Take a photo of a barcode or cover
rereader33 's review for:
Honey Lemon Soda, Vol. 1
by Mayu Murata
Wow, I went from rereading a shoujo romance I love (Ima Koi) to reading a shoujo romance that I disliked (this one). Gotta love the gambling game of shoujo romance manga.
Okay looks, this series isn't that bad. I can totally imagine teenage me loving something like this; fawning over the beautiful boys, oohing and awwing over the lovely artwork, cheering on Uka, the whole nine yards. The problem is, I'm not a teenager anymore. I'm an adult in my thirties and unfortunately for this manga, I have read some great shoujo romances recently and this just does not hold up to them. Hell, it doesn't even hold up to the shounen romances I've read recently, some have even become personal faves.
As for why this is, I think the problem is threefold: The main character, her love interest, and the potential length of the series. Let's start with the former-the main character spends most of this volume either a) lamenting the life she's been dealt or b) fawning over the main male lead Miura. That's it. I don't know what she likes, I don't know her hobbies, hell as far as I can tell her only real "dream" is to be with Miura which, on the surface, isn't bad by shoujo romance standards, but it makes for an incredibly uninteresting main lead. And like I said, a lot of shoujo romance protagonists tend to really fawn over their crushes/boyfriends, but the difference is usually they have strong personalities and desires to balance it out and/or a strong supporting cast to balance it out. This manga, as of right now, has neither of those things are present and I have no desire to see if it gets better.
As for the love interest, I just don't like how abrasive he is. His sweet moments do not make up for the amount of shouting and insults that he throws at Uka. He's a stereotypical shoujo romance "bad boy with a heart of gold" lead and he's not interesting or endearing enough for me to like him. Also I'm just really fucking sick of that trope and it shows cuz all the shoujo romance manga I do like do not have a main male lead with that trope.
And finally, and what was the final nail in the coffin, the potential length of this series. When I finished this volume, I was on the fence about it and thought, "well I could give it a couple more volumes, see where it goes," until I looked up how far along the manga is. As of writing this review, the manga is currently 21 volumes long and STILL GOING. Considering Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie is currently at 18 volumes and I adore that series, there's no fucking way I'm committing to a romance manga that long when I'm not terribly invested in it from the start. Guys, I'm getting older and am starting to grow out of super long series with only a handful of exceptions, and a super long romance manga series doesn't work for me unless I'm completely invested in the series.
So, there's my rant. I know that people were excited that this series was getting a physical release and I'm hopeful that it lives up their expectations. This didn't work for me, but I'm sure plently of others will love it.
Okay looks, this series isn't that bad. I can totally imagine teenage me loving something like this; fawning over the beautiful boys, oohing and awwing over the lovely artwork, cheering on Uka, the whole nine yards. The problem is, I'm not a teenager anymore. I'm an adult in my thirties and unfortunately for this manga, I have read some great shoujo romances recently and this just does not hold up to them. Hell, it doesn't even hold up to the shounen romances I've read recently, some have even become personal faves.
As for why this is, I think the problem is threefold: The main character, her love interest, and the potential length of the series. Let's start with the former-the main character spends most of this volume either a) lamenting the life she's been dealt or b) fawning over the main male lead Miura. That's it. I don't know what she likes, I don't know her hobbies, hell as far as I can tell her only real "dream" is to be with Miura which, on the surface, isn't bad by shoujo romance standards, but it makes for an incredibly uninteresting main lead. And like I said, a lot of shoujo romance protagonists tend to really fawn over their crushes/boyfriends, but the difference is usually they have strong personalities and desires to balance it out and/or a strong supporting cast to balance it out. This manga, as of right now, has neither of those things are present and I have no desire to see if it gets better.
As for the love interest, I just don't like how abrasive he is. His sweet moments do not make up for the amount of shouting and insults that he throws at Uka. He's a stereotypical shoujo romance "bad boy with a heart of gold" lead and he's not interesting or endearing enough for me to like him. Also I'm just really fucking sick of that trope and it shows cuz all the shoujo romance manga I do like do not have a main male lead with that trope.
And finally, and what was the final nail in the coffin, the potential length of this series. When I finished this volume, I was on the fence about it and thought, "well I could give it a couple more volumes, see where it goes," until I looked up how far along the manga is. As of writing this review, the manga is currently 21 volumes long and STILL GOING. Considering Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie is currently at 18 volumes and I adore that series, there's no fucking way I'm committing to a romance manga that long when I'm not terribly invested in it from the start. Guys, I'm getting older and am starting to grow out of super long series with only a handful of exceptions, and a super long romance manga series doesn't work for me unless I'm completely invested in the series.
So, there's my rant. I know that people were excited that this series was getting a physical release and I'm hopeful that it lives up their expectations. This didn't work for me, but I'm sure plently of others will love it.