That bears almost no relation to the character as first presented in this series--for all her psychological and emotional dysfunction, Mei was explicitly defined as super-competent (to the point that she was de facto running the school), and she was very used to interacting with adults in public.
Agreed. Her super competent side was highly appealing, and her jealous angry side was what made their interactions so great to read. Now she is shown to have been a "broken bird" all along. Is Citrus turning into conventional yuri? lol

Hum, did you guys forgot Citrus already? Yes, Mei was shown to be über competent on most tasks but she was consistently depicted to be emotionally stunted and having no idea on how socializing with others outside very specific contexts. Her behavior here is just a natural extension to the Mei that thought Yuzu's notebook was an infallible guide for the perfect date.

Anyways, I must say that we're lucky we have such a talented and dedicated fan artist for the series

https://twitter.com/glidesloe/status/1119317237477724161

Mei's character is so boring as always. I am fairly enjoying citrus+, though. I ended up hating original citrus because of the shit drama/writing and one-sided relationship between Yuzu and Mei, but here my fav girls Matsuri and Harumin have more protagonism and the slice of life and comedy bits are nice. I think Saburouta is better at writing comedy and SOL than drama, hopefully her next series will be like citrus+.

... Also,I agree with the Meibot nickname. At least Mei was entertaining during the very first chapters of citrus, being an alpha lesbian towards Yuzu and struggling with her abandonment issues and need for affection, now she's been autistic for a long time (I actually read a headcanon on Mei having autism somewhere). And she and Yuzu are so incompatible, no chemistry whatsoever IMO. If I didn't ship HaruMatsu, I'd go for HaruYuzu. #JusticeForYuzu you deserve better

last edited at Apr 19, 2019 10:56PM

So, Citrus+ is gearing towards Mei x Yuzu x Harumin. Mei is definitely jealous of the closeness between Harumin and Yuzu as Mei did tightly clenched her teddy bear when she became jealous of the kiss between Yuzu and Matsuri.

I know Sabu wants to make a point on how Mei is still socially awkward but can't she lessen making Mei say those cringey line "Don't overwork yourself for Mei Aihara's sake". However, I can't complained that much because I really enjoyed Mei and Harumin's interaction.

if only Citrus was a love triangle manga. All of us by now would have been lured into a trap thinking Harumin has a chance in hell of becoming Yuzu's love interest. Sucks for us though as it will never happen.

Can't wait for the next chapter!!!

last edited at Apr 19, 2019 11:04PM

Yuzu with glasses is freaking H-O-T!!!!

...I think Mei is just horny...

...I think Mei is just horny...

If that were true and they showed some indication of it besides Mei looking miserable, it would improve her characterization 1000%.

Maybe in reality Mei wanted to be go for Udagawa.

Maybe in reality Mei wanted to be go for Udagawa.

Don’t be mean—I’m pretty sure he’s gay anyway.

Well the only other possibility is that Sabu is planning for Mei and Yuzu to reach breaking point of holding back and then just make out like crazy.

I mean, I am fairly sure Yuzu’s behaviour is like pent-up frustration misdirected towards studying lol and same with Mei’s depressive state. As I don’t want to think she suddenly decided to portray the 2 have zero chemistry.

So, Citrus+ is gearing towards Mei x Yuzu x Harumin.

Man, the delusion of HaruYuzu is real. Harumin after this chapter, I would even consider that she is most likely straight lol Definitely she is behaving like a somewhat protective friend and showing zero romantic or sexual interest in Yuzu. If she was doubting her sexuality or having any feelings for Yuzu, that would be shown very differently during the changing clothes scene.

Mei is feeling insecure because of Harumin understanding Yuzu better though. So if there’s a triangle, it’s more in her own mind.

Well the only other possibility is that Sabu is planning for Mei and Yuzu to reach breaking point of holding back and then just make out like crazy.

I mean, I am fairly sure Yuzu’s behaviour is like pent-up frustration misdirected towards studying lol and same with Mei’s depressive state. As I don’t want to think she suddenly decided to portray the 2 have zero chemistry.

Or maybe the earlier sexual chemistry was entirely based on the thrill of forbidden love, and now that everyone is cool with them being together, they're reduced to spending all their energy working on their career plans.

Yuzu will probably make a cute OL, though.

Well the only other possibility is that Sabu is planning for Mei and Yuzu to reach breaking point of holding back and then just make out like crazy.

I mean, I am fairly sure Yuzu’s behaviour is like pent-up frustration misdirected towards studying lol and same with Mei’s depressive state. As I don’t want to think she suddenly decided to portray the 2 have zero chemistry.

This is all just build up to the scene where Mei awkwardly confesses her love to Yuzu on the couch like we saw in the final chapter of Citrus. They just got back together after being separated for months, so they're trying to get things sorted out.

Harumin after this chapter, I would even consider that she is most likely straight lol Definitely she is behaving like a somewhat protective friend and showing zero romantic or sexual interest in Yuzu. If she was doubting her sexuality or having any feelings for Yuzu, that would be shown very differently during the changing clothes scene.

Mei is feeling insecure because of Harumin understanding Yuzu better though. So if there’s a triangle, it’s more in her own mind.

Harumin acted awkward when Yuzu kept hugging her, then she made the joke about Yuzu getting so cute that everyone will be after her. And then there's whatever the bunch of things Mei's talk with Harumin helped her get over. So far Citrus+ has teased us with Harumin's odd behavior, then had Matsuri point blank ask her her thoughts on love, which we were never shown. She might not be in love with Yuzu, but the story is obviously building towards something with Harumin.

last edited at Apr 20, 2019 10:54AM

I still don't get the hate towards Mei

I still don't get the hate towards Mei

There’s a hell of a lot of difference between hating the character and disliking what the author has done with her characterization.

Most of the people posting here liked Mei—for me she was by far the most interesting character, partly because she was the most volatile. She was the one who could rock the sociopath-era Matsuri back on her heels, and who could keep Yuzu guessing (perhaps inadvertently) about where their relationship was going.

The near-catatonic shrinking violet we’ve been seeing these days is . . . far less interesting.

Or maybe the earlier sexual chemistry was entirely based on the thrill of forbidden love

That would be all too realistic for Citrus.

I still don't get the hate towards Mei

There’s a hell of a lot of difference between hating the character and disliking what the author has done with her characterization.

Most of the people posting here liked Mei—for me she was by far the most interesting character, partly because she was the most volatile. She was the one who could rock the sociopath-era Matsuri back on her heels, and who could keep Yuzu guessing (perhaps inadvertently) about where their relationship was going.

The near-catatonic shrinking violet we’ve been seeing these days is . . . far less interesting.

Does anyone here have experience dealing with manga editors? Wonder if this is an example of editor interference. I am looking for explanations because it literally feels like the character was totally changed after her absence from ch 36 to 41.

Mei's character is so boring as always. I am fairly enjoying citrus+, though. I ended up hating original citrus because of the shit drama/writing and one-sided relationship between Yuzu and Mei, but here my fav girls Matsuri and Harumin have more protagonism and the slice of life and comedy bits are nice. I think Saburouta is better at writing comedy and SOL than drama, hopefully her next series will be like citrus+.

True. I only read Citrus+ for Matsuri and Harumin. Now I don't care about the main couple. I was hoping for a +18 but now, I'm pretty sure we should wait many chapters for this. (still hoping).
I can't understand how people consider Citrus as the best yuri, damn it's just boring as fuck. Drama over drama and nothing happens. Citrus+ is most soft but same as the prequel, nothing happens. Ah, I want to drop it but for the sake of MatsuHaru... Let's keep going on.

I think maybe "people consider Citrus as the best yuri" because it doesn't really do subtle. It's obvious from the beginning that Yuzu and Mei have a thing. For Japanese released stuff, that's pretty uncommon.

That still doesn't make it great, IMO, but at least it does make obvious yuri more mainstream, which, again IMO, can only be a good thing for all of us useless lesbians.

I still don't get the hate towards Mei

There’s a hell of a lot of difference between hating the character and disliking what the author has done with her characterization.

Most of the people posting here liked Mei—for me she was by far the most interesting character, partly because she was the most volatile. She was the one who could rock the sociopath-era Matsuri back on her heels, and who could keep Yuzu guessing (perhaps inadvertently) about where their relationship was going.

The near-catatonic shrinking violet we’ve been seeing these days is . . . far less interesting.

Does anyone here have experience dealing with manga editors? Wonder if this is an example of editor interference. I am looking for explanations because it literally feels like the character was totally changed after her absence from ch 36 to 41.

In fact, Saburouta confirmed she had a hard time to build Mei's character and needed her editor's help when she stated many times that Yuzu was easy for her, cause she was like Yuzu, personality wise and also Matsuri cause she loved writing mischievous characters. She shines with these personalities and struggles with characters like Mei, it is a fact that she acknowledge.

Concerning the editor's meddling, it is almost acquired there was something that bothered her and made her quickly end citrus. She recognized she had a burn out (her last words at the end of volume 9, her tweet for the new year, her mini-comic in Yuri Hime before Citrus + when she answered readers questions with her personal editor who is also Yuri Hime's editor in chief: CT translated this comic and the author says with humor that she was almost on the verge to abandon writing Citrus but kept on cause of people's support). And it is clear she was forced to give her unfinished chapter 33. But we'll never know what really happened.

last edited at Apr 21, 2019 7:23AM

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

^ @Nismy
This actually makes me feel rather better about what happened in the main series. It seemed clear to me that after Volume 6 the author really didn't know what to do with the story--the subsequent introduction of Shirapon didn't really link into any of the established themes or indicate a coherent plot trajectory going forward (even though I came to kind of like the character herself), and then the story just seemed to wander around until the sudden re-introduction of the arranged-marriage conflict.

Authors can struggle, and serial narrative makes it easy to write yourself into jams you ultimately don't know how to get out of. If Saburouta had been cynically spinning out the story just to cash in on its popularity, or worse, was executing what had been planned all along thinking it was great writing, I would be (and had been, since I didn't keep up with any news or information about the series outside the text itself) much less sympathetic.

But I can see how the audience expectations that came along with the massive popularity of Citrus could lead to writer's block/brain lock such that the author might try to just write cute scenes for a while in hopes that the inspiration for how to deal with the big picture would present itself, and the series certainly reached a point where the specials and extras seemed to come easier to the author than significant advances in the main plot.

By the way, the old Mei I was referring to is well on display here, and it's not the early psycho-Mei--it's her telling Yuzu not to drop out of the student council election because she values Yuzu's qualities and wants to be more like her, the point being that at one point it seemed like Mei could change for the better as a person without abandoning the fierce pride that once defined her character.
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/citrus_ch19#29

last edited at Apr 21, 2019 11:40AM

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

But my problem is actually more with Yuzu than with Mei, haha

Well, they're part of what should be a complementary matched set, so that's not too surprising. :)

At the point in the story I quoted, it looked like Mei was going to open up and show more of her warm and caring side (the qualities she explicitly mentions admiring in Yuzu), while Yuzu would become less impulsive and more responsible about living in the real world. You might even argue that they are doing that right now in Citrus +, but the further implication was that such individual changes would be part of a process that they would be doing together.

But the further the series went on the less they seemed able to communicate directly with each other (to the point that Mei goes MIA for a long stretch of the plot), perhaps at least partly because Saburouta couldn't figure out how to soften Mei's character while still retaining her alpha qualities.

The initial sizzle in this series came from the clash of two very vivid characters--I would have expected by this time that their main conflict would be about seeing who gets to be on top every night.

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.

I still don't get the hate towards Mei

There’s a hell of a lot of difference between hating the character and disliking what the author has done with her characterization.

Most of the people posting here liked Mei—for me she was by far the most interesting character, partly because she was the most volatile. She was the one who could rock the sociopath-era Matsuri back on her heels, and who could keep Yuzu guessing (perhaps inadvertently) about where their relationship was going.

The near-catatonic shrinking violet we’ve been seeing these days is . . . far less interesting.

Well... That’s called change.

I still don't get the hate towards Mei

There’s a hell of a lot of difference between hating the character and disliking what the author has done with her characterization.

Most of the people posting here liked Mei—for me she was by far the most interesting character, partly because she was the most volatile. She was the one who could rock the sociopath-era Matsuri back on her heels, and who could keep Yuzu guessing (perhaps inadvertently) about where their relationship was going.

The near-catatonic shrinking violet we’ve been seeing these days is . . . far less interesting.

Well... That’s called change.

Yes, it absolutely is called "change." A character who was once sexy, forceful, and interesting because of her complexity now is, in the opinion of a number of readers, not.

There is no one who could deny that that is called "change." You can even look it up in the dictionary.