I spend pretty much all my free time this week catching up on the first season of Honey and Clover. That’s not a good thing because this was the first week of classes. I started my second term of graduate study on Wednesday (actually 4th term, but I changed schools), but instead of reading up on the first chapter of the class text, I spent the week watching episodes 13 – 24.

I don’t regret it in the slightest.…(more)…

Honestly, H&C is why I watch anime. The breadth of characters and the story are exactly what I want to watch. I personally am pleased that there is an H&CII that will probably progress the characterization and plot. However, it could have ended at episode 24 and I would still be pleased. My view on art is that most of the meaning is derived from the viewer. The artist can try very hard to convey a meaning and most of the time that meaning can be expressed to a viewer, if that view is trying to discern the artist meaning. Most do not attempt to do that, the meaning is derived from the thoughts and experiences of the viewer. That is the set of knowledge unique and inherent in every person. The reason an anime like H&C compels me to watch it is because it brings to the surface those thoughts and emotions that I for some reason or another don’t let up.

H&C is about movement. It uses the symbol of the bicycle to express the action of moving forward. A bicycle in most instances is designed to only go forward. It is an appropriate metaphor because a person can move forward, they can go faster, they can stop, but one cannot go backward.

What I saw in H&C was expressed best by Takemoto’s journey or soul searching. He set out and road without looking back. He stated that he wanted to know how far he could go. It would appear that it took an ocean to stop his movement, but that is not true. Takemoto stopped because he had found what he set out to find.

I find that action particularly appealing because it is something I’ve always wanted to do. I want to see how far I can go. I want to test myself and see what I can accomplish. On the other hand, I’m far too pragmatic to drop everything I’ve been working for up until this point to search my soul. The will and the yearning is still there, maybe someday.

It’s not enough to get a degree, job, and buy a car. If all I wanted was a degree, job, and a car then I’ve finished all my goals three years ago. Takemoto saw his empty fridge and heard “that sound,” it was the sound of emptiness. His purpose was to get a job and finish college. That was his goal (that was him). It wasn’t figuratively or literally fulfilling. In his frustration he ran away, but it was the movement and the journey that brought him to the realization that the job and the degree were superfluous to what he really wanted.

There is the point. It’s something that is not a unique message to anime, but it appears often. It’s the message that the journey is more important than the goal. The story is more important that the conclusion. We have the ability to move forward or stop.

When riding a bike, what happens when one stops pedaling?