Reactions to Citrus Ch. 41 and a Defense of Everyone’s Favorite Love Interest to Hate (Mei):
Oh heeeyyy, if you like over-analyzing, you’ve come to the right place!
First off, I love chapter 41 with all of my being. So let’s just get that out right now.
And I’m experiencing all those lovely bitter sweet feelings you have when a beloved series ends (Excited for Citrus Plus though!)
I’ve seen some criticism on Tumblr of chapter 41 - about it being rushed, about Yuzu chasing Mei again, and Mei’s overall demeanor in the early pages of the chapter. On the point of it being rushed, I don’t necessarily disagree - however, I think it’s an extremely successful chapter, and it left me feeling not only satisfied, but moved and elated and - sfaklasjfl. Just so many feels. I cried.
I don’t care that many of the Aihara family conflicts were resolved in a series of silent panels. I DO care that our girls had beautiful full panels dedicated to their interactions and confessions and love to each other, which they did, and it was amazing.
And I thought I would be more annoyed that Yuzu had to chase after Mei again in the end… but I wasn’t. A bunch more on that, and on Mei’s character below —
Mei’s future has always been planned and lined out for her, determined for her by her family and their responsibilities, while Yuzu has lived freely (though not without hardship, herself). Mei is not the kind of character that would see the world with infinite possibilities like Yuzu is. In this chapter, she calls that instinct in Yuzu “naive” but you can tell that a large part of Mei so very badly wants to believe in what Yuzu is saying. Her resolve starts to crumble not long after Yuzu says she won’t stop fighting because she knows there exists a possibility that they can be together:
Without Yuzu, Mei would not have even seen this possibility, because she only sees what’s right in front of her. She only sees the answers that have been presented to her by her family her entire life.
And one thing that I never see get talked about, really, among fans: Mei genuinely loves and respects her family and their legacy, even as she seems to feel trapped by them at the same time. You can see how much she loves and longs for family all the way back in the dad arc, from ch. 8:
There is also a really telling exchange between her and her grandfather in ch.35, where Mei defends her father’s actions in leaving the academy (because even now he is pursuing a life of teaching) and says “I’m proud to be the daughter of Aihara.” And her grandfather responds in what I assume is a rare moment of affection/vulnerability: “I’m so glad that you’re with us, Mei.” There is a genuine love there, despite all the dysfunction and drama that their family has had over the years. But that sadness you see in her eyes in this panel — that’s the sadness of knowing the sacrifice she believes she has to make in order to maintain her family’s legacy. She knows that to choose love over her family would be selfish.
So, there’s this loyalty she has to her family and the academy. There’s the rules and the path that she has always abided by. There is no improvising in Mei’s life, EVER, unless Yuzu puts it there. Before Yuzu insisted it was possible for them to be together, she only saw the answers A and B: A) She can abandon her family and all that they have sacrificed and worked for over generations (which is all she has ever known), or B) She can be an ordinary girl who’s allowed to love who she wants. Having both would be nonsense. That’s not one of the answers given to her.
To have Mei do an about-face and suddenly ditch her family and responsibilities for love, just isn’t consistent with who her character is and how she’s been written. Considering all this, I respect Sabu’s decision to have Yuzu chase after Mei one last time, and make her understand that their love is real and that they deserve to be together. That Mei deserves happiness - both as an Aihara AND as an “ordinary girl” who is in love. It’s OK to be selfish sometimes, and admit that you deserve love too!
These two deserved a happy ending more than anything. They fought so hard to be together. Sure, we see Yuzu outwardly fighting for it a lot more than we see Mei, but I’ve accepted that that’s because Mei’s battle was more internal while Yuzu’s was more external (at least in the last few volumes of the series). Mei needed to accept her own feelings, and then she needed to see (through Yuzu) that anything is possible. She doesn’t need to shoulder everything alone all the time - it’s OK to rely on Yuzu, and work through things together.
And for all their faults, I love both of these characters. I realize I said a lot about Mei, here, but I love Yuzu too (it’s just that she’s an awesome, near-perfect bean, and rarely needs defending).
So, in conclusion, I loved this series. They got the ending they deserved, and I’m so happy for them. :’) I can’t wait to see what else is in store for them in the next series.