Honey and Clover ep.06

July 30, 2005 | 5 Comments

To me this is definitely one of the best episodes within the series. The comedy is as sharp as usual and the drama parts of the episode are brilliantly written and executed. Upon rewatching the episode, I also realised that this is one of those series where the viewers actually get rewarded for repeat viewings. I noticed that there is a scene in this episode that at first seems unimportant when I first watched it. But upon watching episode 7, I realised that the event that unfolds in 7 has been hinted at in episode 6. Anyway, before I forget I better mention this - I've just updated the series info page for this series. I've included some new images in there as well as other additional informations. I'll try to add some new images from time to time once I have the time to scan them.

The episode begins with the group coming to a local zoo that doesn't seem to have that many visitors. Mayama uses the opportunity to scare his friends by telling them the type of bleak future that the zoo's Girrafe will have because it's been taken away from its natural habitant. The mental torture finally drives Yamada insane, causing her to break Mayama's skull with her powerful kick. Fast forward a couple of minutes later, Mayama recovers from his head trauma and decides to ask Shuuji about his relationship with Rika a couple of years ago. Shuuji assures Mayama that he was simply taking care of Rika so that she didn't follow her husband in death. With this in mind, Shuuji begins to tell Mayama the story of how he first met Harada and Rika at the university.

Harada was a kind and talented person who immediately befriended the seemingly lonely Shuuji. The two eventually decided to rent an apartment together and towards the end of their third year, were joined by Rika. Harada and Rika then decided to get married and opened their own design company. However, on the opening night of a store they just designed, the two are involved in an accident that left Harada dead and Rika scarred and disabled. After the incident, Shuuji tried his best to help Rika recover but he soon realised that he's not the best person who can help her out. There had been times when he wondered if Rika would have been less miserable if she had followed Harada in death. Shuuji concludes his story by telling Mayama this is why he recommended Mayama to work for Rika.

Fast forward a couple of days later, everyone is busy trying to finish their final project/thesis. Everyone, however, is surprised to hear that Yamada has completed her project and did a very good job at it. Morita can't help himself from knocking her off the pedestal by stating that despite this, she still can't get a job. Yamada is, of course, not impressed by this comment and proceeds to crack Morita's head in retaliation. In the end, everyone decides to be serious about their project and try to complete it as soon as possible. The only exception to this is Morita, who decides to take a time off to earn some money so he can buy more stuff for Hagu. As a result, he only manages to complete 90% of his project.

Meanwhile, Mayama finds out that he's finally been accepted as a full-time staff at Fujiwara Design Office. Everyone is happy to hear this although Yamada is understandably a bit sad since it means that she won't be able to see Mayama as often. Nevertheless, the gang decides to have a small party together which of course ends up with everyone except Shuuji and Mayama passed out from too much alcohol. Shuuji decides to take Takemoto, Morita, and Hagu back to their place but asks Mayama to take Yamada back and ensure that she doesn't need to get drunk anymore. While carrying Yamada on his back, Mayama finally tells her the reason why he can't return her affection. Upon hearing this Yamada finally finds the courage to confess her love. In return, Mayama thanks her for feeling this way towards him.

Impression:

We finally find out about the true extent of Shuuji's relationship with Rika and Harada. I can understand what Shuuji meant when he said that Harada and Rika are neither friends or lovers. The two are simply people who are important to him. The kind of people that you want to protect and the ones you want to see living a happy life. Because of this, I personally think Shuuji is too close to Rika to be able to form a proper romantic relationship with her. Everytime the two are together, they can't help but being reminded of the happier times they shared with Harada. If anything, being together makes it impossible for the two of them to move on with their lives. Shuuji is clearly afraid of hurting Rika even more if he's involved with her and thereby chose to get himself out of her life.

In a rather sad mirror story, Mayama seems to feel the same way about Yamada. It was touching to hear him admit to Yamada that she meant a lot to him and this is why he feels that he needed to turn her down should she ever confess her love for him. But at the same time, it's understandable that he doesn't want to lose her friendship and therefore is afraid to reject her flat out. In the end, I think the answer that Mayama ends up giving Yamada in response to her confession is perfect for their situation. The words 'Thank You' may not mean much in these days and age. But Mayama said the words with such sincerity and honesty that in the end, he manages to convey the feeling of gratitude that he has for having Yamada as a friend and as someone who loves him.

This is one of the reasons why the characterisation in Hachikuro works for me. Instead of putting a blame on one character for something that happens to another character, the series decides to show all of them as decent but flawed individuals. These characters don't intentionally, at least not on purpose, hurt others. However, they sometimes end up doing exactly this due to their mistake or indifference, or because they're too too immersed in their own pain to notice other people's. This is nicely exemplified in Rika's conversation with Shuuji. Rika is regretful for accepting Mayama's kindness because she always pushes him away and in the process, hurts his feelings. Rika clearly does not intent on hurting Mayama here but still ended up doing so inadvertently due to her own problem.

Anyway, some of the stories in this episode are too close to my own situation that I can't help but feeling sad everytime I watch this one. Thankfully, there are some comic relief scattered throughout the episodes. I think I appreciate it more than ever here than in any other episodes. Some of the humour are quite inventive too. For example, did anyone else notice the 'Yamada' scribble that both Mayama and Morita manage to write after they got knocked out cold by her? It reminds me of those detective stories where the dead victim manages to scrible the initials of the murderer before their death. I also love the Macho Morita statue and the resulting situations that arise when its creator fails to complete that said statue. And oh, the "Okane ga Suki!!!" scene never fails to make me laugh out loud. :)

Voice-acting wise, Ueda Yuuji (Morita's VA) does an excellent job as usual. His comic timing when he delivers his lines is as spot on as usual. However, special mention must also go to Fujiwara Keiji (Shuuji's VA), Oohara Sayaka (Rika's VA), Sugita Tomokazu (Mayama's VA), and Takahashi Mikako (Yamada's VA). These four VAs have done awesome job in giving the serious segments of the episode real conviction. I was especially impressed with Sugita Tomokazu's ability in making Mayama sounds sincere and honest while telling Yamada what he really feels for her. His voice acting here is complemented really well by Takahashi Mikako's delivery of Yamada's heart-breaking confession. When all is said and done and Waltz's opening beat begins to play, I can't help but feeling sad for both characters.

© memento 2003