Honey and Clover – What Yuta’s Journey Meant to Me

I recently decided to rewatch an old favourite of mine: Honey and Clover. I first watched the show back in 2011, a whopping nine years ago, and, mainly because of my tendency to keep looking forward towards the next big thing, I haven’t rewatched it since. A lot has changed since then. I’ve changed. My life circumstances have changed. As such, I was interested in seeing how my experience with Honey and Clover would vary the second time ‘round. This is what motivated me to rewatch the show. Two of Honey and Clover’s storylines really resonated with me during my first brush with the show: Ayumi Yamada’s unrequited love (I’d been rejected by my crush of three years just before starting the show) and Yuta Takemoto’s solitary journey from Tokyo to Hokkaido on his beat-up bicycle. It’s the latter storyline that I want to talk about today… 

Author’s note: this won’t be my most cohesive or well-structured post. I won’t lie: I’m writing this one more for my own benefit than anybody else’s. I just wanted to jot down some stray thoughts on a storyline that really spoke to me. 

The Real Neat Blog Award 2: Electric Boogaloo

Yeah, boyyy, that’s what I’m talking about! This is actually the third time that I’ve been nominated for the Real Neat Blog Award, so, hey, maybe I should stop doubting my blog and my writing capabilities quite as much? A big thanks to Voyager over on Galvanic for the nomination (and the much-needed confidence boost)! Sorry that it took me so long to get ‘round to writing this, December’s my busiest month, blog-wise, what with the 12 Days of Anime posts and my Year in Review. I’ll answer those burning questions of yours just as soon as I list the rules of this challenge! 

My Top 30 Anime List Is Live!

It’s been a long time coming (I’ve been working on this for almost an entire year now), but, as of today, my new and improved Top 30 Anime list is live! Check it out if you need a new show to watch, you want to see if any of your favourites made the cut, or if you just want to pass judgement on my taste in anime (good luck, nobody has better taste than I!). 

12 Days of Anime 2019 – Chihaya Is Back!

It doesn’t happen nearly as much as I’d like (probably because of my fondness for kooky, off-the-wall anime), but every so often it seems the anime gods hear my prayers and bless me with more of one of my favourite shows. Hearing that Chihayafuru was getting its third season after six long, agonising years was one of those rare times. If you didn’t already know, Chihayafuru is an awesome series. This anime takes a sport that very few have heard of (and even fewer have played), karuta, and, through its characters’ passion for it, gets you invested in it too. Who knew that a card game with no magic, monsters, or ancient Egyptian gods could be so exciting? Not to mention that its characters are all perfect little cinnamon rolls! Thankfully, Chihayafuru’s third season is proving to be more than worth the wait and is helping to ensure that 2019 ends with a bang! 

Here are some of the things that I’ve liked the most about Chihayafuru 3 so far… 

12 Days of Anime 2019 – I Become the Newest Member of the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Fandom

I first began my very own bizarre adventure with the JoJo franchise back in 2015 (only 29 years after its manga first debuted, so, you know, not that late to the party). And, while I wasn’t immediately hooked by the anime adaptation of part one, Phantom Blood, with each new instalment in the anime series, I found myself more and more invested in the franchise. Ironically, what first turned me off of the series, its ugly character designs (I like my men elf-like and willowy, but these guys had muscles on top of their muscles) and unbelievable plot twists, became the exact reasons why I love it most.