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I first picked up Honey and Clover one school break during my college days, during the days when all I can think about is friendship/love/pressure to succeed/family woes, and then I found an image of myself in the story. This is how Honey and Clover succeeds to become a heart-warming slice of life series, I think it gave me a glimmer of hope despite the fleeting nature of youth, HnC assures me that you can make wonderful memories even when youth is long gone.

The pace of HnC is slow, but relaxing. It is animation in poetry form, the details and soft colours paint a character's ... mood or scenario and the feelings slowly flood your senses. Then there is the calming voice of Takemoto speaking in the background and his narration becomes the frame of the painting, piecing everything together. Beautiful and carefully hand-picked soundtracks by the mangaka herself are laced into the anime and I believe the songs were chosen for their lyrics which never fail to reflect the innermost emotions the featured characters are going through that moment in time. Just with these few elements, I'm constantly amazed and blown away by the anime.

But the story is what keeps you on your toes, despite the slower pacing, the twists and circumstances of every character captures you and sometimes what they experience is an incident I can relate to and I find myself cheering/crying for the character. Humour is often used to balance the mood, just the way we would in real life, and some the characters will send you in tears, while laughing. Because...

The characters in the story are so diverse and well-developed you will love them all, if not you'd love at least a few of them. There is the timid but talented Hagu-chan who conquers her lack of courage through her emotive paintings, nice guy Takemoto is a good friend to all but lonely at times when his willpower is shaken, Morita is a crazy blitz you can't help laughing at but his mysterious nature also pulls you in, Mayama the big brother torn between woes of loving and being loved, Yamada the naive girl who is crazy for Mayama and constantly has her heart broken, and of course Shu-chan the caretaker who watches over the group and sometimes nostalgia creeps up to him and he find himself missing his good friends from college. These are the primary characters, but revolving each of them are many more characters so different and colourful, you may just feel something familiar with any one of them too.

I'm not gonna lie, Honey and Clover remains one of my favourite series in print and motion form, and I've lost count of the number of times I re-watched the series so I may sound like one of those fans who will protect the series at all cost. However, while some may love the action-packed theme anime series out there, I believe some of us are also searching for that one anime that speaks to our inner emotions. When I re-watch HnC now, long past those youthful college days, whatever I have felt years ago while watching the series I can still feel them strongly if not even more strongly than before. It is a timeless art piece in the anime genre and as it sums up in one of my favourite quote from the series -

“As time passes, the day will come when everything will fade to memories. But those miraculous days, when you and I, along with everyone else, searched together for just that one thing, will continue revolving forever somewhere deep in my heart, as my bittersweet memory.”

A story to love, and to be inspired by! While many shoujo manga have fallen into the stricken pattern of observing love and its many nuances, Cat Street takes a grand leap and bring the readers on an emotional journey through the path of Aoyama Keito - a former child actress living in recluse after a traumatic encounter in the theatres. In her encounter, she meets three reliable friends who are also on their own search for their purpose in life and as they converge paths at El Liston - their youth starts a new page and they progress hand in hand into an unknown ... future.

Artwork, carefully planned by the panel and always creative to bring forward the deepest emotions of the complicated and kind main characters is a delight to read. While some have commented that the artwork in this manga is not one of the best, I feel that assumption is a little too harsh. What the mangaka (author) really tries to do, is to capture the tiniest details of the characters expression and emotive gestures that allow you to feel for them. You can even pick up the differences when you watch each character mature, and eventually 'graduate' from school - especially Kouichi Mine :)

Story is the mastermind at work here - with an inventive plot that takes the readers far away from normal high school scenarios plagued by jealous witches and complicated childhood friends, the story flows naturally and captures the true essence of 'chasing one's dream down the rainbow (ribbon, for Momiji's case) path. Laced with an array of interesting characters from all walks of life, the readers are given a balanced story that gives them space to relate to each characters circumstances. And it also withholds its share of plot twist and surprises for the readers though I do not plan to give it all away here so let's move on to -

Characters are interesting and well-developed - even an introverted character like Kouichi will tug on your heartstrings when you take a peek into his emotions. Moments like this marks the true brilliance of Cat Street - which brings me back to the point of how Kamio Yoko uses delicate strokes to bring each character to life - not with extravagant artwork or outrageous story lines but small characteristic that makes each character human.

To be truthful, I'm slightly ashamed at myself for putting this manga on hold for so many times. It's a brilliant masterpiece and my one regret on it is that I should have discovered this gem's hidden beauty much sooner! ^^

This is an underrated shoujo in my own opinion! The artwork is nice, i.e. intricate floral designs on Yukata and subtle expressions of two very interesting characters. And there really isn't many Yakuza-themed shoujo manga out there which makes this one very refreshing.

What starts off as an arranged marriage to save the damsel in distress slowly and steadily develops into a story of trust and faith. The setting of the Yakuza themed environment sets in interesting obstacles for the characters to overcome. The main couple is also a refreshing combination. Kuze is the son of a powerful yakuza but he is trying to find ... his own footing in the dangerous world of gangsterism. But there are far more tender moments in this manga despite the harsh environment they are set in, the male lead is also extremely likeable despite his eccentricities and dual personality. The heroine is also strong and independent, a little cold and extremely defensive, which makes her a natural apt candidate for a Yakuza's wife. Yet, like Kuze, she displays a dualism and is often swayed between admitting to her own feelings and putting up a defensive cover over her heart.

With good artwork, refreshing characters and a rare theme, be prepared for moments of doki-doki (heart-thumps) and earnest humour that will set a smile on your face. Many times, I'm moved by Kuze's thoughtful actions and inspired by Yamada's feisty nature (lol yakuza-women ftw) making this manga one enjoyable read. Can't wait for the remaining five chapters to be translated and released!

The label 'shoujo' may be a little misleading for this title, but the story certainly adds another interesting work to the shoujo category!
Prior to writing this preview, I sat there trying to come up with weaknesses of this manga but I couldn't really pin-point any. But if you're looking for the cliché cases of people going blindly for unrequited love in tears or love triangles that sets the heroine crying every five seconds, then be prepared to be disappointed.

That's not to say that the story does not come equipped with unrequited love and love triangles, but they are portrayed in realistic strokes. The heroine slowly ... finds herself between two individuals so different from one another but complements her in varied ways. You will learn through her interactions, her inner thoughts and her quiet musings on the chemistry she shares with the two individual. I love how this departs from the usual 'cry-baby' shoujo heroine, that breaks into tears just because she cannot decide how her heart leans towards the people involved in the love triangle. And the (presumably) hero has a secret, thus making the love unrequited but the reason for that is neither ridiculous or far-fetched but adds on to the persona of the quiet, introverted hero. In this wonderfully balanced shoujo, the characters drive the story and yet the progress of the story grows each character into beautiful personalities that you admire.

Therefore, I sincerely recommend this!