 people and right now there are herself, Hagu, Takemoto, Morita, Shuuji and Mayama. Yamada reminds herself that Mayama is in spain so there are only 5 people.

Shuuji suggests that they postpone the trip until Mayama comes back. After all, he said he'll return in a month. It'll probably be kind of cold by then but it's also beautiful since there'll be no one around. This means there will be a lot of shells left on the beach. Hagu becomes excited to hear this and wants to pick them up. Takemoto realises that they've never gone to the beach together. Yamada agrees and remembers that they've taken ferry and went to hot springs but not the beach. In their imagination, everyone would be there, they'll bring bento and camera. They will then take a lot of photos, eat a lot of food, and collect lots of seashells. Through his narration, however, Takemoto explains that in the end they never went to the beach nor leave one photograph. The only thing that exist was an imagination of everyone being together. A scene which was burned deeply in their eyes and became a photo which cannot be erased throughout life.

Impression:

I was excited to see Dante's Divine Comedy quoted in this episode. I've always been fascinated with that particular literature work and wonders what motivated Dante to write it. While it's supposed to be allegory, it is also contains some of the eeriest depiction of Hell I've read so far. It also helps that Gustave Doré did an awesome job in visualising Dante's words into a engravings. In fact, I've always been creeped out by his visualisation. I think this is mostly because there is no colour in those illustration, giving the scenery within it a sense of eternal darkness. In addition to this, there are something strangely alien about those vistas. They feel out of this world and strange. Most of it has to do with the fact that almost everything in the illustration towers the humans, giving the impression that those who are trapped in those realms will find it impossible to escape from their predicament.

Anyway, I'm sorry for spending a paragraph talking about Dante's work but I can't help but wonder why Umino Chika decided to reference his work in the story. Moving on to the actual show, after watching this episode, I realise that there are many seeds for the ending being planted in this episode. The most obvious one is Hagu's story and how she wants to have the chance to create as many things as she can create. I like how her monologues are pretty much similar to what most design/art students think while they create their projects. Just like her, there are many things that I'd like to create while I'm still alive but unfortunately, there are limits to what each individual can achieve. Hagu wants to overcome this problem by asking for Shuuji's help. After seeing this episode, the ending of the series makes a lot of sense. Hagu's priority, first and foremost, has always been her artworks and not the man in her life.

Morita and Kaoru's story is also another precursor to the ending. Everything from trying to regain their father's company to their love for Curry will eventually lead to the path they will take at the end of the series. I am a bit sad to see Kaoru being ignored by his father here. It's hard living in a family where your parents seem to treat your sibling more favourably. Next week's episode should show how Kaoru is treated differently from Morita. Props to the guy for not having any major grudge to either his father or Morita. Although the fact that he occasionally 'blackmail' Morita to do those strange jobs makes me wonder if it's his way of getting 'revenge'. This episode also reveals that Morita admires his father a lot, which explains why he is willing to go through those strange jobs in order to gain money to recover his father's company. Morita Senior also showed some playful personality here, one which undoubtedly got transferred to Morita.

As for the rest of the character, Takemoto has now grown into a rather secure individual who knows what he wants to do and how to achive it. It's nice to see his progression from the start of the series right up to this point. Yamada is still trying to get over Mayama but she is getting better at this as demonstrated by her ability to remain calm while inside Fujiwara Design. On another note, I'm amused with Mac Carlos. I think Mayama will have a competition when it comes to stalking Rika once he arrives in Spain. I also love Miwako and Yamazaki's horrified expressions in this episode when they found out that Rika will be surrounded by both two men who are obsessed about her. Last but not least, I'm sad to hear Takemoto's narration at the end of this episode. I know these guys are growing apart but I want to see all of them together for one last time. Unfortunately, just like in real life, things often don't go the way you want them here.

Preview

On next week's episode: Kaoru will finally get a background story.

© memento 2003