The Bottom Line
Chica Umino's romantic comedy Honey and Clover makes the transition from manga to movie with its wistful, emo-art school heart intact, but lost most of its quirky sense of humor along the way. The casting is pretty good, but without their personality quirks, Morita, Yamada, Hagu, Mayama and Takemoto are just college students – not the endearing eccentrics that make the manga so much fun to read.
Honey and Clover has several scenes and characters that manga fans will immediately recognize and enjoy, and a few that art school survivors will relate to, but for everyone else, this movie is pretty much a snoozefest.
Pros
- Neatly captures most of the essential drama of the 10-volume manga series
- Good casting, with Yu Aoi capturing Hagu's childlike qualities very nicely
- Episodic, not-so-linear storytelling matches the wistful, emo mood of the manga
Cons
- Includes basic plot, but omits the eccentric events, character quirks that make the manga fun
- Yamada without the "Iron Woman" martial arts moves is just a heartbroken pretty girl
- If you've never read the manga, it's probably hard to follow what's going on, story-wise
Description
- Original Title: Hachimitsu to Kuroba (Japan)
- Based on the original Japanese manga, Honey and Clover by Chica Umino
- Starring:
- Yu Aoi as Hagu Hanamoto
- Yusuke Iseya as Shinobu Morita
- Sho Sakurai as Yuta Takemoto
- Director: Masahiro Takada
- Studio (Japan): Asmik Ace Entertainment
Distributor (US/ Canada): VIZ Pictures - Movie Rating:
Unrated, but probably PG-13 for college romance
- Theatrical Release Dates:
- July 22, 2006 (Japanese Theatrical Release)
- May 13, 2008 (U.S. DVD Release)
- Movie Genres:
- College Romance
- Comedy
- Movie length: 116 minutes
Format: Japanese, with English subtitles - DVD Extras:
- Special interview with main cast
- Director & cast profiles
- Original Japanese Trailers
Guide Review - Honey and Clover (2006)
Honey and Clover goes from manga page to movie screen in this live-action adaptation of Chica Umino's art school romantic comedy, with its love story intact but its quirky sense of humor sadly missing in action. On one hand, it's fun to see these characters come to life and see them interact in their art college setting. On the other hand, the filmmakers' had to make several sacrifices to fit Umino's ten-volume manga into a 2-hour movie. Director and co-screenwriter Masahiro Takada captured the love triangles that drive most of Honey and Clover's plot, but left out the eccentric events and the characters' endearing quirks that make this series so much fun to read.
For example, Ayumi Yamada without her "Iron Woman" fighting skills turns into just another pretty girl with a broken heart. Morita without his eccentric quirks comes across like a jerk. And Mayama? He seems like a straight-up stalker when his character is not offset by his more sensible side. Takemoto doesn't do much other than look sad and confused.
Still, there are several recognizable scenes and characters from the manga in this film. Yu Aoi does a fine job as the fragile, childlike Hagu, and Masato Sakai carries himself well as the disheveled Professor Hanamoto. There's also a backyard barbecue scene where the boys sing about joys of eating meat. It isn't exactly a scene from the manga, but it certainly captures their starving student lifestyle.
True to the spirit of the original, the movie's scenes flow from one to another in a non-linear style, which makes it a bit hard to follow the story. I like the manga, but still found myself having to watch the DVD several times because I kept falling asleep in the middle. Ultimately, Honey and Clover is a charming film that will appeal to its fans and art school survivors, but it's probably a snoozefest for anyone else.
