Honey and Clover: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Honey and Clover: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie Review

A charming and entertaining slice-of-life anime.

Honey and Clover: Season 1 explores the world of art and the dreams of artists. Based on the manga by Chica Umino, the series is produced by Nobuhiro Osawa (Dance in the Vampire Bund, Azumanga Daioh), Masarou Toyoshima (Tekkonkinkreet, Nasu: A Migratory Bird with Suitcase), Hiroaki Nakane (Honey and Clover 2), and Atsuya Takase (Chrono Crusade, Digimon: Data Squad). The series features animation by acclaimed production studio J.C. Staff (A Certain Magical Index, Daphne in the Brilliant Blue). Fans of slice-of-life anime will want to explore the charms of Honey and Clover.

Yuuta Takemoto (Hiroshi Kamiya) begins a new stage of his life when he enrolls in an art school in Tokyo, Japan. As Takemoto begins his art classes, romance is in the air – with both himself and upperclassman Shinobu Morita (Yūji Ueda) vying for the attention of the art genius Hagumi Hanamoto (Haruka Kudō). Who can win her affection?

Meanwhile, Takumi Mayama (Tomokazu Sugita) explores architecture at school and has a crush on a older woman. Little does Takumi know that fellow student and ceramicist Ayumi Yamada (Mikako Takahashi) has feelings for him. Love is blossom and romance is afoot. All in a day’s journey at art school.

The series benefits from having a charming cast of characters. The central characters are part of the essential equation to the series success. These compelling animated characters imbue whimsy into artistry and the path of an artist. Yuuta is a strong central lead who explores his new pathway in pursuing art school in a relatable way. Art prodigy Hagumi is another compelling character who demonstrates a passion for her work.

The series features compelling animation. The series art style is ushered in from chief animation director Takahiko Yoshida (Sorcerous Stabber Orphen, Welcome to the NHK). The art style is more laidback and organic compared to a typical action or comedy anime series. The style seems more ambitious and original. There is a sense of more creativity behind-the-scenes (to match the concept of the series). Featuring art direction by Chikako Shibata (My Little Monster, Rozen Maiden), the art style is quite creative and well realized on the whole.

The series character designs by Shuichi Shimamura (Flowers of Evil, Saber Marionette J) are uniquely compelling and fit the tone of the production. The characters are more realistic and the art style is something that helps preserve that as well. The designs are more in line with dramatic storytelling than something fantastical or action-packed in the anime medium.

The cinematography by Yutaka Kurosawa (Dream Eater Merry, His and Her Circumstances) imbues the series with a great visual style. The cinematographic approach is more on the artistic side and gives Honey and Clover a sense of dramatic weight and depth that is noteworthy for the creative story. Excellent effort by Yutaka Kurosawa.

The original score composed by Yuzo Hayashi (The Pet Girl of Sakurasou, Samurai: Hunt for the Sword) is compelling and gives the series a charming backdrop. The score offers reasonably engaging background music for the drama of the story. A solid score by Hayashi and one that fits with the tone of the overall series.

The screenplay by Yousuke Kuroda (Battle Girl High School, High School of the Dead) remembers to balance character development and storytelling. The concept of the series is a superb one. There certainly is something wonderful about a series centered around the art world and the paths that aspiring artists take.

Directed by Kenichi Kasai (Sweet Blue Flowers, Kuru Kuru Amy), Honey and Clover: Season 1 delivers compelling characters, an intelligent concept, and beautiful animation. Director Kasai focuses the production on the characters and their respective journeys. Fans of drama anime series will be impressed by this entry in the slice-of-life fold.  

Honey and Clover: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Discotek Media, Honey and Clover: Season 1 is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition. The release offers a standard-definition upscale of the source animation. The presentation isn't as impressive as some standard-definition upscales available (such as the effort by Funimation on Fairy Tail). The presentation is provided in 1.78:1 widescreen. The release is a little bit disappointing in being a somewhat modest standard-definition upscale and is unfortunately not quite as crisp or robust as one might hope to find.

Certainly, the presentation doesn't come close to the quality of a native high definition encode. The issue is source-related and is not a detriment to the encoding or the work of Discotek, who are one of the best anime distributors in the Blu-ray home media business. A decent presentation but one limited by its source.

Honey and Clover: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of audio options: English uncompressed PCM 2.0 stereo and Japanese uncompressed PCM 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). Both audio options on the release are encoded in 16 bit depth. The audio presentation on the release is reasonably engaging and capably handles the series. Dialogue is clear on the release. The soundstage is preserved well by the encoding.

Honey and Clover: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc 1:

Clean Opening #1 (HD, 3:02)

Clean Ending #1 (HD, 1:15)

Making of Opening #1 (SD, 11:00)

Disc 2:

Clean Opening #2 (HD, 1:30)

Clean Ending #2 (HD, 1:09)

Screening Tea Party (SD, 2:54)

Tokyo Anime Fair Announcement (SD, 7:08)

KABA.chan Tries Voice Acting (SD, 3:53)

Honey and Clover: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Honey and Clover: Season 1 begins the journey. The concept is compelling and the characters are charming. The animation is beautiful and provides the series with a unique aesthetic that fits the storytelling. The Blu-ray release features an average video presentation (with only a modest standard definition upscale) and decent audio. The release includes a small but appreciable selection of extras. Fans of Honey and Clover will be pleased if not overjoyed. Recommended.