Chapter 30

Honey and Clover. 2006/12/17 23:34 One of my girlfriend’s favorite manga is Honey and Clover. There’s a very distinctive part of the story where one of the characters, Takemoto, takes off on a bicycle and goes around the country on a soul-seeking journey. On that journey, he meets many different people and grows in a number of ways. That part of the story apparently really hit Y-ko’s sweet spot. I mean, true, I do enjoy “Take Me Home, Country Roads” better than “Gandhara,” but still… In elementary school? Really? A bit early to be starting down that path! Totally obscure one-off ones, too… I see… So I’m not cut out to be a protagonist, huh…? What is this saying about her perspective on my life…? Being stepped on is the best I can hope for? Yes, yes, yes! Mayama, the handsome, stylish, and bespectacled one! Congratulations, me! I knew I had it in me! The only similarity is that he fell in love with a beautiful older woman— … Meaning that… … the only thing you’re really trying to emphasize is that you’re a beautiful older woman?! * “Gandhara” rather than “Take Me Home, Country Roads”: While Takemoto was on his journey, he often sang the hit song “Gandhara” by the long-running Japanese band Godiego. In Studio Ghibli’s Whisper of the Heart, the opening credits were accompanied by Olivia Newton-John’s cover of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” * The dunes of Tottori: The place where Ayumi Yamada and Nomiya went on a date in Honey and Clover. When Yamada announced she was going back to Tokyo, Nomiya could no longer keep himself from admitting his feelings for her, and they spent a day together. Later, when she finds sand from the dunes spilling out of her shoe, she is reminded of the time she spent with him and feels a sudden twinge of affection. This scene is very famous among H&C fans.