Honey and Clover II 07

As Morita-san (Shinobu) sleeps, we are given a flashback to his father MORITA Tsukaka and his crazy little robotic inventions. His chief assistant (and I believe brother-in-law) NEGISHI Tatsuo is the serious type and just tolerates Tsukaka’s silly nature. That nature lead to him having the applicants for a job in his company to build a model airplane each with the plane flying the furthest getting the job. He even got his sons Shinobu and Kaoru involved. Shinobu’s plane won. When Shinobu was hurt later, Tatsuo took Kaoru home and talked about the kind of person Tsukasa was in high school. Just as Tatsuo was always in the shadow of Tsukasa, Kaoru was always in the shadow of Shinobu. Tatsuo is dying and wonders who will care for his mother. So he convinces Tsukasa to sell shares of the company, which is then bought by a large electric company. Realizing he’s been betrayed, Tsukasa quits the company and leaves everything to Tatsuo, who collapses. If he dies, the electric company will gain 100% control of the company. Tsukasa curses Tatsuo, but tells his sons they aren’t allowed to do so and that they most move on. And so in the present, they’ve done just that as they prepare to buy back their father’s company.

Thoughts/Review:

This was an episode with little humor at all. It was amazing to see Shinobu’s past. On one hand, you can see where he gets his nutty behavior, but on the other, you can see that maybe a lot of that is a front to hide the pain of what happened to his family when he was a child. And the end showing the bloody glass and apparent hair of Hagu-chan sure is ominous.

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In a flashback, Hagu-chan observes Takemoto’s completed artwork and praises it. He tells her of his plans to do restoration work on old temples and other old buildings were there are no blueprints. Hagu-chan ponders on how the group of friends are going their own way and her own plans to return to her hometown of Nagano. Takemoto wonders if she’s let Hanamoto-sensei know of this, but she hasn’t because she’s afraid. As Hagu-chan wanders the campus, the wind from an approaching storm blows out a window that apparently falls on her head. Meanwhile in Spain, Rika-san is improving since Mayama came, in part because he keeps Carlos at bay. However, their relationship has not advanced since he’s been there. Back in Japan, Takemoto arrives at the scene of the accident after Hagu-chan has been taken to the hospital. Yamada tells Takemoto what happened and Sensei’s instructions. Elsewhere, the Morita brothers buy out the electric company and get revenge for what happened to their father. That night, Takemoto gets news on Hagu-chan and he and Yamada come to see her in the hospital. However, her right hand has been severely injured and the nerve cut.

Thoughts/Review:

We get a little comic relief from the side-trip to Spain, but otherwise this is another depressing episode. On one hand, you have the Morita brothers buying back their father’s legacy, getting revenge, and yet getting no real joy from it. On the other, you have the devastating injury to Hagu-chan. In both instances, we see how life doesn’t always go as planned.

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Kaoru disappeared, having gone through a period of great depression about the actions he and Shinobu took against their father’s wishes. At the hospital, Hagu-chan is desperate to do anything, even feel pain, to show that the nerves in her right hand have reconnected. With rehab, she may still never regain feeling in her right hand. Yamada and Takemoto ponder all of this and Yamada decides to look into purchasing a cell phone so that she could help Hagu-chan. Nomiya sees this and is happy she’s getting a cell phone, but upon hearing the reasons behind it, encourages Yamada to be there for Hagu-chan (for which is co-workers are proud). Yamada then makes something to cover Hagu-chan’s shoulders and arms when she sits up in bed as well as other things, which makes Hagu-chan happy. Takemoto regrets his poverty and how he can’t even afford flowers, but Yamada comes to the rescue and they pick wild flowers along the train tracks. Hagu-chan has taken to biting her left hand as well as Hanamoto-sensei’s hand. Takemoto gets a fax to start his new job in April and he wonders whether to take the job and be parted from Hagu-chan or turn down the job and somehow find a way to stay in expensive Tokyo and be with the woman he loves.

Thoughts/Review:

Another powerful and depressing episode with some comic relief here and there. I feel so bad for Hagu-chan and I can empathize with Takemoto’s difficult choice.

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Hagu-chan enters rehab and Yamada brings some special food that only Hagu-chan can appreciate. Everyone else gets the shock of their life, which Hanamoto-sensei refers to as “Yamada genocide.” Yamada sends word of Hagu-chan’s accident to Mayama in Spain and he somehow gets it to Shinobu. Shinobu quickly returns and finds out where Hagu-chan is staying. Takemoto learns this and borrowing Yamada’s bike, he races to the hospital in a desperate attempt for Hagu-chan. Shinobu rides in a car and gets there first. He comes to where Hagu-chan and Hanamoto-sensei are sitting in the courtyard and when Hanamoto-sensei leaves to get some drinks, Shinobu takes Hagu-chan away to his “secret hideout” (an apartment) in the city where he and Kaoru would at times stay. While Takemoto and Hanamoto-sensei look all over for her, Shinobu and Hagu-chan have a talk where he tells her to give up on drawing and makes a confession of sorts. Hanamoto-sensei figures Hagu-chan is with Morita and returning to his residence (?) on campus, Takemoto learns that Sensei is planing to leave school. He’d planned to take three years off to help Hagu-chan rehab but with Morita’s return, she may choose Shinobu. If so, he tells Takemoto he’ll travel around the world. He then returns to the hospital while Hagu-chan spends the night with Shinobu.

Thoughts/Review:

WHAAAAAH! I didn’t want to see Morita and Hagu-chan hook up. That’s TWO disappointments here, but very much like real life I suppose. Poor Takemoto. Nice guys do finish last, don’t they? Well, at least we got some good humor at the beginning with Yamada’s cooking.

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Hagu-chan awakens and finds her hand swollen. She asks for “Shuu-chan” (Hanamoto-sensei) and begs Morita to take her back to the hospital, which he does. This leads to a fist fight between himself and Hanamoto-sensei. Later, he pays a visit to Hagu-chan via the window and tells her what transpired. She encourages him to find his brother and tell him what he told her the night before. His words made her happy and she stated she’d always be watching him. Takemoto meets Shinobu outside the hospital and warns him to avoid Sensei, but of course that was too late. Takemoto shows Shinobu Hanamoto-sensei’s plans to leave the school and quietly reflects on how they can never go back to the time when the group used to get together there.

That night, Hagu-chan asks Shuu-chan to stay with her and he happily agrees. In a flashback, we get to see a child Hagu-chan and her close relationship to Shuu-chan going through the years. The two have always been very close and important to each other. Meanwhile, Shinobu and Takemoto spend the night drinking and wake up in a daze and hungry. Shinobu treats Takemoto to some convenience store food which they eat on the river bank. Takemoto tells Morita that he’s glad Hagu-chan picked Sensei over Morita, which ticks Morita off. This leads to a fight where Takemoto punches out Morita. After being found by some old men, the two walk home kicking each other all the way.

Morita takes a box of cash and drops it off with Hanamoto-sensei. He manages to see Morita walking away and from the window, throws the box back at him, keeping only a small wad of cash that he promises to give back one day, but not Hagu-chan. This prompts Morita to ask if Hanamoto-sensei loves Hagu-chan, which he confesses in front of many witnesses including Yamada.

Thoughts/Review:

Ah, revenge. I was happy to see Morita get punched out not once but twice. I’m like Takemoto in that I’m glad Hagu-chan chose to stay with Hanamoto-sensei rather than be with Morita. Granted, from a romantic standpoint, Hagu-chan did chose Morita (which sucks) but at least for Takemoto’s sake, the smegger still lost in the end.

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Yamada is shocked by Hanamoto-sensei’s love confession for Hagu-chan, and asking if Hagu-chan knows, he doesn’t know. She never suspected due to his age and such. Mayama arrives on scene having just arrived back in Japan and hearing the news, he congratulates Sensei. Later, Mayama and Yamada go for a walk where he thanks for for giving him the news about Hagu-chan. Back at his residence on campus, Rika-san waits for Hanamoto and she kisses him. They talk for a while.

In a flashback, Hanamoto-sensei also tells Tange-sensei of his planned departure. Elsewhere, Kaoru arrives at his childhood home to find it being occupied by the man he’d just removed as head of his father’s old company. Realizing that Shinobu and aide Shiroyama did this, he takes a call from Shiroyama and decides to return to Tokyo providing they have some curry waiting for him.

Meanwhile, Hagu-chan tells Hanamoto that she’ll start doing pottery with Ayu (Yamada) because it will help in her rehab. She wants to make a piece for Ayu and for her mother’s new baby that’s due. Back at the electric company, Kaoru eats his curry and when Shinobu arrives, he gets the staff to get his little brother some with extra meat. Shinobu decides to work for Peter Lucas in the U.S. (ie: George Lucas).

Some time later after Hagu-chan and Takemoto have graduated, the group minus Morita has a party. Takemoto leaves the following day and is all packed up. Before Yamada or Mayama can start crying, they and Hanamoto-sensei dispatch Takemoto and Hagu-chan on an errand to get ice cream. On the way, the two talk. Hagu-chan tells him how she watched him make his tower for his final thesis and knows that he’ll be perfect for restoring old temples. She worries about not being able to return anything to Shuu-chan, but Takemoto tells her Sensei is not looking for Hagu-chan to return anything but is trying to find something on his own.

The next day, Takemoto gets on an empty bullet train car and sees Hagu-chan on the platform. She gives him a wrapped item and after embracing him, the train leaves. The items in the cloth-wrapping were several honey sandwiches, each with a 4-leaf clover inside. This makes Takemoto cry with happiness and glad he fell in love with Hagu-chan. As the credits role, we see that Mayama and Rika-san continue their work in Spain, Nomiya continues to pursue Yamada and she appears happy by this, Kaoru continues his work in Japan and Shinobu does in the U.S., Hagu-chan continues to rehab under Hanamoto’s care, and Takemoto works on temple restorations.

Thoughts/Review:

This final episode was too difficult to get into one paragraph. Despite the distracting change in seiyuu for Takemoto, the episode was (after a few humorous moments) very moving. I liked seeing that Hagu-chan did care for Takemoto, even if it weren’t in a romantic sense. Life goes on and the group of friends may never see each other again.

Additional: The original seiyuu for Takemoto does his lines for the DVD version of the episode. He had to miss the taping of the final episode due to an accident he was in (of some kind…don’t know the details).