Love isn't always sunshine and rainbows, but during a relationship's best moments, the couple would be so cute and sweet that just looking at them would give you diabetes. A lot of these moments happen when the relationship is as healthy as one can be, but not all of the healthiest relationships start out so well as it eventually becomes. Sometimes, it's just a matter of whether or not you're willing to look past first impressions and see a potential partner for who they are inside. For example, someone who might look scary and cold-hearted may actually have the warmest heart and most gentle personality.Wouldn't a relationship with someone like that just be sweet? After reading this manga that was given to me by a friend, I definitely would think so.
Lads, ladies, and non-binaries, here is my review of "Honey So Sweet", known in Japan as simply "Honey".
Honey So Sweet begins when Taiga Onise, a high schooler who is believed to be a delinquent due to his frightening appearance and some unfavorable rumors about him, asks out his schoolmate, Nao Kogure, with the possibility of marriage in the future. (Aaaaand the diabetes have already settled in.) Nao is originally scared of Taiga for the reasons mentioned earlier, but as she gets to know him, she discovers that he's not the delinquent people believe him to be; he even refuses to hit other people without a good reason! Still, Nao originally can't return Taiga's feelings due to her own feelings for her uncle Sou, who has been looking after her ever since her parents died when she was small; thus, the two agree to just be friends. Over time, however, Nao comes to realize that she, too, has feelings for Taiga, and they end up dating (with marriage in mind, of course). From there, the manga follows their relationship and how they ultimately change each other for the better.
Honestly, I'm a little conflicted about the story. On one hand, I can understand how some people may not be entertained by this manga. The whole "tough-looking guy turns to be a big softie who possibly likes cute things" kind of plot has been done time and time again, and it's possible that it will continue to be done several more times; in other words, it's completely unoriginal, and some people may be sick of it. There's also the amount of real conflict in the story; there's not a high amount of conflict, and even the conflict there is in the story doesn't hold a lot of weight because we all know that our lead couple will just get through it. Finally, this is just a nitpick, but I wish that we got more of what happened to the characters at the end; we see a bit of Nao and Taiga as adults in the final chapter and some of the other characters in a bonus comic at the end of the final volume, but I just wish the direction their lives went was explained in more detail.
All of my gripes about the story aside, though, I just can't hate it; in fact, I actually really like this manga. The main reason for this is just how cute the relationship between our two leads is. On their own, they're good characters; Nao is a sweet girl who got a decent amount of development during the story, and Taiga is just a big sweetheart who makes it easy to root for him. Together, however, they present one of the healthiest relationships in shoujo manga. They pretty much always communicate with each other, treat each other with respect, and help each other grow as people. It may not seem like anything special, but when compared to, for example, Honey x Honey Drops, it's more of what a loving, healthy relationship should be like.
Nao and Taiga aren't the only characters in Honey So Sweet, however. This manga also includes a colorful cast of supporting characters who are mostly likable in their own ways. One character I'd like to mention is Miyabi Nishigaki, who appears rather late in the manga; given her actions, it would typically be easy to hate her, but when you think about her personal struggles, it's hard not to feel bad for her. Ayaha Futami is, at an earlier point, in a similar boat to Miyabi, but although he doesn't necessarily have the same problems as Miyabi, I honestly wanted to see him happy, too, as he seemed like a genuinely nice guy, despite my worries that I was going to hate him. There's also Kayo Yashiro and Ayumu Misaki, two of Nao and Taiga's mutual friends; they're fun characters on their own, and although the direction their relationship with each other went was highly predictable, it was still nice to see it develop.
Then, there's Sou. I was originally worried about his relationship with Nao due to her initial crush on him, but seeing their familial relationship and how it developed, my worries quickly went away; it was a perfectly healthy relationship between two family members. Although it's, of course, not in a romantic way, Sou repeatedly demonstrates how much he loves and cares for Nao throughout the manga. I also liked his relationship with Taiga; although Taiga hadn't actually married Nao (yet), it already seemed like he and Sou were family. As for Sou himself, his character development was slower than I was hoping it would be, but I like to think that he had grown a little bit by the end.
As for the art....what can I say about the art? With a cute, fluffy manga like this, a cute art style is essential, and fortunately, mangaka Amu Meguro manages to deliver on that front. The character designs are great, the backgrounds are well-drawn, and the art is adorably simplistic when it's necessary for it to be. The art style is perfect for a shoujo manga like this, and I honestly feel like that it's an ever-so-slight improvement from the mangaka's previous works, like Chiguhagu Planet. What else can be said about it?
Overall, Honey So Sweet is an enjoyable manga with plenty of cute moments. People looking for something incredibly unique won't find it here, but if you just want a simple romance that is as sweet as honey (roll credits), I'd recommend that you give it a read. Just don't be disappointed by the pet name "honey" not being used, though.
