MOVIE – Honey and Clover (2006)

ハチミツとクローバー
(English Title: Honey and Clover)
directed by: Takada Masahiro
released: 2006
main cast:
Sakurai Sho as Takemoto Yuta
Aoi Yu as Hanamoto Hagumi
Iseya Yusuke as Morita Shinobu
Kase Ryo as Mayama Takumi
Seki Megumi as Yamada Ayumi
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“For the first time… I saw someone fall in love.”

I have always loved Honey and Clover for this line and I’m pleased that Mayama speaks it in the movie. Having watched the anime, I’m glad to say that its adaptation into a movie is a success.

It’s great that the movie was cast well. Sakurai Sho as Takemoto gave a great performance. The rest of the cast was wonderful as well, although I think Aoi Yu (who plays Hagu) and Kase Ryo (who plays Morita) missed some elements of their characters. It’s sad that Hanamoto-sensei was underused in the movie but Sato Masakai still managed to flesh his character out.

The story isn’t absolutely faithful to the manga or anime but it’s still worth watching. The scenes are carefully picked to show the personality of the characters and the progression of their relationship so I give a thumbs up to the screenwriters. Yamada following Mayama who is following Rika was beautifully executed for maximum comedic effect and character revelation. And I nominate the Takemoto seeing Morita kissing Hagu scene one of the saddest things moments in movies.

And I cannot forget to mention that the movie’s soundtrack will knock the socks out of you. It’s music comes from no less than the legendary Yoko Kanno. The vocal tracks performed by James Wendt and Oikawa Rin are catchy and very easy on the ears.

So my final thoughts are that this movie is really good and it should be watched. So do so.
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Official Website: http://www.hachikuro.jp/