Ergo Proxy… well, from what I can tell, the ending kinda makes it clear why everything’s alien. Interesting point about the Mamoru Oshii movies though – that highly stylized way of storytelling (the art movie) is lauded by critics, but isn’t usually a success at the box office. I think GITS 2: Innocence was one of the few exceptions that, if only because there was precisely ONE relatively ‘human’ interaction – and that was between Batou and his dog.

GITS:SAC does dip into Oshii-style stories precisely twice: EP 2 of 2nd Gig, and then Ep 11 – the first is strictly Oshii-style, and is probably the one episode of 2nd Gig (or SAC in generally) that I actively disliked. The second example is surreal in the Oshii way, but it keeps the human touches which make SAC more appealing, especially in the interaction between the paralyzed boy and cyborg girl, on top of how the story’s told by the storekeeper.

Also- if we’re talking about pretentious anime, we have to mention Ergo Proxy. Although it’s improved since episode 11+, the majority of it is as cold, abstract and impenitrible as your typical Mamoru Oshii movie. Compared with Honey & Clover- where the symbolism and philosophy is conveyed in relatable human ways, Ergo Proxy feels positively alien.

Hachikuro, on the other hand, is very down to earth as you noted – it’s stuff everyone’s either gone through or has seen others go through, and the way that they take what are otherwise cliches (love triangles, etc) and make them more personal because of the way people sympathize or empathize with the characters is simply marvellous. However, as far as Ayu’s story goes… I think that’s the point – it doesn’t go. She can’t move on, and she said as much way back in the first season when talking about the beefsteak tomato plant that had been damaged by the typhoon winds. She can’t bring herself to break it off, even when she knows it’s futile, although she isn’t completely ruling out the possibility that sometime, in some far future, she may finally move on.

As for philosophical anime… I forgot to mention that I think Eva is actually pretentious and rather superficial. ^^;; GITS:SAC is a different case, though, and I’d actually lump it together with Hachikuro in the "mature" category… which is, I think, the difference between stuff like GITS or H&C and stuff like Eva. The former manage to address its issues without the need for overblown symbols and pretentious dialogues (well, not often)… But, well, that may be just my preferences talking.

It’s unfortunately quite true to the manga and real life – and I rather like how the story with her is going… since everywhere else we see people moving on or going quickly past their feelings to the point where they’re moving ridiculously fast. Here, it’s a little more open-ended.

As far as philosophical anime goes, the difference between this and NGE or GITS:SAC is that it’s very human in the nature of its philosophy and concerns; the latter two delve deeply into religion, characters throwing the words of philosophers at one another, and working at a high level where feelings and motivations are more abstract than visceral. H&C goes the other route – the motivations and actions here are based on things anyone can understand, and very basic things, rather than going off into the realm of the seminar-level lecture hall discussions.

As for this episode (and indeed the whole Morita family storyline), it was just heartbreakingly beautiful and human. Also, what really struck me was the difference between H&C in general and anime series hyped as "deep," "philosophical" or "mature." To me, those series usually come off as pretentious and superficial. For me, the simple beauty and humanity of H&C makes it much more "deep" than stuff like Evangelion or the new favorite, Elfen Lied. (Elfen Lied as "deep" and "philosophical." Ha, that’s a good one.)