Citrus Episode 7 Discussion

SJ7izm said:
Getting used to the voice already, honestly. I like the manga's portrayal of Matsuri's anger way better, though.

She either just glares or does a really dark smile. It suits her way more to me, as opposed to her actually furrowing her brow.

Tasel said:
I don't know what kind of products Yuzu uses, but her knees are too pink.

Saucy said:
Maybe I missed it, but I haven't seen a reply or discussion as to Mei's strange reaction to Yuzu kissing Matsuri.

Mei was clearly affected and distracted by it, but the one line she said really stuck with me. Sorry if I get the wording wrong, but Mei hugged Yuzu from behind and after trying to grope her said something like: "isn't this what sisters do?"

I'm really conflicted as to what this means. Prior to this, I read Mei's sexual aggression as a way to push Yuzu away, but this time, it seems like seeing Yuzu kiss someone else really bothered Mei and I would have guessed that she would shut down, but no, she pressed on almost going back to where they used to be.

My best explanation so far is that Mei really is conflicted about her feelings and she's fighting between possibly being attracted to Yuzu and thinking that it's wrong. She tries to push Yuzu's boundaries again knowing how she will react and maybe that's what she wants. She wants a reason to not love Yuzu or maybe make Yuzu hate her. Trying to squash Yuzu's love for her because she isn't sure she can return it.

Of course, that's only a tentative theory. I would be interested in what you think about that particular scene.

Saucy said:
I worry about this particular arc with Matsuri because she seems like a typical romance roadblock. I wouldn't mind so much if she served a purpose in developing the relationship between Yuzu and Mei, or even fleshing out Harumin as Yuzu's best friend, but I hope Matsuri is given logical motivations. So far, she seems like a pretty shallow burnout who uses people for her amusement. People like that exist. They're easy to hate and they make pretty boring "villains."

GenesisAria said:

Going on human psychology here: her issue is that she's on the berder (and has been the whole time) between being a sistern and her old conditioned habits of misusing sexual activities. Her understanding of these things is quite a bit different because of her circumstances; she's not overly familiar with what love is supposed to be etc. When Mei sees Matsuri doing that, it's like, there's a subconscious jealous she doesn't understand, then there's her old sexually abusive conditioning, then there's Matsuri being referred to as a sister, so Mei is comparing herself to Matsuri as she imagines Yuzu's perspective might be.

So yeah, Mei's mind is a mess just as Yuzu's is, but in a different way. They're both confused and disoriented and continue to confuse eachother. Which frankly, although dramatic and hella spicy, is also cute when you think about it.


Hmm... I don't find it boring, personally this was the most intense development yet. She is a MONSTROUS catalyst between Mei and Yuzu, because it's going to make Mei jealous and introspect. Matsuri is my favourite char so far in this series, but i have a soft spot for naughty cuties (especially when they're a bit young DX), but if you were paying close attention to that last development, Mei was utterly furious with Matsuri, for so many reasons, but her jealousy added a dark vibe to her staunch demeanour; she is staking her claim against Matsuri and even abused her powers to do it - even if not conscious decision - huge development. I've never been so on the edge of my seat for the outcome of a triangle before. I mean it's obvious Matsuri is gonna lose, but how dirty is it gonna get before that happens?

Saucy said:

Again, the way they see sexuality is very different. Yuzu is a romantic. Every touch, kiss, and word matters to her. This is why she was so conflicted about Mei kissing her and then touching her repeatedly. To Yuzu, a kiss has very specific meaning and of course, so does the way Mei touches her. This is why she becomes angry at Mei when she can tell that Mei isn't being genuine when she touches her, she even says herself, "I don't want it like this." It's not just about touching and sex for her, she needs meaning and genuine love. Mei is clearly much too liberal with sexual touching since she doesn't see it as a big deal. To her, it's a tool.

Yasashi- said:
it's kinda sad once any episode is on air the anime rank goes down and down, maybe it will end with 6.8 or something...

LF2005 said:

no no no, big mistake, Yuzu becomes angry at Mei because she calls her easy. in that context it means slut/whore.

Saucy said:
I don't seen any evidence to suggest Mei was abused, unless it's in the manga. The only thing that comes close is her being forced to marry that teacher at the start and I just don't know enough to say whether she wasn't also a manipulating the teacher.

Saucy said:
As far as Matsuri. My worry is that she's obviously isn't going to take up the rest of the season, so her motivations won't be explored that well. As of now, she is here to drive a wedge between Mei and Yuzu, which is meant to help Mei work out how she feels about Yuzu. She is obviously conflicted and jealous, but we don't know how far she will go. Does she want Yuzu to be just her sister, or does Mei think Yuzu is worth her love as well?

Matsuri herself is portrayed as a sociopath. She has no shame, no regard for people's feelings, and she's able to produce a fake persona to fool Yuzu. Harumin and Mei see through her, which is good, but this type of character worries me because we could have a much better roadblock. As the audience, we are clearly meant to hate Matsuri. She arrives just as Mei and Yuzu finally reach a moment of mutual attraction. But instead of having Matsuri be someone everyone but Yuzu seems to hate, it would have been much more powerful to make her a really likeable character. Someone who we as the audience can really see rival Mei, as well as make Yuzu question her love for Mei.

Saucy said:
Now, there are at least two good reasons to make Matsuri completely unlikeable. For one, it makes Mei appear much more likeable by contrast. Mei is seen by many people as a heartless bitch and meeting someone who is truly heartless makes Mei seem much better. And two, Matsuri being some aggressive and evil is an unambiguous signal to Mei that she needs to intervene and fight for Yuzu. If Matsuri was likeable, perhaps Mei could just let her have what she wants, but this obviously wouldn't be a satisfying outcome. Also, by attacking a likeable character, Mei would again appear to be a gigantic bitch, which would not help how Yuzu and we as viewers see her.

GenesisAria said:
@Saucy
I know pretty well what Mei is thinking, it's pretty well broadcasted in her actions and behaviours, which is partly why i respect this series so much.

Mei is distorted. She's been used, so she's learned sexual things to be like venting and stuff... She thinks Yuzu is coming on to her like all the others did, or at least that's where she initially comes from "oh it's another one," basically. Even if Mei likes Yuzu deep down, her actions are full of contempt from her experiences... To her, those things aren't pleasurable or nice. She doesn't understand, because she's confused about Yuzu, as from her perspective, it's mixed messages: "do you want me as a sister, or do you just want my body?" It's truly not that complicated.

So yeah, let me clarify: Mei is not liberal, she's tainted.

When Mei comes on to Yuzu sexually it's a combination of 2 things:
1) venting on others how she herself was treated
2) she gets the impression that Yuzu wants to use her, so she's like "is this what you want?"
ofc that's not what Yuzu wants, she doesn't want Mei's body, she wants Mei's love, which includes intimacy.

Saucy said:
I just don't get where you're finding evidence for Mei being sexually abused.

Saucy said:
She knows that the way she treats Yuzu is wrong and she knows Yuzu doesn't deserve it. I just think that the way she views sex is utilitarian, much like all of her other relationships. She has been building her life the way her dad had before he left and this made her grow cold and cynical. I think her absolute denial of her emotional side coupled with her ambition is what led her to lose touch with people. This is why she say Yuzu as just a nuisance rather than someone she would want around and as any good romance/coming of age story, Yuzu is the spark needed to light Mei's fuse, to bring her back into the light.

Saucy said:
Sociopath or not, Matsuri, if not given proper motivations is a terrible character. People who do terrible things for no reason, or bad reasons, are not interesting or fun. Even tragic characters are only good if we can be reminded that they're human and that we can be in their shoes. If Masturi is doing evil shit because she's bored and doesn't care, that doesn't make her fun, that makes her an annoying and sad nuisance. The audience should feel sorry for her or at least be able to understand why she does what she does. It's not possible to understand sociopaths or psychopaths because they lack some of the most basic human qualities like empathy.

sea-lemon said:
I hate Matsuri so much, there's nothing worse than a character that is pain in the ass because they don't give a shit about anything and just wanna make a mess for the sake of it. Here I thought that Momo idiot was my biggest problem. But if we're gonna look on a story telling point of view, Mei needed to wake up to the her real feelings towards Yuzu and the easiest way to do that is with a rival. That's a shame they're going down this path, I just hope Matsuri gets wrecked and kicked out by the next episode.

MHEEC said:

sea-lemon said:


That still doesn't justify her behaviour, in fact, it's such a cliche explanation that I don't feel an ounce of pity for her. She has gone on this long without Yuzu, so she should carry on without her. but she still comes across as a brat that needs to disappear no matter what.

Saucy said:
I'm not saying it's not possible that Mei was sexually abused as a child, but there is just not enough evidence to boldly assert it as so. It's not the only explanation for her behaviors, albeit it could explain why she feels like she can take such liberties with Yuzu without consequences.

Saucy said:
Again, my explanation was that Mei was trying to push Yuzu away and to make sure she wasn't a threat to her future, but this idea backfired on her and lead to Yuzu falling in love with her. Just think of how powerful of a tool sex can be. If you have just been introduced to a sibling with whom you don't want anything to do with, crossing such a boundary is a sure signal to put them off. There are obvious problems with that approach, but it's a sure way to get them to hate you.

Saucy said:
I don't know what other signs you're talking about since you only mentioned the one with her kissing the teacher.

GenesisAria said:
@Saucy She'd have no reason to believe sex a tool to manipulate unless she'd been victim or otherwise exposed to such things.

GenesisAria said:
@Saucy
But now you're assuming she watched a lot of sex drama or porn... but there's no evidence for that, and everything points to her likely previously sheltered view (rich people in anime are almost always overly sheltered) being tainted by experience.