Shonen Jump’s most underrated romantic comedy puts a new spin on the body-swap cliche

Hope you are happy, Lemon is an exciting new Shōnen Jump Series currently running on Shueisha’s MangaPlus service. With the recent endings of many other popular rom-com series, the last notable Don’t play with me, Miss Nagatoroa certain gap has emerged in this genre. However, as the viewership seems to be increasing every week, lemon has what it takes to become the next big hit in romance manga.

Although it does not offer anything completely new or cross-genre, Hope you are happy, Lemon takes the otherwise typical body swap premise to a new level by placing compelling characters in complicated scenarios. By combining a strong writing style with a departure from the usual high school setting, the series was able to create a fresh experience through an age-old device. Although the manga only consists of 34 chapters so far, a future anime adaptation should be possible as long as the quality remains the same.

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A classic body swap cliché, reinforced by strong character portrayal

Hope You’re Happy Lemon’s premise isn’t entirely original, but its characters can carry the story

It is rare that a manga convinces its audience to care about the characters by the end of the first chapter, but Hope you are happy, Lemon is capable of doing just that. College student Sunao Akiyoshi was abandoned shortly before the start of high school by his childhood friend Lemon Nishikawa, who admitted to cheating on him with not just one, but four other boys. In contrast to many other protagonists of the genreHowever, Sunao has mostly moved on rather than endure his grief and allow it to turn him into some sort of antisocial person. He has romantic eyes for his classmate Natsumi Kogahara and is ready to leave Lemon behind.

But one night, after an unexpected reunion, the two exes see a shooting star and wake up the next morning in each other’s bodies. After spending some time as Lemon, Sunao realizes that she is actually a pretty good person and quickly puts any lingering feelings of resentment behind her.

What sets Hope you are happy, Lemon differs from many other romantic comedies by avoiding exaggerated gagsand the maturity of the characters. As expected in a body-swapping story, there are some jokes, but most of them are rooted in Sunao and Lemon’s learning to understand each other rather than fan-service mishaps. Likely due to the college setting rather than the high school setting, much of the immature comedy that pervades the genre is left behind.

Unique and complex scenarios set “Hope You’re Happy Lemon” apart

Created by Mizuki Kishikawa

The relationships between the characters in Hope you are happy, Lemon also make the series unique compared to his contemporaries. Although Sunao has gotten over his breakup with Lemon and goes on a date with Kogahara, this date falls on a day when he and Lemon are switched. As a result, Kogahara actually falls in love with Lemon while in Sunao’s body. A similar situation occurs when Suzuka, Sunao’s girlfriend, falls in love with him while in Lemon’s body, creating a strange, romantic web between four characters, only half of whom know what is happening.

Other characters besides Sunao and Lemon are also aware of the body swap taking placea detail that carries a lot of weight in the series. Not only do the two main characters have to be careful not to accidentally reveal their situation, but the others are constantly on edge, which makes even ordinary interactions between the characters entertaining, even if it’s not a scenario that moves the plot forward. Hope you are happy, Lemon stands out among other romantic comedies for a number of reasons, and if the strong script continues as it has so far, the series has a good chance of taking the genre in a new direction and becoming the next big rom-com hit.