i like the cast for Yamada and Rika. i think the actor for Morita is a bit too 'old' isnt he? i'm not very keen on the cast for Takemoto either.. but he's quite cute though.. lol no prob with the rest.. hope it'll be good..

First time I've ever found Hagumi cute...

As far as casting goes: Takemoto does not look like his anime counterpart at all, Hagu doesn't either (but, that'd be pretty hard, I think), Morita looks far too old, Mayama pretty much hits the mark, Ayu looks alright, too, Shuuji looks fine and so does Rika.

It'd be kind of amusing if they dyed the actors' hair the colors of the characters' hair in the anime.

Well, it has Nyanzaburou. I'm sold.

Hagumi looks incredibly cute. I'm not very sure of the cast though, some I like, others I don't but I want to see the movie before judging them. After all, what's matters will be how they perform their roles.

Oh, no! what happened to Hagumi-chan? she has black hair and she doesn't look like an elementary school kid? Oh, well... its not like I'll ever watch the movie...

hagumi's not short enough (>.<)

it would be pretty cool if they pulled out the stops and put in hobbit LOTR effects to make hagumi shorter XD

Hmmm, a bit along the lines of what tragicsmile said... I'm finding Hagu to be VERY cute. The only one I'm not quite feeling is Yamada and Morita's. But it all comes down to how well they portray them that matters, right?

As long as the actors can bring in the hilariousness of H&C I don't mind who the actors are. But, Mayama looks emo though.

Btw, does the text/kanji in the scans provide some kind of interesting info about the movie that we don't know?

Before the casting comments, I want to establish that the acting and how the director guides his actors will be the other component to whether these people suit their anime/manga counterpart.

Okay so with that out of the way, simply looking at the scans Mayama's actor looks great for the part. Sakai Masato seems to be a good choice, but maybe a little too handsome and too "street smart"? He doesn't look like he has trouble getting girls at all. :D Takemoto's actor has a seishun feel to him which suits the character, but facial similarities may be lacking. Iseya Yuusuke has that kind of quirky look needed for Morita's character, but he does look a bit old.

Nishida Naomi looks fine for the part, but she seems to lack the melancholy Rika has. Her expression looks cold and too distant in the screen shots. Rika's sadness had a softness to it. That's one of the qualities of her that Mayama is attracted to. The live version of Hagu is much more realistic height wise, but I am already used to anime Hagu so I am a little disappointed. However, just from looks, I am the most disappointed with Ayu's casting. Aoi Yuu doesn't have conventionally beauty which is fine, but Ayu always gave me the impression of the girl-next-door who is beautiful and fashionable enough to grace the covers of Japanese fashion magazines. I'm also not impressed with the clothes they gave the girls for the group shot. I don't recall the clothes in H&G ever being outlandish, but then again all I am seeing right now are from a limited number of photos.

The interesting thing is I never knew how well defined Honey and Clover's characters are to me until I started commenting on the casting.....

Takemoto's actor Sakurai Sho is a member of Arashi, a very popular boy band. According to the official movie site, Arashi will join Suga Shikao and Spitz for the music. I've only seen Sho in a few tv interviews and skits and Arashi's first movie "Pika*nchi", but he seems able to pull off both comedic and dramatic parts quite well. Physical resemblances aside, I trust him as Takemoto.
And, Michi, the outfits in those shots look like perfectly normal Japanese girl fashions to me. They may be outlandish, but outlandish is the rule in Japan.

Did anyone catch the little "Memento" word on the third picture? It's under the paragraph that's on the picture with all of them eating at that table. I wonder if it was a personal watermark by you Garten XD

Anyways, I'm quite alienated by the clothes they gave to the girls for the photoshoot. Hagu's clothes look like they've been misfit. I don't recall anybody wearing a long summer dress over an extra-large T-shirt and getting away with it. Otherwise, I look forward to this movie, and hope to see more pictures as the date comes closer.

takumi2k4, I haven't been bothered to try translating it since it'll take me ages to understand all of the kanji and it'll ruin my enjoyment of the movie.

cereal-chan, there's nothing wrong with some subliminal advertising. :P

Ah I see. Thanks for the info. I too agree that somethings often ruin the movie's enjoyment.

Anyways, when will the movie come out in Japan? I think I'll purchase the DVD if possible once it comes out.

It's likely that the movie will be a retelling of the manga/anime storyline in a brief form like NANA movie. It will be too difficult for non-fans to watch the movie if it actually follows the end of the anime. The follow up to the anime's storyline will be the 2nd season of the anime not this movie.

The movie will come out during Summer vacation. So that will be around mid July (July 20) in most Japanese cities. I hope by then Death Note live action will still be playing so I can watch it as well. The DVD won't probably out until around December-ish though.

Seiji, I know those may be typical Japanese girls outfits. There is however, a difference between outlandishly good and just plain outlandish. Hagu and Ayu are the former in the anime. I never read the manga so I can't say the same for it.

http://www.style-arena.jp/index_e.htm

The photos on the website show outfits that stand out from the crowd. They don't necessarily represent a majority of how young people dress or what I generally saw during my stay in Tokyo, but there are a handful of examples of what is outlandishly good.

As for the group photo outfits. The "problem" is not in the style of dress, but the poor combination of the colors, patterns and pieces. The colors of Ayu's clothes are okay, but that skirt is a poor fit. The fitted top and Ugg-like boots make her look like she's standing inside a reversed cone instead of actually wearing the skirt. Most of the anime Ayu's dresses are better fitted a-line skirts. When she wears those skirts, the colors of the outfit are more subdued. It reminds you of an OL or a professional of some sort.

Hagu's outfit is too busy. Her floral patterned dress is over top a bright yellow shirt with red lining at the neck and cuffs. Near the hems of her jeans are some floral additions and to finish it off her shoes have a floral theme to them nonetheless. People won't know where to look. Hagu in the anime never had that. The colors never contrasted each other. There is an almost harmonizing blend to the color of her clothing. It suited her character very well.

There's nothing wrong with each of those pieces or their design elements, but it's how they are worn together that doesn't resemble those from the anime characters.

It's a bit obsessive to break down the details of their clothes when this isn't a fashion-related show. However I like the clothing detail of the characters. They add another dimension to their personification and not every story has this sort of treatment.

How the characters are dressed and how it relates to the character themselves rarely gets discussed among fans. This goes even for shows with an underlying fashion theme. Since Seiji kindly told me how Japanese girls dress I thought I can bring the topic to light. If anyone wants I can email to discuss further.

Since people are commenting about the clothes... I am disappointed with Morita's way of dressing. He was always in a simple shirt and pants with slippers in the anime, his outlandish-ness doesn't come from his clothes but from his personality. The red hood, orange/yellow shirt and blue pants feels very un-Morita to me. I suppose Morita would be the most difficult character to portray, anything short of absolute perfection will invite wrath from all over.

I don't really expect the live action actors/actresses to actually resemble the anime characters alot... like how many people in real life actually look like people from anime-land. As somebody had already mentioned, it boils down to how the director guide them along in portraying the accurate feel for each of the characters. From the looks of the cast, I am liking Takemoto, Hagu and Mayama so far.

As for how good (or bad) the movie is... really have to wait until the movie is out, I can't wait to watch it. Unfortunately, will probably have to wait until the DVD is out, sigh~

ah they all look pretty good to me. :)

especially Morita and Mayama.

Hagu was the hardest to render. She may not be as kawaaaaaaaiiiiii *3* as she is in the anime, but she looks good as she is!

I agree with Hedgehog. I don't believe that it is really necessary for the actors to look exactly like the anime characters they are playing. Although it certainly would help, I don't think that is a deciding factor. The most important thing is their ability to bring out the character in their acting.

For the most part, based on these images, I think they were able to capture the feel of Honey and Clover. I think the actors are fit fairly well with the characters. The only character I have beef about is Morita. I can even let go the fact that he's a bit older looking and that he has a chin ring, but I will have to say no to his outlandish clothing. As Hedgehog said, Morita's character radiates from his actions and not his clothes. I can't help but think they're trying to match the personalities with the way they dress, but come on. How hard is it to get a button down shirt with blue slacks/jeans and flip-flops?

i find hagu rather cute too!!! but actually all of them dont look quite like their anime counterparts.. hopefully the movie comes out good.. i wanna watch!!! =D

Thanks for the news and the pics..

I want to see the movie before I judge but one thing I couldn't shut up about it which is Mayama height!

It was very very clear in the anime that he is much taller than Takemoto and Ayu.. but in the movie the 3 are almost the same height.

Huh, am I the only one who likes Morita? He looks fine to me, except for the almost goatee. I don't quite like Yamada's actress but that's judging by how she looks. And Rika...something about her face that just doesn't say "Rika" to me.

hey people!!!!!! i think jessica from the sweet kiss band is perfekt for hagumi!!!! she looks the part, serious!!! link here--> http://www.kiss-project.com/contents/sweetkiss/
look for jessica...

look at her pics under gallery for more of her pics! serious she is hagumi!!!! kawaiiii!!!! kekeke!

I can't wait! Mayama looks like teh seksch already.

Ah, Ryo Kase is older than Iseya Yuusuke by a couple of years. Morita was also the oldest of the bunch wasn't he? I guess it's sort of realistic that they get an older looking guy to portray him. I'm very excited about this live action, I'm sure it'll be fantastic.

Greetings from Mallorca Island (Spain)!

I think all the actors are well chosen to personify H&C characters, although I'm a bit afraid of how is it going to be the plot. I wonder if the director will be able to pass on the perfect play between original humor and life's drama which it's showed all through the anime.
But, anyway, i've got good vibrations with that live action film. I like rather these pictures ^^

I play down the importance of characters' clothes, because for instance I can't remember what clothes Takemoto or Morita wore everyday and every chapter during the history. The most important thing is how good or bad will the actors play characters' essence and personality.

And talking about Morita, let's remember he had repeat many university years. That's why he's older than the rest of characters.

...Sorry for my forced english ;)

Garten:I'm a editor in http://www.hachikuro.cn/bbs/Boards.asp, we intend to reedit those pics as to put some Chinese notes on it. I'm asking for your permission here , so please mail me or just leave a comment here,thanks^ ^

I'm so happy with the chosen cast...the girl who plays Hagu is one of my fave japanese actresses, she's just so natural and cute. I'm slightly worried about Sakurai...he just seems slightly too confident and hopefully he'll be able to incorporate Takemoto's shy and humble side into the acting, as well as his humourous and kind side.
I also just realised that Morita has attended uni for seven years (at least anyway... -_-;) which explains why the actor looks so much older.....but then...doesn't that mean there's at least a seven year age gap between him and Hagu?? And the fact that Hagu looks like she's still 10 doesn't make it any better (o.0) Morita's a cradle-snatcher....!! XD

OMG DOES MORITA HAVE A LIP RING?!?!?! @____@;;;

Oh, sorry about all caps in the previous post. I was just... in shock. On the movie site, look at the changing pictures in the bottom right corner of the "introduction" page.

hmm, i actually like takemoto. of course, the live actors never (at least in my opinion) live up to the...non-live ones. i've always felt that way, whether it was a comic-to-movie, book-to-movie, or anime-to-movie....i've always ended up being disappointed, sometimes less, sometimes more.

but i actually think shou fits takemoto better than yuusuke fits morita, at least in looks.

in any case, i hope i'll get to see this sometime!

keke..im so happy sho-chan is working again!

ganbatte! ...S.H.O.W. Time! Go Arashi!

^.^bb thank you..

It's kinda sad that Mayama isn't the tallest though. xD And something's kinda wrong with Rika... I just don't like the way she looks. =/

Omgg I can't wait for it to come out, I loved the anime series, so I'm expecting for this to be good also~ But, don't you think Morita looks kinda old? XD

i haven't seen the anime of honey and clover.

i have only seen the movie.
A very beautiful movie.loved the character to hagumi.

i have seen the anime series.
so i don't have anything to compare with the movie.

so i am not biased.
all i can say is that i loved the movie.i simply loved the character of hagumi. very beautiful.

i cant wait to see it! xx

I love Yu Aoi, but I think she's a bit big to play Hagu. I feel like the primary goal in casting Hagu should have been to get someone tiny, because that's a major part of her character, being almost midget-like. But she's a great actress, so I'm sure it'll be fine.

I also actually really like the casting choices for Mayama and Takemoto. I'm iffy on the girl for Yamada (because she's actually my favorite character, so I may have the same complex that the author of this blog has with Takemoto) and the guy playing Morita looks...... Not the part.... Not at all...