Review: Honey and Clover (live-action movie)

Summary
Alternative Titles: ハチミツとクローバー, Hachimitsu to Clover, Hachikuro
Genre: Romance
Release Date: Jul. 22, 2006 (Japan)
Starring: Sakurai Sho as Takemoto Yuta, Aoi Yu as Hanamoto Hagumi

Honey and Clover centers around four art students (Takemoto Yuta, Mayama Takumi, Morita Shinobu and Yamada Ayumi) who live in the same housing complex that is run by an art teacher, Hanamoto Shuji. During a party at the complex, Hanamoto introduces a new member to the building, a relative of his named Hanamoto Hagumi. Takemoto instantly falls in love with Hagumi. While Takemoto is trying to confess his love, another love story between Mayama and Yamada is happening. Mayama likes Yamada but Yamada doesn't return her love and secretly loves an older women named Harada Rika.

Review
Honey and Clover is a very subtle, slow-paced, and simple romance movie. It basically tells the story of two love-triangle and there isn't much more than that. That's the main reason why it tends to be a bit too slow-paced (ie. there's not a whole lot happening in the plot). There aren't even many twists in the plot to keep it interesting and when there is a plot "twist", it's usually predictable. The strongest point of H&C are the scenes when one of the characters confesses his/her love to another person. These scenes have pretty good acting and they can make butterflies go up your spine.


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Pros

• Romantic confession scenes have good acting
• Scene with Mayama spying on Rikua is just hilarious

Cons

• Slow-pace, not much going on in plot
• Very simple story
• Plot twists are too predictable

?Perplexing?
Do professional painters REALLY paint like Hagu does?

Recommendation
H&C is more for the female audience, but it deserves a try are those who enjoy romantic movies.

Rating: 7.5/10