A year and change ago, I wrote about the first season of Honey and Clover. It left Takemoto finally feeling direction in his life after years of doing what he loved in college, but not quite sure how to apply that to practical work. He biked across Japan and realized his own ambition the best way possible: through real life experience. He has not only found who he is, but what he wants to do. What is college for but that?
This second season, despite only airing that year and change after the first, begins with a recap episode, so the season proper is truly only 11 episodes, the noitominA standard. But the rest is…I’m conflicted because I love it as part of the whole of Honey and Clover, but it hardly stands alone, with a unique arc of its own in its second season. If this were American television, this would likely be a great addition to a season, but a poor season by itself. Much like the next season of Walking Dead could be. But I digress.
Honey and Clover II builds upon the foundation of the first in the most satisfying way possible. Takemoto’s arc ending beautifully in the first season, but it continues into this one. He takes what he’s learned and applies it to his real life needs. Yamada finally begins to let go of her love for Mayama, no matter how hard that might be. Mayama is finally breaking through the shell Rika created for herself after the death of her husband.
It’s Hagu and Morita that are seemingly at the forefront of this season, as each have their own huge plot points to go through. Morita’s father, we learn, had his company pulled out from under him by his right-hand man, thinking it would be the best for everyone. But no one in the family has forgiven this act and Morita, and his brother Kaoru, have been working since then to take his father’s company back from him.
This is everything behind Morita’s eccentricities, and it feels satisfying to both see his roots and have his secret ambitions come to fruition, but it feels out of place with everything else. Morita has largely been an x-factor in the series up until now, entering the scene when his meddling attitude would be the most destructive or when the show needed its signature comic relief. Having Morita reach this point in his life where he can finally move on is exactly what the entire series is moving toward, but nothing was built in the previous season. It felt more like he needed a catharsis and reached it all too quickly rather than having it grow through the previous 30 odd episodes. Not just that, his final moment is shoved between Hagu being hurt and the beginning of Hagu’s recovery. I love the moments, but they’re presented very strangely.
Hagu’s is much more satisfying thematically, even if it doesn’t reach the conclusion everyone would like to see. She’s injured from the fall of a huge plate of glass, severing nerves and tendons in her right hand. It’s the death throw for someone who uses their hands like Hagu does—to create art. Hagu’s life and Hanamoto-sensei’s life are now symbiotic. He lives to help her through the rehabilitation and she needs him—not Takemoto, whom she loves, or Morita, whom she also loves, nor Yamada, who she’s closest to—to help him through this. Because never being able to create art again is scarier than losing Takemoto or losing Morita.
This season stands strong with season one, but it struggles from the year break. I have, up until this point, watched it through back to back and it all fits much better. The break points out all the weaknesses of season two by itself, even though there’s some very strong stuff in here stand alone. But it’s only weaker with the break because this season really is a direct continuation of season one, and my memory of the first season may be lacking, which causes the complaints. This is as great as I remember it, but definitely don’t take a break in between them—or at least don’t take more of a break than you would normally watching any given show.
