I don't know if this was asked before, but what exactly is Sei's goal in letting Mochida know she's gay and having a relationship with a high schooler? I don't really see how that helps her in any way, unless she somehow knew she would tell Haruki all about her relationship with Aya. Also, I'm not really sure why Mochida would want to tell Haruki all about the whole relationship anyway... is she so deluded by her love for whatever that guy's name is that she thinks some random girl would be totally on board with her friend's student-teacher relationship or does she have some grand plan or something? Of course, I could just be missing something obvious.

There’s at least six reasons as to maybe (pure speculation at the moment until we really understand her character) why she did it. 1 is because maybe she was hoping Mochida would spread it to the math teacher and he’d stop bothering her. 2 is because my theory about self sabotaging is right and she wants Mochida to tell all the girls at the school so she’d get fired. Or 3, she’s hoping news will spread to a young impressionable lesbian/bisexual/bicurious girl. 4. Because she’s planting the seeds of yuri in Mochida’s mind so that she can prey on her when the whole thing with math teacher blows up in Mochida’s face, she’ll be there to pick up the pieces. 5, she’s curious about why Aya would reach out to her if she already had someone so she wanted to meet Aya’s someone. Or 6, Kuro just wants chaos.

I think it all depends on how f*cked up Kuro is.

I think Mochida’s reasoning is simple. She wants to gush about her love to someone and she can’t at school since all the other girls probably have a thing for math teacher as well.

last edited at Apr 22, 2020 2:14PM

Everyone's motivations are selfish.

I get why Haruki seems like she's concerned about Aya but her motivation for doing all that is pure jealousy. She's acting like she knows what's best for Aya but she's never once asked Aya if she's okay with what's going on with Kuro. That's mostly because she's projecting her own emotions and perhaps she's also afraid of the answer. She talks about liking Aya the way she is and it's because that version of Aya is only accessible for her.

Aya's agreeing to be a replacement but she's so vulnerable that I can easily see her falling for Kuro. She lacks confidence and doesn't really know herself. I get why it seems like she might be trying to turn herself into what Kuro wants, but it seems like she herself doesn't really know what she might like. She's too used to thinking in terms of 'I don't think it suits me,' rather than doing things because its what she wants. She's inexperienced with relationships in general whether it's romantic or platonic. Right now because of Haruki's selfishness, she's finding herself becoming reliant on Kuro's company. She's gradually opening up to Kuro about more personal things and it seems like Kuro's well on her way to becoming her sole source of comfort.

I wonder how many times Kuro's done this before though. Kuro in the earlier chapters seems like a perfect manipulator, preying on the innocent like she's a pro. But as we learn about her own experiences, it almost seems like she's acting out of pure desperation. She has nothing to lose and is lonely, wants to escape the torture of being surrounded by these girls who rile her up and of course the emptiness in her heart due to an unrequited love. She's almost like Aya, hiding her true self from most of the world because she fears she'll be rejected. Though, in her case she knows who she is and what she wants and doesn't really try to hide it when she's outside of school. But I wonder if she's ever had a replacement who knew they were a replacement? Has she ever been this upfront with her past online encounters? Because if it's true that she was just looking to hook up, then why even bother with small talk and daily messaging? Unless she was doing it with multiple people as well.... I mean, she didn't know Aya was a high school student when they started. Sure, that's probably the reason why she pushed harder, but she exerted effort prior to that knowledge.

It makes me think she's making certain to detach herself from Aya not out of malice but because she's trying to sabotage herself. She's making it so Aya will leave one day and she'll be okay with it. She's putting an expiration date on their relations and even agreeing to contact Haruki. She's controlling the outcome of their tryst, making certain Aya will ultimately leave her in the end. I mean, yes she sent a pic of Aya and that was a scummy thing to do, but honestly Haruki was kind of asking for it for inserting herself in their business. I know it hurts Aya too, but she didn't send a full frontal nude or even a sex tape. It's almost like she just wanted to rile Haruki up but not disgrace Aya too much.

Kuro too, wants to love and be loved, but since she's been trapped in her high school world for the past 8 years, she doesn't quite know how to maneuver beyond that realm. I can't wait for the day she calls Aya's name instead of Yoru though.

I sense impending tribulations fueled by jealousy and lack of communication. Rena will be too busy thinking Yuna is just going along with what she wants, not to mention her demeanor makes it seem like she’s the type not to notice when someone is flirting with her (though maybe too early to tell), while Yuna will be insecure and afraid to broach topics with Rena. They both will think the other will be better off with someone else.

Also, problems with families, probably mostly with Yuna’s side judging from that one panel, but maybe also with Rena since we haven’t heard much about them.

Then again, since updates take so long, maybe it won’t even be that drama filled.

At least everyone got their happy ending... I mean, husband was always supposed to die so it’s nice that A-Chan and Rinko raise her eventually so she won’t become a true delinquent.

I think A-Chan knowing one day she and Rin will have a future together made her be a better parent. Instead of looking at her kids as part of her ‘curse’, she starts to see them as blessings that she can share with Rin.

Since she developed better relationships with the kids, their tastes have shifted a bit and their ability to cope with trials has also vastly improved.

Hence why adopted daughter isn’t heart broken enough to run out and get hit by a truck, why her first born’s taste change from wanting a mother type to wanting her older sister.

As for Coworker, she is disappointed but she just has to wait a few years for her soulmate to be of legal marrying age. And last born, because she was raised in a healthy loving environment, will probably be an incredibly receptive and understanding partner.

That domino effect....

I get Rin-Chan’s point but honestly, the kids ending up kind of in love with her lessened the sweetness of this for me. Maybe, hopefully, in the time line where they raise them together they won’t fall for their step mom?

A-Chan’s husband and Rin’s coworker get the short end of the stick though. They were both used. I think a better ending would have been Rin dying and coworker and A-Chan end up together. That way Rin made a sacrifice instead of just hatching this plan with A-Chan to get this convoluted family with unknowing sperm donor.

This feels a lot like ‘How I Met Your Mother’, I thought I was gonna get a love story with her and one of the kids but instead it ends up about her A-Chan.

Totally thought they were gonna be moms together.... that arc should have continued a little longer.

The main difference between this and original is that there’s significantly less development in the sexual/physical department.

Citrus+ seems to be more emotionally motivated, or at the very least it’s trying to be.

But like original Citrus this suffers from slow pacing. I hope + won’t suffer from overused tropes, which became repetitive, like it’s predecessor.

And I don’t want to blame editors and publishing houses but they do put significant pressure on authors in regards to their work so just blaming Saburouta about all the problems with previous Citrus might be unfair.

This kind of character development is what I was waiting for in Citrus but sadly never received.

"Actually better than Citrus" isn't really much of an achievement mind you... :U

Of course it's not. Just an observation/wishful thinking.

A pretty decent coming of age manga. They both grew emotionally where they had each other in mind but not in an unhealthy dependent manner.

This kind of character development is what I was waiting for in Citrus but sadly never received. At least Citrus+ seems to be heading in this direction, except the pacing is much slower.

I'm going to say that this wasn't very good. It was trying too hard at some sort of psychological realism to be plain smut, but not very good at being psychologically realistic. Or situationally realistic: "I am serious manga, also panty shot." The characters jump on each other without being good smut. The non-con elements just feel like grooming and/or abuse. If it was trying to be subversive, "this is what your porn fantasies about 22 and 14 yo would actually be like", it didn't really pull that off either; Ema diving into crotch-sniffing is just too out of the blue.

All the characters seem to be centered on reality enough.

Anna’s inner turmoil is understandable, a girl who is experiencing lust and love first hand so she’s overwhelmed with trying to differentiate her emotions.

Ema was essentially used and toyed with until she finally said enough, which let’s face it most people don’t know when to stop being a doormat.

Miku from what it seemed like, was giving way too much to her cram school teacher, letting him dictate their relationship. She was on the rebound and latched onto the nearest person who offered her comfort.

Yoshino, I honestly can’t understand her and perhaps that’s the sense of reality she brings to the story. You don’t understand her motive yet you know she brings chaos, which sometimes life doesn’t have reason in order to be filled with disorder.

When we dive into the story, Anna and Ema seem to have been living together for more than a few days so maybe Ema’s panty sniffing wasn’t that sudden perhaps? It’s not like they just met. It seems like Ema’s been attracted to Anna for a while...

Anna and Ema live close enough together that Anna can keep going to the same school (granted with Tokyo transit that's not a huge constraint) and Ema is considered relative enough to shove Anna onto her, yet they've barely met beforehand. o_O

There’s an 8 year age gap between them so maybe when Anna was old enough to remember who she was hanging out with, Ema was already wrapped up in her studies.

Also, maybe Ema is a relative from her fathers side? Since the mom makes that comment about her dad makes me think he was the one who wanted Anna to live alone? Maybe their dads go golfing or something so the parents know each other but the kids don’t know each other.

And a college kid who lives alone and has a part time job while getting good grades might enough of a good resume for temporary guardianship of a 14 year old for some. Especially if Ema was going to a top university.

Funny how Yoshino is calling Anna a monster... Anna needs to figure out that what she’s feeling is completely normal. She thinks she’s turning into a nympho but really she’s just a hormonal teen in love.

Sure Anna gets turned on by getting touched by Miku and Yoshino but its only Ema she’s fantasizing about ‘ruining’. Ema can surely help her out if they would just TALK to each other.

Well to Ema’s credit, she seems open to have a conversation but Anna’s 15 year old self is just not there quite yet.

Do we find out what happened after Valentines to Suzu? Also, is she the only gay character or will Ao and Mira get together as well?

There's three episodes to go in the anime, so the answers are "Most likely," and "Possibly the latter."

So... Suzu haircut means she was rejected Mira and Ao continuing to be wholesome. They’re all soo cute!!!!

I'll throw in that Anna and Ema probably continues to do lewd things with each other; then Yoshino finds out Anna is dating Miku, and being the shitty person that she is, decides to seduce Miku, making a messy twisted square love affair.

Definitely Miku rebounding yet again with Yoshino who has excellent gaydar by the way since she’s picking up that Ema actually has feelings for Anna.

Though I wonder if she kind of felt Ema crushing on Anna and that’s one of the reasons she broke up with her?

It seems like she doesn’t want to end things with Ema since there’s no one else in the picture and she’s still hanging around Ema and doing favors for her so I have to wonder why she broke up with Ema in the first place?

"so it seems Ema wasn't that much of a trash person to do it in Anna's bed."

Unless Ema was lying out of shame.

I could actually see this being the case. Sounds more in line with Ema's personality than her growing a backbone around Yoshino. I hope not though....cause seeing Anna pick up those tissues was ew.

I don’t think Ema was lying because Yoshino would have insisted on the truth. She definitely wouldn’t cover up the fact that they had sex on Anna’s bed. She seems quite intent on letting Anna know about all the details of their sexual encounters.

I think Yoshino is just dead set on keeping Anna and Ema apart so she wanted Anna to think that. I wouldn’t be surprised if she calls Anna’s mom later on to tell about the things going on.

last edited at Mar 14, 2020 7:54PM

What should happen: Anna breaks up with Miku and talks to Ema about what’s happening between them and Yoshino leaves Ema alone.

What’s probably gonna happen: Anna and Ema ignore what happened between them, Anna goes out with Miku so she can ignore her feelings for Ema, and Yoshino keeps messing with Ema and Anna to hinder any progress between Ema and Anna.

I’m mixed up about Miku. She’s reeling from a bad rejection. She’s on the rebound so I get why she’s clinging to the one person who is there for her. Though I can’t say she’s completely despicable because she at least is acting like this with the belief in mind that Ana likes what’s happening between them, it’s just that Ana has reservations because of society. Which, to Miku’s point, seems to be the case. In her mind, she’s helping Ana figure her self out I guess.
Ana‘s confused about everything that’s going on which is understandable since she’s being exposed to all kinds of things all at once. Girl needs space to breathe and think about what (who) she wants.
Ema to her credit, doesn’t force Ana. She stops when Ana feels uncomfortable, even has the decency to notice and acknowledge it. She tries to be considerate of Ana’s feelings which is a step up from Miku who is just assuming she knows what’s good for Ana. I feel for Ema too cuz she’s being led on by Yoshino who is getting off by keeping her on her hook. She needs to get away from Yoshino so she can figure out why she started perving on her 2nd cousin. Was it just loneliness or an underlying attraction that she dismissed because the girl is younger than her?
Yoshino seems like she’s looking for a playmate that can match her sexual (perhaps also emotional if we get to find out more about her character) level.

Do we find out what happened after Valentines to Suzu? Also, is she the only gay character or will Ao and Mira get together as well?

Mei will probably talk to her clone and get her to realize lesbian love can work outside of school settings if you work at it with your partner.

Though, I wonder if non-supportive parents/family will be shown/mentioned.

I mean, Mei was lucky her grandfather was tolerant of their relationship but other families with similar affluent background probably won’t be.

Any one else feel like older sister might be a Norman? Loving this though!

I don’t think she’s autistic. It has more to do with her upbringing. She kind of had to grow up sooner because of her dad’s position, everyone even her mother, kind of just expected her to responsible.

Her parents relied on her to be good and then because she was so responsible, the adults sort of separated her from other kids and dubbed her as practically the perfect daughter. The separation bled in with her peers and they all thought she was this poster child/senpai.

Everyone put her on a pedestal and she felt like she had to live up to their standards.

Anyway, in my head they reconciled with a kiss instead of a hug

"time apart" would be making Asuka an orphan (severing emotional ties with her only parent, and to a large extent her only family). Destroying familial relationships, which is what I was talking about being the risk with incest.

It seems like a lot of people are seeing their familial relationship as a direct obstacle to their romance here, probably because it is hard for them to emphasise with mixing the two. But for the characters it is different.

Asuka didn't fall in love with some older woman who just happened to be related to her, she fell in love with her mother, in the role of her mother. We've seen in earlier chapters - she doesn't feel there is a line between her familial feelings and her romantic ones. In her fantasies she calls Ayako "mom" while having sex; she doesn't like using her name. She considered the "if you were strangers" scenario when Miyuki suggested it, she didn't like it.

Even Ayako the problem isn't being able to mix maternal and sexual feelings... she just did, that is what she is feeling guilty and ashamed about. Abandoning Asuka wouldn't fix her feelings of being a failure as a mother, it would consolidate them.

I have a couple of good rants about independence and time-skips/taking a break in general, but I'm late for work, so maybe later.

To sum it up, Asuka and Ayako being mother and daughter allowed for the romance to begin but in order for it to progress, they need to be more than that.

The rant that follows can (should) be ignored...

A parent does not stop being a parent just because they don’t live with their child or see each other often.

Lots of children live in different cities than their parents.

And no matter what happens, Ayako is Asuka’s mother. They have an emotional connection that no distance can sever completely and the story’s point is they are biological mother and daughter tied by blood.

Their familial connection can never be severed.

In some stories, I agree that distance is not necessary but here, emotions are overwhelming for both parties and it feels like they need to take a breather to be able to clearly look at things.

They’re too close to the situation and each other.

At the moment they each have emotional baggage that they need to figure out. It would be great if they can just sit together and deal with all their issues as a unit but it might be hard to do seeing as these are things they need to come to grips with alone.

Asuka needs to mature as a person, figure out who she really is and what she really wants (beyond wanting to be with her mother) and also figure out whether or not her love for her mother is tied to her dependence on her. She said it herself, she relies on her mother’s kindness. She needs to come into a role other than ‘daughter’ before she can become ‘lover’.

It’s pivotal to the story that they are mother and daughter but that’s only the literal sense of it because they are also made for each other in the metaphorical sense.

Yes being family bonded them, allowed for Asuka to get a glimpse of Ayako no one else had and for Ayako to let someone (not completely) in, but what could deepen their bond is if they love each other beyond what they know of each other as family members. They also need to see each other as people, beyond the confines of their current relationship.

That conversation with Miyuki was about Asuka recognizing that yes she’s hurting but the happy moments she’s had with her mother outweigh all this pain she’s going through.

Though for Asuka, it’s more possible to heal with her mother at her side. Hearing everything will be okay from her mother might be enough.

But I don’t think the same could be said for Ayako seeing as Ayako needs to figure out whether what she feels for Asuka is real or if it’s just because she’s a reminder of Atsushi or because she just doesn’t want to lose what she feels is her last hope at real unconditional love.

She also seems to be harboring deep emotional trauma that she’s been carrying even before Atsushi came to her life. Just having Asuka around wasn’t enough to rid her of her baggage and that’s why time for herself, to strengthen her own confidence without relying on anyone else, is necessary for her.

Of course this all depends on the length of the story. If it’s going to be ending soon, then I think it’s just going to wrapped up in one happy investors rainbow bow.

Since I mentioned the possibility... Ayako outright running away would not be the right choice on her part by any means, but I think it's possible that she might because, the way I'm reading the last chapter, she's presently seeing herself as having corrupted her daughter, and her immediate response to what happened is to leave the house. Also, Asuka's dream of her mother's absence strikes me as possibly being foreshadowing. I can easily imagine Ayako in her current mental state deciding that even if it hurts Asuka for her to leave, that it's still less bad for her than her presence would be. This, again, wouldn't be the right decision at all, but it's the sort of decision I can easily imagine someone with a sufficient degree of self-loathing making, where they think that their loved ones will be better off without them. And, from what we've seen, Ayako's likely carrying a lot of self-loathing. I suspect that her dealing with that and arriving at a better place (probably with Asuka's help) will be a major part of her character arc coming up, whether there's a timeskip or not.

I agree that Ayako running is the most likely scenario.

I would like for them to handle things together so it can strengthen their bond but it seems impossible at the moment.

I feel like Ayako’s self loathing might be hereditary and Asuka could blame herself for her mother pulling/running away, thus leading her to pull away from Ayako herself. Also, it’s the more unexpected route and this manga hasn’t been completely predictable so we shall see....

(Complete speculation, but one way I could imagine the plot going from here is that Ayako runs away and disappears, and guardianship of Asuka goes to Akira, which Asuka finds out when she arrives at Akira's. Lots of angst and drama, Akira tells Asuka about Ayako's past, timeskip a couple years ahead, Asuka's in college and still carrying a torch for Ayako, and then finds out where she is and they reunite...)

I think it’s more like she’s gonna go away on a research trip and leave Asuka alone in their apartment because doesn’t Akira live somewhere far? And I don’t think Ayako would want to impose like that... maybe just ask her to check up on Asuka but not full on take responsibility for her.

Or maybe, as someone suggested, Asuka will see Akira and Ayako in a compromising position and Asuka will be the one to run away (maybe with a promise that she will come back when she’s over her or something so her mother won’t go off the deep end) so her mom won’t have to deal with her.

Still, I'm not sure if it is going to end in a positive place for them. I really have no idea how this story ends. Taiyaki hasn't really shown a taste for dark scenarios in her other work, so I've sort of assumed it'll basically have a happy ending. The thing is, though... Asuka and Ayako both have a lot of psychological baggage, and without that, I'm pretty sure the incestuous attraction wouldn't have been a thing at all. If they do overcome their issues enough to make a happy ending possible, are they still attracted to each other? I don't know. I do think Taiyaki's done so well with the whole story so far (aside from chapter 13 dragging on a bit too much) that whatever happens, I doubt it'll be disappointing.

I think it will end on a happy note but I’m not sure if that means they’ll be together in the end. There is a 20 year age gap aside from the incest... I say it’ll still be a happy note even if they don’t end up together because they’ll probably find peace in the end.

That being said, I wish they do end up together. Asuka’s turmoil, all that she went through, her pain and suffering only to not get the woman she’s loved her entire existence in the end?

As for Ayako, I feel like Asuka’s probably the only person who’d be willing to really understand her because Asuka is already starting to put Ayako’s needs before her own. I mean, Akira knows Ayako, but she says and does things she knows annoys Ayako. Also, she seems to put Ayako on a pedestal with that comment about not being good enough to love Ayako. Which, if she really knew/understood Ayako then she should know all Ayako really wants is someone to love her unconditionally.

Metaphorically and literally, Asuka and Ayako were made for each other so I hope they get their happily every after with each other.

last edited at Jan 27, 2020 5:51AM

Mother and dependent daughter can't actually take time apart, that is kind of the problem that Akira was pointing out.
It's the fundamental problem with incest, you're stuck with family, so you have to tread very carefully.

There’s a plethora of teen minors that live away from parents in mangas/anime.

I’ve also heard that sometimes (rare but still happens), in order to go to a good high school, parents send their children off to different cities to live alone if they don’t have relatives they can stay with.

Akira seems to be talking more about Asuka’s emotional state, commenting more on her impulsiveness and lack of empathy. She is pointing out how careless Asuka is, how immature, thoughtless, and impatient she is because she wouldn’t wait.

I don’t think it was meant to be a “should have waited so you could be legal and move out.” Because at 18 fresh out of High school, will Asuka even be able to take care of herself financially?

It was more of a “think about your options and don’t just do” type of thing. At least that’s how I read it.

Thanks to everyone who offered their thoughts on my theory. The hypersexual part of it is what I'm most uncertain of, also. I'm inferring that something like that is going on from Akira's "that you-know-what of yours" line and the way that Ayako seems to be reacting to what she did with Asuka in this chapter, like it was somehow something she expected because of who she is. But it's true that there's nothing else that we've seen which would imply a history of that. It's possible that Akira's line refers to something else, and that Ayako is more just thinking that what she did in this chapter is a mark of some general brokenness rather than anything specifically sex-related. I have a feeling next chapter will reveal more.

Do you feel like there might be a time skip in the future? Akira pointed out that whole waiting 2 years thing, then there was that one lady at the wedding talking about putting a research team together, and now Ayako’s left....

Some time apart would benefit them. They need to figure out whether they love each other out of necessity or desperation.

They both need some time to grow without the other....

last edited at Jan 27, 2020 3:10AM

Verdant’s interpretation seems most plausible. I disagree with hyper sexual behavior though. There’s nothing that clearly indicates she’s had an abundance of sexual partners. In fact, it seems more like no one could get close to the ‘never smiling princess’.

If Akira had actually pursued/continued a relationship with Ayako while her brother was alive and the two were married it would make her an asshole. Plus, she doesn’t seem to exhibit that much guilt over possibly being the cause of his death seeing as she’s still in regular contact with her parents and Ayako and Asuka.

The more likely scenario if the affair thing was real would be for her to at least pull away from her parents because she killed their son while also seizing the opportunity and trying her best to become a permanent part of Ayako’s life.

It would also make Ayako an even bigger ass because she married the brother of the woman in love with her? Though maybe she didn’t actually know/ believe Akira had feelings for her? But I doubt she had feelings for Akira. Ayako’s being portrayed as someone who’s never been in love before.

Perhaps the brother found out about Akira’s feelings prior to his accident, like maybe Akira confessed to Ayako about how she feels and Ayako feels guilty because she probably thinks she did something to make Akira fall for her and that led to Atsushi’s death.

Or perhaps, the brother found out about Ayako’s traumatic past? Maybe Akira accidentally let it slip and then he felt guilty for not noticing how much his wife has been hurt?

Ayako doesn’t seem to be a closet case either? When Akira pointed out how similar Atsushi and Asuka looked, and when she remembers Akira’s own resemblance to her brother, her reaction was to seek comfort in Asuka’s arms by kissing her.

Then again, maybe all those things or none of it happened. Only Taiyaki knows....

Anyway, I feel like the conclusion of that sentence and perhaps the entire series would be “This girl is my other half.”...

last edited at Jan 25, 2020 12:02PM