Mayu Murata’s Honey Lemon Soda began in Ribon on 28 December 2015 and ran until 3 April 2026, collected in 31 volumes. Translated editions are still catching up, so the series continues to update in some markets after the Japanese run has closed.
Uka Ishimori was singled out in middle school for being quiet and treated as furniture. She enters a high school where nobody knows her, intending to start over, and meets Kai Miura, whose hair is the colour of lemon. What defines the book is that Kai is not written as a rescuer. Again and again Uka is the one who has to speak first and stand on her own, and each time the space around her widens slightly.
The relationship moves slowly, and making friends is given as much weight as admitting to a feeling. Live-action and animated adaptations followed.
