Honey Lemon Soda Episode 1 Review: A Decent Start To A Typical Shoujo

This episode of Honey Lemon Soda presented a decent introduction to the protagonists. Let’s see how this turned out.

Honey Lemon Soda Overview

Honey Lemon Soda by Mayu Murata was first serialized in Ribon, Shueisha’s shōjo manga magazine, in December 2015. As of December 2024, the series spans 27 collected tankōbon volumes. Its popularity led to a live-action film adaptation released in July 2021, followed by an anime television series adaptation that debuted in January 2025. The anime, produced by TMS Entertainment and animated by JCStaff, airs on Fuji TV’s +Ultra programming block.

By mid-2024, Honey Lemon Soda had over 13 million copies in circulation, reflecting its widespread acclaim. The anime adaptation, announced in March 2024, is directed by Hiroshi Nishikiori, with series scripts by Akiko Waba, character designs by Aimi Tanaka and music composed by Akira Kosemura. The opening theme, “Magic Hour,” and the ending theme, “Wonderful World,” are performed by &Team.

Crunchyroll streams the series internationally, while Plus Media Networks Asia holds the license for Southeast Asia, airing it on Aniplus Asia. Combining heartwarming storytelling with beautiful animation, Honey Lemon Soda plans to captivate audiences across multiple mediums.

Honey Lemon Soda Episode 1 Review

This was a nice and decent first episode that set the tone of the series. Here, we will witness the journey of Ishimori, who is a classic loner and wants to change for the better. Not only that, she was bullied in her middle school for being clumsy and stiff. They called her ‘Ishi,’ (stone) and physically assaulted her as well.

If she wanted, she could have gone to a prestigious school made for elites and escaped the hell hole. But one chance encounter made her change her choice and enter a route where her life would change completely. She meets Kai, a flashy but reserved boy who is the exact opposite of Ishimori. He is confident with himself, does not stand other’s crap, and has a pretty big group of loyal friends.

Kai’s straightforwardness and ability to draw others in make Ishimori fall for him and admire him more. He becomes the reason for her choosing a comparatively mediocre school than her standard and dreaming of changing herself into a confident girl.

However, this seems to be difficult to do as their second meeting results in splashing honey lemon soda all over Ishimori by Kai himself. Other than that, Ishimori’s past bullies might also want to become a hurdle for her in her journey to self-transformation.

This is nothing you have not seen before, as the plot is very common in shoujo romcoms. The introverted and shy girl meets the confident and kind boy is also a template used by other famous shoujo manga Kimi ni Todoke. So what we need to look out for is how differently and uniquely we are served the same thing in this one.

The animation was pretty good with bright colours, and it added a lot to the plain storyline. We are also only acquainted with the main characters and have yet to meet any interesting secondary ones. The opening and closing songs are also well-made and serve their purpose as pleasant bangers.

Verdict

I liked today’s episode and am pretty sure this will be a well-accepted romance anime this season. It might not have a life-altering storyline, but it will still be entertaining to watch for romance and shoujo lovers.

I would certainly continue this and would urge you to do the same and decide whether to follow it or not after a few more episodes come out.

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