Honey and Clover ep.09

August 4, 2005 | 4 Comments

One of the things that I like about this series is the the different relationship that each character has with another character. For example, prior to this episode, I always wondered if Takemoto gets along with Yamada. So it was interesting to see the two interact with each other here and in the previous episode. Yamada's friendship with Takemoto is also shown to be quite different from the one she has with Morita. It seems to be more casual and relaxed. On the other hand, while Morita can't seem to talk to Yamada seriously for more than 10 seconds, he does provide some kind of a confidant role to Yamada. Anyway, this is another great episode. I'm glad to see the "Mayama, Suki!!" scene here. It reminds me of a similar scene from chapter 3 of the manga that didn't make it into the anime.

The episode itself begins with Hagu losing her motivation to create anything because she misses Shuuji. Meanwhile, working man Mayama visits his friends to give them some cakes. However, when he sees how hungry his friends are, he decided to buy everyone some Chinese foods. This leads to everyone proclaiming his/her love for Mayama. Well, everyone except Yamada, who can't do it because her feeling for Mayama is real. The next day, Hagu is surprised when she finds out that someone has made her a brooch similar to the one that she sketched on her design pad. Takemoto, however, knows that Morita was the one who created the brooch for Hagu and immediately realises that his best friend also has feelings for the girl that he likes. Elsewhere, Yamada thanks Morita for being a good friend to her when she really needs a support.

In the second half of the episode, Yamada asks Hagu if she wants to work with her selling Christmas foods. Hagu at first is excited about the idea but in the end ends up being quite overwhelmed by the rather demanding job. Meanwhile Yamada is afraid that the new supermarket in town will threaten the business of local shops. But with Hagu's idea and Takemoto's help it seems she manages to save the local business for now. Christmas night then arrives and the group once again meet in Ayu/Hagu's apartment to celebrate Christmas. Takemoto tries to tell Hagu that Morita was the one who made the brooch for her but Morita denies that there's any meaning behind it. The episode then ends with Takemoto getting the feeling that this is probably the last Christmas that they'd get to quietly spend together.

Impression:

There are many lines within this series that I can relate to. However, the one featured in this episode is probably that only one that always manage to make me depressed every time I hear it. While I was in Japan, I always watch this series with a good friend of mine ever since episode 3 and forward. It's probably just a coincidence that this was the last episode that we watched together but nevertheless, I felt some kind of sad resignation when I first heard Takemoto's words:

"Sono toki boku wa, toutotsu dakedo shizuka ni minna de sugosu kurisumasu wa.....
Kore ga saigo nano da to kanjita.....
Soshite boku wa, mabataki wo kurikaesu. Maru de.....shatta wo kiru you ni.
Kokoro no dokoka ni yakisukeba ii to. Amai keeki no nioi to minna no warai koe no naka de....."

I never realised until that point that I was going to miss having my friend around. To realise that this was the last episode we'll ever watch together and that the party we went to afterwards was the last one for our group - were a bit too much to take. If I think about it, I don't think I ever get over this because I still get depressed everytime I hear this line. At the same time, I don't want to forget about it. So yeah, I'm in a not so fun conundrum here.

Spoiler:

What Takemoto said eventually becomes a reality starting from episode 12. But I think there will also be another event similar to this, probably around episode 20 if the writers manage to condense the story. Otherwise, this plot point will probably be turned into a season finale story. I mentioned back in episode one recap how the anime series appear as if they're actually flashbacks told from Takemoto's POV. Whether or not this is actually the case, Takemoto was right about one thing. This was the last Christmas party they'd get to spend together.

© memento 2003