Review of Honey Lemon Soda

Well, another anime that I accidentally had viewed when scrolling through my Crunchyroll app on the phone yet decided to check out because I'm into romantic comedies. First of all, I'm not really big on the name because for some reason, I couldn't but think of it like a Disney channel kind of movie or series. At first, I thought of Lemonade Mouth after reading something like Honey Lemon Soda. Weird nitpick, I know, but I had to get it out of there. Then again, when it comes to high school anime, sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. I thoughtthat this was right in the middle, and I understand why this was mixed for all audiences, whether in a positive or a negative way.
A young woman named Uka Ishimori is entering high school but is a nervous wreck as her nickname back in middle school is "stone." Upon her arrival, she meets a young man named Kai Miura, whose appearance and personality are cold but cool as a cucumber. Oddly, he reminds her of lemon soda. Yeah, that description is odd, but I digress. They form a relationship thanks to his cool demeanor, and down that road, Ishimori builds up her confidence enough to not only stand up to her bullies that she had back in middle school. She also had to stand up to her father, who is just being overprotective and making many friends. As the story goes, Ishimori is falling for Miura and wishes to get to know him better. Simple as such when it also wants to go a little dark and mature. Unfortunately, it doesn't really feel like it was either of them. Sure, there is the topic of bullying, and it's nice that Ishimori does stand up to them. Overcoming her social anxiety was also nice to her character as it goes.
Well, that being one-half on what I find the characters. I like how she overcomes her fears and now has a lot of support, yet it seems like she couldn't make up her mind when it comes to Miura. Yes, she does love him. However, she doesn't feel like she would love him. When this one other character who knows Miura a while back, Ishimori encourages her and promises not to get involved too much. It just feels like Ishimori can't make up hr mind. I could say the same for Miura. I know he is cold but having a heart of gold kind of character, yet it feels like he can't make up his mind either since his moods change every so often. He turns to cold, then he laughs, then has to be sleepy most of the time. He encourages Ishimori, yet he will distance himself. I give Miura credit for encouraging Ishimori to stand up for herself, which helps character development more. Yet because of how they view each other, it feels like their chemistry is a little messy.
I unfortunately can't say too much about the side characters. They're too one-noted for what they are. Forgettable, even. It's also funny that as soon as Ichimori volunteers to carry responsibility for her school, it's like everyone sees her as a popular character. Dependency makes sense on why that's the case. However, they are just there to be supporting characters. The parents are there, yet they're also as forgettable as the teachers. The designs of them are also forgettable. Oddly, it isn't just J.C. Staff being involved with the animation. TMS Entertainment is involved with production and planning. It's not really an issue as there are times when other companies would work together. But the way the animation and design goes makes them standard and bland. Not the worst, thankfully. The use of the CG when it comes to their time feels flat, though. The backgrounds are fine on their own. They even go far on making different styles of animation from cute to goofy. Some were just okay. Sone, not so much. And I know this is a weird nitpick, but I don't like how everyone's eye color is the same lemon yellow color while other times I see a light brownish color. Not even the hair color makes the side characters special from one another.
One of the main cons that I would usually read would be the final episode. While I understand where they come from, I find it confusing between both Ishimori and Miura. Falling in love but not going out. Not knowing what a date is, well, from Ishimori's perspective. I get it if the excuse is that it's young love. However, the writing doesn't help too much. Yeah, the writing is a little complicated, mainly with the main leads. The way that the anime ended makes me think that it was fine, yet I'll probably forget about how it ended. Easier said than done that I might not remember anything from this at all aside from the fact that there are romantic comedy/romantic drama shows that are more memorable than this one.
Thankfully, I couldn't hate this anime, yet I sadly won't remember this one. If you love or hate this one, it's all fine at the end of the day. So I'm gonna give this weirdly titled anime five sleepy Miura out of ten. 5/10.