Honey and Clover (ハチミツとクローバー, Hachimitsu to Kurōbā?) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Chika Umino. It is also known as Hachikuro (ハチクロ, Hachikuro?) and H&C. The first fourteen chapters of the manga were serialized in Shueisha's CUTiEcomic magazine from June 2000 to July 2001, and was serialized in Young YOU thereafter. With the demise of Young YOU in 2005, the series moved to the magazine Chorus, where it has formally ended its serialization, running until July 2006 with chapter 64. In 2003, the manga won the 27th Kodansha Manga Award for best shōjo manga.
The series was adapted into an anime series by J.C. STAFF, first premiering between April to September 2005 across Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block. A second and final season, Honey and Clover II, premiered from June 2006.
Yūta Takemoto, Takumi Mayama and Shinobu Morita are three young men who live in the same apartment complex and are students at an art college in Tokyo.
One day, one of the art professors, Shūji Hanamoto, introduces his cousin's daughter, Hagumi Hanamoto, who has come to live with him and is a first year at the art school. Upon introduction, Takemoto and Morita fall in love with her. Morita expresses his love for Hagu in ways that scare her, especially calling Hagu 'mousey' and constantly photographing her, while Takemoto hides his feelings and tries to be a friend to Hagu. Hagu herself, though initially timid and afraid of company, gradually warms up to the three.
The group also includes another female: Ayumi Yamada. She is a master of pottery, and is well known by her name "Tetsujin" (Iron Lady). When not at school or hanging out with friends from the college, she helps run the family liquor store. She is very popular with all the guys, whether they are from the shopping district the liquor store is in or the other male pottery students, but Mayama is the only man she is in love with.
Unfortunately, although Mayama considers Yamada a friend, he does not return Yamada's love and is busy chasing an older woman, Rika Harada. Rika runs an architecture studio which she used to run with her husband, Harada before he died in a car accident which also left Rika disabled. Rika Harada and Shūji were very close friends and roommates in college. Mayama is sent by Shūji to help Rika, who has a hard time taking care of herself and running her business.
The story follows these five characters in their love triangles, graduating from college, finding jobs, and learning more about themselves.
CHARACTERS
Hagumi Hanamoto
Yuta Takemoto
Shinobu Morita
Takumi Mayama
Ayumi Yamada
Shūji Hanamoto
Rika Harada
Opening Song
Ending Song
DRAMA VERSION
JAPANESE VERSION
Cast
* Hagumi Hanamoto: Riko Narumi
* Yūta Takemoto: Toma Ikuta
* Ayumi Yamada: Natsuki Harada
* Takumi Mayama: Osamu Mukai
* Shinobu Morita: Hiroki Narimiya
* Miwako Teshigawara: Saori Takizawa
* Lohmeyer-senpai: Yūichi Kimura
* Professor Shōda: Yutaka Matsushige
* Professor Ōgami: Hitomi Takahashi (cameo appearance)
* Yasuhiko Teranobori: Yasuyuki Maekawa
* Takumi Nomiya: Takashi Kashiwabara
* Daigorō Yamada: Shigeru Izumiya (cameo appearance)
* Shūji Hanamoto: Jun Murakami
* Rika Harada: Asaka Seto
MOVIE VERSION
CAST
* Yūta Takemoto: Shō Sakurai (Arashi)
* Hagumi Hanamoto: Yū Aoi
* Shinobu Morita: Yūsuke Iseya
* Takumi Mayama: Ryō Kase
* Ayumi Yamada: Megumi Seki
* Shūji Hanamoto: Masato Sakai
* Rika Harada: Naomi Nishida
* Luigi Fujiwara: Keisuke Horibe
* Mario Fujiwara: Tomu Miyazaki
* Kōda-sensei: Ginpunchō
* Repairman: Shidō Nakamura
* Master of Teahouse: Tsuoyoshi Toshishige
* Policeman: Junichi Haruta
* TV Reporter: Yumi Shimizu
* Designer: Tetsuhiro Ikeda
* Art Student: Kei Majima
* Student: Kenta Hamano (Sakerock)
* Harada: Seiichi Tanabe
