Honey & Clover Vol. 1

Rating T+ Genre manga Publisher VIZ Media External Links Official Honey and Clover

I’ll be honest. I’ve only recently begun to read manga. And admittedly, I started reading Honey & Clover without having any idea what the story was about. However, I was hooked within reading the first chapter.

The first volume of Honey & Clover centers around various students at an art school in Tokyo. Takemoto is a sophomore who shares a less than glamorous on-campus apartment with a couple of buddies, Mayama and Morita. Mayama is intelligent with a good work ethic, and Morita is eccentric with a tendency to disappear for weeks at a time. The students are content just following their usual routine until new student Hagumi Hanamoto is introduced by her relative who teaches at the school. Pretty and petite with an amazing gift for sculpting, she immediately catches Takemoto’s attention. However, he’s not the only one pining away for the newcomer. Morita also falls for Hagumi and develops a bizarre obsession with her short stature.

While Hagumi unknowingly has two guys trying to win her affection, fellow student and roommate Mayama is caught in his own love triangle. His feelings for architect Rika prevent him from noticing classmate Ayumi Yamada’s love for him. When Ayumi tries in vain to remove all thoughts of Mayama from her mind, her emotions churn within her and cause a severe inner struggle.

I really enjoyed the premise of this story. I’m a sucker for a good romantic comedy and Honey & Clover definitely fits the mold. It has a myriad of likeable characters and they all possess their own unique qualities. It also slowly walks the reader through potentially budding relationships without focusing too much on them and causing an early onset of boredom. While the art style for the most part is typical for manga, it has some amusing pictures and funny side notes that seem to be exclusive to artist/author Chica Umino’s creativity. There’s even a study guide in the back of the comic that explains certain Japanese references in order for the reader to understand what’s being discussed.

Honey & Clover is amusing, entertaining and sweet. I wanted to continue reading, and will probably read future volumes when they’re available. I’d recommend it for any manga fan, whether they be new to this genre or an avid reader.