Honey Lemon Soda
Honey Lemon Soda
Now Showing

Honey Lemon Soda

8.1
Yr 2025
Rt 23m
Status Ended
Animation Drama
Your Verdict

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Series Brief

Overview

After middle school, with its bullying and nicknames, Uka Ishimori is excited for a fresh start at Hachimitsu High School. Kai Miura, a cool and uninhibited boy, sits next to her in class. Uka remembers she met Kai in middle school and with a single word, he had convinced her to attend Hachimitsu. Though he’s popular, Kai supports Uka in her efforts to fit in with her new classmates.

Critical Reception

What critics are saying

Score 62 /100

Critical reception for Honey Lemon Soda is divided, with reviewers offering split opinions on its traditional romance tropes and pacing. Favorable reviews praise the series for its sweet tone and earnest depiction of high school growth, highlighting its crisp animation, sincere character development, and warm portrayal of young love.

However, a significant portion of critics felt the show lacked originality and leaned too heavily on predictable genre formulas. Male and female leads were described by some as standard archetypes, while lead character Uka's intense self-doubt and insecurity were frequently noted as frustrating or grating during the early episodes. Additional criticisms pointed to uneven pacing between episodes and inconsistent production values.

Overall, while fans of high school romance found plenty of charm and joy in the central relationship, others felt the anime struggled to achieve the emotional depth or uniqueness seen in standout romance series.

“a thoughtful adaptation that captures the delicate struggles of youth and personal growth”

“lacking in the emotional depth and charm I experienced in series such as Kimi no Todoke”

“This episode was everything I want in a romance anime”

“Uka’s inferiority complex and self-deprecating attitude can become grating early on.”

Transmission Paths

Where to Watch

Crunchyroll
US • UK • CA
Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
US • CA • UK
Why fans love it

Honey Lemon Soda trades the high-stakes melodrama common in teen animation for the quiet, internal shifts of a social reset. It follows Uka Ishimori as she attempts to shed a history of bullying and find a place for herself among new peers. The series focuses on the small, deliberate steps required to build self-worth when someone previously defined by their isolation finally encounters an unexpected ally.

The relationship between Uka and Kai Miura serves as the anchor for this slice of life story. Shogo Yano portrays the titular classmate not as a grand savior, but as a stabilizing presence who provides Uka the room to navigate high school on her own terms. By emphasizing the slow, often awkward process of forming personal identity, the show keeps its roots firmly in the traditions of shoujo drama. It balances the expected markers of Japanese high school life with a grounded look at how a single supportive connection can rewire a teenager's confidence.

Featured Players

Cast

Credited 65
Regulars 15
Longest run 11 eps
Kana Ichinose
Kana Ichinose
as Uka Ishimori (voice)
Shogo Yano
Shogo Yano
as Kai Miura (voice)
Rie Takahashi
Rie Takahashi
as Serina Kanno (voice)
Miyari Nemoto
Miyari Nemoto
as Ayumi Endo (voice)
Shunichi Toki
Shunichi Toki
as Tomoya Takamine (voice)
Taku Yashiro
Taku Yashiro
as Satoru Seto (voice)
Kazuyuki Okitsu
Kazuyuki Okitsu
as Yoshimi Ishimori (voice)
7 episodes
Ai Kayano
Ai Kayano
as Uka's Mother (voice)
5 episodes
Show 57 more
Shion Wakayama as Marin Fujita (voice) 8 episodes Honoka Inoue as Yuru Hashimoto (voice) 11 episodes Sayaka Kikuchi as Asumi (voice) 7 episodes Risae Matsuda as Mizuki (voice) 1 episode Yuya Hirose as Tonbo (voice) 11 episodes Kaito Takeda as Miru (voice) 9 episodes Eri Yukimura as Remi Kojima (voice) 6 episodes Sho Nogami as Male Friend (voice) 3 episodes Fuka Izumi as Female Friend (voice) 4 episodes Kazuki Ura as Male Student (voice) 2 episodes Haruki Ishiya as Male Student (voice) 1 episode Hiroshi Tsuchida as Mr. Abe (voice) 9 episodes Junji Majima as Mr. Mizoguchi (voice) 5 episodes Yuka Nukui as Tao Oikawa (voice) 10 episodes Maki Kawase as Moka Shiraishi (voice) 10 episodes Saeko Oki as Natsumi (voice) 4 episodes Reo Osanai as Yukino (voice) 7 episodes Maria Sashide as Ayaka (voice) 6 episodes May Tachibana as Mikarin (voice) 4 episodes Rikuya Yasuda as Kiyoshi (voice) 8 episodes Kousuke Tanabe as Yasushi (voice) 10 episodes Yoshiki Nakajima as Masashi (voice) 2 episodes Ko Bonkobara as English Teacher (voice) 2 episodes Gentoku Kumazawa as Seki (voice) 3 episodes Yuuki Hirose as Nagano (voice) 5 episodes Yudai Mino as Kamakiri (voice) 7 episodes Hana Hishikawa as Momo (voice) 4 episodes Cocoro Omori as Kaede (voice) 4 episodes Kana Yuuki as Miho (voice) 4 episodes Makoto Koichi as Noa (voice) 1 episode Aya Yamane as Megu (voice) 1 episode Rina Kawaguchi as Rino (voice) 1 episode Yuma as Musashi Furuichi (voice) 1 episode Shoya Ishige as Male Student (voice) 2 episodes Shuichi Uchida as Male Student (voice) 2 episodes Asaki Yuikawa as Female Student (voice) 1 episode Rena Motomura as Female Student (voice) 1 episode Serina Machiyama as Female Student (voice) 2 episodes Saya Hitomi as Female Student (voice) 1 episode Konomi Inagaki as Hitomi (voice) 1 episode Fuko Mori as Female Student (voice) 1 episode Yui Tsukada as Female Student (voice) 1 episode Anna Nagase as Female Student (voice) 1 episode Hina Natsume as Female Student (voice) 1 episode Yuji Kameyama as Class E Homeroom Teacher (voice) 1 episode Tasuku Kaito as Male Classmate (voice) 2 episodes Reiji Kawashima as Emcee (voice) 2 episodes Gen Sato as Male Classmate (voice) 2 episodes Mayuko Kazama as Older Girl (voice) 1 episode Ryuho Nagaoka as Male Part-Time Worker (voice) 2 episodes Kent Ito as Karasawa (voice) 1 episode Hayato Dojima as Male Student (voice) 3 episodes Tatsumaru Tachibana as Male Student (voice) 1 episode Chiharu Sawashiro as Male Student (voice) 2 episodes Yuki Ito as Male Student Council Member (voice) 1 episode Nina Hanamiya as Female Student Council Member (voice) 1 episode Takuya Eguchi as Mr. Midori (voice) 1 episode
Signal Match

Similarity

Where Honey Lemon Soda overlaps with other shows, and exactly what they have in common.

Keyword Cloud

Keywords

high school bullying romance slice of life coming of age school based on manga shoujo anime japanese high school
Technical Sheet

Details

First Aired
January 09, 2025
Status
Ended
Episode Runtime
23 minutes
Origin
JP
TMDB Votes
30