There are two basic truths regarding triangles and their composition: One, a triangle has three sides and three angles; Two, the three angles always add up to 180°. These are simple rules, easy to understand. But when it comes to the human heart, nothing is easy, nothing is simple, and logic is often thrown out the window.
College is a time for learning many things – both inside and outside of the classroom. Discovering the world without as well as the world within, and learning to be on one's own, as well as learning how to live with other people of the non-family variety. Chica Umino's Honey and Clover concerns the lives of several students at an art college in Tokyo. Yūta Takemoto, Takumi Mayama and Shinobu Morita are three friends who live in the same apartment complex, while Hagumi "Hagu" Hanamoto is the daughter of art professor Shūji Hanamoto's cousin, and Ayumi Yamada is a pottery student whose nickname is the "Iron Lady". From the moment that Hagu arrives, Takemoto and Morita are smitten with the girl who, although she is 18, is dimunitive, almost doll-like, and acts far younger than her age, almost childlike at times. They form the first triangle. Morita is a bit of a strange bird, who disappears for periods of time, reappearing flush with cash, and the need to sleep for 48 hours straight! He has yet to graduate because of his absenteeism and his habit of leaving his final art project until the last minute, and not turning it in on time! Takemoto is a very laid-back sort of fellow, taking life as it comes. He can't tell Hagu how he feels about her, so maintains a big brother relationship with her, even though he is jealous when he thinks she feels an attraction to Morita. Yamada has an attraction to an older woman, Rika Harada, having done some work for her at her firm, Harada Design. Rika is a widow, her husband having been killed in a car accident – both she and her husband were close friends of Professor Hanamoto. She holds herself aloof however, wracked with guilt over the accident, as she had been driving at the time. Yamada, most commonly refered to as Ayu, has loved Mayama for a long time, and stubbornly refuses to relinquish her feelings, even though they seem well nigh hopeless. Mayama's former boss, Nomiya, is developing feelings for Ayu, but can he compete with her obsession for Mayama? Mayama, Rika and Ayu form the second triangle of Honey and Clover.
Highlights
As Volume 8 of Honey and Clover begins, Hagu has the hiccups, and everyone is trying to help her lose them! Hanamoto tries to help her with his peculiar way of drinking water, while Morita chases her about, frightening her by telling her that if she hiccups a hundred times, she will die! An irate Takemoto handily takes Morita out of the equation with one fell blow, then proceeds to offer her his own cure of sugar water, which works – as he then impulsively tells her that he loves her! Which garners no immediate reaction, although he really isn't looking for one anyway. Nomiya is in Tottori with co-worker Yamazaki, but his thoughts are with Ayu in Tokyo. However, it's rather difficult to communicate with a girl who has no cell phone! Miwako saves the day, by telling him when she will be in the office, and when he "happens" to call her he can tell she is unhappy, although she never says so ( having spent the weekend working with both Mayama and Rika, during which she learns that Rika has plans to go to Spain to work on a museum project and intends to take Mayama with her). So he hops in his car without telling her to drive nine hours to see her. Unbeknownst to him, Miwako is trying to play matchmaker and has sent Ayu to Tottori!
Overall
When Nomiya reaches Tokyo and realizes what has happened, he quickly calls Yamazaki and tells him to stall Ayu until he can return, but can he do it? Not to mention avoiding her rather menacing trademark kick (as the Iron Lady)? Upon Ayu's return to Tokyo, Miwako treats the two of them two a full day at a spa, while Mayama decides on taking Rika on an impulsive trip to Hokkaido, where she once lived, as she has not gone home in quite some time. Meanwhile, Takemoto has matured a great deal since his two month voyage of discovery upon his bicycle in which he was not searching for himself but found a great many things along the way, and learned a lot about life. And Morita and his brother seem to have some sort of secret money-making agenda with great potential for revenue, but just what it is we are not privy to know. This is not surprising from them, since we previously learned of Morita's great secret (during his one year mysterious sojourn in America) – he is a creator of award winning movie CGI! (They actually watched him win a Moscar!) Hagu is becoming more content with her art, having taught children over the summer, but does not seem to be drawn toward either suitor, and she has to decide which direction to take it in. Meanwhile, Mayama is growing closer to Rika, in the course of their trip to Hokkaido. Can Ayu let go of her unrequited feelings for Mayama, in order to have a relationship with Nomiya, or is she trying to stay safely hidden behind them in order not to be hurt? We'll have to wait for further volumes to find out.
I think that Takemoto/Morita/Hagu are an equilateral triangle – Hagu lies at the same distance from them both, and neither seems to draw nearer to her; and Ayu/Rika/Mayama are a scalene triangle – no sides are equal, none of the angles either – although Ayu seems to be farther away from the other two as they draw closer together. How can it possibly end happily for her as long as she doesn't remove herself from this lopsided equation? I have to admit as I began to read the series that I didn't think I would like it, and I didn't understand Morita and Takemoto's sudden love for Hagu, nor how someone who is eighteen can act so much like a child. But the characters grew on me, until I actually care about them now. Chica puts depth into her characters and their growth, and her artwork is cute. Takemoto's bicycle-driven voyage of discovery was interesting, as is Morita's various schemes which he lays upon his friends. Professor Hanamoto, although a teacher, is just like one of the bunch, and he is very possive over Hagu – makes one wonder about the nature of his feelings for her. Ditto for her. It would be interesting if those two ended up together, rather than her with one of the two boys who pine for her. Ayu is a tragic heroine who has the potential to pull herself out of her own tragedy, if she chooses to do so. And perhaps Mayama can show Rika that death is not the answer, that she should learn to live again, despite her guilt over her husband's death. I look forward to reading more about them as the series continues.
Honey and Clover won the Kodansha Manga Award for shojo in 2003 and was later adapted as an animated television series and a live action film. I think that you will enjoy its sweetness too.
Comicsonline gives Honey and Clover, volume 8, 4 out of 5 paper panties.
