Dub Production by Salami Studios
ADR Director: Rene Veilleux
Adaptation: Rene Veilleux, Donald Roman Lopez
Cast credited without roles: Chris Kent, Doug Erholtz, Heather Halley, Julie Ann Taylor, Kyle Hebert, David Keefir, L.C. Curci, Michelle Ruff, Patrick Seitz, Sam Regal, Jennifer Sekiguchi, Yuri Lowenthal, Barbara Goodson
Voice Fit: B/B+
Emotional Feel: B/B+
Delivery Flow: B/B+
There is some variability to the performances, some being more A- to others which are more a B to a B+.
Description
Originally airing in Japan in 2005 and 2006, Honey and Clover was a two season (one full 26 episode season and one 12 episode shorter half-season) show that adapted Chika Umino's 2000-2006 manga series which told the story of the lives of a group of art school students. So, unlike all of the usual high school shows (and manga for that matter) that dominate what we usually see here in the North American market, we instead have a show where the leads are all college-aged.
The series is episodic, without a real linear plot of any sort. What is does have is a series of love triangles and romantic complications, all served up with a healthy portion of slapstick humor (especially prominent in the first half of the bonus episode). While this might sound like a shoujo show, it is not. This show is josei, that is, it is aimed at an older female demographic in Japan.
Vocal Performances
One problem with the production work on this show is that the roles are left uncredited. There is a single scroll of named actors, but not tied to roles, placed among the extras on the third disc of the set. Therefore, all of the attributions of actors to roles is based either on their own public acknowledgment, or upon my ability to identify an actor's voice with absolute certainty. In cases where I am uncertain, I have not put forward any guesses. There are also cases where I am fairly certain of the actor, but they were not even included on the general list of voice actors involved provided by Viz, and since they do not wish to be named, I will also refrain from mentioning their names.
While there are a large number of characters, much of the action is told through the viewpoint of Yuuta Takemoto. Yuuta is on the younger side of the cast, and is given an appropriately youngish voice, perhaps too young in a way, by Yuri Lowenthal. Yuuta can be rather whiny at times, and Mr. Lowenthal does a decent job of displaying that whine without it getting too grating on the ears, as any whininess can. During the times in which he does voiceover of the character's inner thoughts, he does dial down the whininess, and even seems to lower his register slightly, which makes him seem more reflective, which is a good touch. At other times, however, Mr. Lowenthal seems to be under-energized, which can result in a somewhat flat performance. He does improve a bit by the later episode, with the flat feeling disappearing, but not entirely.
After Yuuta, much of the focus is on Takumi Mayama, whose English voice is not credited at all. The voice used is a bit lighter than the original Japanese performance of Tomokazu Sugita, but it works in its own way. As the actor does not want to be identified, I will not comment further. Normally, I have a policy of not commenting at all on uncredited roles, but Mayama is too central to the show to pass over completely.
Of course, this show is more an ensemble piece than one that has a singular focus. Among the other major players are Shinobu Morita, played with some spirit by Sam Regal. Morita is a strange character in many ways: he is a talented artist, but he mysteriously disappears now and then, only to return days later, dead tired but carrying a large wad of cash. He can also be a little bit of a sadist, teasing Yuuta mercilessly, which Mr. Regal makes quite memorable with the playful devilishness he injects into his voice. Morita is also one of the more slapstick characters, and Mr. Regal does a very good job in his exaggerated responses. Also important to the show is Shuuji Hanamoto, one of the teachers at the school. He is not that much older than his students, however, and they are all adults to begin with, so there is not the same kind of distance between him and his students as we would expect in a high school setting. Chris Kent gives him a voice that matches the character well, which is not too deep, which would make the character seem too old. Performance-wise, Mr. Kent does a good job of presenting Prof. Hanamoto in a believable light, with the right feel to his voice and his emotional expression.
Of the female performances, the most expressive and impressive is that of Julie Ann Taylor, who voices Ayumi Yamada, an advanced student who is known for her talent, beauty, and ferocious temper when it comes to Takumi Mayama, whom she has an unrequited crush on. Ayumi is actually given some of the broadest range of emotions, from drunken pathos to fiery rage to tender expressions of love, a love that she seems know will never be returned. And Ms. Taylor is up to the task, giving a performance that is probably one of the better ones I have heard from her in recent times. At times cheerful, at times heartbroken, it is a very good portrayal of a young women in love who has not had that love returned. I really liked her heartfelt little soliloquy in episode 8.
The other major female role is a lot harder to pin down. Heather Halley plays the diminutive, shy, and quite strange Hagumi "Hagu" Hanamoto, Prof. Hanamoto's cousin who is just starting school as we begin the show. Hagu is drawn as if she is an elementary school student, even though she should be about 18. Hagu has a child-like personality to match her appearance, as she starts off only uttering monosyllabic noises much as very small children do. While she does eventually begin to talk a bit more, she rarely has any extended dialogue, and often just repeats short phrases. That can make it a bit difficult to judge Ms. Halley's performance, since it is such a poorly written character. For what it is, Ms. Halley does a good job of bringing out Hagu's child-like delight in the world (part of what makes her such a good artist, and according to most of those who know, she is the most talented among all the students).
Besides the main characters, there are many important minor roles. Among them, Patrick Seitz plays Kaoru Morita, Shinobu's elder brother. To Shinobu's more frivolous and feckless attitude, Kaoru is the much more grounded and serious brother, as far as we have seen so far. Mr. Seitz gives him an appropriately more serious voice, though not one that is in any way menacing, as he is not meant to be a villain of any sort.
Another important role, but which I am not entirely certain about the identity, but yet is one that matters is that of Rika Harada. Rika runs a small design firm, and happens to be an old friend of Shuuji Hanamoto going back to when they were in art college (the same school that Shuuji teaches at, no less). She also happens to be the object of affection for Takumi Mayama, though she does not seem to express any interest in return, but that may as much have to do with her own past than anything else. The voice is in the right range and sound, but the performance is slightly off at times. The delivery is much too staccato on occasion, giving a very stilted feel to a character who should flow a little more naturally.
Well known voice actors such as Michelle Ruff and Jennifer Sekiguchi show up in minor roles here and there.
Script
The dub script is different from sub script to a significant degree. The general gist of what is being said is not altered, but there are variations in interpretation.
Examples:
Episode 2:
Shuuji Hanamoto, sub: "That's probably what people call 'talent.'"
dub: "That's probably what true genius is."
Episode 12:
Yuuta Takemoto, sub: "You place everything I want in the palm of your hand without closing it…"
dub: "You had everything I want in the palm of your hand, and you don't even care if it slips away…"
So, while the meaning, in the broadest sense, is not changed, there are noticeable differences at times. The sub script includes honorifics, while the dub does not employ them. Oddly, this is a show where the presence of honorifics might not be a detraction, since the show is set in contemporary Japan and has almost exclusively Japanese characters.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Honey and Clover is an acceptable dub. At its best, it does a decent job of giving the right emotional tenor and sound to the heartaches and heartbreaks, as well as the moments of broad comedy and deep drama. There is not much in the way of hamminess, which would have brought down the show. On the other hand, there are some performances that leave one feeling a little flat, and beyond that, a general overall feeling that something is lacking. There does not seem to be a strong spark for the most part. At times, I feel as if the actors are doing their best to simulate simulated feeling, but not quite getting there. Some characters just come across as much too flat. It is not that this show should be overly-energetic, which would probably ruin the mood. But personally, I just feel like something is missing, that there should just be a little bit more to several of the performances than there is.
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