GREAT! It seems Yuzu once again is going to be the one to go beyond and try to solve the problem! i wonder if Mei will do fucking something this time around? I really hope she does for the sake of her character development, because at this point, ts getting really tiring that Yuzu is always the one to seek her out.

Yuzu could be a device to empower Mei. Mei needs to believe she is allowed to choose what she wants. She’s prisoner of the rules and feel forced to follow them even if she doesn’t want to. Yuzu could be the one who triggers her belief in having the right to think about herself and to gain her free will, to be her destiny’s captain. So 50-50,Yuzu could push and place in front of Mei the options and Mei could be the one who will decide freely.

The previous chapters are a set up for this kind of progression. Being allowed, being forced to... are recurrent in Mei’s speech. So something will be probably done about it. Mei’s state of mind is the one of someone who doesn’t allow herself the right to make choices ... so she needs someone who pushes the good button.

She cannot choose out of the blue to make choices, cause it’s not how her mind works. Years of being aloof. It is pretty logical when we see how she functions since the begining, sticking to the notebook for example. I don’t see how the author would totally deprive Mei of some active role after all this set up and the way she built her character. Patience.

last edited at May 21, 2018 3:15PM

Patience.

I’m with you on this. Even my initial remarks about the pacing were more about the readerly whiplash going from the usual languid speed of the storytelling to the sudden time-jump (conspicuously NOT depicting one of the story’s most important set of events) and then back to normal again than it was a complaint that things aren’t happening fast enough.

And I for one have been holding off on moral judgments, if any, about which characters are the ‘bad’ ones and which ones are ‘good’ until we see how the whole thing shakes out.

Now, if this were my circle of friends or other real people in my life, I’m sure I’d have strong opinions about, for example, just how pissed at the dad or grandfather I should be at this point, or whose precise failings are to blame for all this emotional turmoil. But I’m pretty sure they’re not real people.

(Except about the rapey teacher/fiancé—he’s just an asshole either way.)

Yuzu goes too much out of her way
Mei doesn't deserve Yuzu
etc.

What is love?

(Baby don't hurt me...)

The drama CD of volume 4 and 9 were indeed written by Saburouta. She also was present during the recording with the VA from what i gathered from some of’her tweets.

For the anime, i watched the english and french subs. I should try the dub too for all episodes.

last edited at May 21, 2018 4:27PM

the author is sleek.After the recent chapters I don't think there is anyone who doesn't wish for Yuzu's happiness. And the mangaka made it clear that Mei is her happiness, so... this is either going to be beyond shitty or pretty well made drama. Compared to some other parts of the story this is the main conflict and it makes sense to draw it out more (but I'm craving for the happy feelz too...^^)

Nismy I just wanted to give you a shout out- thanks for clearing things up a bit for me with the language. The devil is definitely in the details with this manga, and it sucks to be missing some of them. No shade at all being thrown to the translators- rather i want to throw money and praise on them for their work which is letting us read this!! Just saying it's nice to know the subtle spins on meanings, as they do seem to make a difference.

OOOH SHIT

IS SHE GONNA TELL MOM ABOUT HER THING WITH MEI

I HOPE THAT'S WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN

FUCKING FINALLY

Oh I think it's been strongly hinted that she already knows, kind of like how we all thought it was a secret from all the friends but it turned out they all knew.

I may have teared up a bit when Yuzu started, this was a very nice chapter.

I expect Yuzu to come out to her mother next chapter and given how we have seen her act I expect her to have already realised what is going on. She acts cheerful and happy but something tells me she is more perceptive than she let's on.
That and Yuzu isn't really subtle.

For those readers who curious about Asian culture, I recommed these essays 'Emerging Lesbian Voices from Japan(Sharon Chalmers )' & 'Beautiful and Innocent Female Same-Sex Intimacy in the Japanese Yuri Genr(Verena Maser)'. Could be found in the internet.

All these essay comments are making my head spins, you guys sure like debating

Something I don't understand in this manga is why people don't talk like normal people. Even the way that Sara talked to Yuzu about Mei, in a way it's up to interpretation, nothing is directly said. I find it so frustrating. It ends up coming off as fake and meant to produce drama and the impression of complexity where there isn't any.

I can really empathize with Matsuri, the only person in this series who says it as it is and seems WTF-ed lol Pretty sure she is meant to represent the readers. And now even she is numb to this whole situation thanks to Harumi "my bff was depressed for 8 months but I don't give a sh*t" Taniguchi.

last edited at May 21, 2018 11:28PM

Do not use the translation as a way to judge the author’s wording and the characters’ speech pattern. There is a gap, and it is normal. Sara’s way to talk isn’t really strange in Japanese. More the contrary, she is very direct and pushy but stays polite (cause Japanese do not ask private questions directly) in her way to help Yuzu to open up or to enquire about Mei.

Edit : concerning Harumi, i am not surprised and i wonder why people are so disappointed by her behavior. Entire volume 5 shows Harumi to avoid conflict and complications about other’s affairs, including friends. All 4 chapters, she tries to convince Yuzu to stay discret, to fit in the mould at school and to tone down her desires of individuality. So she is very in character here... maybe before a change of mind.

last edited at May 21, 2018 11:44PM

GREAT! It seems Yuzu once again is going to be the one to go beyond and try to solve the problem! i wonder if Mei will do fucking something this time around? I really hope she does for the sake of her character development, because at this point, ts getting really tiring that Yuzu is always the one to seek her out.

Yeah, i really hope that Saburouta gives some redeeming qualities to Mei, otherwise her character gets more and more frustrating with each chapter.

Oh, boy, is she gonna come out to mom? Is it happening?

I am not sure of that, because she would risk Mei's situation. I don't see Yuzu coming out without Mei, they have to do that together. She talks about asking an advice to Ume, so more an indirect way to strengthen her conviction whatever idea popped into her mind during her sleep. About Mei feeling forced to marry, about the wish to stop someone you love from doing a huge mistake, about pursuing love at any prices ...

But, a coming out would be indeed a memorable event into the manga... or the next chapter could also open on another character and we wouldn't have the conversation's content until another chapter or the end of chapter 39. The author already used this postponed revelation of an important speech cut out ... So many options, so many assumptions ...

Didn't Yuzu already come out during vol5? I was always confused by the different translation, but she said the person she loved was in the school... So was she talking about romantic love at that moment or about the one she loved?

I'm hoping for an heart to heart discussion, maybe an involuntary coming out. But I guess I won't be disappointed because Ume is the real best girl of the manga.

Do not use the translation as a way to judge the author’s wording and the characters’ speech pattern. There is a gap, and it is normal. Sara’s way to talk isn’t really strange in Japanese. More the contrary, she is very direct and pushy but stays polite (cause Japanese do not ask private questions directly) in her way to help Yuzu to open up or to enquire about Mei.

Yeah so I gathered it's a mix of translations and cultural differences most likely. Doesn't mean it's not frustrating though lol Because the conversations could go much more in-depth but instead its like, we the readers wait all this time just for dialogue breadcrumbs that never directly address any issues.

Edit : concerning Harumi, i am not surprised and i wonder why people are so disappointed by her behavior. Entire volume 5 shows Harumi to avoid conflict and complications about other’s affairs, including friends. All 4 chapters, she tries to convince Yuzu to stay discret, to fit in the mould at school and to tone down her desires of individuality. So she is very in character here... maybe before a change of mind.

I'm not surprised about Harumin doing nothing and effectively preventing Matsuri to take action...but for me this just goes to show she isn't that good of a friend, and I hope she has a purpose in the story by the end of the manga. Sara's simple questions about Yuzu's well-being, on the other hand, improved Yuzu's situation in just 1 day.

Didn't Yuzu already come out during vol5? I was always confused by the different translation, but she said the person she loved was in the school... So was she talking about romantic love at that moment or about the one she loved?

I'm hoping for an heart to heart discussion, maybe an involuntary coming out. But I guess I won't be disappointed because Ume is the real best girl of the manga.

In fact, she said she was at school because of love, but it didn't clearly imply that the lover was at the Academy. The translation nailed it, "I am a high school girl because of love, for a love affair" in the sense her motivation to be a good student is love (romantic love in her wording) when the other girls wants to be in a good university. Yuzu wanted to say that her "significant other" "her special someone" (she never states the gender of the lover and it never indicates if she/he is another student here or anywhere else ) inspired her, praised her hence her proudness to affirm her feminity.

In Yuzu's mind, in volume 6, when she's paranoid about other people's opinions, she believes that others students are aware she came out. But, in fact, they are clueless.

Indeed, I would like a badass Ume or at least see Ume really support Yuzu. We saw that she's worried and sorry about Yuzu's moodiness and depression, but she didn't seem to have acted yet. That would be fun, and the author like to use comedic relief if she said to Yuzu she knew all along and it was time to take back Mei.

@matsuri_wins : yes, I like to think that Harumi poor-spirited behavior here has a purpose to finally make her act. Each character has walls they need to destroy, Mei must believe she's allowed to act accordingly to her real wishes, Harumi must believe that meddling and confronting friends in despair is needed. They have good intentions but don't see that it doesn't lead them on a good path. Sara is a special case, she's pushy, she doesn't shy about asking people things and calling them out, but contrary to Matsuri, she does that with a real tact. She confronted Mei during the date, she comforted Yuzu in volume 5 and gave her some fighting spirit to express her feelings, and she's helping here too.

The author talked about expanding Harumi's background. She tweeted that Harumi's family was very frightening and was made up of very manipulative persons (not only Mitsuko). So i guess, the author has something in store for Harumi and that her frustrating behavior will be explained and overcame.

last edited at May 22, 2018 1:11PM

Another chapter in this story is definitely nearing the final. Yuzu had the courage to open his heart about the situation surrounding his love relationship with Mei. But that scene was the one that saddled me most in comparison to what happened that time in Chapter 36. It's to make anyone feel the same pain as her: "I don't know... What to do more..." (https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/citrus_ch38#30). And in the end, Yuzu decides to tell his mother the whole truth about his love for Mei, in which no one suspected until the present moment. How will she react? We hope very soon that the two protagonists of this story will be able to reconcile and reach a happy ending.

Despite the very difficult phase that the story is going through, I bring you good news: the publication of the "Citrus" manga here in Brazil by NewPop Editora has been confirmed, after many insistences from the Brazilian fans of the series: (https://www.facebook.com/editoraNewPOP/photos/a.382923155071755.94911.176604269036979/1893019210728801/?type=3&theater). For now, the release date is not yet defined, but we look forward to the arrival of the "Citrus" manga in Brazilian lands. The series has won a lot of fans around here and a great nationally acclaimed success, thanks to the simultaneous display of the anime by Crunchyroll.

The author talked about expanding Harumi's background. She tweeted that Harumi's family was very frightening and was made up of very manipulative persons (not only Mitsuko).

Yeah, by starting with the boisterous Yuzu as our POV character and the unconventional familial setup of her household, it's easy to push into the background the fact that most of the characters in the story (the ones whose families we know about, anyway) are at least as hemmed in and paralyzed by familial and societal expectations as Mei is (or even worse, in the case of Shirapon, who we learn is forbidden to ever even laugh).

At least Mei has aspirations of having a professional career rather than serving as an ornament to a rich husband's family.

What you are asking is a complete rereading of the manga in Japanese with spotting multiple examples to see if what you feel has more or less basis. For a perfect native Japanese mastering English, it would be doable without many efforts (but it would still need some work). For me, who doesn’t master Japanese totally, it would be a serious huge work to do. Easier to answer about a scene or a precise page of the manga. To avoid doing mistakes. And the author uses sometimes hard kanjis scenes that require a real effort. Except, once again for someone with a real degree of mastery in Japanese and English. So taking a good amount of time to do the deep analysis you require would be fine if I didn’t work and had free time. And I don’t have a special authority... far from it, just the wish to defend the manga’s writing from quick judgments.

The author like to be referential about other cultural contents from the manga universe, the author likes to use echoes (and the translation is enough to see some of them), the author uses many foreshadowing that any serious reader can spot in English when rereading the manga, she likes to uses mise en abyme (self insertion...) and is also self critical .... all of that can be seen in the translation (I could also point out some examples, but I am not all so mighty and I like to think that people here already read the full manga once and remember what they read and they like to exhange about their interpretation more than having someone who does a full analysys point per point and quote as fast as Calimity Jane to impose their idea).

From my point of view, I find it interesting and sometimes admirable.... and I don’t understand some readers’ attacks about her work like « lol shitty plot, lol stupid characters, lol retarded writing ».

And about what was tweeted, readers can check the author account. The tweet in question was written after episode 3 or 4: each week the author made a kind of light review of the previous episode. But I like to think that I don’t need to quote and link each source in a simple forum discussion about a manga... except if people here think everybody is lying.

And I think you underestimate readers capacity to search precise insights. My point was just to say the author is subtler than what people think. But it is’just Citrus, you already made your interpretation of her work and the author’s notes about rereading the story to see new things or reaffirming her wish to stay stronger and healthy to write the manga.

If the above question (posed earlier) is clear--again, about the "echoes"/quoted aspects, is that something that could be tackled in a couple of sentences or paragraphs with examples (off the top of your head)?

So no, analyzing the echoes I talked about wouldn't be done in just in a "couple" of sentences. The fact I didn't answer to your post about this matter just one day after it doesn't mean I wouldn't give insight but reading your post ... I don’t know how to interpret your it... some implicit attack out of frustration that I don’t do the examples listing and checking you wanted as quickjly as you want it? So, I will let it slide.

last edited at May 23, 2018 2:24AM

Maybe I misunderstood you but you also misread some of my comments, because there isn't any condescension from my side. So, if you think that some of your posts or comments were wrongly judged or interpreted, fair point but don't do the same to others, you are also wrongly judgemental about some of my posts.

Yes, English is my third language, probably the reason that I can be confusing and cannot fully use the precise word to express my thought, I am lost in translation myself and it's frustrating. But, I don't feel debating with someone who is in attack mode and sneaks some innuendos especially when I tried to carefully read you, and reread you when some others made fun of your posts' verbosity.

About the notes of the author, you linked these precise notes in one of your posts.

last edited at May 23, 2018 3:00AM

This conversation about Citrus here often takes weird turns, but this is certainly one of the weirdest.

Nismy, I find most of your posts to be admirably clear, precise, specific, and on-topic; you have nothing to apologize for about your language usage.

Thank you, at least I am happy if I am clear.