Mayu Murata’s Honey Lemon Soda Shoujo Manga Reaches 10 Million Copies in Print
Japanese publisher Shueisha confirmed on November 24 that Mayu Murata’s popular shoujo manga Honey Lemon Soda had printed more than 10 million copies with the release of its latest 21st volume on Friday.
The manga has been serialized in the publisher’s monthly shoujo manga magazine Ribon since December 2015. The story centers on Uka Ishimori, a first-year high school student who was bullied and called “Ishi (Stone)” in junior high school, who gradually changes herself after meeting a boy with lemon-colored hair, Kai Miura. It won first place in the “Readers’ favorite shoujo manga” in the September 2020 issue of the publisher’s teen fashion magazine Seventeen and nomitated for the 45th Kodansha Manga Award’s shoujo manga category.
To celebrate reaching the milestone, a total of 5,000 sunflowers will be distributed for free in front of MAGNET by SHIBUYA109 in Shibuya, Tokyo, for one week only, from November 25 to December 1.
The event is named “FEATHER FLOWER SHOP,” which is an English expression of the heroine’s name “Uka” (meaning “feather flower” in Japanese). It will be held under the theme “What if Uka ran a flower shop?” and expresses gratitude to fans by handing out fresh sunflowers, which play an important role in the story. At the venue, life-size panels of the two main characters, Uka and Kai, will be installed, and many other small items related to the story will also be on display.
Manga’s 21st volume cover:
The manga was adapted into a live-action film in July 2021. Johnny & Associates’ boy idol group Snow Man member Raul was cast as the male protagonist Kai Miura, along with Ai Yoshikawa as the main heroine Uka Ishimori.
Trailer:
Poster visual:
Source: Shueisha press release
©Mayu Murata/SHUEISHA
©2021 “Honey Lemon Soda” Production Committee ©Mayu Murata/SHUEISHA
