If you’re going to change the things you don’t like about yourself, that which led to relentless bullying during your middle school years and kept you from making meaningful connections…
Jan 8, 2025 • Subscribe
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First Look: Honey Lemon Soda
Manga Adaptation by J.C.Staff Streaming on Crunchyroll Premise Previously bullied in middle school, Uka Ishimori is determined to make her high school experience a more positive one. However,…
First Impressions – Honey Lemon Soda
Setting aside (though only for a moment) its intrinsic quality as a series, Honey Lemon Soda says something about the state of shoujo anime.
Honey Lemon Soda
Honey Lemon Soda is currently streaming on Crunchyroll on Wednesdays....
Honey Lemon Soda GN 2
What sets Honey Lemon Soda apart from its brethren? It's the willingness to understand that it's not a quick or easy thing to break free of the things…
Honey Lemon Soda, Vol 2
Honey Lemon Soda Volume 2 by Mayu Murata Shy girl in love with popular boy is a fairly common subgenre of shoujo manga, but with the second volume,…
Anime Like Honey Lemon Soda
After being bullied in middle school for her shyness being misinterpreted as coldness, Uka Ishimori hopes that she can get a fresh start in high school.
A Condition Called Love, Horimiya, Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, My Happy Marriage, A Sign of Affection
Second Impressions – Honey Lemon Soda
This series is seriously, seriously shoujo.
Honey Lemon Soda – Episode 1
A gently fizzy take on a familiar shoujo story that's very human and sweet as a dollop of honey.
Honey Lemon Soda, Vol 2
Honey Lemon Soda Volume 2 by Mayu Murata Shy girl in love with popular boy is a fairly common subgenre of shoujo manga, but with the second volume,…
Honey Lemon Soda Episode 1 Review – Soaked In Lemon Soda
What if Uka was actually in love with the soda and not Kai?
Honey Lemon Soda – 02 – Gemstone Dreams
Ishimori arrives at school not sure if everything she experienced yesterday wasn’t just a dream. Even so, she manages to say good morning to Miura, though he isn’t…
Honey Lemon Soda – 03 – Magic Seat
Taking Kai’s advice, Uka starts taking steps forward. When the class changes seats, she asks Ayumi if they can be friends, only to learn Ayumi has already been…
Honey Lemon Soda #01 — “Everybody Clapped”
That's definitely a thing teenagers do when answering math problems. Impressions: The "everybody clapped" scene was about when my eyes rolled far enough back in my head…
Honey Lemon Soda – 01 (First Impressions) – Disobey Your Curse
While the title is fun and refreshing, Honey Lemon Soda is a very familiar flavor of shoujo romance, but well-executed and full of novel details. The titular soda is…
Honey Lemon Soda Episode 7 Review – Codependency
Let’s just hope that Kai and Uka won’t have a toxic codependent relationship later on…
Honey Lemon Soda Episode 12 Review + Final Thoughts – A Love Like Lemon Soda
A story about a no one becoming a someone.
Honey Lemon Soda Episode 2 Review – A Gemstone
Uka and Kai are warming up to each other.
Honey Lemon Soda Episode 11 Review – Crushing It
It feels like they skipped a few things to wrap things up…
Honey Lemon Soda Vol 1 by Mayu Murata
Honey Lemon Soda Volume 1 by Mayu Murata I was aware that there was a great deal of anticipation when Honey Lemon Soda was licensed, and the first…
Honey Lemon Soda Episode 8 Review – Phone Numbers
Uka had a phone all this time???
Honey Lemon Soda Episode 4 Review – Wet Camp
I can relate to Uka in some aspects!
Honey Lemon Soda Episode 10 Review – The Kai Introspective?
Kai’s been here since the beginning yet we don’t know anything about him.
Honey Lemon Soda Episode 3 Review – Expanding Her World
Uka’s awkward, but it’s endearing.
Honey Lemon Soda Episode 1 Review: An Emotional Introduction
This episode left me wondering about hidden backstories and potential character growth—and I’ve shared all my thoughts in my review. If you enjoy a romance anime with emotional…
Honey Lemon Soda Episode 9 Review – Overbearing And Overprotective Father
Why isn’t Uka’s mom doing something???
Honey Lemon Soda Episode 2 Review: Heartfelt Growth and Romance
This episode left me wondering about hidden backstories and potential character growth—and I’ve shared all my thoughts in my review. If you enjoy a romance anime with emotional…
Why Honey Lemon Soda is the Next Big School Romance Anime
Discover why Honey Lemon Soda is 2025's must-watch school romance anime. Anxiety, growth & a love story that redefines courage. 🍋
Fruits Basket, Honey Lemon Soda, Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You
Honey Lemon Soda Episode 6 Review – Culture Festival At 2x Speed
Come on JC Staff, you can do better than this!
Airy and sweet but missing some zest – Honey Lemon Soda (movie review)
Ah yes, I am back in the realm of those sappy sweet shojo movies. This time being the long awaited Honey Lemon Soda, given that that manga is…
Winter 2025 Impressions: Honey Lemon Soda, Red Ranger Isekai, Baban Baban Ban Vampire
Honey Lemon Soda Short Synopsis: A high school wallflower becomes enamored with a blond-haired boy who later stands up to a trio of bullies on her behalf. Wooper:…
Reader’s Corner: Honey Lemon Soda, Doomsday with My Dog, and A Galaxy Next Door
Relationships take central focus in this week’s Reader’s Corner: that between would-be lovers and those seeking to take the next step in intimacy; between adventurers who have trust…
Reader’s Corner: Helck (Vol. 3), Honey Lemon Soda (Vol. 2), and Horimiya (Vol. 16, Final)
Does the abstract nature of Yokohama Station SF translate to manga for? Is Chitose in the Ramune Bottle better as a light novel or manga? Is Suzune Magica…
Earl and Fairy, Helck, Horimiya, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Spy Classroom
Reader’s Corner: Kagurabachi (Vol. 3), Honey Lemon Soda (Vol. 8), and Villains Are Destined to Die (Vol. 7)
Two of our favorite recent manga from VIZ Media have new issues out today, and we’re here to tell you whether the series—Kagurabachi and You and I Are…
Reader’s Corner: Honey Lemon Soda (Vol. 5), The Remarried Empress (Vol. 6), and The Uncanny Counter (Vol. 1)
It’s a big day for manga, manhwa light novel releases, and we’ve got reviews for you of a number of those hitting shelves today! Romance, slice-of-life, fantasy, and…
First Impression: Honey So Sweet, Vol. 1 by Amu Meguro
Honey So Sweet is the kind of romance story that I would’ve enjoyed reading in my teen years. Here is my first impression of Amu Meguro’s shōjo series.
First Impressions: Honey and Clover
“It is not only well-written, but well executed on the part of Studio Shaft, whose odd style of animation lended even more personality to the show as a…
First Impression: Kaginado
A familiar little girl wearing a sailor fuku with stuffed dango in hand walks into a planetarium, where she’s greeted by another familiar face, an android with blue…
First Impression: Horimiya
Kyoko Hori: Smart, beautiful, popular, but for unknown reasons, she rushes out of school instead of spending time with the rest of her clique. Izumiya Miyamura: Quiet, introverted,…
First Impression: Tamayomi
As children, Yomi would toss a “magic ball” to Tamaki, a curving pitch that the latter wasn’t able to catch. The two agreed that when Yomi mastered it…
First Impression: Arte
Set in Florence, Italy, early in the sixteenth century, this is the tale of a young noblewoman named Arte trying to become a proper artist and make a…
First Impression: Noblesse
Okay, before I get into my first take on this one, I need to clear the air about something. Yes, I am aware that Noblesse has an OVA…
First Impression: Pet
The physical world is immense and full of possibilities—good and bad. But the world inside our minds is even more vast, full of imagination, potential, and horror. There…
First Impression: Farmagia
A troll is farming with some strange creatures around him when suddenly the sky darkens and a flaming phoenix shape brings about the apocalypse. Fade to black. And…
First Impression: Zenshu
Natsuko Hirose is a young hotshot animation director who skyrocketed to fame with her first production that was so relevant it became a cultural phenomenon. Her next series…
Gekidol (First Impression)
“Set five years after the mysterious disaster of a city’s sudden disappearance, a group of girls fascinated by the “Theatrical Material System” using 3D holograms aims to brighten…
First Impression: Kakushigoto
Kakushigoto looks to be a lighthearted comedy. The title itself is a pun: It’s a story about the “kakushigoto” (i.e., secret) of Kakushi Goto. Kakushi is a mangaka…who…
First Impression: Opus.COLORs
Two adults doing tai chi while wearing high-tech goggles and hand gear are watched by three enraptured boys. When they’re done swooshing their arms and tiptoeing through the…
First Impression: Dandadan
“Huuuuuh?!?!” Like lightning, Momo the gyaru launches a jaw-breaking kick at the delinquent’s head, only, it doesn’t land. And then he dumps her. Seems she’s too poor and…
Sakugan (First Impression)
“Far in the future, the human beings were pushed into the deep underground world called Labyrinth and they are living shoulder-to-shoulder. The Labyrinth has several colonies with severe…