Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Taki555
Honey Lemon Soda is a very weak and boring romance anime with poor writing and one dimensional characters. The story feels repetitive and predictable, offering nothing fresh or engaging.
The female main character was especially hard to watch. Her personality revolves almost entirely around constant crying and insecurity, and instead of meaningful growth, the anime relies on the male lead endlessly supporting her without real development. This cycle repeats throughout the series and quickly becomes tiring.
There wasn’t a single scene that felt genuinely enjoyable or emotionally rewarding. Rather than being heartwarming, the anime felt dull and frustrating due to its lack of depth, weak pacing, and overly simplistic portrayal of romance.
Overall, Honey Lemon Soda fails to deliver an engag…
Read at the sourceEmxx
I have watched a lot of bad shows but I still enjoyed them, can't say the same about this one though.
Can't even count the amount of times I felt second-hand embarrassment while watching this show... The only good/interesting part of it was the conflict she FL had with her family, which sadly was resolved in like one ep so yeah.
It's easy to say "oh what do I expect from a shoujo anime" but the reality is that there is a lot of shoujo anime/manga that is written very well and make you relate/empathise with the characters, but that wasn't the case here. Somehow I genuinely like the side characters of this show more than the mains lol.
Read at the sourceelumizu
Honey Lemon Soda frames itself as a coming-of-age romance about reclaiming confidence after years of emotional isolation. At its core lies the story of Uka Ishimori, a girl whose middle school years were defined by relentless bullying and social withdrawal. Classmates once labeled Uka “stone,” a cruel nickname suggesting someone expressionless, silent, and incapable of participating in ordinary conversation. By the time high school begins, Uka carries a fragile determination to change the direction of life. The desire to become someone stronger exists, yet the emotional scars of the past remain deeply rooted. High school becomes a symbolic reset point. New classmates, new classrooms, and unfamiliar social circles create the possibility of reinvention. However, the story carefully illustrat…
Read at the sourceshiro051
I watched this anime because i was in a similar situation too when i was in school. The soft setting which is carried by beautiful piano music in every episode. The characters were sooo sympathetic. With exception of the obsessed fangirls of Kai in between. It was sooo heartwarming and touching to see how Kai helped Uka opening up and growing a stronger self esteem in a good way. Really loved this anime. Almost perfect. I wished there was a more intense ending, like showing them together or a kiss again. But otherwise. Really good anime.The art style was really fitting too. Fresh and modern.
Read at the sourceJunjiSeishin
If you've seen any slice of life anime, then you've basically seen this.
I can see it's potential but it's overshadowed by every trope ever being brought in. Girl who was bullied is liked by the main dude who's super popular, but then everyone immediately likes her because he said so. I don't feel like they have any sort of chemistry at all either, and don't get me started on how much she cries. Every single episode she's bound to cry a few times.
Every character is generic, every plotline is generic. All their relationships just don't feel believable for the most part. If anyone has an issue or doubts about the MC, then they're immediately a bad person. It was almost interesting when the bullies were introduced at the start, but that immediately gets solved.
You're better off watching…
Read at the sourceerinxia
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,…
Read at the sourceunderyourcouch
I really wanted to like Honey Lemon Soda, but it became kind of a chore to watch each week, and I kept watching just for the sake of finishing it.
The art is great, and the character designs look nice. The OP and ED are also cool and give off a fresh vibe. They perfectly fit the lemon soda and summer theme the show is going for.
So why don’t I recommend it? Well, mostly because the show feels slow and dragging. Everything moves too slowly, it feels like every frame lingers a bit too long. Scenes and conversations could be more impactful if they were shorter but filled with more meaning.
The animation is average—lots of stills with just the mouth moving or panning over a static shot. There are worse animated shows, but also far better ones.
The character's personalities are superfic…
Read at the sourcevalchurie_
For most, it's just a simple romance anime but for me it’s a deeply relatable story for anyone who has struggled with social anxiety or the scars of bullying. Uka who was bullied in the past, and it completely altered the way she views friendships. She constantly fears being a burden and walks on eggshells around others, not because she’s weak, but because it’s a defense mechanism.
As someone who was also bullied in high school (and even in college), I deeply relate to Uka’s avoidant nature. The way she hesitates, overthinks, and second-guesses herself is painfully accurate. This anime beautifully portrays how past trauma can shape a person, but it also highlights the importance of kindness and true friendship.
Despite its emotional weighted plot, the director managed to keep things ligh…
Read at the sourceatbrightstories
i have no problem with shy introverted people but this anime is annoying. there are very unstable emotional ebbs and flows. the girl is really, really irritating. everything is so clichéd. i know it's an adaptation of an old fiction but i still didn't expect the changes to be this bad. the manga also started very boring so I left it unfinished. i made a mistake watching it, nothing got better until the end. i think it's the worst of the many similar fictions. i can understand why it's compared to kimi ni todoke but i disagree. they're as different as a and w.
Read at the sourceJuwuhart
I don’t recommend it.
"Honey Lemon Soda" is a coming-of-age romance anime, but watching it was a complicated experience. I regret giving it a chance because, despite the protagonist showing some growth throughout the episodes, she still acts like a helpless victim for most of the story. This becomes tiring and repetitive.
The male protagonist doesn’t help much either. His personality is complicated—he’s the typical mysterious character who doesn’t take a single step in their relationship, leaving all the initiative to the protagonist. On top of that, the anime’s pacing felt rushed, with episodes flying by too quickly, especially the penultimate one, which felt like it was playing at 2X speed.
In the end, Honey Lemon Soda is a mediocre anime, good only for passing the time, but nothing m…
Read at the sourceAcepir
Honey Lemon Soda is a beautiful soft, and fuzzy anime. Lovely coming-of-age romance, though slightly predictable.
The way Ishimori is such a soft, and overly emotional character is a refreshing scene to see. Her character growth while staying this shy girl is incredibly wholesome, peaks of confidence coming through here and there.
Development is slightly slow but well paced, each episode brings something to the story that is just right, not too slow or too fast.
The handsome/popular male lead x shy/bullied female lead, is not normally something I'm into, but the way it was handled in this anime with such a fun, and extremely loving side cast has made me love it like no other, and will hopefully do the same for those that aren't necessarily fond it of it as well.
Big recommend to those…
Read at the sourceComet_Official
So I randomly came across this anime because I saw the dub version was almost finished airing and I decided to give it a go. I was NOT disappointed as this was such a cute romance anime. A lot of people complained about her being overly emotional but I think that adds a lot of depth to her character and made the story that much more enjoyable. Shes growing and adapting from a sheltered kid who was bullied to a young woman who can express how she feels to the guy she loves. The character development in this anime was TOP TIER and I must say the story development was also very well paced. It wasn't too fast of a development but it also wasn't a drag like most other romance anime. Its a perfect blend for a romance anime that might make you tear up a little bit!
Read at the sourcew1ntrs
Honey Lemon Soda is a solid and charming coming-of-age romance that, while not entirely groundbreaking, it still delivers a heartwarming experience that fans of the romance/shouju genre can appreciate. The show draws a lot of parallels to Kimi ni Todoke, and while the similarities might seem repetitive to some. At times, there is a comfort in familiarity, and Honey Lemon Soda will deliver on that for those of you who enjoy familiar stories.
Much like Kimi ni Todoke, the characters in Honey Lemon Soda share a similar character-dynamic. Shy, misunderstood girl and a quiet, but popular kind-hearted boy who slowly build a relationship. While the characters were enjoyable, I felt that it could have been more fleshed out. The protagonist is likable but doesn't have the depth or complexity that…
Read at the sourcekiyo_seibah
Okay, so first of all, shoujo isn't really my cup of tea. Especially classic school romance shoujo. And bcs it's a shoujo anime, the target audience are teenage girls so the drama or conflict in this anime are your typical "i have a crush on this popular guy, but I'm just an ordinary girl" so it was very cliche and boring.
So yea the story wasn't really great. And so is the characters. The main character is ur typical "to be so so" shoujo mc, and yes she cried in every episode. But tbh i get her struggles and i do relate to her a bit (like her awkwardness and anxiety) but yea she's annoying to be fair. But she has a bit of development tho (and more in the manga or so i heard). For the male lead, tbh i don't get what makes him attractive (besides his pretty face) i mean his personality or…
Read at the sourceSpast1c
Honey lemon soda has got to be the corniest anime This season.
Honey Lemon Soda Is a sub par Shoujo Romance anime with horrible characters and is just overall unlikeable. Alot of the things about this show are just so over the top unrealistic and just hard to watch. Most of the time the anime was about Uka's fantasy esc (Like romance fantasizing) monologues about Kai and her being like "Oh my gosh has so hot' Blah blah blah. The characters are just plain unlikeable and annoying, Treating Kai like a god and most of the characters are just plain annoying, Especially the MC Uka was just unrealistically written and plain annoying.
The plot in the anime is just horrible, The backstory for Uka has got to be some of the sloppiest writing I have seen before, The bullying backstory was some of…
Read at the sourceHodtism
Honey Lemon Soda is the definition of a "comfort anime", in the most simple and easy to understand terms, it is something you can put on when you're feeling down and immediately feel good.
The story itself is easy to grasp, you know what will happen, you know how the main girl will struggle, and you know how the male love interest will respond, and that's what is great about it.
The art style is gorgeous, especially the character designs, they stick out like a rose in a sea of weeds.
Honey Lemon Soda is a great introduction to the Shoujo demographic as a whole!
Read at the sourceKyou_Ryuu
Sweet and bubbly like soda, but artificial like saccharine and citric acid. I would have loved something more natural, like real honey and lemon juice.
Story-wise, the series has good main characters showing significant growth. Especially Ishimori, the female lead, has a very strong development for a mere 12-episodes show. Miura, the male protagonist, doesn't undergo the same development, but he is at least a complex character. Unfortunately the rest of the cast is almost non-existent. They are just cardboards defined by their relationship with the MCs ("Ishimori's bully", "Miura's friend", etc.). They LITERALLY have nothing else going for them. Even Serina, the most fleshed-out side character, has no characterization beside being "in love with Miura" and "friend with Ishimori". She appea…
Read at the sourcegriddyweeb
I feel a bit conflicted about this anime. It started off annoying and stayed that way for a long time, towards the end it became more interesting and all in all the ending was good, but could've been done even better. It doesn't nearly make up for how bad the first ~8 episodes were, but recency bias is a thing so I ended up rating it 7 while labeling it with mixed feelings.
The main issue with the anime is how one dimensional it was for the most part. We have Ishimori who is a hopeless shy and anxious girl due to *drum roll* bullying in the past, how original. And of course we have the male lead, Miura, who for some reason decided to look out for her and eventually fall for her too, which is again very original. Not that there's a problem with recycled romance stories, but it has to done…
Read at the sourceMarinate1016
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…
Read at the sourceKANLen09
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 fizz…
Read at the source