Honey and Clover by Chica Umino and published by Shojo Beat / Viz Media


The goal of my blog is to share the joy and love I have for unknown comics and underground artists.

Today we are looking at "Honey and Clover" volume 2 by Chica Umino and published in the United States by Viz Media / Shojo Beat Manga.

The volume I bought was volume 2. I started off with this volume to avoid the character introductions and what not. Honey and Clover is about two things: LOVE and ART. Ms. Chica Umino-San adds some drama to the book that makes you wonder if it is about her real life. It is about the lives of several art students going through art college and their experiences as artists and how crazy love can be. It is a great series and touches very close to home for anyone that has been to art school and knows how life can be there. Art school life example: character could not afford real food so he buys a loaf of bread and is eating on it all day. It is these small quirks that bring the ultimate charm and realism to this book.

I will not ruin the story but it involves a few different types of students. The story is told through the eyes of one student who is a balanced student with no real investment in any particular medium. One student is pretty much the perfect artist who wins all the awards. Another is a money driven artist who everyone writes off as crazy. It goes into pretty much every stereotypical artist you will find at an art school. The story is based more on realism and goings into deadlines, art schools, and just love drama. It shows different mediums through out the book and is a story about self discovery. It focuses on one main character and his interaction with the other five minor main characters.

Now the art work is very whimsical and fluid. It is very different but feels very Shojo in style. There is a lot of screen tones used to fill in colors gaps and the art is bulky in its own way. The art style has its quirks but makes up for it in the theme. How many books have you ever seen about art college that isn't about how fancy the school is? This book is extremely realistic and talks about how stressful and useless art school can be. The plot is not thick but goes into every day life. Do I want a new paint brush or food?

I finished this book and felt compelled to read the whole series. The series is complete and being the champs Viz Media / Shojo Beat Manga are, they released all of it. Sadly the series is no longer on the shelves and you will have to find ultimate methods to get all eight books. Luckily it is a short series and every book is fairly cheap. You would enjoy it is you are into comedy mixed with realism. There will be no fancy explosions but there will be hilarious themes about building showers so you can save on public baths and what-not.

Score time:

Art: 5 / 10
Story: 5 / 10
Flow of book: 6 / 10
Impression after reading: want more

Reviewed and shared by Harry Kohles of Metairie, Louisiana. Former art student with a fetish for corny realism. Helping to share comics and mangas you never knew existed~

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