Subbed: Honey & Clover – 06

Short Summary: The gang visits the zoo and feeds the giraffe. Mayama and Shuuji have a discussion about Rika. Shuuji lived with her and her deceased husband through college until they got married and moved out. Rika and her husband got into an accident one night after a party – an accident that killed her husband and scarred her physically and emotionally. Shuuji tried to help her recover, but ended up needing to get away and suggested Mayama as an assistant instead. Rika tells Shuuji later that the reason she can’t return Mayama’s feelings is because she feels that she is only taking advantage of him. She is glad that he found a job as she’s confident that he’ll get it.
The second half of the episode dealt with everyone working on their graduate thesis pieces. Yamada made a really large bowl, Morita made a statue of himself. Mayama receives word that he got a job at Fujiwara Design Office. After a celebration, Shuuji takes everyone home except for Yamada, who is tasked to Mayama. On the way back, Mayama explains his feelings to Yamada, but Yamada ends up confessing anyway, over and over again.
Another solid episode more or less centered around Mayama. I enjoy so much the small bits of humor they throw in between all the drama. This show would not be complete without the antics of Morita and co. As for the drama, the first half explained a lot about Rika (and Shuuji for the matter), so that was a plus. I really like the way the end song came in right after Yamada said “Mayama suki.” Music used in the right places just makes the episode for me. I also really liked the snow effects that were used at the end of the first half; that scene just felt beautiful to me. It occurs to me that in Honey and Clover, the seasons are very apparent. The way the animation is done adds so much to it. Ok, I think that’s enough gushing about this show. >.>
On a different note, this is the first time that I noticed that Mayama looks remarkably like Aizen Sousuke in Bleach.