List of Honey and Clover characters

This is a list of characters of "Honey and Clover". These characters were created by Chika Umino in the manga published by Shueisha between from June 2000 to July 2006 and collected in 10 bound volumes.cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=5669|title=Honey and Clover (manga)|publisher=Anime News Network|accessdate=2007-06-22] The series was adapated as an anime television series produced by J.C.Staff, initially broadcast in Japan in two seasons from April to September 2005 and June to September 2006;cite web | url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=4975 | title=Honey and Clover (TV) | publisher=Anime News Network | accessdate=2008-09-26] a live-action movie released in theaters in Japan on July 22, 2006;cite web | url=http://www.hachikuro.jp/site.html | title=映画『ハチミツとクローバー』公式サイト | language=Japanese | accessdate=2008-09-26] and two separate live-action television dramas in 2008, one broadcast in Japan from January 8, 2008 to March 18, 2008 and the other broadcast in Taiwan beginning on May 25, 2008.

The series is about the lives and relationships of five students at a Tokyo art college, four of whom live in the same apartement building.

Main characters

;nihongo|Hagumi Hanamoto|花本 はぐみ|Hanamoto Hagumi : "Portrayed by:" Haruka Kudō (anime), Yū Aoi (movie), Riko Narumi (Japanese TV drama):A supremely gifted artist, Hagu's immense talents are esteemed by all who witness her works, catching the eye of numerous professional artists who insistently urge her to submit her work to exhibitions to heighten her publicity (which she seems to find daunting). She is 18 years of age at the beginning of the series and her appearance is that of a child, and she conveniently behaves as one. Raised in a largely sheltered and obscure home by her irritable grandmother, her sociability is below average. It is whilst living in that home that Hagu develops her skill in drawing and painting, her only past-time, though she finds nothing to sketch save for the never-changing view she has from her porch, varying only in seasons. Hagu is from Azumino city, Nagano-ken.:She is introduced to Takemoto, Morita and Mayama by Shūji, her father's cousin and also a professor at the college. Upon seeing her, Morita and Takemoto fall in love with her, though both express it in different ways. Hagu knows not of their feelings towards her, but sees them as friends. However, Morita expresses his love for her in very odd ways, and Hagu is often seen trying to escape from whatever shenanigan Morita has planned for her. Though later Hagu develops feelings towards Morita, although she does not at first realize this, as Shūji points out. :Hagu is very shy, and because she is so nervous when interacting with people, the other art students think that she is strange. Hagu doesn't seem to be too close with family members either, with the exception of Shūji, whom she fondly calls "Shū-chan". However, as the series progresses, Hagu is able to become closer friends with Takemoto, Mayama, Morita and Yamada. When Shūji leaves to go do a research project in Mongolia, Hagu forms a deeper bond with each of them, essentially seeing them as a sort of family. Hagu lives with Yamada (whom she calls "Ayu") when Shūji is away and they become very close friends.:During parties, she is seen to be crying because of her envy of Yamada's beautiful legs and beautiful breasts. Mayama tries very hard to comfort her but failing rather miserably saying that "You'll have one of those when you're older....probably". While Hagu is crying, Morita is also crying because of her infectious tears.:Later in the series, Hagu started to avoid Takemoto after he confessed his feelings for her, leaving doubts if his love for her is reciprocated or not. In the latest manga chapters she admits that she likes Morita, but would rather be with Shūji because she knows that he can take care of her (especially after a life-altering accident that may permanently impair her abilities as an artist).

; nihongo|Yūta Takemoto|竹本 祐太|Takemoto Yūta: "Portrayed by:" Hiroshi Kamiya (anime), Shō Sakurai (movie), Toma Ikuta (Japanese TV drama): Aged 19 (at the beginning of the series), Yūta Takemoto is a second-year student at the art college. He is from Annaka city, Gunma-ken. He lives in the same apartment complex as Mayama and Morita in room 202. His floormates are Morita and Hasegawa. Takemoto studies architecture, but has little certainty as to what he wishes to do upon graduating; his decision to attend art college was because he liked to build things with his hands, like he had with his father.: Takemoto is one of the more mellow characters in the series. He falls in love with Hagu immediately after being introduced by his professor and keeps his feelings to himself throughout most of the series. His love for Hagu and his inability to act upon his feelings as freely as Morita causes some internal problems for Takemoto. For example, when Hagu received a bird brooch that was made for her as an anonymous present, Takemoto couldn't bring himself to say that Morita was the one who had made it for her. Instead of acting on his feelings, Takemoto decides to be more of a brother figure to Hagu, giving her friendly support when needed. For example, Takemoto accepts Hagu's requests to build her sophisticated dollhouses and the like. Takemoto is very close to her.: His relationship with his family also contributes to his mellow mood. His father died when he was still young. Also, his mother works at a hospital as a nurse, so Takemoto would usually spend a lot of his time there, even his Christmas holidays. Furthermore, Takemoto is uncomfortable with his mother's new husband, an outspoken man whose persona seems to a polar opposite to that of his father. However, Takemoto tries to get used to his company and tries to accept the fact that his step-father is capable of looking after his mother, since Takemoto has worried about his mother's well-being ever since he left home. His mother's remarriage and her assurance that he is now free to do as he wishes instead of taking care of her all the time later influenced Takemoto's decision to attend art college.: Later in the series Takemoto has to stay another year due to getting a stomach ulcer and not being able to complete his graduation thesis.: At the end of the first season, Takemoto goes on a journey across Japan on a bicycle, meeting several people on the way, including a group in Zuigan-ji in Matsushima which is involved in the renovating of ancient Japanese structures and buildings all around the country (which he wishes to join), finally reaching Cape Sōya in Wakkanai, Hokkaidō. After arriving back to Tokyo, he finally confesses his feelings for Hagu, but she did not have the courage to answer him, thus Takemoto figured his feelings for her were unrequited.

; nihongo|Shinobu Morita|森田 忍|Morita Shinobu: "Portrayed by:" Yūji Ueda (anime), Yūsuke Iseya (movie), Hiroki Narimiya (Japanese TV drama): 24 years old and a 6th year student in the beginning of the series, Morita occupies room 203, his floormates being Takemoto and Hasegawa. Morita is unable to graduate, as he can never wake up on time to go to classes. This is mainly due to the work that he does, which forces him to go missing for periods of time. What he does for work though remains a mystery. When Morita comes back from his mysterious job, he immediately falls asleep for at least 48 hours, due to the amount of work he does. He also returns with a large sum of money in his back-pocket and brings a food item to share with his flat mates. Although the flat mates believe he does it to mock them, such as when he brings a bag of croquettes instead of meat, Morita does care deeply for his friends such as Takemoto.: Morita is a very mysterious person. He does many random, crazy things for his personal enjoyment, such as creating a twister game with too many colors, which resulted in horrific pain for him and Takemoto. Morita is a perceptive individual, but tactless and often states the truth, such as how Mayama secretly stalks Rika outside her apartment, when nobody wants to hear it. He also expresses his love for Hagu in weird and quirky ways, such as forcing Hagu to dress up as a mouse. Morita's obsession with Hagu stems from a fondness of cute things during his childhood, such as causing a cat to become neurotic after cuddling it too much. As a result of Morita's obsession Hagu becomes afraid of him and tries to avoid him but eventually falls in love with him later on. Despite the way Morita treats Hagu he sincerely cares for Hagu, getting her a pair of expensive mules and creating a broach with a dove on it, both of which was in her scrapbook of things she wanted.: Later in the series, Morita leaves for America for work without saying anything to his friends. He eventually returns in about a year's time, and Morita's friends finally discover what he does for his work, being awarded best CGI in the "Mocademy Awards" (a spoof of the Academy Awards) for the movie 'Space Titanic', after studying with acclaimed director Peter Lucas. Morita's room, which no one had ever been inside, had also been discovered after his departure, and contained a lot of high tech equipment. : After returning from America, Morita finally manages to graduate from his course in his 8th year handing his work in on the very last day. Despite graduating and becoming rich from his work in America, Morita applies for a Japanese Arts course believing he hasn't studied for long enough, even though he's been there for 8 years. He re-enters the art school as a 3rd grade student, having already completed half the subjects.

; nihongo|Takumi Mayama|真山 巧|Mayama Takumi: "Portrayed by:" Tomokazu Sugita (anime), Ryō Kase (movie), Osamu Mukai (Japanese TV drama): 22 years old and a 4th year student at the start of the series, Mayama is from Kanazawa, Ishikawa-ken and an architecture student at the art institute. He lives in the same complex as Takemoto and Morita. He occupies room 101, sharing the floor with an unknown individual and formerly Lohmeyer-senpai. He acts as a senior to Takemoto and tries to help Morita get up for early morning classes. At one point, Takemoto and Morita are seen sleeping alongside him in his futon. Morita also borrows Mayama's shirts from time to time because it's more comfortable. : Mayama also used to help Rika out with various errands while Rika was disabled due to the accident that left her husband dead. It is during that time that Mayama develops feelings for Rika. It is unknown whether Rika fully reciprocates the feelings that Mayama has for her, but various flashbacks imply that Mayama and Rika have 'fooled around', or Mayama took advantage of Rika's disability to fulfill his desires, although this is cleared up later as not being the case. Rika suggested that Mayama find another job so that she wouldn't have to continue hurting him, as she realizes how much he cares for her, and is unable (and perhaps unwilling at that point) to allow him to enter into her life.: Mayama eventually landed a job at Fujiwara Design. He has to deal with coworkers that are also very interested in his love life, and make comments whenever they can. Mayama also has to keep watch of his boss, Nomiya, whom he considers to be a playboy, when Nomiya begins to take an interest in Yamada. : Mayama doesn't return the feelings that Yamada has for him, but he sees Yamada as his close friend. Yamada's innocence is one thing that Mayama has to constantly guard from Nomiya, who has developed an interest with her. : When Fujiwara Design later broke up, people had to either stay in the Tokyo branch or transfer to the Tottori branch. Nomiya arranged for Mayama to be transfer to the Tottori branch, but as soon as this was announced Mayama quit. He now works again with Rika at her company, Harada Design, after forcing himself into the position in his own way.: Mayama's character design is based upon Suga Shikao. [Suga Shikao on extra of "Honey and Clover" DVD.]

; nihongo|Ayumi Yamada|山田 あゆみ|Yamada Ayumi: "Portrayed by:" Mikako Takahashi (anime), Megumi Seki (movie), Natsuki Harada (Japanese TV drama): 21 years old at the beginning, Yamada is well known by her peers at the art college. First, she is good at pottery, and second, she is nicknamed "Tetsujin" (lit. Iron-lady) for running 6km to school every morning with her dog during freshman year in order to help the dog lose weight. Due to her good looks, she also catches the attention of her male friends/coworkers at the shopping district she works with. : She and Hagu seem to be very close, like siblings. While Hagu addresses the three young men by their last names, she calls Yamada by her first name. Yamada really cares for Hagu like a younger sister. She offers to stay with her while Shuji is gone. Although not shown as much as her relationship with Hagu, she is close friends with Takemoto and Morita. : Yamada is deeply in love with one of her friends, Mayama. Mayama, however, doesn't return her feelings, asking her why she is in love with him and encouraging her to go find someone else. Even though Yamada recognizes that her love will bear no fruit, she continues to love him. She can't manage to move on and find another man. While Mayama doesn't love her in that sense, Mayama sees Yamada as an important friend, a feeling that Yamada recognizes later on when she cannot return the love of her coworkers, but still thought of them as her precious friends. Mayama's over protectiveness of her causes Yamada to get angry at him whenever he tries to protect her from his former boss, Nomiya. : Later in the series, Yamada decides to continue as a graduate student at the art college. Furthermore, she also makes pottery for Fujiwara and Harada Design. There is a possibility that Ayumi would end up with Nomiya, though it has never been shown in the series.

econdary characters

; nihongo|Shūji Hanamoto|花本 修司|Hanamoto Shūji: "Portrayed by:" Keiji Fujiwara (anime), Masato Sakai (movie), Jun Murakami (Japanese TV drama): Shūji is a professor at the college that Morita, Mayama, Takemoto, Yamada, and Hagu attend, serving as the father figure for the group. He is also Hagu's relative (he is father's cousin) and the person that Hagu is really closest to, and gets very overprotective of her at times. Shūji is a close friend of Rika and her late husband, who had been his roommate until Rika and her husband married.: When Rika's husband died in a traffic accident, he took care of Rika so that she wouldn't try and join her husband in death, but sometimes Shūji really wonders if Rika would've been happier if she died alongside her husband. Because of this, Shūji recommends Mayama as Rika's new assistant; he believed Mayama's companionship would be a healthy change for Rika.

;nihongo|Rika Harada|原田 理花|Harada Rika:Rika is the founder and manager of Harada Design. She also ran it with her husband until he died in a car accident that happened on the opening night of one of the stores they designed. This accident also left her badly scarred on her back, and has damaged her legs so she is unable to walk for long periods without the help of a cane and medicine. During college, nihongo|Rika Egami|江上 理花|Egami Rika had been known for being a talented artist, but also very cold and aloof. Harada, Rika's eventual husband, befriended her and she began to live in the apartment Harada and Shūji shared. The three were very close friends and continued to live together until Harada and Rika got married and founded Harada Design. She is from Otaru city, Hokkaidō.:Mayama tends to Rika's injuries and develops feelings for her. Rika knows that Mayama likes her, but pushes Mayama away because she doesn't want to hurt him. It was unclear whether Rika reciprocates the feelings that Mayama has for her, but later chapters of the manga and the first episodes of the second series seem to imply that she does. Later in the series, it appears that Rika finally opens her heart to Mayama after a shock ending sequence where Mayama's feelings finally flood out.

;nihongo|Kaoru Morita|森田馨|Morita Kaoru:Morita's older brother who seems to have a mysterious agenda in earning ridiculously large amounts of money. It is later revealed that he and Morita are working together to buy back his father's company which was purchased by an electrical company when they were kids. Unlike Morita, he is practical-minded and organized. Though he dislikes Morita because of his extreme idiosyncracies, but appears to be on the few people who can put up with them and one of the few people who is able to control Morita to some extent.

;nihongo|Takumi Nomiya|野宮 匠|Nomiya Takumi:He, along with Yamazaki and Miwako, is first introduced on episode 14 of season 1. He is the type of guy who could "throw a cellphone in the sea full of women's numbers, without caring at all" as said by Mayama.

:Nomiya is Mayama's former boss at Fujiwara Design. He also likes Yamada, and tries to visit her whenever he can, although he is aware of Yamada's feelings for Mayama. Mayama tries to act as the middleman as much as he can in order to protect Yamada, as he considers Nomiya a playboy. However, later in the series, Nomiya comes to realize that he himself has truly fallen in love with Yamada.

Minor characters

;nihongo|Kazushi Yamazaki|山崎一志|Yamazaki Kazushi:Yamazaki is an employee at Fujiwara Design along with Nomiya and Miwako. He is romantically interested in his coworker Miwako, but so far his love is unrequited.

;nihongo|Miwako Teshigawara|勅使河原美和子|Teshigawara Miwako:Miwako is another employee at Fujiwara Design along with Nomiya and Yamazaki. She owns a dog named Leader.

;nihongo|Leader|リーダー|Rīdā:Miwako's dog, seen mostly in her presence. Although essentially a minor character, Leader exceeds his/her minor character colleagues in registering noteworthy impressions by responding when addressed and often remarking on the behavior or accounts of others.

;nihongo|Mitsuko Aida|合田美津子|Aida Mitsuko:Takemoto's mother. Works as a nurse. She remarried when Takemoto finished junior high school.

;nihongo|Kazuo Aida|合田稼頭男|Aida Kazuo:Takemoto's stepfather. He is an affable and loud man, but Takemoto has difficulty getting used to him because of how different Kazuo is from his father. He often means well, but is not terribly articulate and usually tries to use his actions to express what he means.

;nihongo|Kazuhiko Hasegawa|長谷川一彦|Hasegawa Kazuhiko:He currently occupies room 201 of the apartment that Takemoto, Mayama and Morita currently live in. His floormates are Takemoto and Morita. As said in episode 14 of season 1, Hasegawa has taken on the family noodle business. He is very successful, his restaurant is very popular to the tourists and he is also mentioned in some guidebooks.

;nihongo|Professor Tange|丹下先生|Tange-sensei:A teacher at the art institute everyone attends, elderly Tange-sensei is a long suffering supervisor to Morita; recognizing Morita's genius, Tange makes the mistake of taking Morita seriously and constantly finds himself stressed out while trying to control Morita. Tange's greatest desire is to get Morita to finish his graduation project (and with Morita's talent, it means refusing to accept unfinished works) so that he may retire in peace.

;nihongo|Professor Shōda|庄田先生|Shōda-sensei:Another elderly teacher at the art institute that every attends, Shōda is Yamada's supervising instructor and an extremely avid admirer of her work, along with her "Iron Lady" fans. He is especially impressed with Yamada's graduation project, a beautifully thrown and large bowl, to point of weeping tears of joy and expresses the same reaction when she creates a similar and equally large bowl post-graduation. After Yamada graduates, she decides to continue studying with Shōda as a post-graduate student until she can find a job.

;nihongo|Asai|浅井:The president of Artcraft, a design company, Mr. Asai is an elderly gentleman about fifty years of age. He is a friend of Rika's and an acquiantance of both Professor Hanamoto and Mayama. After Mayama is hired by Fujiwara Design, Rika works with Asai, who is able to fill the role her husband once did as a social intermediary for her work. However, because of Mr. Asai's age, many of Rika's friends and acquiantances worry that she will not be able to continue depending on Mr. Asai for a long time.

;nihongo|Lohmeyer-senpai|ローマイヤ先輩|Rōmaiya-senpai:A largely absent dorm-mate of the others. A burly, large, buff and kind-hearted giant of an individual, 'Lohmeyer-sempai' (as he is yearningly referred to), is a man of men's dreams (Mayama questions his devotion to Rika at one point). He is the series' taboo response to the age-old inquiry that if strong and able men are the source of security to women, then who is the source of security to men? (stronger, bigger and even more able men). He often returns with a substantial amount of meat for the others, an almost symbolic gesture of his manliness and ability to provide. He worked part time as Nyanzaburou the mascot for an amusement park which upped the charts on visitors. Because of his father's condition he is often away from his apartment, to the misfortune of its male residents.

See also

* List of "Honey and Clover" episodes

References

External links

* [http://www.hachikuro.net/ "Honey and Clover" official site] ja icon
* [http://www13.plala.or.jp/umino/ Chika Umino official site] ja icon
* [http://www.hachikuro.jp/ "Honey and Clover" live-action movie official site] ja icon