Edit: Y'all I thought I liked this manga and then I read the latest chapter (54) and I'm seriously starting to question my own taste. If you're a fan of Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, this manga is like that trash shoujo Let's Fall in Love that Nozaki pens. I could totally imagine that Murata Mayu is just the pen name of some degenerate bum high school dude who has no idea what romance is and just randomly inserts fluffy chapters and stupid devices that have no basis in plot and somehow manages to make a hit manga because clearly all it takes to make a hit
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manga is not storytelling capability but just some weekly trash with pretty art and a heart squeezing moment at the end and MURATA MAYU HAS THAT FORMULA DOWN PAT. I LITERALLY HATE HOW MUCH I LIKE THIS MANGA. I swear to y'all, I read chapter 54 and I had to sit down ask myself what I did to get to this point in my life. I'm playing limbo with the author right now, I lower the bar for what's acceptable and she just moves it lower. I'm playing a game of chicken with this manga.
This is probably the trashiest shoujo I'm absolutely in love with.
Let me explain. Honey Lemon Soda hits pretty much all the shoujo stereotypes. I mean, the premise is insanely cliche: unpopular average girl MC falls for her school's bad boy hottie. Execution wise, it also ticks all the boxes. Everything from her classmates' over the top reactions, the overdramatic reveal of exes and love interests; these are all things we regularly see in the genre.
But this stupid manga has warmed my little shoujo heart because while it's cliche beyond belief, it does the cliches right. There's a reason why these tropes were popular in the first place, and Honey Lemon Soda exploits that for all it's worth. The good moments are staged, unrealistic, and overdramatic, but they're SO CUTE. If you're looking for some guilty pleasure feel good romance, this is it. I actually hate how much I love it. I've been reading it pretty much since the scanlations first came out, and every time I hop on a manga site it's like the first title I check for updates.
I do also think the series has something to offer with its characters. These days I feel like I read shoujos more for the MCs than the guys, and Uka doesn't disappoint. Well, she does. She's very lightly useless, but the whole point is that she's someone who tries her best and it makes you want to root for her. In fact, Miura, the lead male, flashy as he is, always seems to take the background to Uka. He tends not to get too involved, and while everyone freaks out over him, it's clear that she's the real star. He's kind of just a catalyst to her development. Besides the main pair, the side characters tend to be... well, they don't stick out too much, but they're very sweet when noticed! Even the "villain" characters for some of the story arcs turn out to be nice people, which I guess is pretty typical of shoujo, but Honey Lemon Soda really does the resolutions the right way, and once the arcs of drama are resolved, the author doesn't forget about those characters. The "villain" characters actually make reappearances, which really helps you to like them more.
This kind of brings us to my next point: the story is stupidly overdone but the resolutions make you accept the unrealistic build ups for what they are. This isn't some cute super realistic relatable manga, it's a guilty pleasure reading built on hopes and dreams, okay? There's like 5000 things wrong with it but that's honestly what makes it so good. The kind of stupid plot helps spoon feed readers the cute romantic iconic shoujo moments we're looking for, so it's okay to look past the fact that Uka wasn't actually wearing her dress backwards and other stupid plot holes. I can accept the fact that everyone at their high school overreacts to everything and I can accept Miura's generic sad backstory because the author is so good at milking those end-of-chapter scenes for everything they're worth. The art isn't my favorite style, but it's pretty and really sparkly, and there's a lot of cute chibi inserts which lead to particularly cute and funny scenes, and let's be real, the whole backbone of this manga for me is particular scenes.
So yeah, check it out if you're looking for some escapist feels good content, and I'm gonna go reread.
Alternative TitlesJapanese: ハニーレモンソーダ More titlesInformationType: Manga
Volumes: Unknown
Chapters: Unknown
Status: Publishing
Published: Dec 28, 2015 to ?
Genre:
Romance
Theme:
School
Demographic:
Shoujo
Serialization:
Ribon Magazine Authors:
Murata, Mayu (Story & Art) Statistics Ranked: #19032 2 based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #1337
Members: 15,390
Favorites: 355 Available AtResources | Reviews
Filtered Results: 14 / 14
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Your Feelings Categories Oct 19, 2020
Edit: Y'all I thought I liked this manga and then I read the latest chapter (54) and I'm seriously starting to question my own taste. If you're a fan of Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, this manga is like that trash shoujo Let's Fall in Love that Nozaki pens. I could totally imagine that Murata Mayu is just the pen name of some degenerate bum high school dude who has no idea what romance is and just randomly inserts fluffy chapters and stupid devices that have no basis in plot and somehow manages to make a hit manga because clearly all it takes to make a hit
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Aug 24, 2020
I love Honey Lemon Soda. It does sound like a typical shoujo manga where shy girls meet bad boy but what I like the most about this is how the characters grow and the nice balance between that having the light fluffiness of a usual shoujo would have.
The main girl character, Uka, is super shy that she doesn't talk much and gets bullied. Through this manga it is a gradual change for her to stand up for herself. Then there is also the main boy character, Kai. He is a not a 'bad boy' per say, I would say that he is someone that enjoys ... Oct 10, 2018
I am shocked that this adorable manga has not received a single review yet! I am fairly sure that this manga is quite popular, yet I haven't seen much hype or reviews so I shall start one now.
Plot (8/10): This manga is almost a replica of Kimi Ni Todoke, story wise. This manga is about a girl name Uka Ishimori who is constantly misunderstood and bullied for her odd behavior of freezing at a presence of someone else. Uka desperately wants to change herself and dreams of having longtime friends. She believed that what she was striving for was an impossible dream, until she ... Oct 20, 2023
reminds me of Kimi ni Todoke and Usui of Maid sama because of Kai. Would still prefer kimi ni todoke because of it's wholesomeness and I don't really enjoy the first few chapters of this manga but still kinda glad i kept through coz it do get better in the middle. however as for the latest? last few chapters, i kinda got tired reading it coz it still seems that their relationship is not moving and another character is added and it feels like i was reading the same chapters over and over again due to them celebrating culture fest and then after awhile they
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Jun 17, 2021
Alright, this is my first time reviewing a manga lol. I would like to say this manga is my fav of all time ! I'm happy to know that they're going to make a live action of this :) Hopefully they will turn this into an anime one day.
Okay! Uka is a character that somehow I can relate to, with her shy personality, low confidence and doesn't talk much just like the old me back in my primary school days, but I changed after that due to my friends. It's so great to see Uka is not the type of girl that relies on ... May 20, 2019
First of all, excuse my English, it's not my first nether my second language so it sucks.
Well, that's my very first review in MAL and out of all the manga I had ever read this one made me consider creating an account and wanna write a review because of the struggle that it made me go through, so let's start this. Story 5/10 The story is about a nerd/shy/introverted girl that has been struggling with bullying for her whole middle school days, why? Because she was a nerd, which I found hella weird, like dude aren't smart kids quite popular? Even those who are not popular ... Jun 12, 2019
I stumbled on this little manga by accident. At first I wasn't to interesting because it's very shojo, very school life......and I'm more of a Josei type, buuuut then, next thing I know it's 3 AM and I'm Laughing out loud by myself.
I swear once In a while I crack up, some expressions or reactions are too funny that's why for arts it's a 10 for me I love the story and love the characters. the main girl is superb, she start as a weak girl, always needing protection, but becomes very strong and independent. love how they mature throughout the chapters. I love the art, the ... Dec 16, 2019
You're surely familiar with the set up -- the shy, anxious, unstylish, bullied girl tries to fit in at her new school, and she ends up getting a crush on one of the popular boys who helps her to fit in.
These stories all suffer from the same potential pitfalls: 1. A boring protagonist 2. Failing to convince the audience why the popular boy would be interested in her 3. Spending too much time on the romance and not enough on the girl's own achievements. I will say Honey Lemon Soda does try to address these problems... eventually... But it does take ... Mar 31, 2020
Kimi ni Todoke... but better. She is not as gloomy as Sawako and takes initiative sometimes which is refreshing!
Yes, it is like "aLl ThE oThEr ShOuJo" but aren't all the shoujo's the same? It's wether or not the story is enjoyable that matters and this one very much is. Art 9/10. Really nice art and special mention for the fashion. You can see that sensei did some research there! Character: 7/10. It takes SO long to get to know Kai. Like we barely don't know anything from is life until chapter 40 (rough estimation). Enjoyment: 8/10. Really enjoyed reading it even tho I did skip over some dialogue ... Apr 23, 2020
Honey Lemon Soda is one of my favourite romance shoujo mangas, particularly because of how different the relationship between Uka and Kai is. While Murata has designed the two characters to be the generic handsome, rule-breaking, popular boy with his loyal gang and quiet, nerdy, bullied girl, these two come together to support and guide one another to their own independent happiness. The pure love and care they have for one another is such a sincere and wholesome relationship and it's really such an innocent and beautiful story of self-growth, strength and love.
I would highly recommend to people who enjoy emotional love over lustful ... Aug 22, 2020
This is a very cute romance story between a shy girl and a popular guy.
The story starts off with Uka meeting Kai. Kai helps Uka by helping her get along with her classmates better. Throughout the story, there is good character development for both Uka and Kai. I think out of several romance shoujo I have read, this one is by far one of the cutest manga. It has a cliche set up but the story isn't that cliche. It's kinda refreshing to read this because yes there are love rivals, but nothing can break apart Kai and Uka's relationship since THERE IS COMMUNICATION!!! Oddly enough, ... Mar 9, 2021
I really enjoyed Honey Lemon Soda. It sounds like a weird concept to describe someone's personality as lemon soda or a drink in general but the story keeps it constant with multiple references to the male lead's personality and the literal drink- lemon soda itself. The story is honestly great. It uses tropes such as the shy girl x popular bad boy and the opposites attract trope but I still really enjoyed it. The way the characters bounce off of each other especially the male and female lead. Because to be completely honest I thought the female lead would be annoying and kinda mary sue
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Feb 22, 2022
everything about this manga is just 10/10! I have enjoyed reading it so far and cannot wait to read it even more!! The characters are superb and each has very unique characteristics. I love watching Kai's and Uka's stories and own lives unfold slowly... seeing their character developments is also a joy. I would recommend this to anyone who loves love! I know it's cheesy to say that but I think their love story is unique and it seems as if it's like every other love story, but that's what makes it even more captivating. Their polar opposite personalities make it even more amusing and
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Mar 2, 2022
My first official review in MAL.
I compare this series to Kimi ni Todoke due to same plot and how the story progresses. Same flow and jive BUT the major difference why Im choosing this series over the other due to character progression and the story theme: 1) empowerment; 2) individualism; 3) independence; 4) ideal modern relationships. I like how the MC develops each time when there are trials BUT never resort going back to where the MC started in the first place as an insecure and lonely human being. I like how each the MC makes tough decisions and ready to face consequences. The MC also draws ... |