Sometimes,romance animeenthusiasts just want a conventional story that focuses on two people falling in love with no prominent distractions, third wheels, or gimmicks, where the audience only really knows how one of them feels and hopes the other likes them in return. There can be strong hints of reciprocity, but nothing outright to eliminate doubt. Unfortunately, the start ofCrunchyroll’s 2025 winter season didn’t have much to offer fans looking for this kind of straightforward romance, with the first two weeks debuting series that either didn’t put enough emphasis on any actual romance or relied too much on these aforementioned distractions.
But then out of nowhere cameHoney Lemon Soda. It now stands out from the other romance anime currently airing, as made apparent through an opening scene thatidentifies the story’s two love interests with no unnecessary gimmicks. Luckily, the rest of its debut episode easily follows through on what that opening scene promised. On the surface, what separatesHoney Lemon Sodafrom these other series is that it’s clearly more of a drama than a comedy. However, there are many other key mechanics at play.
Honey Lemon Soda is the Season’s Lone Conventional Romance Anime
Based on the manga by Mayu Murata; produced by J.C.Staff and TMS Entertainment
Beyond the romance, the other theme that feels strong inHoney Lemon Sodais that the girl, Uka Ishimori, is starved for friendship and common decency from her peers. The fact that her love interest, Kai Miura, just so happens to also serve as the catalyst for her future social life drives the romance factor further. For that very reason, some might find similarities betweenHoney Lemon Sodaand the classicKimi ni Todoke: From Me to You. But while Ishimori easily channels Sawako, Miura exhibits too much of a “rough love” persona than Shota.
Miura’s cold exterior is what truly fulfills the need fortheone of the best anime tropeswhere the other’s feelings aren’t fully realized, and Ishimori being obviously enamored with her aloof savior helps tether that dynamic to romance in hopes that he reciprocates her feelings. By comparison, the long line of romance series that debuted beforeHoney Lemon Sodaare severely lacking.
Even Honey Lemon Soda’s Closest Competition Still Comes Up Short
Medaka Kuroiwa Is Impervious to My Charms has the most unlikable protagonist
Medaka Kuroiwa Is Impervious to My Charmscould be seen asHoney Lemon Soda’slone competition for pure romance. As the title suggests, the premise involves a girl named Mona Kawai who tries and fails to charm the eponymous Kuroiwa, which she attempts through feigned innocent poses and suggestive comments. Although this dynamic takes up the vast majority of the series' first episode, it’s greatly overshadowed by Kawai’s horrible personality.
Similar to the protagonist ofSpring 2023’sYuri Is My Job!, Kawai knows she’s attractive and since the audience has full access to Kawai’s innermost thoughts, they’re inundated with her narcissism, as opposed to being fooled by her innocent facade. The fact that Kawai’s attempts to charm Medaka are purely ego fuel dilutes the experience, even though she inevitably succumbs to Kawai’s inherent charm as expected. The worst offender is that the audience soon gains access to Kuroiwa’s thoughts, too, and he thinks Kawai’s gorgeous. In truth, he’s been charmed.
A Few Series Have Too Much Emphasis on “Enemies” and Gimmicks
I’m Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Class and OKITSURA Are Promising But Not There Yet
I’m Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Classcan appeal to fans of theenemies to lovers trope in animeif they’re fine that the first episode ends with the supposed love interests still being very much enemies, leaving little room for actual romance. As the title alludes, the engaged couple are also forced to live together, leading to the kind of hijinks viewers would expect from this sort of anime. The episode can also be jarring for viewers if they prefer it when the love interests don’t both intensely hate each other.
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WhileOKITSURA: Fell in Love with an Okinawan Girl, but I Just Wish I Know What She’s Sayingis initially promising, the series' debut unfortunately focuses too much on the self-explanatory gimmick of the dialect barrier between the eponymous Okinawan girl Hina Kyan and Teruaki Nakamura. Oddly enough, there’s very little evidence besides the title that Teruaki actually loves her, save for the fact that the only reason he’d be trying so hard to communicate with her is because he has feelings for her.
Interestingly, the series also places just as much, if not more, emphasis on the intricacies and nuances of Okinawan culture to explain what Hina is saying, why she’s saying it, and why Teruaki can’t understand her. However, there is one promising scene through the series' third wheel where she recontextualizes the subject of language. It just happens at the end. It’s also ironic that this third wheel expresses her romantic feelings more clearly than Teruaki does for Hina, despite that being the supposed basis of the story.
Two Other Series Where Romance Doesn’t Even Happen Yet But Soon Will
Is Zenshu even a romance?
As forZenshuandI Want to Escape From My Princess Lessons, they may allude to there likely being romance later on, but by the end of their first episodes, nothing romantic actually happens.Studio MAPPA’sZenshuis more of an isekaithan anything else. The protagonist’s former life revolves around romance anime, and she expresses an attraction to a character she just so happens to meet once she reincarnates in another world, but once she gets there, absolutely nothing romantic happens. Ironically,Zenshu’s official synopsis adds more romantic context than the actual anime shows.
Meanwhile,I Want to Escape From My Princess Lessonsstarts with the protagonist Lettie narrowly avoiding getting engaged to her betrothed, but she never actually interacts with him until he breaks up with her, and she soon flees into the middle of nowhere. Of course, the opening and closing theme songs create the very convincing impression that her former fiancée will try to find and woo her, but that hasn’t happened yet.
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It’s common for some fans to only enjoy romance in anime when it’s in the background and serving as a complement to a series' main drive. Others enjoy romance but grow tired of the same old tropes the dominate portions of the genre, leading those fans to actively seek out subverted formulas. However, the fact that the vast majority of romance series rely on conventions proves that this is what the base fandom wants, and, luckily, these fans finally got what they’ve been waiting for thisCrunchyrollseason withHoney Lemon Soda, even if it came too late.
Honey Lemon Soda
Cast
Honey Lemon Soda follows Uka Ishimori as she strives to reinvent herself at Hachimitsu High School. Overcoming her reputation as “Stone,” she finds inspiration in Kai Miura, a captivating classmate with lemon-colored hair. The series explores themes of personal growth and self-discovery as Uka’s life begins to transform.
