This is one of those times where I’m picking up the anime of a manga series that I am already reading. I’ve been reviewing Honey Lemon Soda for a while now so I’ve been interested to see how the anime adaptation is going to turn out. Now, that could play spoiler when it comes to whether or not I’ll be recommending Honey Lemon Soda; however, keep in mind that anime and manga are two different mediums and I have enjoyed plenty of manga but didn’t care for the anime adaptation. Is this one of those cases?
Let’s go!
First Episode Synopsis
Ishimori wants to change. She was nicknamed “Stony” in middle school due to her stone-like reactions whenever she was bullied for having social anxiety. Her grades could get her into a top-tier high school but she settled on another school due to a chance encounter on the street with Kai Miura. She ran into her bullies and dropped her school materials. Kai came along and helped her out and she had become infatuated with him.
When she arrives at school, she makes an effort to change around new people but her anxiety is still holding her back. It also didn’t help that Kai meant to spray his friends in the face with some lemon soda and accidentally sprayed Ishimori instead. At first, Ishimori didn’t think Kai felt bad about it but when he showed up to class wearing gym clothes, something Ishimori had to do, she realized that he did it so that she wouldn’t be the only one in class out of uniform and drawing attention. From there, Kai tells her that she needs to stand up for herself and if she ever needs help, to ask someone… specifically him.
Her bullies from middle school are in the same school as her and recognize her. They go back to their bullying ways including throwing her shoes in the trash. She attempts to get even by spraying them with lemon soda; however, they gang up on her. Kai and his friends arrive to see what’s going on and he tells her to ask for help. She finally squeaks it out and Kai stands up to them for her bringing our first episode to a close.
Worth Watching?
YES – In this instance, the anime does the manga justice; however, it doesn’t cover everything that happened in the first volume of the manga; however, it does cover enough to whet your appetite for more. This is a slow-burn story and (as of the time of this writing) there are seven volumes of the manga out here in the U.S. and you will get to see Ishimori’s transformation over the course of this show. I won’t spoil anything but it is an amazing sight to behold.
I like how they told enough of the backstory to piece things together as to why she wanted to go to the same school as Kai; however, I still have the same problem with it in the anime as I do in the manga… being the whole “we met before but he doesn’t remember me” trope. It’s not used often but right around the time Honey Lemon Soda came out, two other manga I was reading had the same exact plot point where it felt overused. Plus, I understand that not everyone can remember every face they come across; however, with the way their meeting was depicted, especially so close to the time that Ishimori was about to attend school you would have thought Kai would have remembered right off the bat.
It was just a little nuance that I disliked but it doesn’t detract from this being a great romance series. Again, it is a slow burn and it’s mostly about Ishimori’s transformation more than it is about her love interest, although you will get plenty of that as well… and if the first season (or series because who knows if this will continue after this cours) stops where I think it will stop, then we should have a great contender for romance of a year where BokuYaba isn’t airing!
Also, the OP and ED (music-wise) are super catchy!
