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Many anime fans voted this as the best anime show from the past year. And since it was made of my favorite genres: romance, drama, comedy; I decided to see it for myself, and take my own conclusions.

Unlike some other series, this one doesn’t throw you right into the thickness of the storyline. The story somewhat starts from the first episode and moves forward. And what wasn’t told in the present is explained in the past through brief, but interesting, flashbacks. The cast is made of many characters of different ages, sizes and occupations. Mostly, they are students, or related to them, and the storyline is all about their graduation, and what they intend to do afterwards.

Perhaps, one of the best things about Honey & Clover is that we’re introduced to several students, and teachers, each of them belonging to a different generation. So instead of following just one storyline and one character, we are actually following several of them, each one in a different stage of life. Even if you end up disliking one character or another, there is sure to be a part of the show which you will enjoy.

Another interesting aspect which you’ll quickly notice, is the different drawing style this show has. The eyes of almost all the characters are wonderfully detailed and cute, specially the girls’. While in most popular anime shows, like Naruto for instance, you only see the general expression of their faces change very rarely in an episode, in this show, you’ll see it all the time. Whether a character is happy, sad, indifferent, happy it’s very easy to tell due to the comical way the drawers made them. It takes a while to get used to the style of the drawings, but when you overcome that it starts to feel really natural, and actually pleasant.

The storyline is nothing out of this world. There are the usual doubts about the future, the kid/woman/man that had a morbid past, the wacky friend character that always does something unexpected, the fragile and innocent character, still learning and grasping things from others as much as she can. There is something for everyone, whether you’re in it for the drama or the comedy, the love triangles or just the normal storyline is sure to keep you entertained. And when it’s over, you’ll be wishing there was more.

In terms of drama, I have to say that Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien touched me more in the end. However, in a better way, this show not only supplied a great dramatic storyline, but also kept me entertained throughout it all.

The weakest part of the story, is probably the ending part. The jokes are not as frequent, and it emphasizes more on the drama of it all. But even though I expected a bit more, I found it quite satisfying, and since there is a season 2 of the show coming, if they ended all the sub-stories of each character in this season there would be nothing more to eagerly expect. So until then, I leave you with a recommendation, for one of the most balanced, beautiful, and funny anime shows, I’ve ever seen.