Honey Lemon Soda (Japanese: ハニーレモンソーダ, Hepburn: Hanī Remon Sōda) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mayu Murata [ja]. It has been serialized in Shueisha's shōjo manga magazine Ribon since December 2015, with its chapters collected into 27 tankōbon volumes as of December 2024. A live action film adaptation was released in July 2021, and an anime television series adaptation produced by TMS Entertainment and animated by J.C.Staff premiered in January 2025 on Fuji TV's +Ultra programming block.
By July 2024, the series had over 13 million copies in circulation.
Plot
Quiet, shy Uka Ishimori has been nicknamed "stone" since middle school. Upon entering Hachimitsu High School, she meets a boy named Kai Miura, whose appearance and personality reminds her of lemon soda. As the two become acquainted with one another, Uka's relationship with Kai inspires her to become more confident, make more friends at school, and realize she has fallen in love with him.
Written and illustrated by Mayu Murata [ja], Honey Lemon Soda began serialization in Shueisha's shōjo manga magazine Ribon on December 28, 2015.[1] As of December 2024, 27 tankōbon volumes have been released.[8]
In July 2022, Yen Press announced that they licensed the series for English publication.[9]
In September 2020, it was announced that series is getting a live action film adaptation, starring Snow Man member Raul as Kai Miura and Ai Yoshikawa as Uka Ishimori.[5] The film was directed by Kōji Shintoku, based on a screenplay by Nami Kikkawa [ja].[44] It premiered in Japan on July 9, 2021. The film's theme song is "Hello Hello" by Snow Man.[45]
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on March 1, 2024. The series is produced by TMS Entertainment, animated by J.C.Staff, and directed by Hiroshi Nishikiori, with Akiko Waba writing series scripts, Aimi Tanaka designing the characters, and Akira Kosemura [ja] composing the music.[46] It premiered on January 9, 2025, on Fuji TV's +Ultra programming block.[b] The opening theme song is "Magic Hour", while the ending theme song is "Wonderful World", both performed by &Team.[47]Crunchyroll streamed the series.[48]Plus Media Networks Asia has licensed the series in Southeast Asia and broadcast it on Aniplus Asia.[49]
"Because I Met You" Transliteration: "Kimi ni Deaeta kara" (Japanese: 君に出会えたから)
Hiroshi Nishikori
Akiko Waba
Hiroshi Nishikori
January 9, 2025 (2025-01-09)
2
"Turning Into a Treasure" Transliteration: "Takaramono ni Kawatte ku" (Japanese: 宝物に変わってく)
Shizuka Izumi
Akiko Waba
Shizuka Izumi, Hiroshi Nishikori
January 16, 2025 (2025-01-16)
3
Transliteration: "Futaridake no Himitsu" (Japanese: 二人だけの秘密)
Kōzō Kaihō
Akiko Waba
Hiroaki Sakurai
January 23, 2025 (2025-01-23)
Reception
By July 2024, Honey Lemon Soda had over 13 million copies in circulation.[53]
In 2021, the series was nominated at the 45th Kodansha Manga Awards in the shōjo category.[54] It also ranked 40th in Da Vinci magazine's "Book of the Year" list for that year.[55]