Citrus

Citrus is a series that is tragically misunderstood; a story with far more substance and depth than word of mouth would lead you to believe. Not long after this show started airing, it’s become easy for people to write off any element in the story as a means to arbitrarily wring out some voyeuristic lesbian action, rather than stopping to think of the purpose it actually holds for the narrative. When a sexual assault occurs, viewers assume that it’s romanticizing such an action and therefore condones it. When an emotional barrier props up, it’s assumed to be nothing more than a way of piling on ... more drama. These premature assessments are commonly made when shows like this are perceived as simple fetish material, framed as horribly misplaced criticisms that leave Citrus in an undeservedly contemptuous light; as a guilty pleasure unworthy of further analysis or appraisal. Citrus is not mere fetish material, does not promote or romanticize sexual assault, and provides layered and well-developed characters whose actions are realistically influenced by both internal and external conflicts. A bittersweet feeling perpetuates as we follow naive teenagers consistently characterized as those who are lost and confused, behaving in ways that are less than ideal, but are hurdles along the way of a gripping and emotionally compelling tale that is certainly rough around the edges, but well worth the ride.

There’s a common conjecture about Citrus saying that it treats sexual assault as a form of love and the blossoming romance is in the form of Stockholm syndrome, neither of which are true in the slightest. Firstly, while the actions of Mei Aihara undeniably walk on the borderline of sexual assault, none of these instances are framed as romantic or mutual in any way. The first of these depicts Yuzu struggling while Mei lashes out her aggression. Following this is a low shot with Mei, spitefully uttering “that’s what it felt like” in response to Yuzu’s innocent curiosity about Mei’s romantic affair. Nothing about this is painted in a positive, approving light. Subsequent events like this are blatantly shown to be a byproduct of Mei’s misconception of how relationships work, or a means to vent her frustration. The sheer discomfort is emphasized through both the cinematography and the expressions of the characters involved. This does not mean nefarious actions like these are excused, as the story never does. Yuzu always retaliates to these actions once she regains control over herself during these events. Depiction and endorsement are not the same thing, a fact that should always be considered with regards to a story like this. Another thing to address is this: the assaults are by no means the foundation of the leads’ romance, and that is a myth that should have passed long after this show had aired. Yuzu develops feelings for Mei long before the first assault occurs, which is most evident during the scene where she is lost in thought about witnessing Mei being kissed by Amamiya. Her focus is squarely on Mei’s behavior and what kissing must feel like for her, with Yuzu’s own attraction to Mei not even apparent to her. Overall, when proper attention is brought to the characters’ actions as well as the framing, it becomes clear that the criticism of Citrus romanticizing assault holds no truth whatsoever. I'd like to make a point here that not all opinions are equal, and opinions on Citrus based on the conception that it romanticizes or normalizes assault and abuse are invalid and therefore wrong. A valid opinion doesn't require high intelligence or sophisticated taste or anything like that. It requires a correct interpretation of the content, one that is often not taken through first impressions or face value.

Citrus and its content is highly reliant on context and characterization. Just as these confused adolescents struggle to understand each other and themselves, wondering who and what to believe, viewers are left on their own to base judgement on characters’ behavior and what they say, save for some frequent monologuing by Yuzu. And even then, her own thoughts aren’t always reliable. Content that comes off as questionable or discomforting to certain viewers is perfectly explainable through indirect characterization, a method of storytelling that challenges the brain beyond just relying on narration and monologues to provide answers without viewer effort. Viewers share frustration and confusion with the characters themselves, and the payoff is all the more rewarding because of this. The character Mei Aihara exemplifies this most of all, as she is a person whose subtle mannerisms bring light to a personality misshapen by the worst of circumstances, and very applicable to reality.

Mei is a character with practically no conception of right and wrong, let alone the idea of consent, and has never been shown, or had any experience of, what a true romantic relationship is like. The only proper relationship she has ever had in life was with her father. After he left, Mei felt as if she was being abandoned by the only one she was ever truly close to. It’s clear that prior to where the main story begins, Mei has had no emotional support ever since her father’s absence. She is used and neglected by her grandfather, is constantly taken advantage of by her fiancée, and is under perpetual social pressure to follow her duties accordingly for days on end.

As a result, Mei’s attitude towards romantic and sexual relationships is completely distorted. Her one and only understanding of love relationships is through physical contact, of which she uses to control people just as she has been controlled herself. This is symptomatic of being in a sexually abusive relationship like she had with her first fiancée; she doesn’t value her own body and is incapable of interacting with people normally. In many situations, whether it's a love relationship or otherwise, Mei passively accepts everything that is piled on her with no concern for her own well being, a trait that is consistently apparent over the course of the story. On the other end, her way of taking control of situations is her sexual advances towards Yuzu, who understandably objects to these actions. The main point is that Mei only acts in the way she knows how. This conflict of hers isn’t a singular matter, but numerous elements about her past and how she was raised which come together creating the version of Mei we see throughout the story. Mei is depraved, misguided, and some could even say mentally ill. And again, none of these elements are used to justify Mei's behavior. It's merely a case of cause and effect, one which leaves morality out of the question entirely.

Being so used to her strict upbringing, Mei frames every scenario as a bargain or exchange rather than a desire, even if she doesn't necessarily intend it. Her feeling obligated to follow in the footsteps of her father to gain his affection encapsulates this quite well. Having received no unconditional love since her father’s disappearance, this is the way of thinking which governs almost all of the decisions she makes. For this reason, she’s perplexed as to why Yuzu bothers to do all these unconditional favors. The answer to this is simple: Yuzu cares about Mei. Unconditional love is a foreign concept to Mei, and this trait continues to subconsciously affect her even long after she has experienced the true virtues of a genuine human relationship. (*cue the beginning of episode 10*)

The psychology of Mei is one of the main things which the story lives through, and is one of Citrus' most fascinating aspects. As frustrating as her actions can be at times, the consistency of her character and the relatability of her plight makes her highly sympathetic, and as such Yuzu’s efforts to make things right for her, however reckless and brash, are very admirable. When you consider everything I've previously stated, it turns out that Mei has every reason to act and behave the way she does. Her attitude and behavior are both realistic and morbidly consistent when acknowledging this perpetual turmoil she lives through.

Mei’s problematic, manipulative behavior is not only addressed as such, but is also a conflict in itself. Discomforting scenes that people insist to be mere sleaze and titillation always leaves a negative effect on characters involved. Mei’s first assault turned Yuzu’s pending lust for and curiosity of Mei into a maelstrom of confusion and hysteria. Repetition of these acts behind the scenes gave us Mei Aihara as we know her. A certain character who does this to another results in the victim avoiding that character extensively.

The way Mei gradually becomes more open to Yuzu about her feelings and personal issues, is a cathartic and satisfying affair in and of itself, and it’s kept at natural pace throughout. Not only this, her behavior changes for the better the longer she spends time with Yuzu. Little by little she displays improvement and development as she makes decisions of her own, acting beyond her mental protocol. It’s rather easy to see why Yuzu is in love with Mei, besides her beauty and status. Hiding behind this cold exterior is a frightened and lonely young girl that Yuzu wishes to nurture and protect.

What’s truly commendable, however, is how many instances of her development are deliberately presented for us to infer on our own, rather than being told directly and explicitly. Here’s one particular example of this:


**SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 7 AND 8 BEGIN HERE**
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The moment Mei truly develops romantic feelings for Yuzu is at the end of episode 6, and the exact moment she realizes these feelings is episode 7 when Matsuri forcibly kisses Yuzu out in the open. This is all indicated through her sudden change in behavior compared to before. She is now less grim in her expressions around Yuzu, and looks slightly more sentimental. Her actions convey this even further, such as the way she compliments Yuzu for the meal that was made. The day after that, Matsuri is shown to be envious of Mei continually deriving attention from Yuzu at the expense of Matsuri’s, causing her to shove off. This causes Mei to feel guilty, having created distance between Yuzu and one of her closest friends. This is where she first experiences the baggage that comes from being in love.
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**SPOILERS END HERE**


The reason this works in service to the narrative is so viewers are put into the perspective of Yuzu herself. She struggles to understand Mei, using signs in her behavior to understand what she feels. Mei is deliberately presented just as enigmatically as she is to everyone else.

With so much about Mei already covered, it’s only fair that the other heroine, Yuzu, is given the same treatment. Yuzu at the start has an idealistic view of the life that lies before her. She acts with unrelenting confidence in almost all occasions, expecting everything to go smoothly and perfectly in line with what she envisions. I think I speak for most people when I say that when we were young teenagers, our ways of thinking were hardly any different. We’ve had strong ambitions of our own, believing we could achieve them all without entirely knowing the reality of certain situations. Of course, like most teenagers, the decisions that Yuzu makes are not always wise. Quite rarely so, in fact. She often does things, with or without good intentions, unperturbed by any potential consequences they could raise. Her greeting with the chairman is a particularly good example of this. Having become a new addition to his family, she approaches him expecting to be welcomed with open arms. Instead she’s scolded for her meddlesome behavior and unruly fashion choices.

On the flipside, while she makes unwise decisions, Yuzu is not completely unintelligent. She shows a degree of rational thinking alongside her impulsive behavior, which is an important distinction from a character who is near hopeless in their stupidity. Yuzu eventually does mature past her idealism yet retains an optimistic outlook which drives her to do better in her more realistic pursuits. Yuzu is shown throughout the story to be a very capable individual thrusted into situations she’s unprepared for, often falling back to impulses or superficial goals. Despite this, she’s quick to bounce back and make things right through the best of her abilities, learning from past mistakes and focusing on what matters most in the long run.

One of Yuzu’s strongest and most prominent traits is how empathetic she is. While she’s often self-absorbed in her appearance and overall image, she’s quick to understand others and wants to be on good terms with those around her. She’s the type of friend who would listen to your problems, forgive you for whatever quarrel you had with her, and be willing to keep any reasonable promise you ask of her. Amidst a locale of people’s misdeeds and the oppressive dominion that is her school, Yuzu is someone who is incredibly easy to root for and would be an overall great person to hang out with. It’s easy to see why Harumin became friends with her so quickly, and also why Mei eventually fell for her.

While Yuzu is a highly good-hearted individual, to say she’s only ever kind and generous sells her personality woefully short. She can be irritable, snarky, jealous, and is overall more insecure than she lets on, using Harumin as an emotional crutch when she finds herself in a quandary. She often lets these emotions get the better of her, as teens typically do. The bubbly, boisterous personality of Yuzu, while oftentimes funny and endearing, can also come off as irksome and frustrating. Rather than being portrayed as an all-loving angel, Yuzu is a lovably flawed individual with a good heart and poor self-control. Compiling all these traits together results in one of the most compelling, lovable, sympathetic, and relatable main leads I’ve come across in all media.

As for her relationship with Mei, Yuzu is on a constant struggle to comprehend her feelings. She knows that something is amiss about Mei, invoking a feeling of concern. At other times, she wonders if what she does hurts Mei more than it helps. This confusion is a result of their inability to communicate with each other effectively and coherently, mimicking typical romance between teenagers more than people seem to realize. Yuzu doesn’t understand Mei, and by extension doesn’t know how to act around her. The two of them had been raised in completely different conditions, and thus operate and communicate differently from one another.

It’s obvious that Yuzu has an unfaltering love for Mei, but one obstacle she must overcome is resisting the urge to give in to her superficial desires, and pursuing what is realistically best for Mei in the long run. At one point her only choice is to put her love for Mei aside and to treat her as a sister. Although she does all these things selflessly she still has a degree of self-preservation, in stark contrast to Mei. What Citrus does well is distinguishing the superficial aspects of love from the emotional aspects. Crushes aren’t developed through logic, and our own real life experiences prove as much. What this series explores is the multitude of consequences that come with loving someone. In this case, it’s dealing with the complications of being in a love relationship with your step-sister.

Differentiating perceptions of love are what pervade a majority of the cast in Citrus. The students at Aihara Academy all knowingly grew up in an environment where sexual experimentation is a normality. Of course I can’t speak from experience, but to my knowledge this mimics reality in Japan. Referred to as Class S, it’s common for girls in school to have crushes on other female classmates, forming bonds with them. These bonds could be described as romantic, but the sexual aspect of the attraction is out of the equation entirely, assuming they’re straight. It’s telling that a Japanese audience would have a far better understanding of this kind of story, and the positive reception of Citrus in Japan compared to the west is evidence of this.

Harumin really emulates this concept more than the others. She is essentially a direct foil to Yuzu in how sexual relationships are perceived. For Harumin, particular actions between couples are a source of curiosity. By contrast, Yuzu thinks about what these actions mean for the relationship. The most obvious example is arguably when the two eavesdrop on Amamiya’s phone call. However, one other particular moment drives this home more than any other. Harumin discovers the yuri incest manga Yuzu was reading. Fascinated, she puts herself in a scissoring position with Yuzu. She’s so confident in her heterosexuality that doing this means nothing to her. Yuzu on the other hand recognizes this as an expression of love, and thus is highly discomforted by this scenario. This is largely presented as a comedy moment, but it does a lot to signify the differences in their characterization. It also benefits in a way from being depicted in such an over-the-top manner.

Harumin acts as a companion to Yuzu all the way through to the end, but in reality she isn’t able to truly understand what Yuzu is going through, regardless of how much she thinks she does. This is also the reason Yuzu decides to take on these tasks by herself, because she’s the only one who truly understands. We can also assume that she keeps it to herself in fear that Harumin wouldn’t accept her for being in such a taboo relationship. After all, this is why she keeps it a secret to Matsuri and anyone else outside the school campus.

Moving on from the characters, I bear no hesitation saying that the plot of Citrus is undoubtedly its weakest aspect. Although the events it strings together can catch viewers off-guard, maintaining a dash of unpredictability in the whole adventure, it all too often relies on contrivances. Coincidences in fictional stories aren’t inherently a bad thing. The coincidental reveal of Mei as Yuzu’s new sister is rather far-fetched, but it's tolerable enough to leave investment unimpeded. However, the numerous contrivances beyond this point become harder and harder to swallow as they come by. The way that some situations are arbitrarily resolved through circumstance, rather than on behalf of a character, doesn’t do the plot much favors either.

A widely-used, yet reasonable, complaint about Citrus is its continuous introduction of characters to move the plot along. The way I see it, this is at least as much a problem with the pacing than the actual inclusion of these characters. When these subplots are coupled with Yuzu and Mei’s progressing relationship, then focus becomes a problem here. Tone shifts are frequent and occasionally jarring as a result of having to constantly switch priorities. The interpersonal affairs between Yuzu and Mei are heartfelt and down to earth, whereas dramatic confrontations with outsiders are tense, frantic, and somewhat theatrical. When meaningful interaction between Yuzu and Mei is abruptly followed by these sideplots, that can challenge one’s ability to stay invested in either plot.

However, while pacing and tone is certainly an issue here, to say that these subplots serve no purpose is untrue. Each story arc in Citrus presents a barrier in Mei’s psyche which is resolved with every passing conclusion. Every resolve is satisfying in its own right as it brings Mei further out of her shell whilst bringing her and Yuzu closer together. It’s apparent that new characters are introduced to fill a certain role in these affairs, but the focus on Yuzu and Mei is unrelenting and the characters serve their purpose quite well. To start with, Himeko "Twindrills" Momokino at first appears to be quite the villain, but she actually shares traits with both Yuzu and Mei, and even has strikingly similar motivations. Like Yuzu, she has an unfaltering love for Mei, arguably in a “romantic friendship” sort of way as opposed to sexual attraction, and goes to great lengths to claim her affection. Like Mei, she is both dedicated to her job and remarkably strict with school regulations. Her intentions are what make her a rival to Yuzu, and then later bring them to a resolve. They wish the best for Mei, but are oblivious to her true feelings. Matsuri is a character acting as a parallel to Mei. Only instead of closing herself off, she seeks attention. In the worst ways. Her rebellious nature and sinister antics make her a worthy addition to the cast. It’s not done just for the sake of it though. It’s a situation where Mei sees her own self and is willing to make amends for someone Yuzu is close to.

The arc with the Tachibana sisters is considered by many to be the weakest arc in the series, and I am no exception. While it serves its purpose well and the payoff is rewarding, it isn’t put together nearly as well as the others. I think what it sets out to do doesn’t warrant new characters to be introduced into the middle of the whole dilemma where their intrusion can be seen as more frustrating than serviceable, especially when those characters lack depth. The situation between Mei and Yuzu at this point is already complicated as it is, so piling more characters on top of these complications is more of an annoyance than anything else. I think other less irritating methods would have served the function of this arc quite well without having to bring the sisters into the mix. It also doesn’t help that in this arc, conveniences pile up even more than in any other, even attempting to sidestep this with “fate” and “destiny.”

As I said before though, the payoff is largely worth it in the end. It’s not necessarily a case where the abundant problems in this arc can be forgotten, but rather forgiven. This arc is an unfortunate blemish on an otherwise great story overall.

The dialogue of Citrus is also worth commenting on. It’s no Shakespearean writing, but it feels natural and works in service to whatever is going on. The characters’ lines are filled with personality and subtext which makes conversations feel alive. Characters are also quick to point out irony in another’s lines, making the exchanges even more human. Certain moments in dialogue are quite significant and memorable for how expressive they are and how it piles emotion into the situation. The scene where Mei and Yuzu are on a bench on a cold winter day is a good example.

With all that said, I think it’s finally time to traverse into how Citrus fares in the audio/visual department. Regarding the visual front of the Citrus anime adaptation, it’s an overall solid effort, albeit with a moderate amount to be desired. Obviously it would be unreasonable to expect the level of quality in the manga’s art to be fully translated into a costly animated product, especially with a studio like Passione. To compensate for this, the adaptation uses character models that are simplified versions of the exquisitely drawn renditions in the manga, and does so successfully. These character models would’ve been a satisfactory page-to-screen translation if not for one caveat: one of the main things which I believe gave the manga so much of its charm and made it so appealing to many, was how expressive the characters are. Characters, especially Yuzu, would regularly emote and make different facial expressions for many situations. This also happens to the anime to some degree, but not frequently enough to where it captures the manga’s original charm. It’s much rarer in the anime for characters to deviate from their default expressions, making the experience somewhat more sterile. Perhaps this was to cut down on budget costs, or it was a design choice on behalf of the director. Whatever the case, it’s a compromise which I can only feel detracts from the viewing experience. Manga and anime are different mediums, so of course compromises should be expected. But various scenes only stood to lose by omitting so much of the vibrance the characters displayed. Even the many chibi moments in the manga wouldn’t need to be adapted, as simply varying the facial expressions of the characters would be enough. Anime-only viewers probably won’t see this as a huge problem, as it’s rarely a sheer detriment to the visuals (save for a few lamentable instances). Scenes between characters are delivered well and there is plenty of emotion to be found in the visuals. The problem is that the adaptation, by not harnessing the kind of quality seen in the manga, wastes its potential as an adaptation and as an animated product. As it stands, it could be a hell of a lot worse, but it also could have been a lot better.

Additionally, the animation quality is a department that ranges between average to well above average. There are various moments where I was very impressed by the animation, such as certain comedy moments, intimate scenes, emotional engagements, and characters’ body language. But there are also a select few times where I was dumbfounded by just how low the quality could really get. Overall it’s a pretty decently animated show with some flukes here and there, and thankfully it can only improve with the BDs. One of the fronts I was most impressed by in this adaption was the soundtrack. It genuinely surprised me with how good the music was in this adaptation. Using a mixture of graceful orchestral performances with vivacious electronic beats, the music of Citrus is vibrant, diverse, and well-suited for the exuberant and bittersweet tones that the story delivers.

What’s lacking most of all in the visuals is the background art, a case where access to technology seems to have expended a team’s creativity. Several shots will display setpieces with little to no detail or texturing. Perfect cuboids and stainless steel populate much of this world. This is most prevalent in Yuzu’s own house, with walls that are solid colors and doors looking less like wood and more like metal. The school grounds also display a disgustingly high amount of textureless objects, falling short of selling this environment as something that could exist in the real world. This is not even mentioning the many issues with lighting, of which environments are either evenly lit or disregard physics altogether. One shot in particular takes place under a night sky with a lamp post in the left, yet with shadows directly underneath every object. What’s frustrating is that this shot looks great in about every other aspect, from coloring to composition, and falls short of perfection thanks to the team not willing to amend such a simple yet glaring issue.

This also extends to background characters, which often consist of CG models walking awkwardly and robotically. Once this is noticed, it’s impossible to ignore, and immersion struggles to stay in tact. All of this is the mark of a bare minimum effort on the part of Passione, and fans of the source material aren’t nearly as scrutinous of this as they damn well should be. Incompetent decisions like these are one of the main reasons we as anime fans are so desperate for ideal adaptations of the manga and novels we dearly love.

Fortunately, the shoddy effort in the backgrounds is alleviated through great shot composition and luscious color directing, for which we have director Takeo Takahashi to thank. This is a director who excels at visual storytelling and framing, emphasizing certain moods when applicable. Climactic scenes are sold effectively through this as well as character animations which, as previously stated, are well-done when they really need to be. This adaptation of Citrus is overall very well-directed, save for the aforementioned faults in production which Takeo should have been more mindful of. In an ideal world, the production of Citrus would be on par with Hanasaku Iroha, a show that I hold as a high standard for animated melodrama. The end result here is not without its faults, but is a satisfactory effort all things considered.

So that concludes my review of Citrus. The story at large is quite rough around the edges with its frequent use of coincidences. It’s also arguably flawed in how many things are framed as a formulaic routine. With a new girl continually intruding on the situation, it’s admittedly easy to feel some degree of frustration. The core story however, with the two main leads, remains very strong. Various facets of their character are explored well and brought to a satisfying resolve. That said, there are many loose ends in the story yet to be tied up, in which case I can only hope a second season will be made eventually to adapt the rest of the source material to complement the anime-viewing experience. All things considered, however, Citrus is a great anime overall. One of the things which motivated me to write this review was to address the criticisms this show had been receiving. If you have already seen this anime, and anything I’ve said gave you something to think about, then perhaps it deserves a second viewing. For a show so widely shunned as being a lesbian fanservice show, the story of Citrus is one that anyone, gay or straight, male or female, can relate to on any level.

Potential spoilers for the manga below...

First - ignore all the hate directed at Citrus online. Give it a chance and make up your own mind. Other reviews and discussions will mock you for enjoying something they call trashy and melodramatic. They mock you for being entertained by something they have deemed so basic and depraved. And yet, after you've watched a few episodes you're thinking, 'why do I like this so much and why do I want to see more if everyone says this is garbage?'

It's because Saburouta is punching WAY above her weight on Citrus. It's like someone took Jane Austen and plonked her ... down in modern day Japan and asked her to write a yuri manga. Yes, the very thing that all those haters will mock you for seeing in Citrus that they claim doesn't actually exist - the excellent writing, the deep character development, the touching emotional content - really is there, and it's been written quite purposefully and skillfully.

To begin, let's put aside that this is yuri for the moment. Yes, you know it is, I know it is, everyone knows it is. But the point of Citrus is absolutely not the fact that it's yuri. Saburouta could have written this story with two asexually reproducing spores as the main characters and it would have been equally as compelling. The fact that it's yuri is not implicitly fan-service, and if you've read the manga you will know that Saburouta dishes out the fan service in such tiny servings as to lack any nourishment whatsoever. More on why this is an issue in a moment.

Let's get the other elephant in the room out of the way - the non-consensual sexual content in the first episodes/manga issues. Remember that this is a work of fiction and the reader is not meant to condone or approve of the actions of any of the characters. This is the classic dramatic question of, "is evil something you are or something you do?" To begin with, Mei has been taken advantage of, used, and basically treated like an automaton by dear old gramps ever since her Dad left (we'll get to that later). At the beginning of the story, there is no Mei - there is just a robot that does what needs to be done in the name of the Aihara family. She has no mother, no father, and the only affection she has ever known has been the cruel affection of the jerk teacher that she was arranged to marry even though he was planning on leaving her once he had the academy. She has literally never had a proper emotional relationship with anyone, and all she understands is the use of physical affection as a means of controlling others, as she has been controlled herself. But yes, you say, Mei should know better. She should know the difference between right and wrong! Oh really? Who taught Mei right from wrong? That's right, no one! She's acting out the only way she knows how. And, by the end of episode nine after the run-in with Matsuri - shock of all shocks, Mei has learned right from wrong because never again in the entire series do we see Mei act this way. And guess who teaches Mei wrong from right by her actions - Yuzu does.

I'd also like to address the actions of Matsuri that a lot of people have a problem with - don't forget that Matsuri is just a kid. Remember being a kid? Remember how bad your judgement was, and how you did a lot of stupid things that people called you out for? Again, you say, Matsuri should know right from wrong. But again, who taught her right from wrong - her workaholic, absent parents? Right. Matsuri isn't capable of understanding the consequences of her actions, something that Yuzu points out to her several times. "Relationships are not a game" and "love does not come as easily as it does in a manga" says Yuzu to Matsuri. Matsuri is similar to Mei (as Mei informs her on the train, and why Mei forgives Matsuri so easily) in that Matsuri is literally a kid alone in the world. But instead of closing herself off to the rest of the world like Mei did, Matsuri sought out attention - the bad kind - online with her "clients". Mei isn't joking or being self-sacrificing when she tells Yuzu "that girls needs you". Mei understands more than anyone, despite Matsuri's actions, that Matsuri needs a source of goodness and love in her life. This is why Mei says that Yuzu is "one of those meddlesome people who give you love even though you didn't ask for it". By the end of episode nine, Matsuri has very subtly grown as a person and again, never does any of that bad stuff again for the rest of the series (so far).

Let's get to the relationship between Yuzu and Mei. They are, quite literally and figuratively, the yin to the other's yang. And let's get one thing out of the way right now - Mei and Yuzu are as gay as the day is long from the outset. This is why I said this story could have been about two asexually reproducing spores - the fact that they are gay has nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing to do with this story. Why do I say this? Because neither Yuzu or Mei are struggling with their sexuality, ever. Being gay is so natural to them that they never question it. Need proof? Remember the scene where Yuzu is reading the sister manga, and Harumin (who wins as best friend in a manga/anime ever btw) suddenly scissors her. Yuzu *freaks out* and Harumin says "this book shows positions for two women". Why is Harumin so casual and Yuzu so freaked out? Because to Harumin, that position means literally nothing other than a curiousity - Harumin is so confident in her heterosexuality that she can do that without worrying what it means. Yuzu, on the other hand, is mortified because scissoring means something completely different to her - it means an expression of love, an expression of love she one days hopes to share with Mei. Which is what makes it such an uncomfortable situation with Harumin, for whom she has only a friendship type of love.

And Mei, well, Mei is just super gay. And this is where Citrus is worth a deeper look and a rewatch or two. The thing you need to know about Mei is that she falls for Yuzu *for real* in episode eight. You know after Yuzu takes Mei to say goodbye to her father, Shou? After Mei sees Matsuri awkwardly kissing Yuzu in the street? Yeah - right there. That's where Mei falls for Yuzu. The cute little finger twidding scene with her stuffed bear followed by the passionate hug of Yuzu - right there. And here's where the central conflict of the series begins: Mei simultaneously loves Yuzu but also wants to push Yuzu away because of all the baggage that comes with loving Yuzu. Mei is pissed off with herself for being in love with Yuzu, and every interaction for the rest of the anime/manga is an expression of the internal love/hate that Mei has for Yuzu. This is what makes the story so bittersweet - we love Yuzu, Yuzu wants Mei to love her, Mei wants to love Yuzu, we want Mei to love Yuzu, but....Mei just can't allow herself to do that. If you've ever been in a similar situation, you know what's up.

But back to the gayness. Saburouta never asks us to question that they are gay, as is the case with most "will they or won't they" yuri - we are meant to accept it as easily as the both of them do. So Saburouta has taken the standard yuri trope and cast it aside.

I believe that Saburouta very purposely drew Mei and Yuzu as lesbians from the outset for the very reason that this anime/manga is getting so much hate - she wanted to remove the ability of the audience to fetishize the relationship between Yuzu and Mei. For the typical yuri audience, this is anathema - it defies the whole reason they read yuri in the first place. Citrus is, as its core, a very cute and bittersweet love story that most people - gay, straight, or otherwise, can relate to.

In Yuzu, Saburouta has created one of the most likeable, and dare I say loveable characters in manga/anime. Yes, her earnestness and plucky, can-do, kampai attitude is a standard trope, but there is way more to her than that. She actually shares a lot with Mei and Matsuri, parental attentiveness-wise. Her Mom is cool but absent, and new Dad Shou literally married her Mom just so that Mei would have a place to live away from gramps and he's off who-knows-where-doing-who-knows-what. The very first scene of the anime/manga is Yuzu hanging out with the slutty mean girls doing the teen-sex-talk thing. Yuzu desperately wants to belong somewhere, even if it is pretending and exaggerating with the nasty gyarus. She is the light to Mei's dark, again, literally and figuratively. Where Yuzu is overflowing with kindness, love, goodness, and understanding, Mei is a completely dark and vacant empty vessel. Over the series, you watch as Yuzu's love flows into Mei and completely changes her. But what about Mei, what does Mei do for Yuzu? Let's face it - Yuzu is a scatterbrained airhead. She acts without thinking, she has very little personal discipline, and would be distracted by a squirrel playing outside the window. For Yuzu, Mei is a much-needed reality check. When Yuzu is off floating around in teddy bear clouds, Mei is the one who is there to make sure her feet don't get out beyond reach. And Yuzu realizes this and also changes her behavior to be a more diligent student (with mixed results). The two of them are inextricably intertwined and their lives cannot be complete - at all - without the other.

This is why Citrus, and Saburouta, are absolute genius. The subtlety, the way that you can go back and rewatch past episodes re-read past chapters with present knowledge to unlock the motivations of the characters is brilliant.

I will write my review shortly, just read and thinking.
I don't know, the way how people think about this anime, but i love it, very much. I've been waiting this anime show up for years. And buuf, it show up, and you couldn't know how happy i was, so i come to this website, see people leave reviews here.
Some person "very" do not like this anime, and they said this is HOMO, oh wow, now life is very very modern and i don't think we "need" to hate the LGBT, they're human? right? Like we? so why we need to hate them? ... If you don't like this, you can absolutely stop watching this anime, and watch some "excellent" harem anime like you love.
You really really don't need to leave some "negative" reviews. That's all, thanks for spend some minutes to read :D
Whatever, i love this anime very much >w<

Please note this review is intended for those that have already finished watching Citrus and while care has been taken to minimise story related spoilers there may still be spoilers within character analysis. You have been warned.

When sisters meet unexpected sparks fly and an unlikely romance blossoms

Based off a popular manga series of the same name Citrus is a Shoujo and romance anime that takes place within a school setting and gives us the opportunity to see what will happen if you not only find yourself welcoming in a stepsister into your family from your mothers new marriage but also the actions that ... can happen if you were to fall in love with the stepsister that you just welcomed into your family. While Shoujo animes aren’t usually a genre that I'm really interested in when looking at the premise as well as the background source material that it makes use of I felt that the series itself certainly sounded interesting. Interesting enough in that I decided to give the series a chance. The first episode of the series I felt did a great job of introducing both the setting of the series which is the school and of the two main characters Yuzu and Mei. In particular, I felt that the sense of rivalry that developed between them from that moment was interesting considering how later events would play out. Looking back, I'm glad that I decided to give this series a chance as the series was one that I really enjoyed.

The overall story of the series takes place at a famous and popular all-girls school situated in Tokyo that is well known for is strictness and conservative nature and follows the life of Yuzu Aihara a newly transferred student that moved to the city to join her recently remarried mother. As Yuzu, a fashionable and fun-loving girl transfers to the school and encounters the conservative and strict nature of the school she encounters the schools beautiful but strict student council president Mei Aihara who whether through fate or destiny is also Yuzu’s new stepsister. While clashing with Mei both in school and at home Yuzu soon learns that attraction and hatred just like love and hate are two sides of the same coin. As Yuzu and Mei clash with each other they also start to learn more about each other and slowly but surely the two start to bond and get closer with each other and slowly cross the line that divides the sisters and become something more. While slowly bonding with her new stepsister Yuzu as she gets used to both the school and the city also meets and makes a number of new friends while also encountering ones from her past. These include the arrogant but understanding student council vice president Himeko, the cunning and deceptive Junior high school student Matsuri and the Tachibana sisters Sara and Nina who while having differing personalities also have a close and loving bond between them. The overall story of the series covers roughly the first four volumes of the source material.

Yuzu

Yuzu Aihara played by veteran seiyuu singer Ayana Taketatsu of Sao and Youkoso fame is one of the main characters of the series and is the main protagonist of the series. A bright, fashionable and fun-loving girl by nature Yuzu at the beginning of the series was a newly transferred student that had just moved to the area to live with her mother who had remarried. While carefree and positive Yuzu was also someone that had a lot of self-confidence but did not let that make her arrogant and instead was something of a free spirit being both positive and friendly to everyone that she meets. As a result of these traits Yuzu was someone that was able to make friends easily and in this, it can be seen that she’s someone that’s very loyal to her friends and would work hard to help them and support them when they need help while hating it when she is unable to help them. While relaxed and carefree by nature it can be seen that Yuzu is also someone that can get serious at times especially with regards to helping her friends with their problems a side of her that I felt was a great contrast to her relaxed nature and fitted well with the two sides concepts that the series makes use off. In line with Yuzu’s carefree and free spirit type personality Yuzu is also someone that is noted to hate being constrained by rules especially those that restrict in how she should dress. This stems mainly from the fact that Yuzu is someone that believes that it’s the right of high school girls to be able to dress and act the way that they want in order to take advantage of their youth and any rules that prevent that will only be a bad thing for them. In line with this aspect of her personality Yuzu while mostly being someone that prefers to not stand out is also someone that’s also bold enough to make her views on subjects that concern her known even if she was to face censure when doing so.

As the series goes on and as Yuzu gets to both know Mei better and encounter and befriend more characters in the school Yuzu’s personality gradually starts to change as she finds her life becoming more intertwined with that of Mei. At the beginning of the series Yuzu while carefree was also someone that was rather stubborn with her beliefs and often had arguments with people that had different views to her. As the series progresses this side of her personality gradually changes, and Yuzu begins to show more consideration to others while trying to rein in her more brash behaviour and try to think of the consequences of an action before doing them. This change is best shown in Yuzu’s willingness to admit her own mistakes and attempts to take responsibly for her actions and any effects that it had whether on the school or her friends. At the beginning of the series, Yuzu and Mei did not have the best of relationships or the best of first encounters and it can be said that their first feelings on meeting each other as sisters for the first time was hated and dislike rather than happiness and joy that would be the expected. Unlike Yuzu’s carefree and freethinking nature that values independence Mei’s personality, in the beginning, was the complete opposite being rule-bound, and strict which Yuzu applied to both Mei and her family. As the series goes on and they get to know each other more this feeling of antagonism gradually softens, and Yuzu starts seeing and treating Mei as family. As the series goes and Yuzu gets to see and understand the pain that exists within Mei she becomes somewhat determined to break through the shell of sadness that Mei has erected around herself fighting hard to get through to the real Mei that was behind it in a determined attempt to give her what she had craved the most in her life which was love and a place where she can belong too. As a result of this journey, the bond between the two gradually grows deeper as Mei slowly opens herself up to Yuzu’s determined attempts to help her and in the process creating a deeper relationship between the two that Yuzu never expected. The character of Yuzu I felt was an interesting one that was both well designed and developed as the series went on. Its been a while since I had seen Ayana Taketatsu in a lead role, but I felt that she did an excellent job of portraying the character of Yuzu.

Mei

Mei Aihara voiced by veteran seiyuu Minami Tsuda of Guilty Crown fame is one of the main characters of the series. The new stepsister to Yuzu Mei’s personality and attitude is markedly different from Yuzu in more ways than one. An attractive and intelligent girl by nature Mei is the very image of a cool beauty that deals with every situation with calm and logical solutions that hint at her level-headed nature. A quiet and composed girl Mei is someone that believes fervently that rules are the very pillars of society and that without it society would only be in chaos. This is a belief that Mei believes greatly and tries to inspire the students of her school in her capacity as student council president. While a quiet girl by nature Mei, however, is not unsociable and indeed while most people assume that she’s rather aloof the truth of the matter is that Mei can also be friendly to those that she has befriended and can be surprisingly understanding of others while being courteous and polite to those that she doesn’t yet know. From the beginning of the series, it can be seen that Mei is someone that’s very hardworking and takes her duty as student council president seriously. Indeed, she is the type of person that would try to do everything by herself and be unwilling to bother others with it even if it was their role to help in the first place which shows her dutiful and determined nature. To many of the students that she manages Mei is someone that is cool, level-headed and efficient that makes it hard for them to approach however the reality of this is that Mei while certainly cool and efficient is also someone that remembers those that have helped her in some way a side of her that I really liked.

As the series goes on and more of Mei’s personality is revealed beneath the calm and composed attitude that she projects to her fellow students Mei is, in fact, someone that lives in constant pain and isolation and is someone that doesn’t trust others easily. Rather it can be seen that Mei is someone that tries to push those that try to know her away. As a result of having lived alone for much of her life in the beginning of the series it can be seen that Mei like Yuzu needed time to get used to the fact that they now had a much larger family than before and while the relationship between Mei and Yuzu and her mother was somewhat distant at first this gradually changed as the series went on in line with the deepening bond that is forged between them. While hinted on in the beginning as the series progressed it become apparent that Mei’s relationship with her family was rather strained and while she feels indebted to her grandfather who had raised her this also acted as a constraint for her life as well as it limited the freedom that she could have within her life. However arguably the main issue that had caused Mei’s heart to be constrained was, without doubt, the strained relationship that she had with her father which caused her to work fiercely to protect the school even to the point of causing her life to become nothing more than a set of performances. After making peace with her father and fixing this Mei’s attitude gradually began to soften and she begins to break out of her shell and not just be more open with her feelings but also learn to place her trust in others more. At the beginning of the series, Mei’s relationship with Yuzu was that of wariness which was somewhat understandable and kept her distance from her. But as the series progressed on and she gets to see and understand Yuzu’s personality a bit more this began to change. After overcoming many challenges together Mei’s attitude towards Yuzu begins to change becoming more positive and open-minded and less formal in her dealings with Yuzu showing the improving bond between them. While still retaining some of her aloof nature Mei’s personality gradually begins to thaw and begins showing her more honest and warmer feelings towards Yuzu openly unlike before. The character of Mei was an interesting one as her personality while contrasting greatly with that of Yuzu was the result of problems that was caused by family-related issues that ended up constraining her life which I felt was appropriate as it matched well with the theme of family and bonding by breaking through the wall that someone has erected to protect and hide them. I felt that her seiyuu Minami Tsuda did an excellent job in portraying the character of Mei.

Matsuri

Matsuri Mizusawa voiced by veteran seiyuu Shiori Izawa of Asterisk wars fame is one of the main support characters of the series and is an old friend of Yuzu. A 2nd-year junior high school student Matsuri at the beginning of the series behaved somewhat like an old friend to Yuzu being overly attached to her while still maintaining an innocent charm that was unique to her. On the surface, Matsuri was a kind, caring and polite person that seemed to value friendships and bonds.

As the series goes on and more of Matsuri’s personality is revealed it can be seen that beneath this surface Matsuri’s personality is very different. Beneath her surface personality, it can be seen that Matsuri is someone that is cunning, manipulative, and deceitful and will use every available means to get ahead of others as long as victory is hers. In addition, Matsuri has also shown to be rather possessive of things that are considered dear to her such as her role as Yuzu’s little sister. At the beginning of the series, Matsuri was shown to have a rather warped view of what friendships and indeed what a relationship is as she took neither of them seriously and viewed them as something akin to a game. In this, she treated both as something that she can take advantage off to allow her to survive in society while at the same time pushing away things like love and warmth that is a result of the relationships that can form between friends. In a way, Matsuri’s personality, in the beginning, was very much like what Mei had been experiencing at the beginning of the series. As the series progresses and Matsuri see’s the depth of the relationship that exists between Yuzu and Mei and after seeing the truth of what she was missing Matsuri’s personality gradually starts to change becoming friendlier and more open with her feelings while trying to understand what real friendship is by forming her first real friendships with others.

Himeko

Himeko Momokino voiced by veteran seiyuu Yurika Kobo of Youkoso and Seiren fame is one of the main support characters of the series. A member of an upper-class family on account of her impressive and elegant hairstyle and the shops that she frequents Himeko true to her status is a self-confident, determined and somewhat stubborn person by nature that serves as one of the school’s vice presidents and as a result assists Mei in her duties as student council president. A childhood of Mei Himeko is someone that while arrogant is also someone that believes in rules and order and would often pursue rule breakers with vengeance which is often used for comical effort within the series. While arrogant and confident in herself Himeko is also someone that cares deeply about her friends and can be quite perceptive when it comes to sensing when something is bothering them.

At the beginning of the series, Himeko had an antagonist like relationship with Yuzu as the latter seemed to enjoy breaking the very same rules that Himeko see’s as important to both the school and herself. As the series goes on and Himeko’s personality is gradually revealed it can be seen that Himeko’s feelings towards Mei go beyond that of what can be considered a simple friendship. In fact, it can be seen that Himeko has a lot of pride in serving as not just Mei’s vice president but also her oldest friend as well something she uses often when she and Yuzu face off. While Yuzu and Himeko remain rivals for Mei’s affections as the series goes on it can be seen that both share the same concern for Mei as each other and indeed when it comes to Mei’s well being it can be seen that both would drop their rivalry to help her when needed something that I felt was nicely done.

Nina

Nina Tachibana voiced by Rei Matsuzaki is one of the main support characters of the series and one of Yuzu’s friends that she encounters while on a school excursion to Kyoto. A high school girl from another area Nina is the younger among the Tachibana sisters and very different in attitude to her sister. A kind, caring and intelligent girl Nina unlike her sister has a rather laid-back personality and is the kind of person that will not worry needlessly about things that have already happened. True to her laid-back personality Nina is also someone that is really forgetful as well. Nina’s most prominent trait is without a doubt her tall physical height which I find to be pretty surprising for a high school girl. Despite Nina’s laid-back personality, it can be seen that Nina has a very deep bond with her sister and is very loyal to her to the point that she’s willing to act as the villain if it means that her sister is able to have happiness.

Sara

Sara Tachibana voiced by veteran seiyuu Hisako Kanemoto of Food Wars and Gate fame is one of the main support characters of the series and is one of Yuzu’s friends having met and befriended her when they met in Kyoto. A high school girl from another high school Sara is the elder of the Tachibana sisters. A cheerful, positive and considerate person by nature Sara is someone that unlike her sister Nina is someone that prefers to not waste time pondering on something and prefers to strike it out in one-go kinda like a boxer and as a result is also a bold, brave and determined person. While bold and daring Sara is also someone that’s perceptive of others feelings and is the kind of person that will let go of something if it would help others despite the pain that she will feel showing off her good nature. Because of this, however, Sara Is shown to have a dislike for people that give up too easily as she feels that if you don’t go all the way then all you did was take half steps that ended up creating nothing.

AMV

The animation for the series I felt was pretty well done with both the school and the uniforms for it being both well designed and detailed. The character designs for the series main characters I felt were also well done and were faithful to the source material to which I'm thankful. Music wise the series OST as well as the opening and ending themes I felt were excellent and did a great job at conveying the different emotions and feelings that each scene featured. Voice acting wise I felt that the main cast did an excellent job of portraying their respective characters. In particular, I felt that Ayana Taketatsu, Minami Tsuda, and Yurika Kubo did a fantastic job of portraying their respective characters.

Overall conclusion

Overall Citrus was an anime that I really enjoyed watching and I felt that its main strong points were its premise, story, characters, animation and voice acting and its unique use of romantic relationships to heal the hole that had formed within someone’s heart. The main premise of the show naturally is the encounter between Yuzu and Mei after Yuzu moves to the city and the subsequent escalating relationship that they forge between them. The decision to make an all-girls school as the series main setting I thought was an interesting move as though increasingly rare in this day and age single gender girls have the ability to create unique environments that can have the effect of both providing an effective place for students to learn and progress but at the same time trap them beneath layers of responsibility. One of the main themes that the story makes use off is that of the relationships that a family can have and the effect that this can have on members of that family. The decision to make use of the stepsister concept an idea unique to parents that have remarried I felt was a move well done as it not only gave the pretence for Yuzu to move to Tokyo to join her mother but also meet her new stepsister Mei as well. While Yuzu and Mei may not have had the best of first encounters watching the two of them try and come to terms with one another’s existence within their lives was interesting as until they met each other each had thought that they were alone within the family. This gradual process of getting used to being sisters contrasted well with the romantic aspect of the show. The romantic aspect of the show I felt also did a great job at making use of this theme of family as while developing feelings for each other Yuzu and Mei also in the process started to explore the many wishes, desires and restrictions and responsibilities that lay within them that stopped them from achieving the things that they desire. This exchange of feelings as with everything is two sides of the same coin and just as Mei is able to see the hesitation that lay within Yuzu she too is able to see the many problems that Mei hides within her heart problems caused by both a carefree father and an overbearing grandfather that when combined with the school almost suffocates Mei in responsibility and trapping her real feelings in a place where few can reach. The desire of Yuzu to both understand and open up Mei’s closed off heart and expose her true feelings I thought was a great use of the family theme as it provided the perfect key to open up Mei’s closed off heart and provide her with the very thing that she was missing in her life which was that of family warmth.

Overall Citrus was an interesting anime that made use of an interesting premise and a unique way of forging a romantic relationship that can be used to open someone’s closed off heart while simultaneously reminding us that while society can be a harsh place trying to take too much responsibility by yourself and not letting others see your true feelings can be a bad thing. Sometimes its worth it to maybe stop one day and have one long talk with someone that you trust and not hide them anymore. In terms of final score, I think Citrus certainly deserves a score of 10/10.

Peak fiction, complete masterpiece, best thing I have seen in years.
After getting through over 1000 episodes of mid piece filler I finally watched a real anime and im never going back. 12 episodes of pure action and drama. Gave me chills every minute. Characters are insanely well written and so is the story. I hope everyone gets to know the feeling of finally getting home to watch Citrus after 8 hours of physical work at car part factory. It made everything so worth it. k??? r????? omnia palmia pappa vessassa kuremiko mcdonalds 1337 s1lent dead canary san quentin the chair

I just love how people always react in such manner regarding Yuri anime, like, the same people who would be supportive regarding this plot if it was Yaoi, but it's okay.

I understand people who haven't read the manga to be shocked by the first episode and just be like ''wtf is going on'' but I don't understand the hate you'd be giving the anime when you're not even trying to give it a shot, writing a big review, trying to look as educated as possible when you only saw one episode, or even just two.


This anime is really fun and good in my opinion and ... yes, it'll not change your life completely unless you take some courage from the characters about coming out one day.

I might be daring to say that I like the plot, I like how everything develops, I like the music so much, I like the art too, I think it'll only get better and I am ready for it. People get triggered by some of the ''forced'' kiss which I understand, but it's not really how it seems and it gets less crazy and it's worth enduring, although I didn't view at as forced because *spoiler ahead*

[spoiler]They really are into each other/like each other & they'll obviously end up being the OTP.[/spoiler]

*spoiler is kind of done*


Would I show this to my family?

Hell no, they're homophobic.

Even if they're not and it was a straight anime having two people kissing in it, I wouldn't either, too embarrassing. But I'd def watch this with an open minded friend.


I like this because it's modern.
I like this because it's gay.
I like this because it has development in it.
I like this because it makes me also smile, seeing the tiniest of representation in the anime community about us, makes me happy.
I love that we're getting more Yuri and I hope people bear with it and see that it's not really as bad as the first episode made it seem.
It's just a bit daring, to say the least.

It's still pretty early which is why this isn't much of a review yet as it's more of a first impression for the people interested.

The reason I'm writing this is because I'm really satisfied with how well the adaptation came out. Don't get me wrong, I'll evaluate it as an anime not as an adaptation but I just want to say that it really stood out to me how the anime made the setting pop out more than what the manga did. I never really felt the surroundings in the manga and I'm really glad with this since it holds an importance in the ... show. It also stays faithful to the source material as of now but again, it's still too early to end it there.


To begin, this show is about romance. Lesbian romance.

Now with this kind of stories, people like me usually watch it for the sexual fantasy and stuff. It's more about the characters so It doesn't really need to have a mind bending plot. It does have some sensitive themes if that concerns you. With that said, it does a good job on executing it's story.

We have this girl; Yuzu, who is very enthusiastic about being a gal and even lies about having boyfriends to her friends but she gets transferred to an all-girls school because her "mama suddenly found a new papa." On that school she meets other characters but most importantly Mei, the intriguing student council president/grandchild of the school chairman/the betrothed in an early age character (trust me, this is not a spoiler.) They started on the wrong-foot pretty quickly because of their conflicting personalities but what they don't know is that they're connected much closer than they think. We find more and more things about Mei through Yuzu and boom, character development.

It gets spicy very early but it doesn't feel rushed or forced and there's nothing I can really complain about. That's just the scenario but the pacing itself is fine along with the direction. It kinda feel like a k-drama. The use of lighting, the backgrounds, blurring or shaking camera shots, I love how they use the light behind Mei to hide her face when she stood up then showed her expression afterwards as she walks away. I can tell that the studio respects the manga and is really trying all they can to not just merely copy what's drawn in the source material. The art style really captivates me because it's not overly detailed but it looks so good.

The animation isn't outstanding or anything but it doesn't have to. It's good enough for a drama show and the studio knows what it needs to emphasize. Like that scene where Mei searched for Yuzu's smartphone In Ep 1. That scene wasn't just to grab (no pun intended) attention, it's actually important because that's the reason why Mei left such a huge impression on Yuzu when they met. I really like the occational dynamic camera movement too like those in the OP. The show can look good even without that but they still went for it and that's always good to see. The music is fine but I don't have much to say about it really, there's some good ones like the one played during Yuzu's bath in Ep 1 but nothing that stands out.

I'm not sure if this is helpful or anything but I like the show so far that's why I'm persuading people to give it a try.

Ah, Citrus.
The one yuri show that gets shit on because some people don't like some particular scenes. It's a shame really, as it has some very good qualities that most people overlook because all they can see is the bathroom scene from episode 1.

// Story // 9/10
The idea is simple. Yuzu's mom re-marries after her husband passed away when Yuzu was young. Yuzu and her mom understandable move out into a common appartment for the whole family!
Yuzu then has to attend a new school, an all girls school.She gets caught up with the student council for her appearance and breaking of the rules, and gets ... into a mini-argument with the council president.
Talk about a first day.
Oh and she also catches the super hot teacher kissing said student council president, and did I mention that the pres is now her new step sister?
Yeah, this one kind of seems unrealistic, but to me, it works and it sets the stone for everything that is to come.
Yuzu now has to make friends with Mei, her new step sister, but it goes a bit further than just friends, especially in the manga, *wink wink*

// Art // 10/10
Like most Yuri shows, this series has a very polished and clean look. Everything is bright, the characters are all flawless. The one big downside to the anime adaptation is the character design not really matching up with saburouta's (the mangaka behind citrus) original work, especially in the eye department. The difference is very noticeable, but doesn't hinder the watching experience too much if you haven't read the manga.
The setting isn't anything original. Tokyo, all girls school. This makes for some not very original scenery, but scenery that works with the story nontheless.

// Sound // 7/10
Citrus has probably some of the most forgettable songs as OP and ED.
I didn't even remember what the OP was until I searched it up on YT and I still have no idea what the ED sounds like.
However, the voice acting is great, the dramatic moments feel dramatic, and the background music works.

// Character // 10/10
While the anime focuses on (in my opinion) the least interesting part of the manga, it's still key to watch and understand these episodes to understand the rest of the story for the manga. The anime covers the first few steps between Mei and Yuzu, and it's important to see it to understand the workings of their relationship later on in the manga.

// Enjoyment // 10/10
Despite the flaws in the character design, Citrus is a series that I will always love, and one of the few that I find myself re-reading quite often. To say that I started watching because I was bored and found this randomly on crunchyroll...

Yuzu, which is the name of main protagonist, means a type of citrus fruit in Asia (for all of you wondering what the title means.

Story (5/10): You probably should know that Citrus follows a girl to girl relationship. If that bothers you, fine you can skip and miss out on a romance that many current animes have forgotten. Yuzu, the gal-looking one, gets enrolled in an all-girl high school. Breaking the rules on the first day, she meets the student council president, Mei, who not only turns out to be the school chair's granddaughter and her newly adoptive younger sister. From here, Citrus presents ... watchers with two main developments: Yuzu's shift from delinquent to an older sister and Mei's dealing with family problems. To avoid spoilers, let me just say that while there is touching, it is not forced and is much more rooted in innocence and stress. Learning about these characters as the story progresses is not entirely mind-blowing, especially in a high school setting, but it does it and does it well enough. Good. But its not. The last few episodes threw this out and were QUITE disappointing. I am not going to spoil anything but be prepared (5/10).

Art (8/10): I am not really sure how to explain this catergory. I guess the character designs look good and noticable. What actually makes them great is that they are noticable and not flashy (no yellow hair and orange jump suit, just black/brown ish hair) The background is pretty to look at. Some of the art drops in quality for moments (particularly the eyes) and it takes away from the experience a little, but overall great.

Sound (7/10): I love both the opening and ending themes. 10/10. The series does not really utilize sound, so I have to give this catergory (while reluctantly) a 7/10.

Character (6/10): Yuzu just has this rare charisma to her that she is very easy to root for. Her relationship with Mei translates as genuine and with good intent. So far, I enjoy watching her on the screen very much. Mei is OKAY, but I admit that there are some good use of subtle detail. The rest of the cast, however, is generic... well accept 1 who I will not talk about for spoilers :). My favorite part about these characters is that they feel human. Everyone is flawed, and everyone is genuine. Well done for making me care Citrus. The two white haired girls on the cover and opening, however, are pretty unenjoyable. These two additional characters kind of ruined this show for me. If this anime was 10 episodes, I would be more satisfied. 6/10

Final Thoughts: Go watch Citrus. I think it beats Darling in the Franxx in terms of romance and characters, but you know that's just my opinion. Citrus is good, but its not even close to very good; just watch it to enjoy and don't let the yuri bother you.

To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Citrus. The humour is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of Class S Romance most of the jokes will go over a typical viewer's head. There's also Yuzu's gyaru outlook, which is deftly woven into her characterisation- her personal philosophy draws heavily from Adrienne Rich's lesbian continuum, for instance. The fans understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of these jokes, to realise that they're not just funny- they say something deep about LIFE. As a consequence people who dislike Citrus truly ARE idiots- of ... course they wouldn't appreciate, for instance, the humour in Yuzu's queer feminist catchphrase "If I want to do something, then I will," which itself is a cryptic reference to Sartre's French drama No Exit. I'm smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Saburouta's genius wit unfolds itself on their screens. What fools.. how I pity them. 😂

And yes, by the way, i DO have a Citrus tattoo. And no, you cannot see it. It's for the ladies' eyes only- and even then they have to demonstrate that they're within 5 IQ points of my own (preferably lower) beforehand. Nothin personnel kid 😎

Let me tell you a story.

Back in high school, I had a group of four friends. Myself, Florete (yes, that's my actual name), Danielle, Annie, and Melanie. One day we were at a restaurant together and while we had ordered different foods, we all ended up with mashed potatoes as a side. However, we all ate them differently. Danielle, who doesn't like flavor, had them plain. Annie liked pepper, but not salt. Melanie didn't like pepper, but loved salt. I loved salt AND pepper.

After we were done eating, I turned to Melanie and gave her a sweet kiss, with tongue. You see, Melanie was my ... girlfriend, and she's also my sister. Danielle and Annie rolled their eyes at us, the whole "this again" thing, as we had our fun. You see, salt strengthens us, so when we eat salt, we kiss, and it magnifies our power. We're also super gay lesbians, so combining salt with yuri is an astounding combo.

Years later, Melanie - who is my sister and wife (sometimes I call her "Wifester." She doesn't like it) - and I, Florete, were lounging around the house being gay when we discovered this anime called Citrus. It starred lesbian sisters similar to us and was generating mountains of salt all across the internet. Loads of yuri and a mountain of salt? We've never felt stronger!

Yuzu is like me. We're go-getters, the older sibling, the troublemaker. We know what we want but sometimes we're too stupid to know how to go about getting it, so we just do something random and things somehow turn out alright in the end, maybe. But that's why our sister loves us so much.

Mei and Melanie are also fairly similar. They're on the quiet side, but also smart and calculating. It took them some time to realize their love, but when they did, they knew how to accept it. You'd expect them to be on the receiving end of affection more often, but when in the bedroom, they can be surprisingly aggressive. Melanie hasn't assaulted me, though. Yet. Sigh.

Also, like Mei, Melanie is basically a walking lesbian magnet. We can just be walking down the street and girls will just start gravitating towards her, on their phone or checking their make-up, without even realizing what's happening. Sometimes the girls don't even yet realize that they're gay, and I swear she's turned a few straight girls gay by now. It's crazy and awesome. But it is annoying sometimes, because some will actually go after her for real, and then I have to tell them to go find their own sister to love because this one is mine and mine alone. One rival is kind of charming, the next is a little awkward, but by the time the third comes along I'm getting a bit sick of this nonsense. I get it, she's attractive, can we move on now?

What about our other friends? Well, Danielle was closer to me, and Annie was closer to Melanie. Danielle was a great bff, pretty much always there whenever I needed someone to hang with or talk to without Melanie, although I never quite understood just why she was so attached to me. Annie, well, she was my first love rival for Melanie. Charming in its own way, that "Wow, my sister-lover is desired, that makes me feel good that she chose me instead" feeling. We got past it.

Real talk now.

I get it. By its very nature, our story is a bit squeamish, awkward, uncomfortable. Some people out there will be disgusted by the mere thought of it, others will try to have an open mind but be turned away when they see what it took for us to get there, some of the things we did. But there are others, those who will appreciate, those who will understand what we went through, those who aren't looking for an average rom-com, those who will follow and enjoy our story BECAUSE it's like this, because there really is a lot to love here. There are happy times. There are sad times. Good decisions and bad decisions.

We don't care what anyone else thinks. We're in love.

FAQ
Q. Is your name really Florete?
A. Of course it is.

Q. Are you and Melanie blood-related?
A. Hmmm...perhaps.

Q. Did you actually review Citrus?
A. Didn't I, darling? Didn't I?

Q. But you didn't say anything about animation or acting and such!
A. Sigh...Must I really?

Q. Yes.
A. Fine. It was good. Decent. If you're not a stickler for the technicalities you won't notice anything (Mei's English dub voice is really perfect, though). If you are...well, I'm not, so I can't help you there. Watch the trailer, or something.

Q. I have no further questions.
A. Thank you, internet voice.

Overall.
Overall this anime isn't going to hit a 10 in any category regarding it's quality as an animated feature - frankly, it just isn't. It's not a work of art or a musical masterpiece, it doesn't rely on dynamic aesthetics to hook you. That said the art and sound really aren't bad; just don't expect to much from them, and let them do their job quietly. I feel like the presentation of the characters is a bit exaggerated and clunky, but at the same time it's probable the original subtlety of certain(especially Mei's) expressions would have been quite hard to replicate in animation without risking ... being overlooked. The cliffhangers kind of annoy me, but that's probably just impatience, and although I'm being especially critical I actually have hopes that this will gain enough recognition to be continued. In the end, this is just a story about a girl, who meets a girl, and how the shit hits the fan. Please enjoy it!

(Before watching this anime I was pretty nervous, as I'm a big fan of the original, but know as a yuri, and with therefore a comparatively small fanbase, this wasn't likely to get the best funding and quality. It was hard to tell much from the PVs aside from the art style, which, although isn't as elegant as in the manga actually turned out alright. I've seen this anime get bashed quite a bit already, which is disheartening, but I decided to watch it anyway.)


Story.
There are some slight changes here and there, but so far pretty minor details. I feel like there are a lot more awkward moments than in the manga, but maybe that's just because in the manga I could take my time wincing at Yuzu's cringes ^^". The episodes are definitely big on cliffhangers, and the original drama in the plot is worthy of korean TV, so if you don't like that then please don't hate on it, Citrus just probably isn't for you - otherwise you will become hooked, as Saburouta is ruthless!

Art.
The art, as I mentioned before, isn't anything special, but actually I think it's been adapted pretty well in the simplification for animation, and it's good and consistent, which is a relief. The animation itself seems to be masquerading as a high visual anime (the kind that shows hair shifting in the breeze) but is somewhat clunky, as though it could use more frames for the most fluid movements, and clearly takes shortcuts with layers occasionally, however it's not too bad either. Not something you'll really notice after a few minutes.

Sound.
Um, there's no way around it, I was seriously underwhelmed by the OP.
((side note - not to mention the fact that in the opening sequence alone there are probably more kisses than in the first two or three books together... I can see why people are bashing this as fan service now (this isn't the only instance, first example is what should be sudden proximity is now extended groping :/ ??) That makes me kind of sad, because we've now seen everything before we've even begun, and it takes the thrill out of the romance - anyone who has read the manga will know what I mean, because in the manga actual kisses are preciously rare to start with (we'd get like, four a year, seriously war rations for fangirls T^T), and each one represents new progress in their relationship. Well anyway, whether you're about fanservice of not, this isn't an ecchi, so don't expect it.))
Also, I never expected Yuzu to be that bad at singing ^^" but honestly it's not that out of character, so I'll let it pass. The ED was better, although it wasn't amazing.
((there is a montage of what seems to be blatantly collaged original art and new sketches, or maybe it's just a careless impression of Saburouta - the faces are good, but in some images pretty much everything else is botched?? It's just the ED though.))
As far as Seiyuus are concerned, well, it didn't strike me like "Oh my god, that's Yuzu!" but it's not terrible either, although it reminds me of Louise from Zero no Tsukaima. Mei's voice seems a bit high in pitch, and even a bit too mature, which was unexpected considering she should sound mature(maybe it sounds aged?), but it's pretty much the same as Yuzu's in terms of whether it fits the character. Harumin's is also a bit mature, but honestly I think it fits best of the three ^^"

Characters.
For newcomers the main characters are pretty much polar opposites - Yuzu is bright and loud, headstrong, righteous and optimistic. She's also quite simple, she desperately wants to fall in love, and her dream is to be a caring housewife. Mei on the other hand is depressed and systematic, tending to accept what is expected of her, without much passion for anything, aside from running the perfect school. I'm sure you've guessed already, but Yuzu's kind and candid, if somewhat idiotic nature slowly starts to warm and heal Mei's heart. I mean slowly. That heart is a glacier so deep in the antarctic the penguins could huddle there all winter. But Yuzu's pretty oblivious in some ways, so she goes and ploughs ahead anyway ^^"
As the story progresses we meet new characters, each with their own problems and personalities, and bring something for the girls to learn in order to move forward.
If I'm comparing to the manga then Mei is probably more expressive, or rather, her expressions are less subtle, and the transitions between her cool and not cool aren't exactly smooth as a result, but she's still generally a very taciturn character; Yuzu...well I think you get a stronger sense of her airheadedness and childish side? The only other character we've met properly so far is Harumin - Harumin is perfect imo, and fits exactly where she should as Yuzu's support (and that unavoidable rogue ship) - it's also nice to see the contrast of her make up when she goes out with Yuzu.
I feel a bit like the importance of Yuzu's mother isn't shown very well in the anime. In the manga it's clear how much Yuzu cares about her mother's happiness, but it's not so clearly understood, which is a shame, because that part of Yuzu's character is probably one of the things that isn't just "typical gyaru" that everyone immediately labels her - don't get me wrong newcomers, she's definitely dressed for it, but she has various reasons, which include wanting to be beautiful, but hearing her side it becomes such that she doesn't feel like such a 2D character (no pun intended ^^").

Enjoyment.
Although I can't exactly say this is the height of anime, maybe because I wasn't expecting much from this anime I can definitely enjoy it, I'd recommend this to my friends, and unless something drastic happens I'll definitely keep watching. I'm hoping of course that the anime stays on track, and that I can keep seeing my favourite yuri come to life. I can't believe I'm caught on a cliffhanger when I already know the plot!

(TLDR Review below, as always, thanks for reading)

There is a distorted mindset in every corner when it comes to Citrus.

It is an anime that simultaneously holds titles of being lowbrow fetish bait for those looking for none other to satisfy their lust for girls' love, there is also a minority who will dismiss such perspectives as a mere defect of the cognitive thought of analysing an anime (lol). I stand between the two pillars of the bridge, or one could say that I don't even stand on the bridge at all, for in my eyes, Citrus is none other the same as any romance anime ... issued to the public, the only difference is that it uses a more niche GL as a premise than the otherwise standard heterosexual relationships which usually dominates mainstream romance anime.

I'm not one to entwine the ability of anime directors to supposed S-tier literature writers of the past such as Dumas and Dickens, however, I do believe that any piece of media can assume to the realm of subtle intellectual ideas ranging from a wide variety of field of studies, though, human irrationality is very much a thing that cannot be cured, and we have a tendency to think up nonsense that amasses to something that didn't exist in the first place, or such ideas that if some entity references parables and the likes it must suddenly mean said piece of fiction of the acme in a means of "intelligent thinking". It is one of the reasons I am not entirely impressed with anime such as NGE because the motives of each individual can be aligned with many pieces of media of today. The only weight it holds is a class act, which, I will admit, is very praiseworthy. Maybe it is that of the subconscious seeking the enjoyment maxima, I wouldn't know, I am no psychologist.

This idea to take prey for minuscule detail is one of the reasons why I didn't find any reason to "overpraise" Citrus as I thought I would. I did initially come into this thinking it would be a nice challenge of the mind, but as time continued, there was simply no reason for me to excessively hound down on literally oxygen particles in an attempt to praise it like some Victorian doctor receiving new evidence debunking ghosts. There just wasn't that kind of impact. However, on the flip side, as stated in the early paragraph, Citrus was bound to not only some irrational praise, but also bound to inconsistent hate, this idea that an anime can be automatically bad based on the very same premise it was proposing. I've never liked this idea because it denies the basic creation of art rights, to limit something just because someone else may not like it. It is against creative freedom if anything. The fact that no one will take the time to look at "pointless kisu-kisu scenes" and then brush them off as some negative factor of the anime is nothing short of absurdity and a little hypocritical to concurrently say said thing has no value in the anime, but has value in the analysis, considering these scenes happens frequently, you'd think that there is some meaning to it rather than it being there just for the "fanservice".

And so, with that, I bring forward what is it about Citrus that should share its place amongst the crowd as just another one of those series that comes and goes.

What I really like about Citrus, and what differentiates it from the rest to give it its own name rather than solely being generic, is the idea it uses consistently. It is a tidy mess of things around this anime, with more factors being more praiseworthy than the others, but overall the writing and the presentation of such is pretty damn good. What Citrus does is that it presents different kinds of emotional conflicts between individuals in a basic, but splendid manner. Sisters being conflicted on what one thinks about the other, linearly increases acts of sexual conduct falling under forbidden acts among sisters, connections between different individuals who quake the relationship in hand. There is a lot of emotional play here, and it is written to a substantial degree. There is more intricate stuff like the kissing and what else goes on that are very interesting to understand too. As stated, I don't think it falls under zenith quality levels of works, but it is still somewhat a clever idea, which I believe falls into how one undergo the feeling of love. It is not all sunflowers, but instead, a thorny rose, if anything, it is a believable aspect, especially when going into a more controversial topic. This idea is that love is not always a walk in the park, rather, a fight against the many obstacles in the way of whomever it is one desire, a fight within oneself too. The dangerous thorns must be overcome for one to reach their glory, it is a reminiscence of the sweet, sour, and bitter tastes of the past. It is. Citrus. It is a clever idea for sure, all in all. However, one thing that annoyed me with Citrus was the layout.

Now I know teenagers aren't the brightest of the bunch, we cringe at ourselves when we look back to the times of being one of the "cool kidz", or how the world hated us and everything was their fault, or just actual stupid nonsense (some of which was fun to be fair). So I find no reason to dislike any of the characters here doing dumb stuff, such is a part of life. My problem is the frequency of these characters, those who come and go only exist to push the main two to the ending everyone already knows will happen. Sure, as individuals, they are cool, generic yes but that doesn't make them bad, though they cannot have a reason to exist if it wasn't for the main two. It kills humanity to them, killing any and every standalone feature, thus not having the believability in range to make them more loveable characters, one can only assess their behaviour, but otherwise, there is nothing more to them than to otherwise be the spice in the plot necessary to forward the duo to the desired outcome. I suppose that may be the role of a side character, though I've seen side characters elsewhere who are certified for positions in making themselves their own anime because they have that kind of good character to themselves, so there is no real excuse here, in dramas at that too.

I should speak of the main characters before moving to the next section too. Starting off with Yuzu, I personally enjoyed a lot about Yuzu, and I thought to myself, when the anime had ended, that she is a great character in what she does. She is a dumb teenager, who gets dragged into the perplexing pinball world of emotions, trying to find out exactly what it is she needs to do to satisfy herself, or her emotion of love. She doesn't go through the most grandiose development, but I don't think that is a means to deny her any praise, for her strength is journey altogether. Yes, nothing really changes, but actually seeing her visibly trying to understand what it is she needs to do is nothing short of a good motion in direction. She does very questionable things, but also tries to behave in a sane manner to actually understand herself, you know, the talking to others and what have you, all the while putting in the effort necessary to maintain who she is as a person, being a kind and upbeat girl. There is none of this disjointed development that literally makes zero sense. She is a character I managed to look back only positively, I really mean it, her growth isn't entirely visible, but I seriously liked it when looking at the long term.

Mei is a more interesting one, who is in the very same position as Yuzu, they are both coherent to one another, the only difference with Mei is that she is influential, her impact on others is part of the reason why this series is what it is, for that, she plays her role well. There isn't a lot to go on about the girl, she is closed about herself and tends to not be the most expressive, her troubles, however, are quite the interesting ones, and despite how she is presented, she can boil down to how others behave too, she just took a route she thought was best for her in life, which is a lot different to others, but that is not her core at heart. Even though she is very much human, Mei is presented as a very lost girl, she is disturbed of what it is love should be due to lack of experience on her behalf, it is seen countless times that her conduct simply isn't the right way to behave, yet she only does so because she doesn't know better. It is a simple detail, but it makes her more human and something maybe others can relate to, just not as dramatically. I wouldn't imagine there is more to her than that misguided life, for she isn't some kind of ridiculous enigma too. I suppose I enjoyed Mei's presence, and although it seems like she is an emotionless enticing individual with nothing more to her than some horniess, one must not forget what she has gone through in the anime.

All in all, Citrus is very good at its narrative. It doesn't have the strongest or most bewildering elements to show off, but it is certainly not one that falls into the general consensus of it being hated for reasons I cannot fully commit myself to. It is a little deep, but plausible, and it is something I quite enjoyed the themes of. Many will be quick to call it uncomfortable as a means to dislike what it is that is presented, but that kind of narrow-minded behaviour doesn't allow for one to heed the thoughts behind in the first place. It is sad, but such happens. I suppose Citrus is a little citric to all that taste it then. As it should be ironically enough.

For a Winter 2018 anime, it is just about hitting the bullseye of "good" production. The values here are as clean as the key visual at hand. Polished characters, good animation, you can see the effort has taken place where effort would otherwise be discarded generally. There weren't too many moments where a scene looked half-hearted, all around, everything was really good. I suppose the actual design of the characters wasn't unique, but that is the only criticism I can think of if you can even call it that. Nothing wrong with stagnated standards, you just need to ornament or go all out if you wish. Truth be told, for the audio side of Citrus, there wasn't much of value. Sometimes it would feel like a remix of the main theme would play over some scenes, other moments would fly right over as audio I could not possibly hope to have a lasting impact on me. Seiyuus did as well, as they should, so there isn't too much to comment on that. If I really wanted to, they managed to leave a good idea of the tone of Yuzu and Mei, but that was about it. Nothing else to speak of.

So, I enjoyed Citrus, chances are you probably won't, but I made this review because making reviews are somewhat interesting as well as maybe it could provide some insight as to why this anime isn't as bad as people make it out to be, it is also nothing I would consider to be something only intelligent people can understand. Really and truly, it is an average romance SoL anime with some very believable and interesting main characters, so not enjoying this would be a little strange, even if presented a little different, assuming you are a fan of SoL romance. Most of what they did can have an enjoyable effect in that participating in the journey with them is entirely worth the while for sure. There are also some wholesome scenes that happen here amongst the chaos.

I don't have any universal guide for the ranking of absolute enjoyment, but I advise one to look at Citrus not in a way that brings forward offensive content, but in a way that is actually trying to understand what it is and why it is people do such "unbelievable" facts, overstepping the boundary of thought is also not advised.
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TLDR Review:

Story - 8: A great idea and clever way of representing such ideas presented, the direction, however, especially with characters, are a bit undermining, otherwise it is really good.
Visuals - 7: Actual absolute good visuals for its time. Clean characters and everything had some effort into it.
Audio - 6: Not exactly the best, stale and forgettable at times, but nothing actually bad. Seiyuus can leave an impression on Yuzu and Mei tho.
Characters - 8: Very good characters who are very believable, they go through some questionable phases but it is all an understanding process. Side characters aren't the most interesting themselves tho.
Enjoyment - 7: Quite enjoyable. The idea was nice and everything was really well thought out, enough to look back in a positive manner. Probably not enjoyable if you have a closed mind.
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A long overdue finish in watching this, but I got there in the end. Citrus is pretty good stuff. I tend not to dislike a ton of anime anyway. It was pretty obvious as to why this was hated, but I have an open mind. Have to say, it is much better than Bloom into You tho, and I am saying that as a person who, as of this review, has read the superior version of the more acclaimed series compared to watching the inferior version of the more criticized series.

Both are still *sometimes* wholesome tho. Anyways, would recommend this, it is good for what it aims to present but it is a little disconnected in the ideas presented, for it is just an everyday romance story slightly derailing against the norm. A story based on a matter of understanding as well as a story of girls' love.

Also, watch Candy Boy if you like Citrus.


Overall - 7.43 (7)

Previously on LA's anime reviews, specifically Netsuzou TRap review...

"Let's just hope Citrus does better..."

LA's prayers has been answered!

Citrus was a really hyped anime of Winter 2018 for LA but as much as LA has it's problems and ohh boy there are and we'll get to it soon but LA does look beyond this to see one of the better melodrama yuri anime of Winter 2018 and a strong contender for LA's guiltiest pleasure anime.

Ok so the major problems with Citrus is quite obvious from the first episode alone and we'll get to right now, Mei Aihara voiced by Minami Tsuda, sexually assaulting Yuzu Aihara voiced ... by Ayana Taketatsu. This is played up for melodrama and sparked the step-sister yuri relationship because Mei came onto Yuzu. The implications are there but LA can't defend this besides bringing up the catalyst to the entire relationship Citrus is built upon AND we get to know Mei for her not-so pure stoic personality. The next problem is the obvious love rivals our main yuri couple goes through TIME AND AGAIN, from Mei's friend and vice president of the Student Council Himeko Momokino voiced by Yurika Kubo a rival to Yuzu, Matsuri Mizusawa voiced by Shiori Izawa, Yuzu's childhood friend who's less than pure and rebelliously anti-social thus is Mei's rival AND finally Sara Tachibana voiced by Hisako Kanemoto who's in love with Mei (as a love at first sight deal) with Sara's twin sister Nina voiced by Rei Matsuzaki wanting to support her thus both become a rival to Yuzu. Mei and Yuzu goes through soo many love rivals both with their "factions" wanting Mei or Yuzu respectively and causing even more melodrama with Matsuri being the worst offender in all this, let's not even get to the fact that Mei's side of the extended family thinks nothing of Yuzu's family that causes LOTS more melodrama. Mei Aihara is also a huge problem to the plot itself, she being anti-social straight-headed and not "getting social" cues if her assaulting Yuzu by the first episode is any indication that she's not exactly emotionally accepting, she herself becomes her own obstacle throughout her relationship with Yuzu through the anime.

Alright, so as much bitching about Citrus LA said about it, LA will now start defending LA's flaw points now.

So the entire sexually assaulting thing, well by intents and purpose LA sees this lazy writing but it does at least shows Mei as an emotionally stunted individual who really doesn't know about love or can't portray it besides sexually as that's all she really knew before meeting Yuzu due to her own personal and family problems dealt to her does make her rather relatable, LA isn't necessarily saying that just because she's relatable now means Mei is a good character but LA does see more than that besides "sexually assaulting step-sister". Now the melodrama surrounding the majority of anime from the rival love interests to family coming in to try and stop or split up their relationship, well for rival love interest though this element comes up ALOT in the anime, LA does see what it meant to do, make either Mei and Yuzu develop together be it individually or through their relationship to get to know them a bit better in that respect to show that Mei and Yuzu love each other but they just can't spill it, now having the rivals used MANY times does get repetitive just under differing circumstances but nonetheless the intent and purpose is there and works for the most part to improve our main yuri duo. Now the family issues are also played up as melodrama but this can also be defend using the above. Well the problem with Mei sticks for a while but LA will defend her a bit by saying that she DOES develop with all the rivals and family issues that pops up and again though she remains emotionally stunted throughout the anime, there are little moments where she does try to open up to Mei.

Yuzu was LA's favourite character of Winter 2018, LA just can't explain, ohh wait, no it's because she's usually the more intentionally charming and helpful of the entire cast but struggles with her love life and when Mei arrives it just changes her and ALSO tries to help save her, where Yuzu herself soon finds herself if her love for Mei is true or not. This isn't helped by her voice actor Ayana Taketatsu where she herself has been really notable this Winter 2018. Harumi Taniguchi voiced by Yukiyo Fujii was also VERY likable being Yuzu's best friend and she helps Yuzu out like a best friend does to the point LA wouldn't mind a Yuzu x Harumi all things considered if Yuzu x Mei doesn't work out. *ahem* by all intent, LA can really see Yuzu and Mei's relationship bloom through their HEAVY list of trials and tribulations, some out of left field but mostly coincidental.

In terms of animation by Passione, the character designs are VERY polished and extremely striking for the most part, not to mention the various outfits many of the characters goes through. The "yuri" moments are short and simple but the animation doens't skimp on the details (the only problem being Yuzu and Mei themselves), the backgrounding was decent enough but not really noteworthy, but nonetheless from all this, LA will say that the character designs are the best thing from the animation department and this is probably the first "good trashy" anime with decent animation behind it LA has seen.

And on speaking of those "yuri" moments, yes Citrus does have some *ahem* titillating moments but the furthest it goes is skinship with kissing shown more often than not (and LA doesn't mean the kissing is shown by Mei & Yuzu, it goes to the other characters as well). You'd think LA would be disappointed by this however the implications and some titillation IS there, it's just masked ALOT of the time by the melodrama that ensues earlier or later before the fanservice that DOES detriment the scene but still the intent is there.

The voice acting, well this anime ALSO has a plethora of idol-esque voice actors backing up this anime cast and uhh did the ADR Director do it intentionally with Love Live and iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls alumni known for their yuri fanbase like having Ayana Taketatsu (which felt like another meta-joke at Ayana herself but this time she's the OLDER sister), Minami Tsuda, Yurika Kubo and Rei Matsuzaki. Add in Hisako Kanemoto as Nayuta Kani from last season's Imouto sae Ireba Ii and it felt like the ADR were in on the joke. Yeah Ayana Taketatsu easily gets best voice actor from LA, NO DOUBT. But LA would like to give a rather surprising voice actor credit to Minami Tsuda in portraying the emotionally stunted Mei.

Citrus has been said to be too melodramatic and not at all yuri, but LA begs to differ as MANY yuri/shoujo ai animes like Yuri Kuma Arashi, Kuttsukiboshi, Sakura Trick and hell LA will give SOME credit to Netsuzou TRap that melodrama helps move the plot and the relationship across it's just HOW they do it and Citrus does it pretty much the same. LA gets that some of the audience would want more "yuri" moments than "melodrama" but be it slice of life or romance or drama genre. "Yuri" and "melodrama" for LA is synonymous with one another to one get to know the main characters through their trials and tribulations through a forbidden love and two, without the melodrama the main protagonists relationship would have NEVER grown and finally, no melodrama means no story...coincidental or not.

Citrus is LA's second guiltiest pleasure anime for Winter 2018 (ohh there's a guilty pleasure anime LA found much more guiltier than this), but going by yuri/shoujo ai standards and it not being yuri trash, then yes as much as Citrus HAS ALOT of flaws from the repetitive rivals and family issues melodrama shown and less yuri moments to the main characters of Mei and Yuzu going through their own relationship issues with each other BUT LA can see beyond that to see a very good trashy yuri/shoujo ai anime with those trials and tribulations only growing the main relationship, a likable main protagonist of Yuzu and some interesting characters like Harumi and some good rivals to Mei and Yuzu to test their relationship like Himeko and Sara. Some people see it as melodramatic trash, LA sees it as good yuri trash and better yet, this is one of LA's hyped anime of Winter 2018 that actually followed through with flaws and all.

I'll go straight to the point:

-STORY (6): The story plays safe and is not overly complicated. It is clear that the main focus here is the relationship between the 2 main characters. We have some sidestory sprinkled here and there which is nice. It could be better, but it's enough. The drama is a bit cheap sometimes tho. The backstory is kind of superficial and character development is predictable.
-ART (7-8): Art is slightly above average. Characters have enough individuality, without crazy haircolors and clothing. The fanservice is the main focus.
-SOUND (7): Not much to say, the songs are good, the voice acting is fine.
-CHARACTERS (7): ... Are not entirely stereotypical. Yuzu is not as superficial as you'd think, Mei isn't always serious and Himeko has a soft side.

Enjoyment (9): Ah, the entirely subjective part. I really enjoyed this anime because it is the best yuri I have seen so far. I don't mind the slight incest, because I don't feel it is the main focus. You should definitely watch this anime for the yuri.

==> Overall: 7.5 (8)

When I decided to watch Citrus, I had never heard of it before. I’d never read the manga, never heard someone mention the series at all. I just saw the picture, watched the PVs and decided it looked intriguing. I was hoping for a really juicy romance story with amazing characters and a ship I’d support for a while after. After finishing the series, I was not disappointed. Citrus was a rainbow of emotions, it’ll have you laughing at one point, in suspense seconds after, and leave you in tears (in a good way).

Story 8/10: For the most part, Citrus is your generic love ... story. Main protagonist meets the love interest, their emotions get sparked, struggle to comprehend their feelings, soon realize it’s love, and confess, all while the love interest is pursued by other “antagonists.” Despite this, Citrus still manages to stand out from other romance anime. Not only does Yuzu have to comprehend her feelings for Mei, she’s struggling with her first real live being for a girl, a felling she’s never experienced before (as far as I know. As I previously stated, I’ve never read the manga). While there are others who also have feelings for Yuzu or Mei, they’re all valid and (despite already shipping Yuzu and Mei) you kinda end up low key shipping it. As for yuri scenes, while there are a few there aren’t too many that distract from the story which I appreciated.

Art 10/10: I loved the art style for Citrus. The colors were so bright, eye catching, and just beautiful. The artists clearly took their time to make each scene as perfect as they could. As an amateur artist myself, I’ve tried recreating these amazingly drawn characters, and can’t come close. While the general art was amazing, it doesn’t come close to the kiss scenes/ romance scenes. There was real emotion on those faces which made it easier to feel for the characters. Eye appeal is one of the most important parts of making a good anime, and Citrus nailed it.

Sound 8/10: The opening was a super catchy, dancy pop song that almost perfectly represented Yuzu’s personality. Each episode you’d be dancing to the opening, and trying to sing along. The ending, while a bit calmer, also fit very well with the feel of the show. The music in the background was fitting, and was never louder than it needed to be and you could always hear the dialogue over top. The voice actors all did a wonderful job portraying the characters, and filling their character’s voices with necessary emotion.

Characters 9/10: By the end of the season (hope for season 2) I loved everyone, but Yuzu and Harumin were the best from the beginning. Focusing on Harumin, she is the BEST supporting character since, well, I don’t remember. But she’s amazing. Harumin fills the series with humor from her first appearance. But humor isn’t the only thing she brings to the show. She’s an amazing and supportive friend for Yuzu and does NOT get enough credit. Yuzu’s just a perky, waaay extra child but (almost) everything crazy she does is for Mei, and that’s really admirable. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Mei at first because of some of her more, how do I put it, forceful?.. behavior with Yuzu, but after learning about her past and what goes on in her mind, it’s easier to sympathize. While I won’t go into them, the other main supporting characters, Himeko, Matsuri, Sara, and Nina are all super unique and each bring something new and important to the story.

Enjoyment 10/10: If I had to pick a favorite anime of the season, I’d say Citrus in a heartbeat. I don’t usually watch anime in season, I usually wait to binge it, yet I kept up with Citrus. Citrus made my Saturdays special, and I’d be waiting all week to find out what would happen next. The time between waking up on Saturday to the new episode would often be agonizing and I’d spend the rest of the day obsessing over what I just watched. After that last episode, you’ll want to rebinge it and read the manga immediately (if you haven’t already).

Overall, I give this series a 9/10. Go watch this anime now, it will be worth your time. I hope you end up loving it as much as I did, and that this review was helpful.

It was really great to see a Yuri anime with a storyline that didn't make me cringe throughout the whole series. I definitely did cringe at this one too don't get me wrong ("Mei!") - but it was a nice enough storyline to keep me enticed and wonder what would happen next. It's your typical slice of life anime without any insane plot, but has a storyline that you can follow easily. If you're looking for something mediocre then this is it. If I could give any critique it's that the relationship was really oversexualized (probably cause it's a yuri anime) but I wish it ... could have been more realistic. Also, there is some non-consensual kissing. I think that producing shows like this is really great even if it doesn't deserve a 10/10, especially for the girls out there that like other girls. Of course, if you aren't willing to understand lesbian relationships you're probably not going to like this anime.

Watch if:
- You aren't easily offended.
- you support girl on girl relationships.
- you aren't looking for hentai.
- you like slice of life.
- you don't mind a mediocre plot/storyline.
- you can withstand bold characters.

Thank you for taking this review into your consideration :)

After watching and expertly taking notes on the various styles of kiss scenes that the animators deployed on its viewers, my #squad have formally decided that this anime was a Load of Bolognese. Yes, I do know that it is spelled bologna, but a dear friend of mine spells it this way, so I do as well. [Breaking news: she has recently proclaimed herself as dead, so I will continue to spell it as bolognese for the rest of my life in Memory of my dear, dead friend...]

On a more serious note, the episodes themselves were very confusing. The storyline didn't make quite a lot ... of sense as we skipped around maybe eight (8) episodes in a span of 5 minutes and jumped straight to the ending. While there were parts that made every gossip in town gasp while whispering, "Tea......", there wasn't enough substance for them to continue saying, "Tea..................." For instance, when that pink haired girl who looks like that other pink haired girl from dokidokiLiterature club but with a red jacket took a picture of natsumi kissing Meimei, she didn't do anything with the photos (or at least in the 2 seconds we saw her in the parts that we skipped to). We were severely disappointed in the tension build-up throughout this entire episode, as we are all firm believers that if your animation's storyboard is not entertaining in every other storyboard, then your story isn't that entertaining. Period. Take, for instance, Finding Dory. Each time you skip around (as I often do to see if a story is entertaining in short span of time), each scene is as exciting as the last with either a chase sequence, scenery, or general story build up to the final conclusion of actually Finding Dory.

THe smear frames in the episodes were too long. With our expert OSU eyes, we easily spotted them in half a second and naturally skipped back to the scene to pause and laugh at. Although smear frames are a must for fast-paced scenes, they are not needed when that blonde girl who looked like the main character from Shugo Chara was getting groped as her water bill increased because she never bothered to turn the water off in that one scene in the kitchen. Furthermore, the art style is just. Lazy...? Like why was the dad skinny in her memories but chubby in the photo? Did they get their lore wrong? Or is Meymey's memories just so hazy from being so young that she forgot that her dad was actually a King DUmpling.

Anyway, the actual character designs are alright. Until about 4 minutes into each episode where they introduce a new character that it looks almost exactly lik a different well-known character. I could list a few RIGHT NOW.
- I mentioned this before but Natsumi looks exactly like Natsumi from DokiDokiLiteratureClub. Her pink hair with the C-shaped curls are the exact same style as Natsumi's along with her bangs.
- There's a girl who looks exactly like Teto Kasane, a welll-known vocaloid. She has the same curls (drill style), but her's are "natural" apparently. We all forgot her name because she was so insignificant to the plot. Memna?
-There's a girl who looks like Mema from Anoharana. She looks almost exactly like her and she even has a crush on her older sister, just like in ANo Havana.
- There's probably more , but we skipped around too much to see any of the characters.

Anyway, the next point of topicWOULD be the soundtrack; however, I was watching the entire thing on 2x so I didn't actually get to hear any of the music in the background. Furthermore, I was also laughing and playing a mobile game which ALSO was a rhythm game, so if any of the music did get out of my laptop, it didn't reach my ears. I'll rate it a 10/10

And, last but certainly least, the ending. We did not enjoy it. four out of ten.

I lied. I want to talk about the grandpa. Personally, I find it quite distrubing that the grandpa was preparing his legal forms for his will and such after he was hospitalized for his Meymey, but nothing in the show was ever shown talking about it thereafter. They just threw it at us and left. He didn't even die in the end.

I also want to talk more about the ending. After discussing with my excellent consort of trusted advisors, we have reached the conclusion that the ENDIGN was ALSO bolognese. The two main pair walk off into the distance while holding hands and into a white title card that has the less-than-impressive title font in Times New Roman with a clipart of a cut orange in the background. What does that even mean. How are we, as the dedicated viewers, supposed to enjoy this show without even knowing if they have a happy ending or not. Does the grandpa ever die. Does Meyamy eveer succeed her grandpa in taking over the academy. Does her father ever come back and show his daughter the love that she needs instead of just pushing it all on his new step-daughter that he litearlly never seen before that one episode he walked in with a giant bear. Does the Mom ever get a raise after working all day and night at the construction area because we litearlly never see her. Does the two what was it called again AvoHana sisters finally break it off and find healthy relationships that don't revolve around each other because they are literally 10 and 13. Does the AnoHana girl ever come back to life to haunt those 6 people that killed her. Does Natsumi ever break free from Momoka and be able to develop her own sense of personality and goals in her life even after knowing that she was born from code to fall in love with a stranger out of her own volition. We literally never find out. Chao

This was a really touching story. It dealt with sexually assault very sensitively and was well understood within the context of the characters. In no way does the show glorify, normalise, or excuse it. I cried a lot during this, I found it an incredibly beautiful story and the plot was well-written. It was not, contrary to popular belief, lesbian smut or fan service. This was a very realistic portrayal of adolescent confusion, love, angst, and yes sexual assault. It is unfortunately realistic that Mei felt sexual advances were her way to maintain control given her history, especially with the sexual abuse she had from ... her fiancée and the events surrounding her father and having a very strict upbringing. Initially I was cautious and uncomfortable about the sexual assaults in the first two episodes, but pushing past that I could see it wasn’t just done for the sake of it.

Character development was good, although not overly extensive, it did help you understand the context of their actions. Both characters were flawed in their own individual ways. The art style was pretty standard. Enjoyed the music a lot.

Would recommend to anybody. One of my favourite animes.

This is my second review ever. Lets start by saying that this anime is in the genre Shoujou Ai and won't be for everyone and it was definitely an interesting watch.


_Story 8/10 : The story in this anime revolves around the relationship between two teenage girls named Yuzu and Mei. Due to the marriage of Yuzu's mother and Mei's father they end up living together as step-sisters. Because of this they have a relationship that is not simple at all and with their feelings it gets even more complex. A lot of the show consists of Yuzu dealing with her inner demons and asking herself ... questions such as "what do i want/need?" and "what does Mei want/need?". The pacing was very good in the beginning of the show (ep 1-8) but near the end of the show it became slightly more frustrating to watch because of how Yuzu handles situations so poorly. The story is pretty unique and it was refreshing to watch. I give it an 8/10 instead of 9/10 because of the bad pacing near the end and because of a certain character but I shall go into detail on that in the character section.


_Art 10/10 : The art in this anime was outstanding and it was one of the best I have watched in a while. In the first episode when I saw Yuzu with her makeup on it looked really weird to me and I really disliked it. However she ends up not wearing any so that was good (for me at least). The character designs in this anime were so good. The way each character looks different from one another was very nice to see because of how many anime I've seen where the girls all look the same. One of the best things about the visuals in this anime was the characters eyes. Mei's purple eyes just look so awesome and the colours of all of the school uniforms and hair looked superb as well. The background art was also very good in this anime and at some times looked almost like it was filmed instead of drawn. I give the art a 10/10 and the only negatives were how the lips looked kind of strange and Yuzu's makeup was just so weird to look at.


_Sound 6.5/10 : I give the sound in this anime a 6.5/10 because it was not anything special but it was also not bad. Like most anime it was just there and forgettable. However the music never seemed out of place and the opening was not that bad as well.


_Character 7.5/10 : The characters in this anime were really the deciding factor in its success or failure. Lets get into the important ones.

Aihara Yuzu - Yuzu is one of those characters in anime that is overall liked and she doesn't seem to have any real downfalls other than being somewhat dense. She is always trying to understand what is going on in Mei's head and she is usually unsuccessful which gets frustrating at times. Overall a pretty good protagonist.

Aihara Mei - Mei is another character that seems to be one of your general anime stereotypes at first (the cold tsundere/princess), but you will quickly realize that she has many reasons to do the things that she does and her depressing backstory added a nice touch of drama. She is not honest in her words or actions at all which leads to many situations that could have been avoided which is annoying at times, but its a part of her personality so it wasn't that bad. Her character added a nice sense of darkness and also realism as well.

Mizusawa Matsuri - All I can say about Matsuri is that she was by far the worst part of the show. The only purpose she served was to halt the progress of Mei and Yuzu's relationship. She has a twisted personality and is unreasonably mean. Her part in the show was very annoying to watch.


_Enjoyment 8/10 : Overall this anime was very enjoyable for me. It has a nice mix of drama/darkness and those heartwarming moments. The ending was very good as well and no strings were really left untied. The supporting characters were pretty good and were not overused which was good. One thing about this show is that often times the way that Mei and Yuzu force themselves on each other can be somewhat disturbing to watch. When I say "force themselves" I'm not talking about raping each other or anything like that, but they steal kisses from each other and its sometimes uncomfortable to watch. The characters don't really get phased or traumatized by it so it doesn't have a real everlasting effect.


_Overall 8.4/10 : In conclusion this anime was very good and the art in this show is so good that I would say its worth a watch just to view the art. The story and pacing was pretty good and it was resolved nicely. Overall this show gets a 8/10 from me and I don't know why it has such a low rating on MAL.