Honey and Clover - episode twenty-one

"When I was younger, I used to ride my blue bicycle and wonder how far I could ride without turning back ..."

Essentially, Takemoto gets a job. On the same day, the company goes bankrupt and he loses it. While this straight up sucks, you also have to consider that Takemoto has been looking for work for more than a year now.
This is so disheartening that he goes riding, trying to figure himself out. Shuu makes it clear that a soul-searching journey is not something that should be interrupted, as contact does not allow the searcher to find himself.

This episode is excellent and, as Garten says, quite reminiscent of the first. For the first time since then we are given the opportunity to bask in the watercolour scenery of Honey & Clover. So emotive were so many of the shots that I almost gave up and went for the twincest that featured as a pendulum of this episode.

Takemoto has always done the most narration, due largely to his introspective nature. Now that he is alone, everything that he does is internalised, a journey alone both on the ground and in the mind. Getting in touch with his inner feelings always makes Honey & Clover more personal, and personality is what I love about this series.
Compounding this sort of emotion is the reaction that the rest of the group has to Takemoto's departure. You may remember that, when Morita left for a year, Hagu-chan was quite amicable to this decision. Hearing about Takemoto, who has proven much less resilient than Morita, Hagu was genuinely concerned for his welfare. While I'm looking for signs wherever I can find them, I really think that Hagu and Takemoto are destined to be. Whether they'll be destined to be within five episodes remains to be seen.

On an entirely different note about this episode, Nomiya leaves. Although Yamada probably doesn't realise it, she is affected by this news. Since he stopped being a total bastard, Nomiya is quite nice. Mayama lowered his guard and made this storyline much easier. I can even begin to see the two together, although all of these characters should start looking for love that can be requited.