Honey Lemon Soda

First-year high school student Uka Ishimori wants a fresh start. In middle school, Uka was given the nickname "Rocky" by her peers, being misunderstood as having no emotions when she was actually shy and introverted. As a result, Uka was relentlessly bullied and experienced a lonely, isolated school life. Now, Uka is determined to change.

During the first week of school, Uka accidentally gets drenched in lemon soda by her classmate Kai Miura—whose cool personality is the complete opposite of hers. After the incident, Uka is surprised when Kai performs small acts of kindness for her, encouraging her to gradually break out of her shell. Like a lemon soda, bubbly and exciting feelings are beginning to stir.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Miura, Kai Main

Yano, Shougo Japanese

Ishimori, Uka Main

Ichinose, Kana Japanese

Kanno, Serina ing

Takahashi, Rie Japanese

Endou, Ayumi ing

Nemoto, Miyari Japanese

Takamine, Tomoya ing

Toki, Shunichi Japanese

Seto, Satoru ing

Yashiro, Taku Japanese

Oikawa, Tao ing

Nukui, Yuka Japanese

Furuichi, Musashi ing

YUMA Japanese

Noa ing

Koichi, Makoto Japanese

Rino ing

Kawaguchi, Rina Japanese

Shibata, Aoi Assistant Producer

Nishikiori, Hiroshi Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Ootera, Fumihiko Sound Director

Yamamoto, Yutaka Episode Director, Storyboard

Reviews

Mar 26, 2025

Marinate1016

Recommended

Well-written

The lonely socially awkward, slightly autistic girl who gets saved by the popular “prince” of the school who’s hiding his own trauma will always be one of my favourite anime tropes and Honey Lemon Soda does that as well as any show. For people who were fans of Kimi ni Todoke, you will see a lot of similarities. The bullying, the shy girl slowly coming into her own, the wholesome vibes, this really felt like I was back in 2010 watching peak shoujo, while the production values leave a lot to be desired at times, the characters and story are so sweet that I didn’t ... even mind. There’s just something so charming and heartwarming about this show that leaves you smiling like an idiot after every episode. Taking the first step to be a better person is the hardest thing you can do and seeing Uka do that is very inspiring. If you’re a shoujo fan, it goes without saying Honey Lemon Soda is a must watch, but it’s also a good recommendation for those who enjoy seeing personal development.

I don’t want to take away from what Honey Lemon Soda itself is about and does, but the Kimi ni Todoke vibes truly are strong and the author was clearly influenced by it which is a plus for me since I love that series and have been craving more since season 3 ended. Uka is an absolute angel of a character and her progress is perfectly paced, going from being unable to hold basic conversations to holding leadership positions within her class and being able to freely express herself. It’s also a believable situation given her backstory and the way she was raised. I enjoyed the budding romance between she and Kai and while it definitely has some wish-fulfilment vibes to it, it’s sweet enough that it didn’t bother me. Kai serves as a positive influence on her and ideal for her to strive towards, but it’s not a project he can do alone. The other characters in the show help push Uka further too, whether it’s Ayumi and Serina being kind to her or the annoying gyaru clique who bully her, all of the ing characters feel like they exist to help Uka grow as a person and stand on her own two feet.

One criticism I’d bring up with the show is at times Kai’s interventions feel too convenient and again that goes back to the wish-fulfilment aspect. Like sometimes he will magically solve a problem and it’s like dude, you’re in high school too there is no way you were able to figure this out. It’s definitely a series you don’t want to analyse too critically. There’s some leaps in logic and it relies on plot conveniences at times. Again, for me this isn’t a deal breaker because I know to expect that sort of thing from a series like this and ultimately we are here for a cute girl improving herself and cute romance moments.

Production quality is really where this show struggles. It looks rough for large portions, but episode 11 was one of the best of the season thanks to Honda Takeshi working on it. Uka’s design is really pretty as is Kai and the voice acting is amazing. It’s not a horrible looking series, but it does feel stiff at times.

Honey Lemon Soda is not a complex series by any stretch, it is very much a straightforward watch and one of those things you either like or you don’t like. As a massive shoujo fan and cute girl self improvement enthusiast, this was everything I need. If you’re expecting some earth-shattering writing and story, you won’t find that here, but if you like romance, character development and wholesome watches, this is a must watch!

Honey Lemon Soda gets 8 out of 10!

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Marinate1016 (413)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Mar 26, 2025

KANLen09

Mixed Feelings

Honey Lemon Soda — Old-school Shoujo at its finest, or is it a hidden symptom of much worse?

It used to be the belief that when one formula works, others will follow in their own interpretations, though successes will vary depending on how authors usually like to carry their approach towards known genres, even if it has to be done from tropes already existing and (usually) having been done better. This is most certainly the case for Shoujo series in the mid-to-late 2000s to the early 2010s, where works like Karuho Shiina's Kimi ni Todoke and Kanae Hazuki's Suki-tte ii na yo a.k.a Say I Love ... You prove most evident of that time period. At the same time, more prolific authors would come to push the genre into relevancy when the genre was at its peak in the 2010s, though it would come to fizzle by the time the Isekai/fantasy genre was just taking off. And one example of this would be female mangaka Mayu Murata's Honey Lemon Soda, which rode the Shoujo wave of the 2010s being one of the best-selling Shoujo series of all time since its serialization in December 2015.

Let's not beat around the bush: Honey Lemon Soda's female MC, Uka Ishimori, given her extreme introvertedness, is pretty much like Kimi ni Todoke's Sawako "Sadako" Kuronuma in every regard: the quiet and shy girl who's misunderstood for various reasons, but in Uka's case, a rather terrifying life of being bullied and called names (Stony for one), which only deepens her insecurity after constant sheltering from the retreat of the people who treat her badly as she is. Fast forward to high school, and Uka's facing the same proposition she had once again, but with a twist: the blonde-haired Kai Miura, whom, for some reason, Uka describes as akin to lemon soda (with the Honey part coming in as the start of the forgiving development), whom she faces her regular fears in school, only to have the upstanding popular boy help her in ways that only he can muster to his own credit, without ever putting a spotlight on himself and making sure that she follows up to the end. And as they say, love paints a picture of a thousand words...or rather, the efficacy for the shy girl to get along with the bad-ass popular boy, to surround herself with friends that she would've otherwise have easily given up by the skin of her teeth, and obviously, have an intimate relationship with said boy.

From the get-go, the Shoujo genre has only so many cliches and tropes that you'd expect, and Mayu Murata exploits that to the nth degree. You might just think that the stereotypes here are just blatant copies of character archetypes done before but better elsewhere (you could even label this a trashy Shoujo work if you so wish to). Uka, for one, does exactly what Sadako would've done in her own state of mind: an introvert who finds it difficult to converse with people, let alone fit into the surrounding nature, which overwhelms her to the point of overthinking. But instead of Sadako, who tries hard from the get-go to persist, Uka is the exact opposite, where her exponential trauma has gravely beset her to the point where fate travels with her everywhere she goes and wash-rinse-repeats the process no matter how many times to the point of insufferability she must. This unfortunately doesn't instill confidence in the audience that Uka will ever improve if she goes nowhere, but this is exactly where Miura comes in as her guardian saviour to notice her unspoken troubles and give her just the right amount of advice to figure out the issues on her own and to start taking flight by overcoming those issues, as difficult as it seems at first glance (from her POV).

Miura being the popular guy in class meant that Uka came under direct fire for all the things she did to catch his attention, intentionally or not, though he tried to play hooky and be discreet with her, not for the fear of reprisal, just the attention from the friends around him. He knows that Stony is the centerpiece of her own issues, and she must overcome trials and tribulations of her own, despite being the bad boy character who sometimes goes after her and gives reassurance only when it matters. Sure, while her and Miura's class can be dramatic with over-the-top reactions that might look staged from different POVs to the point of being unrealistic and overdramatic, it's this same cliche that pushes Uka to the breaking point at times alongside the many friends that she'll come to befriend, from classmates to exes that'll her when effort is genuinely given. You may love to hate Uka "Stony" Ishimori for her many episodes of inaction that will inevitably frustrate someone to get her going, but we as humans that all have different wavelengths to take matters into our own hands, Uka may be the slowpoke compared to Sadako, but you'll come to root for her as time progresses, and the seeds of love can then be grown between her and the blonde bad boy who grows from being her watcher (from a distance) to genuine caretaker to love.

If anything, characters are the centrepiece to Uka's development. Be it her close friend Ayumi Endo, the ex of Serina Kanno, or her bullies from middle school (which she comes back to fight them with her words), not one character is wasted for effectiveness to show just how much Uka has grown out of her comfort zone, and Mayu Murata would make sure that you don't forget each and every character that came and went in Uka's way to reiterate that the point is reached across.

It's an almost given that Shoujo shows look just as bright and beautiful, and Honey Lemon Soda certainly got that treatment alright. Courtesy of TMS Entertainment under their Unlimited Produce brand, J.C.Staff and Toaru Majutsu no Index a.k.a A Certain Magical Index director Hiroshi Nishikori sought the best the studio has to offer for the Shoujo range since the last work that was undertaken (that being Winter and Summer 2023's Sugar Apple Fairy Tale). For certain, everything got a glow-up in of animation; even the eye colours are big and apparent, and it's just a marvel of beauty.

The OST by Akira Kosemura, if I didn't know any better, feels calm, collected, and smooth. This is a given from the composer who brought you Ao no Orchestra a.k.a Blue Orchestra and Summer Ghost, so knowing the latter movie certainly raises some hopes for a decent soundtrack that's not too flashy yet not undercooked at the same time. The OP and ED songs by fusion J-Pop and K-Pop band &Team are both visually creative and made to impact, and they get the job done for the most part.

In the end, what you're watching is a trash Shoujo in the works...good trash, that is. With such an outlandish story and resolutions that just make you question more than you can answer "How the hell did it derive to this kind of unrealistic outcome?" of scenarios, Honey Lemon Soda pins the "realistic" coat of the Shoujo paint out of the picture. Yes, you could argue that this paints a stark contrast to the much more affable and relatable Kimi ni Todoke, but Mayu Murata sure as hell isn't going to go the safe route and create yet another similar derivative. Does this make sense from a story perspective? This is a Shoujo built on hopes and dreams, amped by its drama being like a soap opera, that'll still get you the major vibes, by hook or by crook.

Is it worth a watch? Yeah...if you're the kind who wants to venture the road less travelled, but for everyone else, keep your expectations in check.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by KANLen09 (714)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Apr 11, 2025

erinxia

Not Recommended

Well-written

This show is incredibly frustrating, and you'd have to be something like 14 to enjoy it. If you are going to watch it, it's not aimed at viewers wanting a more mature show. It's incredibly immature in it's writing and the way they portray the characters. This review does mention the general plot direction, but doesn't spoil how this happens so be aware if you don't want to know anything about the plot apart from characters to ignore the 2nd paragraph.

Uka and Kai are such stereotypical "shy quiet girl" and "bad tough guy," and it's excruciating to watch, like something straight out of Wattpad. ... To summarise, Uka is a shy girl who is socially awkward and basically bullied by everyone, and Kai essentially takes her in and opens her eyes to the world. And when I say they fit the stereotypes, I mean textbook. It's not a creative plot at all, and it's boring. I forced myself to finish this series because I had some hope it would get better, but if the writing is bad, the second-hand embarrassment from this show is EVEN WORSE. Uka just acts so unrealistically, and manages to be seethingly cringe every time she is on the screen. It's like a worse version of any show which is centred around a shy character - sometimes it feels like a worse version of A Sign of Affection (great anime by the way). I know Uka may be implicitly suggested to be autistic, but if that is the direction the show wanted which I think would've been better, they should've put more explicit emphasis on it.

I actually think in of characters, Kai is bearable and somewhat likeable, but his savior complex can be cringe at times and painful. The way he coddles the main character means you never really get to see her character development individually. He genuinely always jumps in, never lets her answer for herself and therefore we never get to see Uka do anything herself. He's genuinely kind of controlling and it's dressed up as him saving her and looking after her like she's some child so I suppose that's meant to be 'cute'? Uka's character development is done poorly and is only really surface level, and the fact that she is so unlikeable from the way she acts, overly pathetic pains me. Maybe she's just not my sort of main character, but the entire show is cringeworthy. Not to mention her character development is very stereotypical in itself - 'strict parents' and learns to sort that out, 'gets bullied' but stands up to her bullies' and 'learns to find love'. Like come on, be original. However, I'll give the show credit where credit is due to that the side characters (specifically the female ones) are really likeable and honestly how I wish Uka was written. Why the hell is Uka always crying or babbling? It might've been better if they portrayed her slightly differently.

Also, the intro is a banger to be fair - &TEAM did a really good job on it, it's really enjoyable to listen to and maybe the only part I think was enjoyable. Outro is ALSO a banger. The animation is decent, and I do really like the artistic design and that is what saves the show from a critical view since the plot is absolutely miserable.

I do NOT recommend this show for the fact that it's a stereotypical, Wattpad, and cringeworthy mess. I should've given up watching it when it became unbearable from a few episodes in, it's genuinely not worth the commitment. 4/10 and that's being generous from my perspective. I'm not even sure me when I was 14 could've coped with how much of a mess this show is.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by erinxia (2)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

2025 New Romance Anime

by Doggo1195

17 Entries · 37 Restacks

50 anime if you want to feel butterfly in your stomach

by MaraSwam

50 Entries · 11 Restacks

50 anime that will melt your heart

by MaraSwam

50 Entries · 5 Restacks

Winter 2025 Simulcast List [Update 2/23]

In this thread, you'll find a comprehensive list of television anime acquired for simulcast release during the Winter 2025 season. Anime series licensed for hom...read more

Jan 1, 1:41 PM by Discuss (13 comments)

Winter 2025 Preview

In this thread, you'll find a comprehensive list of Winter 2025 titles with an accompanying promotional video, commercial, teaser, or trailer. This post will be...read more

Dec 19, 2024 5:31 AM by Discuss (0 comments)

	Poll: Stark700 - Feb 19	88 replies	by »» May 21, 7:11 AM
	Poll: Stark700 - Jan 15	97 replies	by »» May 19, 5:35 AM
	Poll: Stark700 - Mar 5	89 replies	by »» May 17, 10:33 PM
	Poll: Stark700 - Mar 26	108 replies	by »» May 11, 5:41 PM
	Poll: Stark700 - Feb 12	102 replies	by »» May 11, 4:38 PM