John Jakala posed an interesting question about Honey and Clover this week on his blog, Sporatic Sequential: Is Chica Umino's depiction of woman-child art student Hagu cute, or kinda creepy?
In this series from Shojo Beat Manga / VIZ Media, Hagu is an 18-year old art student who, for most practical purposes, looks like she's 8 years old. She's tiny, shy and often talks in a child-like way. Some might say it's cute, but Jakala compares Hagu to Jon-Benet Ramsay - the tragic beauty queen tot who was trotted out in garish grown-up makeup. He also contends that Morita and Takemoto's immediate attraction to her is somewhat... well, inappropriate. To quote Jakala:
Yet two male characters fall in love with her at first sight, which is a bit creepy when you realize that what they're seeing are the features of a young child. Worse yet, the story repeatedly infantilizes Hagumi, showing her playing with dolls and being carried around on the backs of male characters like an exhausted child.
I'm a fan of this series, and tended to lean toward the "it's cute" camp -- but Jakala makes some interesting points. So what do you think? Is it a case of cultural differences or is this aspect of the story too off-putting for American readers?
While we're at it, check out my reviews of Honey and Clover Volume 1 and Volume 2 and see which side you end up on in this H&C debate.Image credit: © Chica Umino
Comments
CREEPY!
I’ve always found Hagu really odd, and frankly, it through me off of the whole series ^^ (Though I’m not into very many slice-of-life series to begin with.)
I love Honey and Clover and all of its themes and I don’t think it’s creepy at all! Hagu may look young but she IS 18, and besides people really can’t help who they fall in love with. I though it was just cute. It shouldn’t be taken so seriously.