Honey Lemon Soda - Episode 3

Even though Uka claims to be falling in love with Kai, I doubt she truly perceives him as a person – at least, not yet. This makes sense: until now, all her peers have treated her as something inferior, and although she doesn't consciously consider herself "inhuman," her behavior betrays that she might internally.

Her actions in this episode underscore this, such as when Kai asks her to wake him up before class, and she sits beside him like a loyal dog, just watching him.

This aligns with his description from episode two – a stray creature he took in – and his statement this week that he's "socializing" her.

What sounds horrifying to us is still more humane for Uka than anything she experienced from classmates before. It not only shows the extent of her trauma, but also: as much as she idolizes Kai – he remains a teenager with quirks.

Uka can't shake her infatuation with Kai.

Precisely this gap between our knowledge as viewers and Uka's limited perspective makes the episode strong. For every sugar-sweet ideal Uka harbors, Kai delivers a lemon-bitter counterpart.

He defends her, but also snaps at people who label them as a couple. He confides in her about his embarrassing "morning hair," but immediately gags her to prevent her from spilling the beans. It's as if the side of him adored by Uka is fighting with his very normal teenage anxiety about how others see him.

If that isn't cute, it makes his character more relatable: He's not a flawless prince, as Uka believes. He cares, no doubt, but carries baggage himself.

Part of that might be his dating history. Last episode, I speculated that he stumbled through relationships in the past without truly understanding them – and comments from Satoru and a classmate confirmed: yes, he used to have a girlfriend. Kai's reluctance to talk about it is interesting. Has this experience shaped his back-and-forth with Uka?

Nevertheless, I maintain: his most important role isn't the fairy tale prince, but rather that of the fairy godmother. He sees her – and helps her see herself through new eyes.

In Episode 3 of Honey Lemon Soda, an excursion leads to a cheerful mood.

That's incredibly difficult, especially after Uka's experiences. Ayumi, from Kai's circle of friends, has never suffered anything similar, but is slowly grasping what her new friend had to endure.

She is confronted with this twice – but interestingly, she seems visibly more disturbed the second time: when she invites Uka on the excursion for lunch and realizes that she has long planned to eat alone under a secluded tree. (You learn early to find such invisible places where you can safely exist.)

The first incident – when Uka painstakingly gathers the courage to ask Ayumi for friendship, and Ayumi replies in dismay, she thought they were already friends – doesn't directly hurt Ayumi.

But it shows her what someone (presumably Kai or Takamine) meant: you have to explicitly tell Uka such things. But even after the invitation, Uka expects to be alone.

This scene illustrates to Ayumi (and us) more than anything else how deep Uka's scars run. A few nice people won't simply heal her wounds. It will take time until she truly understands: she is allowed to belong.

Honey Lemon Soda is currently broadcast every Wednesday on Crunchyroll.