Honey Lemon Soda Quantity 1 by Mayu Murata
I used to be conscious that there was a substantial amount of anticipation when Honey Lemon Soda was licensed, and the primary quantity lived as much as the hype! Widespread boy inexplicably adopting an extremely awkward woman is a well-known plot in most shoujo manga, however Honey Lemon Soda takes this premise and runs with it, making the reader really feel immediately sympathetic with the introverted heroine in query. Uka Ishimori’s will get in the way in which of an errant blast of lemon soda wielded by Kai Miura. She freezes up and is unable to answer his associates’ expressions of concern and she or he runs away when Miura apologizes to her. His associates remark “It’s kinda like she’s residing out a distinct style than the remainder of us” which is an efficient method of summarizing how disconnected Uka is from folks her personal age.
In center college, Uka was bullied, with classmates calling her “Rocky” because of her final identify and stony expression. She’s decided to make associates and alter in highschool, and picked a college to go to based mostly on its extra laid again and flashy popularity as an alternative of going to a college the place individuals are dedicated to learning. Each potential social interplay has Uka caught up in her anxious ideas, as she has to power herself to supply to assist a classmate with the reply to a query. Miura begins taking an curiosity, teaching Uka by way of some fundamental greetings. When she really calls on him for assist, he leaps in and defends her from a few of her former center college bullies. Uka begins expressing herself extra typically, though typically she’s so tense about speaking with others that her ideas come out extra like yelling unintentionally.
Miura would possibly look tremendous cool together with his effervescent blond hair, however he additionally appears to have extra compassion than is typical in a shoujo hero, and he retains dropping feedback designed to assist Uka develop into extra snug with herself. Murata’s character designs are enticing, and there are many dynamic panel layouts because the characters make their method by way of emotionally fraught conditions. After studying the primary quantity, I’m wanting to see how Uka modifications on her journey to interrupt out of her shell and specific herself extra.
