I really hope chapter 36 is not the end of the CITRUS story. I waited so long for the next chapter and it turns out to be like this. My heart felt down. I hope there an turnover for this story.

Can't we just rename the series in: "How to break Yuzu's heart in nearly every chapter"?

I guess the audience (though I suspect this was probably more prevalent amongst the western fans) just liked the idea of him throwing away the chains of his birth and upbringing too much to really delve into negative consequences of his actions, since I saw very little animosity directed at him (contrasting with the grandfather, who is for many Lucifer incarnate).

That's the thing that puzzles me: Even thought the grandfather is taking a decision for may disregarding her agency, he's doing it out of duty. Meanwhile, mr. free spirit just went ahead and said "fuck it all" and left all responsibilities to his very immature and extremely damaged daughter, and somehow Mei's at fault for being damaged as fuck. I don't know man, I'm not saying her leaving Yuzu like that was the right thing to do (Far from it), but it makes sense to me her reaction and decision, once you put everything into consideration.

Expecting Yuzu not to chase and come after her... Stupid Mei.

At this point, it feels like Mei has become the Justin Bieber/Taylor Swift of Yuri manga/anime world; its just so much fun to hate on her. Everybody just jumps on the bandwagon of hate without even considering the damaged nature of her character or the fact that she is suffering so much. Why so hate? Because she didn't turn out like her f**ktard father and is actually a responsible human being?

At this point, it feels like Mei has become the Justin Bieber/Taylor Swift of Yuri manga/anime world; its just so much fun to hate on her. Everybody just jumps on the bandwagon of hate without even considering the damaged nature of her character or the fact that she is suffering so much. Why so hate? Because she didn't turn out like her f**ktard father and is actually a responsible human being?

It's all a question of whether you can excuse Mei's actions or not. If you see what she is doing as "being responsible", and understand that she's a deeply flawed character with lots of issues of her own, you might be able to "excuse" what she is doing to Yuzu. But that would require the reader to be sympathetic towards Mei, which is just not something a lot of people can do, seeing as she is not a relatable character all things considered.

And therein lies the issue. If you only see Mei's actions for what they are and not why they are (which is the way most people judge other's actions towards themselves in their day to day lives) you can only see Mei selfishly benefiting from somebody being in love with her, while not having the decency to tell them the truth before the inevitable meltdown, hurting the other person deeply in the process, and in the end instead of putting in the effort to help the other person understand, she just leaves them to deal with the pain alone.

So the real dilemma is deciding between which of these two questions hold more weight:
Did Mei have compelling reasons to do what she did? and
Did Mei end up taking everything she could from their relationship and severed it at a point most beneficial to her, disregarding the other person completely?

Most people seem to see the second question as more important than the first one, hence all the hate.

Why so hate? Because she didn't turn out like her f**ktard father and is actually a responsible human being?

What Silfay said, I'll just add that we are, as readers, supposed to feel what the MC (Yuzu) is feeling. What she is feeling is betrayal from the one she loves(d?) the most, it hurt. Since not everybody is as strong as Yuzu, they end up hating the one who hurt Yuzu (them by proxy?) : Mei.

Some people wanted Yuzu to find somebody else. I dread the prospect of seeing another love triangle, but this time with somebody who seduces Yuzu and make her forget Mei...

The fact that Mei decided to date Yuzu, give her hope for the future, while fully knowing that one day they would have to break up the entire time makes it very hard to be sympathetic to her. I can fully understand people hating her, not because of her duty to her grandfather and family but because of the way she played with Yuzus heart.

The fact that Mei decided to date Yuzu, give her hope for the future, while fully knowing that one day they would have to break up the entire time makes it very hard to be sympathetic to her. I can fully understand people hating her, not because of her duty to her grandfather and family but because of the way she played with Yuzus heart.

To be fair, Mei resisted the relationship for a long while. It was Yuzu who aggressively and persistently pursued her, even though she should have known how unlikely it was to turn out well.

To be fair, Mei resisted the relationship for a long while.

Mei has been Little Miss Conflicted from Day 1–it’s her defining characteristic (along with being unable to communicate her feelings directly—how many important conversations have Mei and Yuzu actually had while looking each other directly in the face, rather than one speaking into the other’s back, or them sitting side-by-side looking ahead, or with a stuffed bear in between them, etc.?). At least when they kiss they have to look at each other.

In all kinds of stories, when the protagonists get in crisis, we look to see who can potentially intervene for them—who knows what they need, and who would be motivated to help? In this story, only a handful of people even know what the problem is at the moment, but the list of people who might potentially help is basically every character in the manga except Rapey First Fiancé and Mr. Almost-Compensated Dating Guy (with the good guys even possibly including Gramps, once he finds out what the real deal is).

I think the immediate narrative strategies getting us to this point have been both very abrupt (the reintroduction of the arranged marriage problem) and quite clunky (sudden time-shift + Dear Yuzu letter when the narrative had been crawling along—how long were we at that freaking fireworks festival?—and depicting important scenes directly). But when it comes to characters who could possibly help save the day we have an embarrassment of riches.

last edited at Feb 22, 2018 9:02AM

To be fair, Mei resisted the relationship for a long while. It was Yuzu who aggressively and persistently pursued her, even though she should have known how unlikely it was to turn out well.

I know Im repeating myself from my first post but the most recent episode of the anime compliments the current manga events quite nicely. In the most recent episode Yuzu asks Mei if she can hope for their relationship to become anything more, of course Mei shuts her down with the classic "no, we are both women and sisters."(I would have liked to see her reveal her eventual engagement here since that would be a bigger barrier than their genders and legal family relation.) That should have been that, but then as soon as Mei sees Yuzu getting close to someone else she drops the excuses and goes on the offensive. I just can't forgive her for doing that to Yuzu. It would have been much easier for Yuzu to get over her then but Mei disregarded Yuzus eventual heartbreak because of her jealousy.

Enjoying the happy moments in the Anime is much harder knowing full well what comes next in the story. It just makes Mei look more and more like the bad guy.

last edited at Feb 22, 2018 9:38AM

That was when Mei just play with Yuzu feelings.

@themusicman500 Exactly. Mei knew she has to get married someday and this relationship won't turn out well. So she tried to overcome her and back away from accepting Yuzu's feelings. But she couldn't help falling in love with her. I mean, who could.

@Silfay Yes, I do sympathize with Mei, but I'm not saying everything she has ever done to ruin their relationship is justified or excusable. I'm just with her on her latest decision. I didn't like it when she sexually harassed Yuzu, even if it was a plot point & she had reasons for it. I didn't like when she was constantly putting off Yuzu when she wanted to be just ''sisters''. I didn't like it when she didn't tell Yuzu about the impending marriage thing. Maybe she didn't even know it herself until they came back from the trip (chap 34, grandpa's call) idk, but still. But she made a right decision (at this situation) by choosing to go on with the marriage. I'm just saying people should not hate her based on this decision. The time skip was stupid though, but for that SU is to blame not Mei.

In the end, Mei is just a human who is prone to mistakes. Even if she acts like a very mature Ojou-sama, we know how innocent and childish she is (just remember Matsuri arc, chap 22 or vol 7,8). She is just a teenager, you can't blame her for not taking decisions like an adult.

Also, Mei didn't play with Yuzu's heart, she wasn't the one who made Yuzu fall for her. It was Yuzu who just fell in love with her after a forced kiss (I'm not justifying it, I didn't like this development anyway). Its not like Mei just went on and thought ''Dis bish bimbo af, Imma jus play wid her heart and break it wen I'm bored of her lol.''

@Yuri Queen Mei went on the offensive? Where? The only time Mei's acting ''offensive'' is in her interactions with Matsuri. She never directly confronts Yuzu in any way, except the shoujo hug in ep 7/chap 9 and chap 12. Heck, she even goes on a compensation date with a old fart after Matsuri blackmails her, even though she could have told Yuzu the truth. After Yuzu rejects her in chap 13, she never approaches Yuzu by herself again. It is Yuzu who chases her in chap 16. So tell me, what was ''offensive'' here?

last edited at Feb 22, 2018 11:35AM

After Mei witnesses Matsuri kissing Yuzu Mei hugs Yuzu from the back, feels her up and licks her neck. She then tells Matsuri to back off her future girlfriend. If that's not going on the offensive I don't know what is.

last edited at Feb 22, 2018 10:13AM

@Yuri Queen Mei went on the offensive? Where? The only time Mei's acting ''offensive'' is in her interactions with Matsuri. She never directly confronts Yuzu in any way, except the shoujo hug in ep 7/chap 9 and chap 12. Heck, she even goes on a compensation date with a old fart after Matsuri blackmails her, even though she could have told Yuzu the truth. After Yuzu rejects her in chap 13, she never approaches Yuzu by herself again. It is Yuzu who chases her in chap 16. So tell me, what was ''offensive'' here?

^ Except I did mention it.

last edited at Feb 22, 2018 10:34AM

Sorry, didn't think we were talking about the same thing since you were asking where Mei went on the offensive.

Then I don't know what the issue here is. Mei is still on the offensive in chapter 12 and they are officially dating by chapter 16. Mei went on the offensive after shutting down Yuzu the first time and that makes it hard to forgive her in the long run.

last edited at Feb 22, 2018 10:43AM

Mei just reciprocated Yuzu's feelings. She never actively participated in any ''relationship stuff''. Look at their 1st date. She is so clueless that she needs help from a frigging notebook. Yes, Mei should have told Yuzu about the marriage thing at some point. But as I said before, maybe she didn't know that she would be having 2nd engagement talks so quickly after all the drama regarding the 1st one. She knew she had to get married eventually, but she didn't know that this was gonna happen so soon. She was kind of living in the present, not thinking about the future, like Yuzu. She isn't that oblivious like Yuzu (chap 22), but she ain't that prudent either.

I really don't see how you can claim any of that. It's just not there in the story, at least not yet. Mei has been shown to be a smart capable woman. She has shown to have issues with relationships but not with school or taking over as headmaster while her grandpa was in the hospital. She has always had her future planned out and should have known that her engagement was right around the corner.

Even if she wanted to act selfishly and childish for once she still played with Yuzu knowing that it would eventually end with Yuzu being heartbroken. Maybe not that month or year or 5 years, but she knew it was coming eventually and did it anyways. Even if you want to excuse it as her being a selfish teenager it still doesn't make it right or make me any more sympathetic to her.

Sometimes being a smart capable woman doesn't mean she is long-sighted too. Maybe she didn't know about everything. Not like grandpa would tell her everything he is planning right?

And I never said Mei Aihara is a flawless person. She is a selfish and a childish person with communication issues. But saying she ''played'' with Yuzu's heart, and framing her as some kind of dirty bitch that takes advantage of others is a bit of a stretch. She loved Yuzu too, y'know? That's all I am trying to say. I am not trying to prove or claim something.

Well whatever. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I respect your opinion so please bear with mine. Thank you and good night (in my time zone).

Wow that chapter nearly beats u to death, this shit was deep I hadn't been this emotional since WDTFS, I really didn't see it happening that way like I thought Mei would tell her in person or Yuzu would find out and they get in a big fight etc. Sigh like where do we go from here? I mean this is crazy I just hope....*sigh*

The time skip was stupid though, but for that SU is to blame not Mei.

As I mentioned in another post, I think the use of the time skip was pretty smart (even if it's an easy narrative tool). The betrayal the audience felt with it is akin to the betrayal Yuzu might have felt when she read the letter (which was an easy break-up tool). It's a bit meta, but it makes the intent of the author even more powerful and bring the audience closer to Yuzu's suffering.

Also, every relationship is supposed to end at some point, and I guess many are saying stuff like "we will be together forever", etc. at the beginning, because that's how they feel at this moment. So I wouldn't really hold it against Mei in the grand scheme of thing, if it weren't a romance story. Even in the context of the story, she's damaged so she isn't irredeemable.

She was kind of living in the present, not thinking about the future, like Yuzu.

I agree, I think Mei was just indulging herself in Yuzu's love because, well, it was hard not to. She was selfish on this one, because she wanted to be happy for a brief moment.

last edited at Feb 22, 2018 12:27PM

But Mei is all about the long play. Even as a child she did everything she could to prepare for her father's return. Children are not suppose to plan that far ahead. And her dream to take over the school requires her to plan at least her next 5 years. And with her already having been engaged once before she had to have some idea what she would have to do sooner or later. I just don't see how she couldnt have known about future engagements.

Knowing all that, I just can't help but feel like Mei played Yuzu. Even though she actually loves her she did play her by not telling her the whole truth.

Children are not suppose to plan that far ahead. And her dream to take over the school requires her to plan at least her next 5 years.

I wouldn't say she planned it thoroughly. Many people also say things like: "I want to start my own business in 5 years." but don't actually make proper plans to reach their goal. Her plan could have just been: become Student Council President, do paperwork, get good grades, get married, take over school.
And she's been doing these tasks properly, so her plan was basically to work hard.

And with her already having been engaged once before she had to have some idea what she would have to do sooner or later. I just don't see how she couldnt have known about future engagements.

She might not have known she would get another engagement if she was not informed since the last incident with her previous fiance. It's not like she could've avoided yuzu from the start either. People just can't ignore their feelings and be completely selfless.

@Yuri Queen say you were in Mei's shoes:
You spent your entire life wanting nothing more than to take over the school. You don't care if you have to marry someone you hate if it's necessary and if your beloved grandfather wants you to (also he's really sick and probably dying).
You just met this wonderful girl that changed your life. You know things might not end well, but you want to cherish this feeling that is new to you and don't quite understand. It made you selfishly wanting more, and then you take it too far. And now no matter how much you will regret hurting her, the best thing to do is leave asap before it gets worse. Because now you know you're getting engaged soon, and you can't rewind time. Her life will probably be better without you too, you're both girls and sisters on top of that. Yuzu, being the kind person she is, can easily find someone who will treat her better Bc I'm trash for hurting her from the start.
Your father, a loved one, abandoned you for his resolve. But you still respect him. Why can't you do the same to Yuzu? Is there a difference if it's between father and daughter or between lovers? You question yourself. You don't really know. You're like 15/16 years old and you never had to ask yourself this and you're terrible with relationships (whether it's love, friendship or family). You grew up only following rules and orders.
If not, are you going to give up the work and time you spent your entire life trying to get? Your resolve is too strong to give up now.

I'm just not following you. How is any of that suppose to make me sympathetic to Mei crushing Yuzus heart? I have said that excusing her actions being that of a selfish teen doesn't make any of it better in my eyes. She played with someone for her own self satisfaction when she knew the entire time what was going to happen. Getting caught up in the moment isnt an excuse, especially when after turning Yuzu down she went on the aggression after Matsuri entered the scene.

I also want to make a correction. Mei didn't want to always take over the school. She spent the last 5 years taking care of everything in hope that her father would return and take it over. Only after he told her he wasn't returning did she finally choose to do it herself. And he didn't necessarily abandon her, he offered for her to come with him but she refuses and stayed behind. Not exactly what you should do with a small child but he did give her a choice.