The year 2025 begins under the sign of shōjo with the arrival of the animated adaptation of Honey Lemon Soda. Broadcast from January 8 on Crunchyroll, this highly anticipated production is based on the successful manga by Mayu Murata, which had more than 13 million copies in circulation as of July 2024. The animated series promises a refreshing and luminous dive in the daily life of Uka and Kai, two teenagers with opposite personalities and aspirations.
A story about the quest for oneself
Honey Lemon Soda follows the journey of Uka Ishimori, a shy high school student marked by her unflattering nickname “the stone” received at school. Determined to change and assert herself, she enters Hachimitsu High School, renowned for its freedom of expression. There she meets Kai Miura, a popular boy with a sparkling aura, recognizable by his lemon-colored hair.
Under his carefree exterior, Kai decides to take Uka under his wing to help her overcome her shyness and discover her true personality. The story explores universal themes like self-acceptance, overcoming fears and the birth of love.
A journey marked by success
Published since December 2015 in Shueisha’s Ribon magazine, Honey Lemon Soda has established itself as a must-have in shōjo with its 27 volumes to date. Without revolutionizing the genre, the work was able to seduce precisely thanks to its narrative simplicity and its deeply endearing characters. In France, Nobi Nobi! have been offering the series since April 2024, with six volumes already available in bookstores.
The animated adaptation, expected as one of the flagship titles of the 2025 school year, was able to arouse curiosity thanks to promising visuals. The project was entrusted to the JCStaff studio, known for successful series such as Bakuman or DanMachi. True to its style, the studio offers a bright, soft and slightly pastel aesthetic, reminiscent of the tones of recent successes like Horimia or Fruits Basket (2019 version). A visual approach, both modern and faithful to the spirit of shōjo, which fits perfectly with the current trend.
Mastered know-how
The production was entrusted to Hiroshi Nishikiori (A Certain Magical Index), while Akiko Waba (Blue Reflection Ray) signs the story structure. The character design, marked by appreciable freshness and finesse, is the work of young animator Aimi Tanaka, for whom this is a first project of this scale. The musical atmosphere will be reinforced by two themes performed by the Japanese boy band &TEAM: the opening Magic Hour and the ending Wonderful World.
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Scheduled on Fuji TV in Japan and available in simulcast on Crunchyroll in France from tomorrow, this highly anticipated adaptation still raises some questions. The exact number of episodes for this first season has not been communicated, but it is likely that it will have 12 or 24 episodes, a classic format for this type of production. Likewise, if the broadcast schedule remains to be specified, we can expect a weekly release, every Wednesday, faithful to the anime tradition.
