This post is part of the Remembering Love project by Trazor. That two words -
"remembering love" makes me remember this one show: Honey and Clover,
with fond memories.
When I first saw Honey and Clover, I was 24 years old. An age where people considered you as an adult and expect you to act accordingly. Back then I was a hikki. Though I have steady income from free-lance writing, I didn't do much with my life. I chose to shunt society and spent all of my time cooped up in my room watching anime and what not. That was the time when I started to drift apart from my friends.
Up until then I was living irresponsibly. I didn't give a damn about
friends, or other people around me. In simpler words, I was behaving
like an adolescence teenager. I thought that the whole world is against
me. I blamed everything and everyone else when shit didn't go according
to what I wanted. As far as I am concern, I was always right. I was selfish. And love? Pffft, I
thought it was overrated which made me pushed everyone who genuinely
cares about me away.
Honey and Clover made me mused on the concept of friendship and the meaning of life/love. There is no epic quest to fulfill, no convoluted conspiracy to unlock, no childhood friend to win over—it's just a bunch of college kids figuring out what to do with their lives, and since I was struggling to find my path in life at that time, I found the show more than fascinating. Watching Honey and Clover, in a way, kind of open my eyes of what I have been missing and helped me set my priorities straight.
When I think of Honey and Clover, the thing that comes to mind is this one word: LOVE.
Love another human being. In other words: fall in love.
Noticed that I didn't say "be loved". And that's in my opinion where the beauty of this show lies.
If you pay any attention, modern society nowadays is anti-love, and I was part of that society not too long ago. It far easier to find a reason not to love someone than otherwise because we rather take a microscope to everyone and bring out all their flaws and shortcomings. Honey and Clover makes me reevaluates all these.
The intricate relationship/friendship in Honey and Clover is to be admired. Friendship and love are the two main themes in Honey and Clover that I would probably remember till my memories failed me. The show is a great teacher for me personally when it involves in dealing with human and their feelings. It teaches me that trust needs to be earned, even among friends. It tells me that love comes in all sorts of forms. It is something that is not only inspiring but should be able to liberate yourself as well. We should never use love as an excuse to shackle ourselves down. Love, after all is what you make of it. Happiness, though not truly dependent on other people but yourself, is something that is best shared. That goes for heart aches and all other worldly worries too. These are the things that made us human after all, the ability to feel and think (respond) accordingly.
There is no half-measure when it comes to loving someone. It's either you don't or you do with every cell in your body, completely and utterly, without reservation or apology. It consumes you, and you are reborn, all the better for it. All the characters in this show are committed to their loves, regardless. Ayumi, Takemoto and Mayama are the great examples who showed us that it is no great tragedy if your love is not reciprocated. You are not doing it to be loved back (though it would definitely be great if it is). Rejection, though hurts like hell, is not the end of the world. Take the opportunity to let the value of that love itself to inspire you. After all, in the act of loving someone, we become inspired to better ourselves in every way.
So you see, through love (and to certain extend, through Honey and Clover as well), we celebrate being human...
That ladies and gentlewomen, are the reasons why Honey and Clover will remain as one of my most favorite anime of all time. If you haven't seen it yet, it is best that you take the time to watch it. It is just not another of your average slice-of-life anime. I promised.
TL;DR?
Though this post sounds cheesy as fuck, I am still glad that I write it. Just in the mood I guess...
Other posts for this project:
Remembering Love: Opposite Attractions in Lovely Complex
Remembering Love: Detroit Metal City
11 comments:
Honey and Clover was boring as fuckkkkkk.
My next remember love will be on an awesome, bad-ass show that kicks ass.
lol i know you would say that but at that time, I was kinda lost with myself so this anime, though some might argued that it wasn't the best and boring as fuck, was an anime that sorta saved me from being drowned. So yeah, Remembering Love indeed.
I want to do Swords of the Strangers because of how fucking bad ass it is but it wasn't a TV series :(
You said it well: Loving and being loved are two different things. This series was like the icy blade of truth striking deep into your chest -- over and over again.
STILL haven't seen Sword of the Strangers. I went all over my state looking for a copy to buy and couldn't find one anywhere. GSOSGRSIGRSGESIJFIOEJIFJESIOFJ
Though the deliverance was subtle yet it was very effective because this series didn't sugar coating anything. You are heart broken? Deal with it? You're lost? Then take a step back (or in Takemoto's case - a journey). It is pure brilliance in my opinion.
@Glo, download the damn torrent! Oh wait >_>
Love is inspirational indeed~ Learning the concept and depth of love, and to reevaluate love, is all part of one's experience.
I still haven't grasp the whole concept of love, I guess no one can, but I'm trying to make the best of it. I know there is no way for me to get the kind of love that I'm hoping for - since they are all anime inspired - so I compromise a little. Something that I learned through past experiences.
Huh...interesting. There always seems to be stories involving anime, and I have to admit...didn't think you'd share Klux! Or is this Klux attempting to be moe--
Anyways, a solid choice for Remembering Love :D
Me? Attempting moe-ness? Y-You baka! XD
For me H&C was also a show about love. At the time I was watching it I’d just found out the guy I’d adored for four years, who had rejected me countless times on account of his “not being ready to have a girlfriend”, had been seeing girls regularly for a year, and everyone knew apart from me! I was crushed. So seeing Ayumi go through a similar struggle was something else. It had almost a cathartic effect on me, helping me come to terms with my rejection and see that it was still possible to lead a wholesome life in spite of my broken heart. People throw around the term “healing anime” a lot but, boy, if there ever was such a thing as a healing anime, it’d be this! Nice to see someone thinks the same!
ouch that sucks but I am glad that you managed to get over it. Sometimes anime is not just another anime. It holds special meaning in your heart. Honey and Clover is just that one of the few anime in my list that played a big part in my life.
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Do it!