Yuzu trying to get any affection out of Mei is like squeezing blood from a stone.

I'm not sure the author quite realizes how Mei's statement "I would rather you not feel as though you need concern yourself with supporting my work" actually sounds in this context.

I'm guessing it's supposed to be something like, "I don't want you to worry about me," but it reads more like, "I don't need your help."

True, I skim this every now and then and I'm sick of Mei. I don't need to be reminded of real life in an unserious manga like this...

Maybe it’s just a quirk of the translation, but in English the formulation “you need not concern yourself with” has big “mind your own business” vibes.

Yuzu trying to get any affection out of Mei is like squeezing blood from a stone.

I'm not sure the author quite realizes how Mei's statement "I would rather you not feel as though you need concern yourself with supporting my work" actually sounds in this context.

I'm guessing it's supposed to be something like, "I don't want you to worry about me," but it reads more like, "I don't need your help."

True, I skim this every now and then and I'm sick of Mei. I don't need to be reminded of real life in an unserious manga like this...

Maybe it’s just a quirk of the translation, but in English the formulation “you need not concern yourself with” has big “mind your own business” vibes.

The vibe I was going for was more "I don't want you to worry about me," and I wanted to be careful to avoid making it sound like "leave me alone, I don't need your help." That's exactly why I made a point to include the "I would rather you not feel as though you need to concern yourself" rather than just "I would rather you not concern yourself with supporting my work," in hopes of putting more emphasis on Mei's concern for Yuzu's feelings. I considered going a step further and making it "I would rather you not feel pressured to concern yourself with supporting my work" in order to make the intention clearer, but I ultimately decided that that strayed a bit too far from what was actually on the page. Sorry for the confusion!

Mei is also learning to open herself to Yuzu so is perfectly in character for her to unintentionally sound rude when she is actually just being too polite.

Yuzu trying to get any affection out of Mei is like squeezing blood from a stone.

I'm not sure the author quite realizes how Mei's statement "I would rather you not feel as though you need concern yourself with supporting my work" actually sounds in this context.

I'm guessing it's supposed to be something like, "I don't want you to worry about me," but it reads more like, "I don't need your help."

True, I skim this every now and then and I'm sick of Mei. I don't need to be reminded of real life in an unserious manga like this...

Maybe it’s just a quirk of the translation, but in English the formulation “you need not concern yourself with” has big “mind your own business” vibes.

The vibe I was going for was more "I don't want you to worry about me," and I wanted to be careful to avoid making it sound like "leave me alone, I don't need your help." That's exactly why I made a point to include the "I would rather you not feel as though you need to concern yourself" rather than just "I would rather you not concern yourself with supporting my work," in hopes of putting more emphasis on Mei's concern for Yuzu's feelings. I considered going a step further and making it "I would rather you not feel pressured to concern yourself with supporting my work" in order to make the intention clearer, but I ultimately decided that that strayed a bit too far from what was actually on the page. Sorry for the confusion!

For what's it's worth, I thought the phrase was inoffensive. The addition of "I would rather," and "feel as though you need to" did soften it enough. It's much different and less direct then the common "you don't need to concern yourself with [insert issue]." And even that phrase is all about it's delivery and context.

Considering the context of this scene, it feels clear Mei is managing her words and worrying about Yuzu. I didn't get involved in that particular discussion because it's a bit too specific. You can't please everyone though, so I agree with not twisting it too much for that purpose.

last edited at May 21, 2024 2:08PM

For what's it's worth, I thought the phrase was inoffensive. The addition of "I would rather," and "feel as though you need to" did soften it enough. It's much different and less direct then the common "you don't need to concern yourself with [insert issue]." And even that phrase is all about it's delivery and context.

If anyone has said that the phrase was "offensive," it's news to me. But in idiomatic English, the phrase "don't concern yourself with" (as opposed to "don't worry about," say) almost always implies "butt out." As I said, I don't think that's what the scene is going for, though.

The fact is that Yuzu has been very explicit that her newfound academic diligence is all about equipping herself to help Mei in her work. Mei doesn't preface her reply with anything like, "I appreciate you wanting to help me but . . ," and her "Would it be all right to consider this matter resolved, then?" is perfect managerial-speak when dismissing an employee with an insignificant problem.

But in idiomatic English, the phrase "don't concern yourself with" (as opposed to "don't worry about," say) almost always implies "butt out

Yeah, that's what I was referring to as "offensive," meaning the phrase can seem offensive. It can cause an offense. I said I thought the phrase was "inoffensive," because of her word choices that differentiate what she said from the common offensive phrase--also considering the context of the scene. So we're repeating ourselves. We just disagree on how that scene reads, which is fine. As I said, everyone won't read these scenes the same. But I wasn't surprised when the translator explained the intent because their intent is what I already got out of the scene.

The fact is that Yuzu has been very explicit that her newfound academic diligence is all about equipping herself to help Mei in her work.

In 2 earlier responses, I briefly touched on my issues with this line of thinking from her. I disagree with how she's interpreting what supporting Mei should look like and Mei seems to feel the same.

and her "Would it be all right to consider this matter resolved, then?" is perfect managerial-speak when dismissing an employee with an insignificant problem.

The rest of Mei's response is a predictable part of her personality. I'm not surprised by her personality after all this time. She has her quirks but it's noticeable when she's attempting to be "softer." For someone else that might be dry but for her it reads a bit different. She'll always be like that. I can understand not liking that character type though. It's fine for me.

last edited at May 21, 2024 3:31PM

Speaking if Yuzu wanting to help Mei, did I hallucinate or Yuzu has said she's aiming to be a teacher now?

The rest of Mei's response is a predictable part of her personality. I'm not surprised by her personality after all this time. She has her quirks but it's noticeable when she's making an attempt to be "softer." For someone else that might be dry but for her it reads a bit different. She'll always be like that.

Your lack of surprise at Mei’s personality is neither here nor there. Mei now reads as even colder and more distant when interacting with Yuzu than she has in the past, and certainly more so than in the original series. I see this as less a function of the supposed psychology of Mei the imaginary human and more about Saburouta’s current perfunctory approach to characterization—Yuzu shall be warm and bubbly while Mei is reserved and emotionally distant in order to show the contrast between them, and thus it shall ever be.

For every instance of Mei acting proactively affectionate toward Yuzu in Citrus+ we have had exponentially more scenes of Mei scolding Yuzu, putting her in her place, telling her that she should be doing or feeling something other than what she is doing or feeling (as happens here), or generally behaving as an authority figure (employer or strict older relative) rather than as a partner in a romantic relationship.

Readers desperate for some slight sign of actual intimacy between the MCs are free to read “softness” into Mei’s minimal and ambiguous facial expressions, of course.

Your lack of surprise at Mei’s personality is neither here nor there. Mei now reads as even colder and more distant when interacting with Yuzu than she has in the past, and certainly more so than in the original series.

I don't agree that she's acting much differently. While working on this major personal project, Mei is stressed and constantly busy throughout much of Citrus+ and Yuzu can be quite a handful. That is enough to explain a lot of her behavior. Even then, she has not been much colder to me and has made attempts to reassure Yuzu on numerous occasions. This period is just hectic for her. I can't say much more than that. Again, I don't think we'll see eye-to-eye on this one. Some certainly don't like this stretch--it's more focused on Mei's personal goal, rather than "sweet moments," etc.--but others do appreciate it.

Speaking of Yuzu wanting to help Mei, did I hallucinate or Yuzu has said she's aiming to be a teacher now?

I feel like she mentioned that but I haven't reread it.

last edited at May 22, 2024 6:59AM

The rest of Mei's response is a predictable part of her personality. I'm not surprised by her personality after all this time. She has her quirks but it's noticeable when she's making an attempt to be "softer." For someone else that might be dry but for her it reads a bit different. She'll always be like that.

Your lack of surprise at Mei’s personality is neither here nor there. Mei now reads as even colder and more distant when interacting with Yuzu than she has in the past, and certainly more so than in the original series. I see this as less a function of the supposed psychology of Mei the imaginary human and more about Saburouta’s current perfunctory approach to characterization—Yuzu shall be warm and bubbly while Mei is reserved and emotionally distant in order to show the contrast between them, and thus it shall ever be.

Yeah, no kidding. Early Mei in the original is an absolute firecracker, but even after she's toned down a bit you can see it in their interactions in something like the date notebook chapters or when Yuzu ran for student council president. That Mei was vibrant and alive by comparison, hell she pushed Yuzu into a trash pile and basically told her to bring it. (The official TL from that one was great!) (https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/citrus_ch18#31). This new Mei doesn't even return hugs. Sad times.

It could also be just how less dramatic Citrus+ has been that the characters feel phoned in as well. I dunno, maybe the series is just sort of finished for Saburouta. If we're not gonna get fluff, then where's that sour punch that gives it it's namesake?? And why isn't yuri driving the plot?

last edited at May 21, 2024 7:23PM

Again, I'm legit baffled at how you guys keep seeing Mei as cold, uncaring, and pushing Yuzu away, leaving her to do everything for their relationship when just in this chapter we had Mei openly address Yuzu's concerns and telling her everything about the Akamine business. We also had her going out of her way to find Yuzu a present in previous chapters.

The old Mei would've never been this open with Yuzu and she would instead use those showings of physical affection to make up for her shortcomings.

with MEI there is no longer a solution after 6 volumes. some will defend him it tooth and nail and for others it will continue to be an ice cube. no es que saboruota este haciendo mucho para que empaticemos con mei . . already It's been a while since citrus+ He left aside the Yuri and romance to become a manual How to succeed in Japanese work and business life . Greetings

last edited at May 22, 2024 7:00AM

Again, I'm legit baffled at how you guys keep seeing Mei as cold, uncaring, and pushing Yuzu away, leaving her to do everything for their relationship when just in this chapter we had Mei openly address Yuzu's concerns and telling her everything about the Akamine business. We also had her going out of her way to find Yuzu a present in previous chapters.

The old Mei would've never been this open with Yuzu and she would instead use those showings of physical affection to make up for her shortcomings.

That's a lot of extrapolation from what people have said and gets at the same thing noted previously: we are told Mei cares, and yes, she is open about what she's doing rather than deflecting like she used to, but in all of these new instances Mei is portrayed with an almost monk-like stoicism. The old Mei was vibrant and alive, which is very clear by comparing the old chapters to the new ones, even in the less dramatic arcs I listed. I still enjoy Citrus, but it's very weird that Mei's character growth of being a better communicator is paired with a lack of affect.

I do still need to give this arc another chance for yuri. It's only been a few chapters, it just feels longer because it's been over a year and a half since yuri was driving the plot.

Again, I'm legit baffled at how you guys keep seeing Mei as cold, uncaring, and pushing Yuzu away, leaving her to do everything for their relationship when just in this chapter we had Mei openly address Yuzu's concerns and telling her everything about the Akamine business.

This is a complete misstatement of the literal events of the chapter:

• "we had Mei openly address Yuzu's concerns": Mei actually just says she would prefer that Yuzu didn't feel the way she does, and then she gives Yuzu permission to talk to Arata.

• "telling her everything about the Akamine business": Yuzu is the one who stumbles on the truth about the Akamine plan. Mei simply confirming something that she could no longer hide is hardly "telling [Yuzu] everything."

This is the same Mei, who, when Yuzu pushed her down on the bed and kissed her because she was worried about Mei's connection to Arata, slapped the shit out of her.

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/citrus_september_27th#6

That's also the chapter in which Mei warns Yuzu that her insecurities could potentially cause problems for Mei's plans, and which ends with a classic "opponents back-to-back" panel where Mei says, "I must do everything in my power to see these plans to fruition."

(If this were a slightly different kind of manga, that would be the villain saying, "And if anyone, even Yuzu, gets in my way, I will crush them.")

We also had her going out of her way to find Yuzu a present in previous chapters.

Wow, what an amazing sign of devotion between people in a relationship.

I just really don't like the vibe of that dude

I really don't like the vibe of that guy, I can't seem to bring myself to give a fuck about him

I really don't like the vibe of that guy, I can't seem to bring myself to give a fuck about him

He seems fine but I suspect there's another purpose to him for this arc and maybe that lingering uncertainty is what you're picking up on?

last edited at May 22, 2024 3:22PM

btw leaving aside the horrible characterization of mei does anybody actually cared for the big revelation of the chapter i.e. mei buying the other school, like there´s even a point to that. Heck what´s exactly the point of this arc at all cuz clearly developing mei and yuzu relationship aint it chief

last edited at May 24, 2024 10:53PM

Biggest challenge of lesbians, overcome the uneasiness from the men

The new Citrus spinoff, Capitalism+

I really don't like the vibe of that guy, I can't seem to bring myself to give a fuck about him

He seems fine but I suspect there's another purpose to him for this arc and maybe that lingering uncertainty is what you're picking up on?

yasss let's act like Saburouta is a writer and thinks about stuff like 'arcs' as if she just doesn't keep introducing new characters and throwing them to the side the second she can't come up with what to do next with them.
sorry, i've been following Citrus since the first chapter and I just grew TIRED of this

I decided to reread and catch up on this series after a few years, and this was my first time going through the comments. It’s been…fascinating…seeing the different reactions people have had to the story and characters over the years(especially Mei, god damn).

I’ll admit that I’m mainly here for Harumi and Matsuri at this point, and it was nice to see that they’ve both - together and individually - had a whole few pages worth of almost-not-really development since my last visit. Can’t wait for their dedicated arc that I’m sure will happen any decade now.

Mei seems to be the main source of discourse around here, and I can see why. Personally, my opinion of her since I started rereading this series has evolved from ‘Please learn to identify and communicate your feelings’ to ‘…are you even capable of looking happy?’. I know Mei loves Yuzu, but her constant deadpan and aloofness - especially when put in contrast to Yuzu’s sunny-puppy smiling affection - does give off a slight impression of…disinterest; even though I know that isn’t the case. I do think she’s made some progress with her actions(such as buying Yuzu a gift and inviting her on a date), I just wish that her expressions - things like smiling, initiating physical affection, or just looking somewhat more happy and content around her girlfriend - were a more noticeable point of improvement for her at this point in their relationship. Being stoic is one thing, but Mei is another entirely.

As far as sex goes, I don’t really care if they actually have it or not; I’d just like for the topic of sex to be brought up between them. They’ve both been overtly lustful for each other since pretty early on in the series, and they’ve been sleeping in their own room on the same bed for quite a while now. Whatever their decision is, I just want to see them sit down and address the obvious sexual tension between them that - as far as I can tell - has been going completely unsatiated and unaddressed this entire time.

Overall though, I’ve had a good time catching up with the series and reading the comments here(not gonna lie, Meibot comments cracked me up more than I would have ever thought). I’m not sure when I’ll check in again, but I’m looking forward to it.

https://x.com/ichijinshaevent/status/1800362329609007390
Man, and people think citrus has slowed down. The special edition of volume 6 is having a second run because of how fast it sold out

And it sold out the same day it went for preorder, no less

https://x.com/ichijinshaevent/status/1799083812582051850

last edited at Jun 11, 2024 3:06AM

https://x.com/ichijinshaevent/status/1800362329609007390
Man, and people think citrus has slowed down. The special edition of volume 6 is having a second run because of how fast it sold out

And it sold out the same day it went for preorder, no less

https://x.com/ichijinshaevent/status/1799083812582051850

People think it's slowed down? I know people tend to assume things they don't like aren't doing well. I just want the next chapter!

last edited at Jun 11, 2024 8:18AM

https://x.com/ichijinshaevent/status/1800362329609007390
Man, and people think citrus has slowed down. The special edition of volume 6 is having a second run because of how fast it sold out

And it sold out the same day it went for preorder, no less

https://x.com/ichijinshaevent/status/1799083812582051850

People think it's slowed down? I know people tend to assume things they don't like aren't doing well. I just want the next chapter!

Slow down in terms of actual chapters we get those last months, not in term of popularity. Context is important