when and how Saburouta hinted that Harumin has feelings for Yuzu? she just said "I love you too....as a FRIEND" that was just Harumin trolling around with Yuzu and I think that scene was needed to clear any doubt about Harumins intentions for Yuzu

She didn't need to clarify it though. If there was nothing there, a simpe "I love you too" would add up more. Like, you don't clarify the "as a friend" or "as a family member" etc, when you say I love you to your friends and family. Also the way her expression was drawn was weird.
Even better, because that scene was emotionally charged, a "I support you no matter what" would make even more sense. "Saying I love you too...as a friend", especially after someone comes out just makes me wonder.

I'm probably not doing much good trying to explain this, but honestly, that scene was done well, so here I go.

I know this is kind of the opposite of that classic advice, but have you tried looking at the pictures instead of just the words? (and the delivery of the words instead of just the words out of context).
A lot of meaning is conveyed though facial expressions in Citrus.

Regardless of any theories about Hrumi's secret feelings, that scene is clear. The "clarification" (punchline) was needed because Harumin wound her up with the tease "declaration" just before. She was making a joke to ease the tension because Yuzu was on edge (just look at the smirk on her face as she says it, that is not a "play though the pain" smile). Next frame she is shocked at how hard Yuzu took the joke. The story never made it explicit but it is likely Harumi guessed about Yuzu and Mei long before this, by the camp or even earlier. I suspect the implication is that Harumi felt Yuzu's admission was long overdue. If there is any subtext in that chapter, it is that "thank you for waiting" may have double meaning referring to Harumi waiting for her come out in her own time.

On a completely unrelated note, how did I only just notice that Harumi's surname is 谷口 when her character intro was about hiding things in her cleavage (maybe I just forgot).

I have a lot of sympathy for Saburouta's possible frustration with Haru-Yuzu shippers (if that is what she feels; satire isn't necessarily spiteful).

If there is such a thing as yuri-exploitation genre, then a large part of it would be rooted in "bating" the "grey zone" between friendship and romance, keeping readers on the hook, without ever committing to anything (ironically what people accuse Citrus of doing). Not to say that there aren't legitimate stories in this area, but it is grossly over represented.

In Citrus it feels like we have a story that breaks the mold - not only is Yuzu-Harumi carefully constructed as a platonic friendship, but Yuzu-Mei is never put in the grey-zone. She was briefly confused at first, but Yuzu never pretended that she just wanted sisterhood or friendship from Mei - even when she was trying to be a "good sister" she explicitly knew that wasn't what she wanted.

We may have been kept in suspense about the outcome, but there was no doubt about the gay (of the lack of it for Haru-Yuzu).

last edited at Jul 25, 2020 11:03PM

'She didn't need to clarify it though. If there was nothing there, a simpe "I love you too" would add up more. Like, you don't clarify the "as a friend" or "as a family member" etc, when you say I love you to your friends and family. Also the way her expression was drawn was weird.'

In the situation, I don't think "as a friend" means anything about Harumin. Given that Yuzu had just come out as being into girls, or at least one girl, and Harumin herself being a girl, it could be simply clarification, not self-denial.

I remember hoping for Harumin/Yuzu myself, but I think I based that on her facial expression, not words like that.

Harumin's facial expression and the way the whole scene was, made it clear (to me) Harumin had a thing for Yuzu that she decided to give up on right there and then to support her as a friend.

Just read the Anniversary chapter...OK this is it, Citrus has become too lame. Dropped.

Will keep tracking the forums for news of HaruMatsu happening (probably never).

Harumin's facial expression and the way the whole scene was, made it clear (to me) Harumin had a thing for Yuzu that she decided to give up on right there and then to support her as a friend

Yeah like come on! I know they will never be a thing, but to me it's astounding how far people can go to excuse something blatant when they just don't like that certain narrative.
And I'm not saying this necessarily means Saburuta doesn't make fun of HaruYuzu shippers through Nene, but since I believe there were some underlying feelings from Harumin, I don't think she'd make fun of her own writing.

And I'm not saying this necessarily means Saburuta doesn't make fun of HaruYuzu shippers through Nene, but since I believe there were some underlying feelings from Harumin, I don't think she'd make fun of her own writing.

Self-depreciating humor is a thing you know.

That's also hard to know because of little focus there was on Harumin in the first place.I mean, as soon as Matsuri get introduced, Harumin's role as Yuzu's help as gone to mostly nothing. Hell, even during the school trip where Matsuri is not here, it's Sara who does her job.

Just read the Anniversary chapter...OK this is it, Citrus has become too lame. Dropped.

Will keep tracking the forums for news of HaruMatsu happening (probably never).

Don't let the door hit you on your way out

Do people in these comments not realise that love is on a spectrum? Some of you make it seem like it's binary and it's either platonic or romantic.

You all sound like you've never had love, or only experienced one kind of love.

Harumin loves Yuzu with all her heart, but projecting that to explicitly mean romantic love shows a massive amount of immaturity and inexperience.

Until it is written in ink, we are all just guessing, but the way some of you have convinced yourself that Harumin loves Yuzu romantically is nonesensical as it simply shuts off a the chances of further duscussions with others regarding the narrative. You've found a hill and you'll die on it. A pathetic narrow-minded mindset.

Harumin might love Yuzu romantically. It could be a familial type of love. It could be freindship. It could be anything. It could be nothing.

All we know is that there's a hint of jealousy, a hint of abandonment, a bit of confusion and a lot of concern. All emotions that come with loving someone, no matter what form that love takes. It's also things Harumin has started to show towards Matsuri.

Do people in these comments not realise that love is on a spectrum? Some of you make it seem like it's binary and it's either platonic or romantic.

We all know that, but this is Citrus. Does the plot of this series seem nuanced in any way to you?

It seems to me as ironic as Sayaka says to believe and follow the rules of the aihara academy but she has blue hair when that was prohibited

last edited at Aug 7, 2020 8:53AM

there are so many things left unresolved
As I recall there was a debate about who should be the new president, between yuzu and harumin's sister, which we never heard from again.
We don't know anything about Mei's biological mother.
What happened to the manager? Did he marry someone else?
What about Shirapon and Himeko's supposed fiancees?
What happened to yuzu's friends?
I still don't understand about arranged marriages, this is not 1960, you can inherit something without the need to get married
I know it's a yuri manga but they could have given Ume and Shou some development, basically Sho
give his daughter to a stranger.
If Sayaka is so in favor of school rules, then why is her hair dyed blue?
Mei at the beginning of the manga acted with a lot of confidence and whenever she had the opportunity she tried to fuck yuzu (until yuzu had a virgin panic) what happened to her now?
Why were some characters literally discarded?
Why are there so many coincidences in this manga? First, Mei and Yuzu become stepsisters by chance, then the manager turns out to be the fiancé, then it turns out that Matsuri also knows him and many more
Well SaburoUta basically said: "Fuck the development of the story, I want more Mei goinf blushy blushy hehe"

As I recall there was a debate about who should be the new president, between yuzu and harumin's sister, which we never heard from again.

Didn't Mei is still the president ? And why Yuzu would be the president anyway ?

We don't know anything about Mei's biological mother.

Dead, probably.

What happened to the manager? Did he marry someone else?

Didn't he return to his café ?

What about Shirapon and Himeko's supposed fiancees?

Who care really ?

What happened to yuzu's friends?

They were at the wedding.

I still don't understand about arranged marriages, this is not 1960, you can inherit something without the need to get married

Japanese tradition. It still exist nowaday but very rarely. Wikipedia article for more precision

I know it's a yuri manga but they could have given Ume and Shou some development, basically Sho
give his daughter to a stranger.

Which do you mean ? If it's the fiancé then he probably don't have a choice and frankly was not in place to tell anything. He was the one refusing the president siege and leave it to Mei to go on a world trip. If it's leaving her to Ume then it's just because they were family now.

If Sayaka is so in favor of school rules, then why is her hair dyed blue?

It's a manga so it's probably her natural hair color.

Mei at the beginning of the manga acted with a lot of confidence and whenever she had the opportunity she tried to fuck yuzu (until yuzu had a virgin panic) what happened to her now

It's in the manga

Why were some characters literally discarded?

Which ones ?

Why are there so many coincidences in this manga? First, Mei and Yuzu become stepsisters by chance, then the manager turns out to be the fiancé, then it turns out that Matsuri also knows him and many more

If you start tocomplain about coincidences in manga, you're not finished before a long time. Nothing will happen in manga if those crazys coincidences never happen.

Putting Lilliwyt a slightly different way: that's all swept under the rug/doesn't matter/don't ask.

Chapter 12.4 should be here fairly soon:

Mei: "Could you please get off?" Yuzu: "What the fuck do you think I've been trying to do ever since the chapters were in single digits?"

Putting Lilliwyt a slightly different way: that's all swept under the rug/doesn't matter/don't ask.

I wouldn't really go quite that far. Fact is, while kokoa does have a point to some extent, most of the criticism would be valid for the parent series, but not really for Citrus +, either being related to events that happened before the time span covered here, or to questions left open at the end of Citrus, meaning that this series has either not reached the point where they even become an issue yet, or they might not even be in the scope of this series to solve unless it is eventually extended beyond the end of Citrus itself. Also, with this still being an ongoing series, we can't be absolutely sure some of these points won't be still addressed in future chapters (as unlikely as it may be).

"When can I come out" lmao
This was really nice, it's moments/interactions like that, that remind me how much I like these two and also how much I think mei is hot/like her in general. These few pages are better than the rest of the other pages. Thanks a bunch for the translation!

there are so many things left unresolved
As I recall there was a debate about who should be the new president, between yuzu and harumin's sister, which we never heard from again.

That was Yuz vs Mei actually; Mitsuko raised the stakes.

We don't know anything about Mei's biological mother.

I'm guessing a divorce settlement? Maybe arranged marriage blues. I feel like Mei's biological mum didn't want to be around the Aiharas anymore.

What happened to the manager? Did he marry someone else?

Probably he's enjoying the bachelor life of a successful businessman.

What about Shirapon and Himeko's supposed fiancees?

We'll never know. Personally, I don't care. The mention of their fiancees seems to be a minor plot device.

What happened to yuzu's friends?

If the wedding aftermath is any indication they're probably shedding their homophobia off.

I still don't understand about arranged marriages, this is not 1960, you can inherit something without the need to get married

Neither do I. But the reality is it still persists in some cultures. In my country, the arranged marriages happen between people of equal social status. In some Jewish communities they have this "Shadchan" person.

I know it's a yuri manga but they could have given Ume and Shou some development, basically Sho
give his daughter to a stranger.

I can't see the connection between the two points but I think Shou accepting Mei's raging lesbianism and her subsequent marriage to Yuzu seems to me a kind of atonement on his part.

If Sayaka is so in favor of school rules, then why is her hair dyed blue?

I think it's a sort of saying Sayaka is a character to watch out for. Look at Matsuri and her brilliant pink hair, boy did she make an entrance.

Mei at the beginning of the manga acted with a lot of confidence and whenever she had the opportunity she tried to fuck yuzu (until yuzu had a virgin panic) what happened to her now?

Cucked. By Harumin showing how to treat Yuzu right.

Why were some characters literally discarded?

Can you clarify on this one? Which character are you talking about and how do you think they were discarded?

Why are there so many coincidences in this manga? First, Mei and Yuzu become stepsisters by chance, then the manager turns out to be the fiancé, then it turns out that Matsuri also knows him and many more

That's Citrus universe for you.

Well SaburoUta basically said: "Fuck the development of the story, I want more Mei goinf blushy blushy hehe"

Actually sums up the sentiment of your post.

Oh my god can these bitches have sex already for fucks sake it's been 15 trillion years wishing to see Mei naked

What about Shirapon and Himeko's supposed fiancees?

Personally i think Saburo Uta is planning on having them follow Yuzu & Mei's lead, calling off their engagement to their fiancees finding someone they actually like, make their own choices their own paths not ones that have been made & choose for them.

i think Saburo Uta is planning

Ah. An optimist.

i think Saburo Uta is planning

Ah. An optimist.

A foolish one at that

Still, dare to dream!

Also,

Get out and be gay gurl!

.-.

I don't even know why I'm still following this series. The pacing and writing keeps getting worse... And yet I still hold onto hope for whatever reason.

“When can I come out?”
Haha... I a s k m y s e l f t h a t e v e r y d a y . . .