Title: Honey Lemon Soda Vol. 7
Author: Mayu Murata
Publisher: Yen Press
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 192
Genre: Slice-of-Life, Romance
Publication Date: October 15, 2024
The Story
In Volume 7 of Honey Lemon Soda, Ishimori witnesses Marin give her confession to Kai; however, he immediately turns it down. He even says “I’m Sorry” twice. This leads to Marin becoming keen on Ishimori so she decides to try and bully her. First, she tries to get Ishimori to describe what kind of guy she likes and then tries to distract her from sports festival duties by having her draw artwork on all of their festival t-shirts. Despite their attempts, Ishimori pulls through and, in the process, we learn that Ishimori is quite the fast runner!
She never got officially timed throughout school because she always got bullied but when they see how fast she is, she’s asked to take part in the relay race. Some guys take notice of Kai and Ishimori getting closer and decide to intervene by kidnapping him before their race. Ishimori comes to Kai’s rescue and ends up spraining her ankle. Despite that, with some encouragement from Kai, they end up participating in the race.
Afterwards, something happens to Ishimori and she ends up in the nurse’s office. Kai pays her a visit. She says something and then passes out; however, when she wakes up, she has quite a clear picture of what was said. This leads to a confrontation with Kai… one that she’s extremely nervous about having!
Characters
Ishimori continues to grow by developing a will of iron and steel! There are parts of her in this volume that show her old self where she’s way too timid and shy; however, there are other parts that show just how bold she has become. Getting officially timed and wanting to participate in the sports festival is just one instance of her growth while standing up to Kai’s bullies and telling them that they can pick on her instead is another sign as well. She even said it best that her relationship with Kai is that of Protector and Protectee. The fact that Ishimori wants to reverse that is a testament to just how emboldened she has become. I like this new side of her but I also like how she kept some of her timidness. It makes her really cute but it also makes you want to root for her even harder!
Kai, on the other hand, did get some development as well. While he hasn’t truly changed that much from an outward appearance, he did a bit of soul-searching and came to a bit of a conclusion. What that is, I’ll let you read and discover for yourself.
While we didn’t get much of Marin in this volume, she’s annoying and more of a gnat you’d want to swat away versus someone who is evil and conniving. Still, her method of bullying is more roundabout rather than direct which makes it worse. Ishimori was well aware of it, too but she still let it happen because that, again, was part of her growth as a character. In a way, Marin became a catalyst for that growth.
Final Thoughts
This was a great volume of Honey Lemon Soda. I found it rather cute that when Ishimori was doing the drawings on their shirts, she wrote “Honey Lemon Soda” on Kai’s shirt after drawing a picture of him. What Kai did in return for the relay race was also pretty cute. The protector role that has defined their relationship seemed a bit cold-hearted because it kind of makes it seem like Ishimori is a burden even though she isn’t. Kai doesn’t seem to think so, anyway. Another part of Ishimori’s growth is that, at one point, she thought that she was that burden but to hear Kai say that about how he views them filled her with a sense of pride more than anything. She’s gotten to the point where he has become comfortable with Kai protecting her and we all know what that means.
Outside of this, another typical slice-of-life trope was had… this time it was the sports festival. Unlike most sports festivals, Honey Lemon Soda wrapped more of its story and character development into this one. It seemed a bit different than your typical fare which is a good thing. So, while we were given an all-too-familiar scenario, it felt fresh and it was definitely enjoyable. The sprained ankle plot point was handled pretty well as it didn’t go down the way it typically does in other series. The aftermath of it set up the ending that I didn’t see coming, too.
All in all, for many reasons, this was quite a memorable volume! Looking forward to how things will continue in Volume 8!
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This item was provided for review by Yen Press
