This definitive review of Lamune will be divided into three sections:
This was the most boring anime I have ever watched. Whilst I'm not the biggest fan of SOL shows there are many that I still enjoy despite the slow pace - however Lamune is a slice of life show swimming through treacle uphill in slow motion. Every scene is painstaking, with long gaps between each pointless line of dialogue, endless pauses on the character's gormless faces, and repetitive scenes that are indistinguishable from one another. No character has any form of development, they exist only to make obvious comments on the world around them or to make generic anime girl noises.
The animation quality is poor, the character designs are generic and whilst the setting and backgrounds are pleasant enough, its not enough to save the show when the same 4 locations are used over and over and over.
The OP is generic and forgettable, but the ED honestly kinda slaps and I'd highly recommend giving it a listen!
At the end of the day, I just don't know who this anime was made for. It was based on a VN, so perhaps this exists solely to advertise the games existence. Though if that's the case this completely failed to make me want to try it. I recommend you stay clear of this anime unless you're an avid fan of watching paint dry.
From here on out I will be spoiling the show, you have been warned!
Calling this show Lamune is absolutely insane. Perhaps its a holdover from the VN where lemonade is more important, but in this show it is important ONCE, in a subplot related to an underdeveloped character who is not even the main characters primary love interest. From the beginning of the show, it is painfully obvious that Kenji and his childhood friend Nanami will end up together, there is no tension that the show would end any other way. So when a new love interest (Sakura) suddenly confesses to Kenji in episode 8, the idea that they would stay together is laughable. They pull the classic trope of "I'm moving away so I just want to date you for one day" and so my emotional investment remains negative. The titular Lamune is given to Sakura in one of the aforementioned flashbacks, and she keeps it, forever pining for Kenji. The empty bottle is broken in a later episode, and the Kenji gives her a new one as she moves away. This takes up maybe 30 minutes of the shows overall run time.
With that context out of the way you might be thinking, "If Lamune is relevant to the plot, albeit briefly, then what is the deception?". Good question. The answer is these absolute scoundrels have the gall to name their show Lamune and spend the entire goddam runtime drinking Dr Pepper. Every time they're thirsty, they crack open a tinny despite the fact they named the show Lamune. The ONLY thing I wanted from this show was to watch them pop open a few lemonade bottles, and they couldn't even give me that. There is ONE scene of them drinking Lamune at the end, and I can confirm it was not worth the wait.
There's not much more to add, however I gave this show a 15, not a 0, and I feel the need to justify the score. The last couple episodes of this show were honestly a lot better than the previous ten. With all of the pointless, boring slice of life drivel out of the way, the cute little romance finally coming to fruition between Kenji and Nanami was enjoyable to see.
There are also some attempts at a deeper message throughout the final episodes, asking questions of when its the right time to let go of someone you love and move on with your life. But these ideas are underdeveloped and only introduced in the final third of the show - by which time it was too late for me to really care. Kenji also enters a coma in the final episode, which was very relatable as watching Lamune had put me in a similar state.
These final points don't change the fact that I was insulted by how dull Lamune was, and I maintain that it should never be watched by anyone ever again.
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