Honey & Clover, After Set 1

I like to indulge in things that remind me of days gone by, even if the memory gets a little fluffed and imagined way better than it really was. Being able to hook into into Honey & Clover like that has made watching it more fun than I expected.

What Honey & Clover does well, I think, is it frames of a lot of familiar things and leaves enough space for you to put yourself into it, rather than packing that space with a lot of junk. To stick with lighthearted examples, the no meat/sick of noodles everyday gag is well-worn. Somehow this time through the gag, I remember eating 3-for-a-dollar supermarket brand mac & cheese or 8-for-a-dollar ramen almost everyday because I spent all of my money on beer and at the Ye Old College Diner after the bars closed. By November, all of my summer job money was blown and was dying for winter break so I could sell buckets of camcorders and rake in the spiff dollars, all of which I’d blow on beer by February. Money evaporated quickly in school, but there was always money for beer, even if you have to go lower than Natty or Beast, down to the truly nasty Old G.

We had our own version of the meaty savior Lohmeyer, except he was more of a rogue than Lohmeyer. He was the guy everyone loved. This man love was just as baffling to me as the Lohmeyer man crush was to Yuuta, but our Lohmeyer came through in times of need. How many days we could feast on his spoils of eggs, cheese, and hot dogs that he’d smuggle out of the frat-houses of Penn State? I’ve never seen so many people just love this guy on sight, just like Lohmeyer. Many times we were invited into the frat-party, he’d disappear, and then when we got back to the apartment close to morning and find 2-3 pallets of eggs, a log of american, and a bag of 40 frozen dogs.

At least this is what the first set (eps 1-12, ep.L) of Honey & Clover did for me. I could get more emo about it, but I’ll spare you until I see the rest. I love the character and world building so far (it paints such an appealing college fantasy). I disagree somewhat with the thought that Honey & Clover portrays this period in life realistically, though it touches real memories through its world. For that, it I found this first set worthwhile and now I’m anticipating the ride down, seeing how easy it is to put myself in most of the character’s shoes.

The dub is, well, okay. I’m just glad to have one, so I wouldn’t criticize it as much now as I would have in the heyday.