Could...could this be...the best chapter of Citrus+ yet?

It really felt like we finally got some of the Mei we've been waiting to see: confident and powerful, while also showing her in-love, shy side.

Oh, that’s right—we once gave a shit about the administration of the Aihara academy, didn’t we? We were all so much younger then . . .

Sure, it’s about 15 chapters too late, but better late than never, amirite?

Mei has broken out of her shell enough to shine at the board meeting, almost like she, you know, had experience being a badass student council prez, or something.

But she’s still gazing at Yuzu like she’s badly constipated, and she can’t quite bring herself to hold hands, so all is still normal on the home front.

You do realize this chapter was just before flash-forward ch. 41 kiss? Like in few seconds later Mei is kissing Yuzu and telling her she's loves her?

How hard can it be to tell someone that you like them without weird plot devices? The whole academy thing was so weird and incoherent.

At least the two did go forward a little, though still not at the point where they could face each other in an everyday setting and communicate their love for each other.

I basically have less than zero expecations for this series at this point so any progress in their relationship is a bonus. Let's hope the story keeps on advancing like this and without detours.

Oh, that’s right—we once gave a shit about the administration of the Aihara academy, didn’t we? We were all so much younger then . . .

Sure, it’s about 15 chapters too late, but better late than never, amirite?

Mei has broken out of her shell enough to shine at the board meeting, almost like she, you know, had experience being a badass student council prez, or something.

But she’s still gazing at Yuzu like she’s badly constipated, and she can’t quite bring herself to hold hands, so all is still normal on the home front.

You do realize this chapter was just before flash-forward ch. 41 kiss? Like in few seconds later Mei is kissing Yuzu and telling her she's loves her?

I was talking about story structure here, although I see why it looks like I was talking about imaginary people.

This is like Saburouta going back and saying, "Remember all those scenes that would have been in the main series if it actually made any sense instead of going, 'Huge problems all gone bye-bye because yadda yadda yadda?' I feel like doing one of those scenes now."

last edited at Jun 19, 2019 8:29AM

Wish this chapter had been in the original series

Would have been nice

Woah, hello true ending, this might be the best chapter of Mei imo (not that is hard to make a good Mei chapter, all you have to do is actually try and not make 50% of her reactions be like "..." lol).

last edited at Jun 19, 2019 10:30AM

HORRAY! Looking hella forward to the next chapter. Yes!

Can someone provide some clarity as it pertains to the Citrus+ timeline? Is it supposed to be an alternate timeline or a continuation of the initial series?? It seems like a continuation given how it's incorporating some of the key canon elements of the first installment, (rings, proposal, Matsuri's enrollment into the academy etc.) even though it regresses in other aspects (marriage, age, living together etc.) I'm kind of scratching my head here as to where this story is supposed to go. After 6 chapters is still appears to be very much a Mei/Yuzu focused story, although the ending of Citrus pretty much summed up their high school story arc (even if it was a bit rushed). I know that we won't get a clear idea of what the endgame is for several more chapters, but I'm still super confused as to what timetable this story is travelling in.

P.S If this topic has already been covered in a previous post then I apologize for the retread (chalk it up to me being lazy and not going through 500+ comments.) Please and thank you :)

last edited at Jun 19, 2019 11:57AM

Why it look like the relationship has regressed

Can someone provide some clarity as it pertains to the Citrus+ timeline? Is it supposed to be an alternate timeline or a continuation of the initial series?? It seems like a continuation given how it's incorporating some of the key canon elements of the first installment, (rings, proposal, Matsuri's enrollment into the academy etc.) even though it regresses in other aspects (marriage, age, living together etc.) I'm kind of scratching my head here as to where this story is supposed to go. After 6 chapters is still appears to be very much a Mei/Yuzu focused story, although the ending of Citrus pretty much summed up their high school story arc (even if it was a bit rushed). I know that we won't get a clear idea of what the endgame is for several more chapters, but I'm still super confused as to what timetable this story is travelling in.

P.S If this topic has already been covered in a previous post then I apologize for the retread (chalk it up to me being lazy and not going through 500+ comments.) Please and thank you :)

Citrus+ is about what happened between Mei accepting Yuzu’s ring at Udagawa’s house and their wedding party. Presumably all those last pages summarizing the timeskip will be there.

Citrus+ is about what happened between Mei accepting Yuzu’s ring at Udagawa’s house and their wedding party. Presumably all those last pages summarizing the timeskip will be there.

Yeah, in other words, all those scenes that should have been in the main series but weren't.

Sigh. Ah well. Better late than never.

Why it look like the relationship has regressed

Mei wants a fresh start after getting back together with Yuzu, so it's like they're starting their relationship again from square one so that they can go through the proper steps this time.

Edit: And as others have pointed out, Citrus+ began after the balcony scene when Yuzu and Mei first got back together. It's an interquel that covers events set before and during the final chapter of Citrus. Most likely it'll cover Yuzu and Mei's final year of high school.

last edited at Jun 19, 2019 12:24PM

So... let me get this straight. People give Mei shit being apprehensive towards her relationship with Yuzu, feeling guilty for all she put her through. Now in chapter 6, she's open about her relationship with Yuzu, proudly declares that she's going to take over the academy by herself, and people are still giving her shit? WTF I'm so lost.

Also, for those saying it's unrealistic that the board had no reaction to their love declaration, are y'all just forgetting that Aihara Academy is notorious for having girls being in relationships with each other? Do you really think they'd be fazed by something like this?

And to take it a step further, Saburouta said that Citrus+ would focus on interactions between characters and essentially be devoid of over-the-top drama, which people were relieved about. And now people are saying they want a plot point that would essentially create more drama? What do you people want out of this series?!

Citrus was 41 chapters long, and Citrus+ is only on 6. It's probably not gonna end for awhile. Knowing how this chapter ties into the kiss scene in chapter 41, Yuzu and Mei are likely going to spend the rest of the series developing a closer and healthier relationship, making up for the faux relationship they had throughout the entirety of Citrus, leading all the way up to their marriage.

I'm not gonna act like Citrus is the perfect Yuri story, but does it have to be? This forum is completely black and white, people either say "Citrus is perfect i luv it" or "Citrus is garbage we need to lynch Saburouta." Is there no such thing as "Citrus is good, but it has some flaws"? Saburouta clearly likes to take time developing her stories and characters. If you don't have the patience for that, this probably isn't the manga for you. Just don't come into the discussion and go out of your way to tell all the people who enjoy it "um AKSHUALLY tHiS iS tRaSh!!"

@matsuri_wins June 19, 2019 12:08PM

Can someone provide some clarity as it pertains to the Citrus+ timeline? Is it supposed to be an alternate timeline or a continuation of the initial series?? It seems like a continuation given how it's incorporating some of the key canon elements of the first installment, (rings, proposal, Matsuri's enrollment into the academy etc.) even though it regresses in other aspects (marriage, age, living together etc.) I'm kind of scratching my head here as to where this story is supposed to go. After 6 chapters is still appears to be very much a Mei/Yuzu focused story, although the ending of Citrus pretty much summed up their high school story arc (even if it was a bit rushed). I know that we won't get a clear idea of what the endgame is for several more chapters, but I'm still super confused as to what timetable this story is travelling in.

P.S If this topic has already been covered in a previous post then I apologize for the retread (chalk it up to me being lazy and not going through 500+ comments.) Please and thank you :)

Citrus+ is about what happened between Mei accepting Yuzu’s ring at Udagawa’s house and their wedding party. Presumably all those last pages summarizing the timeskip will be there.

Hmmm...okayyy...so this series is essentially a miquel? That's one way to go about progression, and it kind of makes sense, (maybe??) but, why bill it as a sequel if that's the case?

Hopefully, the author can keep the canon intact while fixing some critical plot holes. It probably would have been a much smoother transition to just pick up with them as college students or happily married adults. Again, in spite of how rushed the ending of Citrus was and the huge gap it had, it did conclusively wrap this arc up. Kind of feels like a retread of familiar yet less angsty ground at this point, with the author having to do a lot more work of filling in unnecessary blanks. But then again (and hopefully) she may be able to pull it off.

Just my 2 cents and it ain't worth much.

last edited at Jun 20, 2019 12:13PM

This forum is completely black and white, people either say "Citrus is perfect i luv it" or "Citrus is garbage we need to lynch Saburouta." Is there no such thing as "Citrus is good, but it has some flaws"?

If you would actually read the Dynasty forums on this series and on the original series you would know that this statement is completely and utterly false. Between the two forums there are literally dozens of posts saying exactly the thing you claim that people never say.

Saburouta clearly likes to take time developing her stories and characters. If you don't have the patience for that, this probably isn't the manga for you. Just don't come into the discussion and go out of your way to tell all the people who enjoy it "um AKSHUALLY tHiS iS tRaSh!!"

By the time this series came out, quite a few readers who had been huge fans at first, and others who liked many things about it and saw considerable potential in it (like me), had become quite disgusted with the inept, aimless story structure and the laughably rushed ending. Your lecture is entirely out of place—by this time we know very well what Saburouta is as a storyteller.

In fact, before that botched ending there were extensive discussions about the very subject of this chapter—speculations about how the Aihara Academy bureaucratic structure worked, and how Mei might find a way to convince them to let her take over, including lemon-squeezing analysis of Japanese inheritance procedures, etc.

If we had been given a few more substantive chapters like this in the appropriate place in the story instead of, for example, several chapters of people wandering around the fireworks festival, those previously sympathetic readers would be much more willing to cut the author a break now.

Hmmm...okayyy...so this series is essentially a miquel? That's one way to go about progression, and it kind of makes sense, (maybe??) but, why bill it as a sequel if that's the case?

From what I remember reading it was billed as a spinoff, but people kept calling it a sequel.

If you would actually read the Dynasty forums on this series and on the original series you would know that this statement is completely and utterly false. Between the two forums there are literally dozens of posts saying exactly the thing you claim that people never say.

I apologize if I came off a little harsh and ranty in my last post. It was mostly in an angry response to the people I saw criticizing chapter 6, which I thought was the best chapter yet. I've gone back and read previous parts of the discussion, and you're correct, there are some positive analyses out there. My mistake.

By the time this series came out, quite a few readers who had been huge fans at first, and others who liked many things about it and saw considerable potential in it (like me), had become quite disgusted with the inept, aimless story structure and the laughably rushed ending. Your lecture is entirely out of place—by this time we know very well what Saburouta is as a storyteller.

In fact, before that botched ending there were extensive discussions about the very subject of this chapter—speculations about how the Aihara Academy bureaucratic structure worked, and how Mei might find a way to convince them to let her take over, including lemon-squeezing analysis of Japanese inheritance procedures, etc.

If we had been given a few more substantive chapters like this in the appropriate place in the story instead of, for example, several chapters of people wandering around the fireworks festival, those previously sympathetic readers would be much more willing to cut the author a break now.

I'm in complete agreement with the fact that the ending was rushed (though knowing how the manga industry works I doubt it was entirely Saburouta's fault). In fact, I consider Volume 10 to be the worst volume of Citrus by a landslide. However, what I don't agree with is the idea that Citrus+ is nothing but damage control. To me, that's people saying that they don't want Citrus to improve or make up for it's shortcomings. I sincerely hope that Citrus+ ends up being better than Citrus, because I love the idea of Mei finally showing us how much she's grown, and Chapter 6 gives me faith that this will end up being the case.

To put it simply, Citrus was about Mei entering a faux relationship with Yuzu to repay her for all the kindness she showed her, but in the process ended up actually falling in love with her. Citrus+ is about Mei's guilt over how horribly she treated Yuzu and her finally gaining the confidence to be in a true, committed relationship with her. At least, that's how I see it, and I understand if you don't agree with me.

^ I agree with you about the themes, and in themselves there’s nothing wrong with them. Your reading of Mei and Yuzu is a reasonable one, in its own terms.

But I myself did far too much “explanatory” reading of Citrus for far too long (i.e., coming up with rationalizations and giving extended explanations for what the author was probably doing) in the original series, only by the end to see the author appear to put much less thought into the plot and the development of the storyworld than readers were doing.

So while I do make mocking remarks about the presentation of Mei’s character in Citrus+, my criticism really isn’t of the character herself (who, as I’ve said in my other posts, I’ve always liked and thought of as by far the most interesting character in the series) but of the choppy mess the author has made of this once-promising story.

The flashes of the old Mei that we see in this most recent chapter just remind me of that tough but vulnerable and always sexy character Mei used to be, and how long it’s been since we’ve seen her.

Welllllll........I have trouble caring about this series anymore, but I try.

They don't do anything. I'm hoping Sabu is just going back in time to solve some things. We haven't gotten our lovey dovey, or story development, because the end of the original series was so fake and sped up.

I'm hoping we start building a story again in volume 2, but I've been depressed and shamed by this series before in chapter 36, which was milking what fans this series had for probably final volume sales.

So...we're not getting Haru Matsu? Are we getting any pairings? Why does everything have to be so boring? I hope Mei comes out of her shell.

In my dream mind I think and hope that Sabu is just setting up where she wants her story to go. Dates? Intimacy? Anything, other characters? I think these latest chapters, volume 1, will read way better when released as one manga.

Gotta' say, I've been losing my enthusiasm. Saburouta just doesn't seem to be capable/want to write a good story. That hurts to say. She can write cute trash, but when are we going to start getting the real thing? These girls won't even fucking TOUCH each other. Sigh.

Sabluballs and other cute shit, it's getting mighty tiresome. I try to have faith but I feel like we're going the wrong way. Sabu might be a complete idiot.

They are gonna start handholding right there in the middle of the room! Youngsters today have no shame

Also I'm not reading this trainwreck but I for one am glad this is not a cheap melodrama like Citrus and just mellow slow fluff instead

Meh.. i found this sequel very boring

@Blastaar June 19, 2019 2:11PM

This forum is completely black and white, people either say "Citrus is perfect i luv it" or "Citrus is garbage we need to lynch Saburouta." Is there no such thing as "Citrus is good, but it has some flaws"?

If you would actually read the Dynasty forums on this series and on the original series you would know that this statement is completely and utterly false. Between the two forums there are literally dozens of posts saying exactly the thing you claim that people never say.

Saburouta clearly likes to take time developing her stories and characters. If you don't have the patience for that, this probably isn't the manga for you. Just don't come into the discussion and go out of your way to tell all the people who enjoy it "um AKSHUALLY tHiS iS tRaSh!!"

By the time this series came out, quite a few readers who had been huge fans at first, and others who liked many things about it and saw considerable potential in it (like me), had become quite disgusted with the inept, aimless story structure and the laughably rushed ending. Your lecture is entirely out of place—by this time we know very well what Saburouta is as a storyteller.

In fact, before that botched ending there were extensive discussions about the very subject of this chapter—speculations about how the Aihara Academy bureaucratic structure worked, and how Mei might find a way to convince them to let her take over, including lemon-squeezing analysis of Japanese inheritance procedures, etc.

If we had been given a few more substantive chapters like this in the appropriate place in the story instead of, for example, several chapters of people wandering around the fireworks festival, those previously sympathetic readers would be much more willing to cut the author a break now.

^ The. Fucking. Truth.

last edited at Jun 20, 2019 12:12PM

@Gibfady June 19, 2019 3:40PM

Welllllll........I have trouble caring about this series anymore, but I try.

They don't do anything. I'm hoping Sabu is just going back in time to solve some things. We haven't gotten our lovey dovey, or story development, because the end of the original series was so fake and sped up.

I'm hoping we start building a story again in volume 2, but I've been depressed and shamed by this series before in chapter 36, which was milking what fans this series had for probably final volume sales.

So...we're not getting Haru Matsu? Are we getting any pairings? Why does everything have to be so boring? I hope Mei comes out of her shell.

In my dream mind I think and hope that Sabu is just setting up where she wants her story to go. Dates? Intimacy? Anything, other characters? I think these latest chapters, volume 1, will read way better when released as one manga.

Gotta' say, I've been losing my enthusiasm. Saburouta just doesn't seem to be capable/want to write a good story. That hurts to say. She can write cute trash, but when are we going to start getting the real thing? These girls won't even fucking TOUCH each other. Sigh.

Sabluballs and other cute shit, it's getting mighty tiresome. I try to have faith but I feel like we're going the wrong way. Sabu might be a complete idiot.

^ x2

last edited at Jun 20, 2019 12:11PM

Meh.. i found this sequel very boring

I like it, then again I think it was made for people like me who found the endless drama of the original dull.

To put it simply, Citrus was about Mei entering a faux relationship with Yuzu to repay her for all the kindness she showed her, but in the process ended up actually falling in love with her.

This really seems to contradict volume 4. Mei was genuinely very hurt that Yuzu rejected her. And wanted someone to care about her, which is why she agreed to date Sara.

Yuzu chased after Mei and confessed her true feelings at last. Mei was very happy at the confession. And the fact that Mei was carrying around the bear that Yuzu gave to her (fixed for her in the anime) was a sign that she was thinking about Yuzu the entire time.

So while unsure of her own feelings, Mei agreed to date Yuzu because she wanted to, not out of any sense of repaying her. I think even the letter Mei left to Yuzu said how scared she was of the feelings Yuzu gave her.

last edited at Jun 19, 2019 5:51PM