One of my biggest gripes with the show is its writing. At times, the writing can be quite solid and give a lot of emotional depth to the situation being presented. But most times, the melodrama is quite forced and eventually just gets tiring to keep up with.
The one thing I hated the most about the writing (and about the whole show, actually) was the nonconsenual elements. These acts serve no purpose to the overall plot, and seem to have just been included to grab the auidence's attention. That being said, it makes the show (particulary the first half) so uncomfortable to watch. Had these elements not been present, I probably would've enjoyed Citrus a bit more.
Another big issue I had with Citrus is its characters. I won't exactly get into detail with the side characters, but I will say that most of them were boring, and the ones that served as the antagonists for a brief while were quite annoying. The characters I will be discussing in further detail are the starlets of our show: Yuzu and Mei Aihara.
Yuzu Aihara is probably one of the best protagonists I've encountered in the little amount of romance anime I've seen. Throughout many times in the shows, she proves herself to be an emphathetic character in how she interacts and cares for others. Despite this however, she also has her flaws, as she can be arrogant and a bit of a jerk at times. This actually made her more realistic and relatable to me, and I really liked her as a character. I just wish I could say the same for her goth girlfriend.
Mei Aihara is a dull, and overall, unlikeable character. She barely has any personality aside from staring with a constant deadpan expression and an adherence to filial piety. The little personality she does have is that of an awful, manipulative molester. I was hoping that I would grow to like her as the story progressed, but I just ended more sick of her character by the end of twelve episodes.
Even as someone who has taken half a year of chemistry in high school, I could tell that there was practically no chemistry between the two at all. Their whole relationship dynamic is unhealthy (as it all began with the aforementioned nonconsensual elements) and feels terribly forced. It's incredibly hard to care about a love story when one of the characters is unlikeable, and that is exactly the case with Mei Aihara. The only reason for them being an item is because the story says they have to be an item, without any justifiable (or healthy) cause. What does Yuzu see in this girl that makes her even worth pursuing? The obvious answer is nothing, and its a shame that Yuzu couldn't see that as well.
Aside from my long and incoherent rambling on the story and characters, I would also like to briefly discuss the sound, art, and my enjoyment.
The art is lovely. Even for all the girls in uniforms, each of the characters have a fair amount of design that distingusihes them from each other.
The sound is fairly decent. I didn't care much for the opening, but I kind of like the ending theme.
Overall, I have mixed feelings towards this show. I can't say that I liked it, but I won't exactly say I hated it either. (Though it may seem that way.) Had it done some things better (like a more even narrative and better characterization for the side characters and Mei) and done away with some others (removing the nonconsensual elements, for example), I would've enjoyed it a bit more. At the end of the day, I just wish that Yuzu could've gotten a healthier relationship. She deserves better than Mei!
