SPOILERS AHEAD 4000https://64.media.tumblr.com/a12c95cec170a781ab843132d353c66d/41e490da5a6697a178/s1280x1920/6ecd3054a121e61f91878142e413d3da06f86160.gifv 4000https://i.ur.com/vJJGmta.gif an adaptation ive been hoping for for over a decade now . then again the manga releases monthly so its hard to be quickly adapted but im saddened with how this only received 12 episodes when it really deserves 24 or at least a confirmation that itll get a second season i truly believe this is more injustice towards shoujo mangas. because there are so many other anime centralized around romance receiving a second season or more episodes than honey lemon soda. time and time again i cant help but feel its because those stories tend to be shounen or seinencentric that they gain the upper hand. this isnt to say those stories are bad in any way but when its clear which narratives are allowed to be told to their best extent and which are disregarded. moving on to the anime itself it was romantically nuanced laced with youthful undertones of selfgrowth. i dont think it takes one to relate to a story to understand such as this one however i take ones ability to comprehend the characters themselves as individuals. an increasing problem with media nowadays is how everyone indirectly inserts themselves into a character whether conscious or not degrading the storyline. while its common for a person to imagine what they would do if they were in the same environment as the characters they tend to forget one thing: they arent. honey lemon soda is derived from three main aspects of youth from the title. honey: the sweetness of leaping into a new world of adolescence. lemon: the slight sourness of the sheltered past of ones childhood lingering. soda: the unexpectedness of the unknown future that bubbles inside someone. these aspects encapsulate the story of ishimori uka. this isnt a oneoff episode where a girl finds her confidence overnight. its about the ignition of ambition being lit within a soul. where an inner voice can break the shells of a sheltered nest theyve been sitting on for long and take flight. this anime showcases the brightness held within the youth while gradually building the unknown paths one might face when moving forward. adolescense isnt perfect. the road moving forward will be tumultuous painful or broken. nevertheless so long as one holds their head high one step at a time confidence slowly builds to deflect doubt. now lets move on to the characters. 4000https://i.ur.com/vJJGmta.gif 4000https://media1.tenor.com/m/kLymYaFrpW8AAAAC/animehoneylemonsoda.gif ISHIMORI UKA she is so precious it makes me want to defend her from all negativity in life honestly reading through the discourse regarding uka left me quite saddened. naturally im not surprised people have opinions or critiques about a story or character but the most reiterated sentiment seemed to be she cries too much iim sorry did i hear that correctly? ccries too much? heaven forbid a girl shows her emotions too much especially in this context. theres a reason for this a recurring factor. uka was a sheltered kid . from the moment in episode 1 where kai approached her he was quite literally the sudden light in his life. while her nickname is stone expressionless/emotionless id say shes more of a locked bird who hasnt learned to fly yet. uka is book smart not solely due to the expectations from her parents but that was the only thing she could pour her heart into at the time to please others. to stay in her lane so to speak. yet it was that faithful day she met miura that he gave her the push to step forward. some might interpret this as gratitude for a small act a stranger did for another or blunt advice that couldve been brushed off but to uka they were words shes always wanted no. always needed to hear. for so long she held in all her pain. the ridiculing the bullying the torment the pressure. mass amounts of pessimism stored up in a jar until it cracked. a reality shattered all thanks to kais words. in that moment uka not only felt thankful but she felt love. a warmth radiating like shes never felt opening her eyes to a new world where she could have a chance at living. even after her transfer the story makes sure to not show that her bottled trauma cant be healed overnight or that the school she thought was a utopia off the whim from words she heard from kai alone could fix all her problems. this is where the emotional upheaval comes from. uka emotional growth is that of a very young grade student yellow newborn chick or a caterpillar. shes spent so much of her life being passive not in a sense of a pushover slightly but it was for emotional survival. no tears being selfish or being eloquent. which is why every conversation word advice event and moment hits uka like a train. think of it as a cyclone of colors hitting her at once. someone whos only hidden their thoughts and suppressed pain when met with true kindness for the first time id think anyone would break into tears. ishimori doesnt cry to gain pity sympathy or attention as many relate the act of crying to be. she cries because shes experiencing waves of new experiences that make her feel all sorts of emotions that words alone cant explain. sometimes even she questions why tears are falling in certain situations. her interactions with not only kai but ayumi serina yuru seto etc. is the push shes given to grow her own voice. this allows her to better articulate her thoughts speak up communicate her truth and stand her ground. episode 9 especially broke me. hearing the words from ukas father his actions watching the scenes play through of how much control he had on her life hit too close to my heart. in that aspect for a moment i felt as if i was watching what my life wouldve been had i not grown my own voice because i didnt have my own miura kai. i felt so proud when she stood her ground to her father that entire episode was me in a pool of tears. naturally there are many aspects where one might not understand or find the whole premise of uka to be weird. to that group theyre in luck. they represent the people around ishimori as if the author knows how basic people would react to ukas personality without looking at the full picture due to a lack of nuance. like sand its all on the surface. which cant be said for uka. everything she acts upon is at her own free will and endurance to create new memories full of color. something she can learn from whether good or bad in the end itll be hers to cherish. 4000https://i.ur.com/vJJGmta.gif 4000https://64.media.tumblr.com/83a07b53462a9f3b264b7fd9fd71488e/74de2342d847aa8ef7/s640x960/2faf9b9caa58305ab477512bb1099aa9cf1be848.gifv MIURA KAI the focal point of the title probably. hes the flashy yet reserved character in this anime. similar to his hair color he is the light in ukas life. what she doesnt know about him is that he is that to her. she believes kai is brave with a strong moral when he sees that in her. his love might not have been as upfront as ukas but his feelings grew with time. he found himself drawn to her as if become second nature. i think all the meddling its a recurring aspect throughout the story slowed his progression when it came to his feelings. but once he came to he always put himself out there when it came to uka while not trying to overstep his boundaries. kai is always an act before thinking person or thats what he used to be til uka reminded indirectly he needs to be aware of his actions. in that aspect they switched methods. he learned to be more adept while she became the act before thinking persona. people like to point out how harsh kais words were. except theyre not meant to be. not to uka. from an outsiders perspective one might see kais blunt attitude as brushing off ukas journey to selfconfidence when in actuality his words are laced with caution. he doesnt look down on her hes worried. in his own way as he learns how much ukas willing to push herself. theyre direct because if he doesnt say things as they are uka wont build herself up. shes been sugarcoated words or has had to read between the lines up until she met kai. those kinds of things have only hindered ukas chance to better herself. hes doing the complete opposite. his words cut deep so as they are not to cause miscommunication hes using them to open up bit by bit to her. kai drew me in as a character because of his mysterious filter. its probably one of the reasons uka fell in love with him as well. someone who looks her way to give her a cherishable youth one can live and learn from. its only fair to wonder who he is underneath the mask he hides under. even when uka believes kais not looking her way he points out her strengths weaknesses characteristics and more. hes the type to show he might not care or listen when in actuality he does. from his actions i think hes the type to show he protects those closest to him. because he never had anyone or a similar influence while growing up. the anime doesnt bring up or show what kai is like since were focusing on ukas growth but i can assume from the little details what kais past was like. hes the only one who didnt criticize ukas curfew or make fun of her for it. furthermore in episode 9 where all of ukas friends took the direct approach in telling mr. ishimori hes in the wrong which he totally is kai takes a more understated attempt. unlike other stories where the male lead may play protector fighting for the heroines love by taking the lead kai lets mr. ishimori as he is. of course he does sneak up to give uka his usual push or advice but ultimately how ukas parents learn of her true self her past and importantly what she wants comes from her not from miura forcing his way in. uka could easily tell her parents off and run to kai but she cares for her family too much to do such a thing. moreover seeing as kai doesnt mention his past or family dynamics i can assume he doesnt have a family. being the lone wolf character where someone has to carry everything on their own can be taxing. i believe thats why even though ukas parents act overbearing he views her as lucky to have people in her life who care for her that much when he had no one. in the wake of the fruits of his labor hes found uka who showers him in love he didnt realize he needed. its why his first relationship didnt work out. because he was always giving. whether he mightve believed during the time he didnt want to receive indeed kai is always giving to others. this is why he loves uka. she tells him she wants to give back the same amount of love hes given her and is willing to always be there for him. compared to other girls who simply only like him for his looks and fail to even understand him as an individual. 4000https://i.ur.com/vJJGmta.gif 4000https://64.media.tumblr.com/ae19e3af9537dd48b472bc857d3776b6/9a7d7f6fbe30468c8b/s540x810/58a4c911d4c8fde08517929e06822112ac077625.gifv KANNO SERINA serina doesnt enter the scene till a bit later. originally i had a terrible view of her. since i havent read the manga i feared she was written in as an annoying wedge or the start of an unnecessary love triangle. my worries worsened when it was revealed that she was kais ex. which i have to say i dont know what universe these characters live in but everyone. and i mean EVERYONE AND THEIR MOTHER minus the main cast seem to be nosy as hell. the minute people found out serina was kais ex they started shipping them together? knowing theyre EXES???? with that in mind i was suspicious of serinas motives around uka. but turns out she had the opposite growth compared to ishimori. it was clear serina was being treated badly yet she kept enduring. both her and uka uplift each other and really dont let kai get in between them. since serinas more experienced and knows kai to an extent she knew she was out of the running. which i loved because this meant no unnecessary drama. now did revealing her story make uka question her chance with mirua? yes. but did serina gain anything or start dating kai again? no. because she knew as much as the audience hopefully that they were meant to be together. when i heard serina was kais ex i assumed he was the one who broke up with her. as it would explain her introduction of having lingering feelings for him. however as it turns out serina was the one who broke up with him. she never wanted to but she did the healthy thing by making the first step because at the time i sure as hell dont think kai wouldve. she broke up with him because she relied on him too much. there was no selfgrowth with how much she depended on him. this isnt to say a girl cant rely on their boyfriend but they must know how to stand tall without them too. and at the time kai being absent for just one day broke serina from the bullying. however im proud she never pinned it all on miura. of course it hurt to break not only his but her heart too but this was for the best. because it allowed serina to deal with her problems head on and not hide behind someone constantly which mightve led to a mental breakdown of the other party. serina still confesses to kai but i think she knew the answer at this point. her confession was just as a means to close the chapter that was roughly managed in the past. it allowed closure. yet even through all of this she supported uka and her endeavors. if anything she encouraged her to go after kai. she never let the words of onlookers waver her feelings into jealousy or hatred. how could she? when uka saves her knowing what she feels yet cares for her anyway. serina is mature in learning from experiences to grow move forward. especially since she knows she was the one who initiated the breakup up she knew there was no way to change time. does she have regrets? perhaps. nevertheless she doesnt dwell on actions that cant be changed and looks forward. and for that shes such a good character. wish i could see more girls being wella girls girl. instead of fighting or breaking up a relationship. 4000https://i.ur.com/vJJGmta.gif 4000https://media1.tenor.com/m/Kq41CGm2aRgAAAAC/honeylemonsodaanime.gif ENDOU AYUMI . honestly all the overbearing people. like what is this universe? why the hell is everyone nosy as hell? besides that theres also the part where uka met up with her bullies again. im not saying one should hold on to the past but the bullies did irrevocably damage ukas early years. they almost ruined her current environment had she not stood up for herself. also the head girl sent out her boyfriend to hurt uka by any means after she retaliated once. ONCE?? and everyone is supposed to hold hands and move on? but i digress because i dont think uka will ever forget. but she forgave to moved on since shes grown to be a different person. in turn her kindness was repaid when the bullies came to show mr. ishimori how controlling his parenting was towards uka showcasing what world ukas been living in not the singular filter hes been seeing the world to be. the color palette stands out to show the pops of color like watercolors. although judging from some of the cover art ive seen the manga is better in regards to art. moreover the romance in this story is so refreshing. both uka and kai drop such heartfelt lines throughout the season but my favorite has to be from kai. you might be a stone but youre a gemstone episode 2. that line is the closing of one story and the start of a new journey. love runs deep and it shouldnt be used as something as a weakness. uka loving kai is her strength. the love she has is selfless and a bit greedy unexplainable in simple terms but powerful enough to search for confidence. to her just being accepted having small moments and being by kais side was enough for her. thats how much she loves him. hes the same. kai pushes uka to be her best self while not being overbearing. he doesnt always have the answers and learns what it means to put down a facade and take a breath. in fact he loves so strongly that hes restraining himself to follow her pace and not overstep. he always seems to be the one doing the rescuing it mightve never occurred that someone wants to protect and save him as much as hes willing to do for the people he cares about. 4000https://i.ur.com/vJJGmta.gif 4000https://64.media.tumblr.com/913137e773ff5958a3ce41f1b52c7398/9c324c158e4985150d/s540x810/dfd1c27c1f4435cbbe271759d7a9f0413f152530.gifv SPECIAL MENTION a big win to have teamhttps://www..com/andTEAMofficial be the opening and ending for honey lemon soda MAGIC HOUR https://www..com/watch?v=x42MVRTKaaM WONDERFUL WORLD https://www..com/watch?v=K564woyCdc theyre total bangers never skipped these songs basically made my wednesday each week. because once the intro played then i know its wednesday and its honey lemon soda time . between the two id have to say magic hour is my favorite as a lun i recommend you go check them out theyre all insanely talented and have a no skip discography in my opinion i hope they have more opportunities like this in the future 4000https://i.ur.com/vJJGmta.gif 4000https://64.media.tumblr.com/41540cdc16f992d472acbec349633a41/41e490da5a6697a1b4/s1280x1920/49409ee092df7b61d2f086b07ab2b86eaebd9d22.gifv 4000https://i.ur.com/vJJGmta.gif