Honey and Clover 7

Chica Umino – Viz – 2009 – 10 volumes

Aww.  It’s all about Takemoto and his trip this volume, and the moment he reaches his destination is so stunning and full of emotion without being overt about it it made me want to hop on a bike and recreate the moment myself.  One of my favorite moments in manga, hands down, is the reappearance of Morita a couple volumes ago, which was just so funny and touching and perfect that it assured classic status for this series regardless of anything else that had happened.  The “point where the rain ends” almost matches it, but would have been the high point of practically any other series that could have pulled it off so perfectly.

Takemoto does a lot of other things that are notable, including nearly deciding that his calling in life is cooking for a group of nomadic shrine restorers, dealing with serious hemorrhoids, and meeting up with Hagu at the end of his trip.  This series is absolutely unmatched when it comes to dealing with life and all its weirdness, and this volume is a good example, both because of Takemoto’s trip to find himself and a situation between Yamada and Rica where Rica asks her to start making pottery pieces for her company.  The total awkwardness of this situation is described in great deal, and the pros and cons of it are examined by a number of characters, most of whom are in favor of letting Yamada deal with the emotional fallout for herself.

There’s another short story at the end of the volume.  Now I can’t decide which I like better, the one about Mayama’s coworker wearing ugly shirts, or this one, which brings back Lohmeyer, who is still one of my favorite characters even after not appearing for six volumes.  He’s just so… manly.  Even in a fursuit, the old men loved to be comforted by him.  It was so wrong, and yet so right.

I praise We Were There to high heavens, but this series is probably better.  It’s hands down one of the best series I’m reading right now, and like I said, the absolute best at just showing its characters living life and tackling all its challenges with their friends and a sense of humor.  I don’t love the characters in any other series the way I love this group, and it’s because they are portrayed so realistically, and react to problems the same way a real person would (for the most part… maybe Morita doesn’t).

This was a review copy provided by Viz.