^at least the author did not create a jar jar binks character for citrus

Well, she did... Basically every useless character who was introduced just as a plot device after Mei and Yuzu got together for the first time after the class trip.

If it took 10 volumes to cover one year, just think how long Citrus+ will go on if were gonna go all the way until the marriage, which is probably still a long time away - I'd wager that legalizing gay marriage in Japan will take MANY long years... Hahaha

I wish I could be as optimistic about all this as ShoujoCent...

But I really can't. Considering how loose and filler-filled the original Citrus was, there's little reason to assume Citrus+ would suddenly start blowing our minds with brilliantly paced storytelling.

It's true that a year is a short time irl, but storytelling-wise 10 volumes and some odd chapters is a Really Long Time. And in that time we should have got more progress than we have. That's all I'm saying.

In a sense Citrus would have been better off without this sequel, so we could have filled the blanks without Sabu's dreadful pacing. So to answer the question posed above: maybe I really DON'T want to see how Mei and Yuzu ended up married. Or at least I think it would have been better for the series if we didn't get to see it. It's like after we got that emotional rollercoaster over it's followed by this completely inconsequential, well, whatever that this Citrus+ is supposed to be.

^ Get with the times, matsuri_wins—these days one character pushes the other down and kisses them in Chapter 1, then 50-odd chapters later confesses their love.

The hundreds of pages in between serve to demonstrate that they’re sincere.

This made me laugh.

When you dislike someone, you forcibly kiss them and cant keep your hands off them.

When you love someone, you go out of your way to avoid any physical (or emotional!) contact with them.

I'm actually wondering whether this is really about the preferences of the Japanese audience like someone above said. They've really got a thing for the passive-aggressive maiden types...

Also second the opinion: Citrus was interesting cuz the chemistry between original Mei and Yuzu. Some char dev and change by Mei was to be expected, but the dynamic has swung too much. Mei used to be the dominant one, but now she is a total softie. I expected them to become equals in the relationship, but no, now Yuzu has all the power while Mei is like a damsel in distress. sigh

This shit actually had a lot of potential at some point... It's sad. Naoko Kodama should have taken over after the ending of the anime or something

I personally like sensible characters in fiction. Characters like Yuu, for example. She's just so nice and kind and she feels so REAL! Yuu may be a foil for Touko, but I definitely like her more.

I mean, weird drama is fine, but sometimes it's nice to see that not all manga creators are from a parallel universe or something. Here's a story which could actually take place in a real world and which has been actually written with a great degree of storytelling skill.

This chapter just took the pointlessness of Citrus+ to a whole new level - and that's saying something. Here's Saburouta destroying her own (albeit already rather unimpressive) legacy.

last edited at May 19, 2019 2:30PM

I think we all ought to put some effort in seeing the interesting sides of every ship, be they obvious or not.

Moral of the story: you might miss your chance at love if you aren't knowledgeable about cute creatures.

Cute, love Sayaka's displeased expression.

Yuu and Touko have cute expressions. Poor Sayaka, having such bad friends who add insult to injury.

^tbh I don't think we will ever get there in the series considering the pace we've been going forward. And when you think about it, we are going in the wrong direction.

When I watched this I didn't think I needed goggles, but maybe Yuri back in the day was different and this was more "explicit" than many others, say MSGM or the like. Anyway, a great show and super cute, plot is a bit all over the place, but it doesn't matter since I actually enjoyed following the two dorks just wander about.

I think they're totally in love with each other

OMG thanks to all this cute fanart I'm rewatching the series <3

The only one who seems to be getting any skinship in that relationship is Mei's teddy bear.

Off topic, but in my opinion the hottest scene in the whole series was the one where Mei was jealous over Matsuri and then started fidgeting with Kuma-san before proceeding into assaulting Yuzu from behind... Kinda nasty and off-putting, but hot for some strange reason. Back then it was Mei who could rattle Yuzu. Those were the days...is it weird to say so in this context? :D

I guess the conclusion is that Sabu just struggles with storytelling. Let's hope that she doesn't completely manage to ruin Citrus (which wasn't that brilliant to begin with). I have said this before somewhere but maybe she should just team up with someone who can actually write a decent story.

last edited at Apr 21, 2019 4:35PM

So clearly Matsuri should become the lead of Citrus+ with Harumin as co-lead. And let’s have Mei and Yuzu as the boring married couple in the background. Problem solved!

100% support. Mei and Yuzu should move to somewhere they can get married and they could send supportive postcards to Matsuri and Harumin while enjoying their newlywed life.

But in re-reading Citrus +, it seems like the major theme is that, now that they have resolved all the conflicts keeping them apart, two hotties who previously couldn't keep their hands off each other are voluntarily not getting any because virtuous reasons.

Virtuous reasons lol I just died... But it's kinda accurate and it's complete bs.

I mean, they are still kids basically so it's not like I really wanna see them going at it every night if they genuinely feel uncomfortable with it for whatever reasons. But if this is the case, then there should be some sort of reasoning provided instead of just letting that sexual tension (which tbh was the thing which kept me interested in the first place) fizzle away. Im repeating myself here but this really bothers me.

Virtuous reasons make even less sense here since it's not like "waiting until marriage" would even work here since they can't get married in Japan anyway :D (which is ofc even bigger bs)

I guess Mei's changes could be explained by the fact that she now feels secure enough with Yuzu and others so that she feels ok to show her weakness?

I dont think she's any less competent in dealing with stuff she always has dealt with like school and administrative duties etc. But we've been shown Mei in contexts which are denifitely out of her comfort zone. I don't think she was ever that competent in interacting with peers who are on an equal footing with her. And I think it's quite understandable that she would be less dominant vis-a-vis Yuzu and others after she was "rescued" by the latters.

I do agree with the above assessment that Sabu completely lost her way when Shirapon appeared since that was so far-fetched and didnt really advance anything. But my problem is actually more with Yuzu than with Mei, haha

Yeah and also there used to be that super obvious sexual tension and attraction between the leads which just fizzled away at some point after Yuzu turned Mei down the first time. After that it was like just trying to work out the other issues in their relationship.

Literally feels like "ok now that i can finally have sex with mei i dont even care anymore" from Yuzu's side. I can kinda understand Mei's reluctance since maybe she knows that her predatory behaviour when they first met wasnt received well by Yuzu. But it doesnt make sense why Yuzu would suddenly just start working hard on her studies even though she just kept fantasizing over Mei nonstop for the first 4-5 volumes. It's almost as if Sabu doesnt have the courage to follow through because shes afraid to get it wrong. And i dont mean that they absolutely should have sex, either - the issue should just be acknowledged and dealt with somehow. I cant believe that suddenly one day Yuzu would have just stopped desiring Mei for no reason.

Also the moral of this story is that you should always remember to communicate. Otherwise you might get stuck in an endless cycle of, well, whatever it is that Mei and Yuzu are going through xd

last edited at Apr 21, 2019 10:42AM

I still fail to see the point of this sequel, since Matsuri and Harumin are still not getting together. I thought that the deal with Mei and Yuzu was already closed, but apparently not, and they are still trapped in the mire of miscommunication.

Also about the communication issue: one of my favourite scenes in the original story was when Yuzu talked to Mei about their relationship in the library and how she was afraid what other people might think about it. Then Mei (successfully) consoled Yuzu by telling her directly that there was no point to worry about the opinions of others.

I would gladly have more open conversations between them. Bad communication should be used as a way to create tension only in extreme situations, and unfortunately Saburouta seems to use that particular ingredient rather liberally.

On a positive note, Mei's distressed face is still so damn cute. It's hard to judge something so pretty...

Naoko <3

I think almost all her stories are cute even though they contain a lot of broken people and dysfunctional relationships. It's like "don't do this at home" stuff but they're still cute.

I wonder what she's working on right now. Is NTR manga already finished / does she have some other bigger project going on?

Yeah I also really loved the story. It's like they are living in a twilight world where everything goes on almost like normal, but there is a vague sense of sadness lurking somewhere... But that sadness and unease doesn't stop Homura and Madoka appreciating the beauty of their daily life.

These kind of fics really make you realize the fact that the characters are really still just teenage girls despite the huge burden placed on them... cry

I wonder if magical girls age biologically, or do they all die so soon after their transformation that this question is irrelevant?

^I really loved your comment @GID

This is what fanfiction should be about. A beautiful and thoughtful extension of and tribute to the original story, which unfortunately ended in a rather messy manner.

Why is Matsuri so cute? It's weird how side characters end up stealing the show so often in anime and manga

So far I've kinda failed to see the point of this Citrus+, but I'll always take more content about those goofballs. I think that somebody should shake Mei and bring her to the 21st century... I seriously doubt that even growing up in a household like Aihara would make your views of romance resemble that of 1700th century or something. I don't like how the sexual tension was made so apparent so early on and now when they've finally resolved their issues they start acting all shy xD

At least there hasn't been any angst caused by random characters popping out of the blue

"This is just normal, right?"

You shouldn't censor the best part of a story, even if it looks a bit weird...

I really like Kodama's work. For some reason I'm drawn to the dysfunctional relationships that she depicts. I think I like Kodama's twisted relationships exactly because those could never work in real life and I wouldn't want to experience them. So reading them in a manga is kinda tasting the forbidden fruit.

And Kodama's characters are super cute as well...

I can't get enough of BiY... A funny Maki's (?) face in the background as well xD