Honey & Clover!

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Oh yeah? What if I made a Takemoto x Hagu wall? What then!? XD

Then I would be very happy =D

[Mangafanatic]

Oh yeah? What if I made a Takemoto x Hagu wall? What then!? XD

Then we would have no choice but to pull the Mind Melter of D00M(tm) to enlighten you and cause you to put your skills to more productive uses.

[Ashley]

Osaka, three words:
who's your sensei? XD

[Mangafanatic]

Osaka, three words:
who's your sensei? XD

In the sacred art of Hachikuro, I will gladly call you young one.

[Puguni]

Yeah now that the anime is over I want to read the end of the manga to see the few extra parts. But the only group I know of that is doing it has only a few chapters done. There's gotta be a rabid fan somewhere who has translated it. >_>

It's not much, I think. Anyway, in response to Mangafanatic's observation:

[spoiler]
I believe Shuuji doesn't love Hagu in that particular way. He's devoted to her in a very fatherly manner, devoted enough to give all of his time to her. He's not young anymore. He's a single, middle aged man whom no one really needs, except for Hagu. And in the end, he needs Hagu to need him. His time has come and gone. Remember when some cast member, forgot who, probably Morita, accused Shuuji of using Hagu to acheive the artistic greatness he couldn't? It may or may not be true, but it's an indication that there are some emotional issues still present, way beyond the issue of whether he romantically loves Hagu or not.

Hagu would never have chosen Shuuji if her rehab was quick, I believe. She just couldn't ask two young men with their lives still ahead of them to sacrifice everything just to serve her, even if they, ahem, one was willing. She knew that it was just too selfish of her. In the end, it was picking the lesser of two evils]

[Kawaiikneko]

It was short, but did anyone else love the lightsaber fight when Morita was talking about his future? (I think this isn't too spoilerish so I'm not putting it in brackets). For some reason I really loved that part.

Some rainy weekend I'm going to have to sit down with a big bowl of chex mix, and some cider or skim milk (my snack drinks of choices), and watch both seasons of H&C straight through...

[MyrrhLynn]

Oh yeah? What if I made a Takemoto x Hagu wall? What then!? XD

Humm... well I couldn't really stop you from putting it up (oh wait I could since the wallpaper system is anti-Ash! ), but I wouldn't stop you I would just probably not go in that series section ever again. XD Unless I made a buch of Nomyia+Yamada walls, humm... maybe I should do that anyway? There's no good pics of Nomyia though *pouts*

What Honey and Clover straight through? Ack, I don't think I could handle that. Looking back on the show it's too soap opera like for me to be able to handle in anything but small doses. Although I think I could watch the extra episodes (well F at least if I remember the names correctly) over and over and over again.

[Mangafanatic]

[spoiler]
I believe Shuuji doesn't love Hagu in that particular way. He's devoted to her in a very fatherly manner, devoted enough to give all of his time to her. He's not young anymore. He's a single, middle aged man whom no one really needs, except for Hagu. And in the end, he needs Hagu to need him. His time has come and gone. Remember when some cast member, forgot who, probably Morita, accused Shuuji of using Hagu to acheive the artistic greatness he couldn't? It may or may not be true, but it's an indication that there are some emotional issues still present, way beyond the issue of whether he romantically loves Hagu or not. [/spoiler]

Hmmm, I have a few issues with the points you raised:

First,
[spoiler=the confession]
As weird as the thought that Sensei is romantically interested in Hagu maybe and as much as we don't really want that to be the case, I don't really see how we can get around it. I mean, so many times in the conversation with Yamada, he could have said "Oh, no! It's not like that! I mean, I love her like her daddy does!" It was obvious to sensei and everyone else that they understood him to mean that he was in love with Hagu. Yamada asked him questions like "How long," and he finally said to take it easy on him because it was embarrassing. Furthermore, Yamada also asked in Hagumi knew and sensei said that he thought she did. Now, if we're talking about platonic "uncle-ish" love, there would be no "think", in that sentence. Hagu knows he loves her in that sense. Additionally, notice how violently Shuuji reacted when Yamada went into robo-mode saying "I have to tell Hagu!" Why would he have stopped her if all she was going to do was tell Hagu of Shuuji's platonic feelings-- feelings which she is already familiar with. Odd as it maybe for us to swallow, I think we have to come to terms that Shuu-chan feels something more than a mentoring affection for Hagu. [/spoiler]

Onto my next point,
[spoiler=age] You made reference to Shuuji being middle aged. I wonder at that approximation. Let's consider a few things:

1) Shuuji is Rika's age. They graduated together. I do not believe that Rika is middle age. I'd peg her at, eh, say 35? It's quite possible she could be younger. Thirty-two, maybe. Likewise, as much as Sensei's age can be easily confused because of his role as the sage of wisdom, I honestly believe he could easily be that age.

2) Consider the flash back to Hagu's pulling out the quilt and spreading it over herself and Shuuji. Why is it not possible that she was 6 or so, and he was 20? I know, 14 years is a long time, but consider Jane Austen's novel Emma-- Emma is almost 17 years Mr. Knightley's junior. Now, yes, I know it is still kind of weird, and it doesn't work most of the time-- but I know people who are doing it. They're married and there's a very large age difference between they and their spouse. Weirder things have happened.[/spoiler]

Lastly,
[spoiler=need]While I do think that Shuuji really wanted Hagu to need him, both because a large part of his identity is and has been as Hagumi's protector and because of his romantic feelings towards her, I would have to disagree with you in your saying that Shuuji "needs" Hagu to need him. Shuuji was ready by episode 11 to let Hagu reject him by means of choosing Morita. Remember, he emptied his office and gave up his position with Hamabi without telling Hagu specifically so she could choose someone else. Furthermore, he recognizes Morita as Hagu's prince, and, in the scene in which Hagumi has been wisked away from the hospital by Morita and Takemoto, in a bit of a panic, asks Shuuji what they should do-- he calmly says "She's probably with Morita." Those, in my opinion, are not the words of a man who is in need.

Now, like Takemoto, I believe he desperately wants Hagumi to choose him, but he, aagin like Takemoto, would have found another ambition had she found her strength in another's arms. He did have a plan: he was going to see the world-- twice, perhaps. [/spoiler]

In essence, it kind of seems to me that a lot of people in the fan circles are trying to [spoiler=why we'er even having this conversation] protect Honey and Clover. We all got to the end of the show, and every sign seems to point to Sensei's confession being one of romantic attraction. That just feels weird to us. So, we have to weasel our way around it to protect this show from ridicule from others and, in small ways, from ourselves. Frankly, I've just decided to accept the end for what it is, and, for the reasons I've listen above-- I'm actually okay with it. Shuuji will never force himself upon Hagu. If anything romantic happens between them, it will because Hagu, who is now a woman who is capable of acceptiong the feelings of an older man just as Emma did, will choose him as her lover. Frankly, I think by the last episode it's rather apparent that that's not going to happen. She is, as Mayama confirmed, in love with Morita. Everyone knows that-- Shuuji and Takemoto included. But, like Takemoto, Shuuji doesn't seem to care if she recipocates his feelings or not. He just wants to be with her and to protect her, as I believe Takemoto would have done had he been in either Sensei or Mayama's financial position.[/spoiler]

Also, the Morita fangirl in me feels the ned to say--
[spoiler=Osaka <3 Morita] that I'm not sure I can agree with your synopsis of the situation between Hagu and Morita. I don't really think that Morita isn't ready to devote himself to Hagu and settle down. Frankly, I think that was exactly what he was about to do. He was disillusion and going down-- giving up on his massive ambitions, and he wanted Hagumi to be right there beside him. As he gave up on his dreams, he didn't want to give up on her as well. He still wanted to be near her. It was Hagu who wasn't ready for him to give up everything. In my opinion, the only reason this anime didn't end with Hagu and Morita together is because of the accident. Hagu has to get the use of her hand back. She cannot live in a world in which she cannot draw. That process is going to be a brutual one which will require intense dedication on the part of herself and whoever helps her as she suffers through it. She cannot allow that person to be Morita. She love him too much, and she knows he has too much talent. She cannot see that wasted on her.

In the end, I do not believe that it was Morita's objections but Hagumi's which prevented them from being together.[/spoiler]