Sometimes, romance anime enthusiasts just want a conventional story that focuses on two people falling in love with no prominent distractions, third wheels, or gimmicks, where the audience only really knows how one of them feels and hopes the other likes them in return. There can be strong hints of reciprocity, but nothing outright to eliminate doubt. Unfortunately, the start of Crunchyroll‘s 2025 winter season didn’t have much to offer fans looking for this kind of straightforward romance, with the first two weeks debuting series that either didn’t put enough emphasis on any actual romance or relied too much on these aforementioned distractions.

https://screenrant.com/lemon-honey-soda-crunchyroll-romance-op-ed/