#citrus review

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[jolyneswife-anime-reviews]

Citrus anime review

Spoilers for citrus and tw for stepcest, non consensual touching, a teacher being engaged to a minor, cheating  and sexualisation of queer women (this anime is definitely not worth watching)

“I felt bitter to the people around me and I closed off my heart. And a heart that lets nothing in will become empty before you realize it,”- Mei Aihara

Disclaimer: I have watched all the episodes out so far, and I despise this anime with a passion. I tried very hard to like it, but I just couldn't because of several very irritating aspects of it. This WILL be somewhat of a rant because of this.

Genre: Yuri, romance, high school, fanservice

Where I watched it: Funimation

Characterisation: 7/10 (Let's start with the things that the series did well on. I quite liked the cast, and the characters themselves were reasonably well designed- the ideas behind personalities, mannerisms and backstories were good, but I felt like in most cases, characters were lacking when it came to complexity and development. They didn’t change much or show many different sides as the series went on, they stayed very much the same for the most part, except from Matsuri, who grew to accept Mei after realizing that love wasn’t a competition or simple, and recognising the good things about her. Harumin was my favourite character, personally- she was funny and light hearted, as well as being the kind of best friend every girl needs. I also adored her more “public school” mannerisms compared to those of the prim and proper private school girls. Yuzu was also quite a good protagonist- she was an outsider in that upstanding school, where the things she considered normal and fun were seen as improper. As well as that, she was kind, as well as being determined- when she put her mind to something, she achieved it, which is shown by the improvement in her grades and and effort she put into making a cake from scratch for Christmas. However, when it comes to more emotional and complex matters, Yuzu is so clueless that it’s almost irritating. If I’m being honest, Mei just felt a bit like the overused serious character with a tragic backstory, which, I have to admit, was reasonably well developed. She herself wasn’t very developed as a character, her personality lacking depth and complexity.)

Setting: 7.5/10 (The setting is another thing that the show executes quite well, despite it being pretty basic. I love the idea of Yuzu, this extroverted and somewhat rebellious state school student, arriving in a luxurious private school and being completely out of place. Yuzu and Mei’s bedroom also has a nice design, with half of it clearly belonging to Mei and the other to Yuzu; the furniture reflects the girls’ interests and lifestyles. The idea of taking a school trip towards the end was a good one too, and it provided an opportunity to introduce new characters as well as a much needed change of scenery, with exciting new things to explore and incorporate into the plot.) 

Art style: 8/10 (Probably the only noteworthy high of this series. The way the characters are drawn, as well as the colour pallets chosen and the attention to details, is astonishing. Outfits are also modelled to suit characters and their personalities, which added to that appeal. Settings are drawn with a similar care and in a picturesque way.)

_ Ranting starts here_

Plot: 2/10 (I found this anime while searching for anime with wlw relationships, and I was really excited to watch it- it was the first time I had encountered an anime where the protagonists were both queer girls. What really stings is that on the surface and after watching the opening theme, it seemed like a good anime which portrays a relationship the way straight ones are often portrayed- with care and adding complexity. However, this isn’t really the case at all. As well as lacking development and not being dynamic, the plot also fails to develop Yuzu and Mei’s relationship on a deeper level, with things like quality time spent together or deep, honest conversations. On top of that, after first meeting Mei at her new school, Yuzu discovers that she’s the daughter of her mother’s new partner, which makes them step-sisters. This made me incredibly uncomfortable, because they referred to each other as sisters but often made romantic advances, sometimes hesitating but ultimately deciding to date regardless of the fact that they’re step-sisters. This was a difficult, sensitive topic and needed to be handled properly, which the series totally failed at doing. Also, when Matsuri entered the picture and admitted to her own romantic feelings for Yuzu, she too referred to her as a “big sister”- personally, I’m really uncomfortable with the way the series romanticised this particular type of relationship. Another problem I have with the plot is that when Mei and Yuzu made advances, it was sometimes non consensual, but still presented in a romantic and rose tinted way, which was disturbing to see. Lastly, I hated that their relationship was presented in such an overly sexualised manner- sometimes, they either didn’t interact much or made out intensely. It feels like their relationship was created more for the sake of fan service than to make something romantic. Sexualising women is already very common in many anime, but queer women experience a lot of sexualisation based on the fact that some men fetishize wlw relationships, so the fact that these two queer minors were portrayed in such a sexual light sometimes was annoying. I don’t mind “spicier” scenes, but, in my opinion, to make a romance anime good, these need to be coupled with a complex and deep relationship, and scenes of the characters bonding and growing close in other ways. Citrus simply didn’t have enough of that, so it just felt like a way to sexualise wlw relationships for the sake of fanservice rather than good representation. Another terrible aspect of the anime was the relationship between Mei and that teacher at the start of the series. The two were engaged, despite Mei being a minor, which is horrifying to think about. Not only is it illegal, it’s disgusting. Later on, Mei claims that didn’t enjoy being kissed by him, and doesn’t seem too affected by the end of their relationship after she finds out he cheated she doesn’t seem too bothered, which implies Mei was unhappy in that relationship. Apart from that, the show did a poor job at actually addressing this theme or expanding on why it was happening and the potential impact on Mei’s life, as well as neglecting to paint it as something harmful that should be condemned. The whole thing just kind of dies out as the focus shifts to Yuzu and Mei, which is an unrealistic and harmful way to portray such damaging relationships.)

Addictiveness: 3/10 (There was nothing about the series which kept me hooked, mostly because it felt like there was no actual plot, and the episodes felt monotonous. You also do not become invested enough in the characters due to the poor development to care about what happens next. There were a few twists, but overall it was not engaging.)

Comfort: 4/10 (This anime deals with several topics I’m not comfortable with, with an unhealthy relationship being just the tip of the iceberg. This, along with the lack of light and joyous, yet gripping moments, is why I gave it a low rating. The only things which comes close to saving it are Sarah’s wholesome outlook on life and her selflessness in prioritizing Yuzu’s happiness over her own when she realizes they both like the same girl, and Yuzu’s ride-or-die friendship with Harumin, which is a friendship all viewers would probably want.)

Originality: 5/10 (Nothing in this series really struck me as original or innovative, apart from maybe the idea of Yuzu coming from a completely different background to the new prestigious private school one, and what that means for her when she starts attending that school and becomes legally related to the director.)

Consistency: 5/10 (The quality of the anime seemed OK for the first part of the first episode, but it soon took a nosedive. It stayed consistently low throughout the rest of the series, being bumped up a little by the introduction of Harumin and later of Sarah and Mina, two very different twins with a realistic relationship as sisters. Sarah’s perspective on her sexuality is refreshing and simple after Yuzu’s own confusing love life and her complex relationship with Mei. She simply loves who she loves, and that’s all there is to it.)

Philosophy: 4/10 (The anime, and its characters, lack depth of thought, so it’s not surprising that it gives viewers nothing really substantial to think about.)

The plot

Yuzu Aihara just transferred to a new school after moving house due to her mom getting a new partner, who’s away due to work a lot. Yuzu is optimistic, relaxed and extroverted. She loves fashion and fun, and she really wants a boyfriend. As soon as she enters the new, prestigious all girls school, she realises she is somewhat out of place. Everything about her outfit violates the uniform rules, and she is told that having her phone on her is forbidden. After Yuzu refuses to hand it over, the student council president, Mei Aihara, unexpectedly feels her up until she finds the phone, before confiscating it and leaving Yuzu flustered. Throughout the day, Yuzu tries to make friends with other students, but they’re all very reserved. She then meets Harumin, another girl who transferred in high school; Harumin explains that thing are different at this school, as all the girls have been taught to “mind their ps and qs”. She and Yuzu quickly become close friends. When Yuzu returned home that day, she found Mei there, and made an astonishing discovery- the girl was now her step sister: she was the daughter of the man her mother had married. The two girls start their life of co habitation, learning more about each other and developing increasingly strong feelings for each other, despite their circumstances. Both are confused, and their relationship is rocky and unhealthy throughout the show. After a while the two get to know each other a bit better and they realise that they are faced with an extremely complex situation, one where the wrong choice seems to be the “most tempting”. 

[violetgun394]

The Gyaru in Disguise

Alright, this review is all about the glue herself. Harumi Taniguchi is the ideal best friend/wingman/guardian(?). Now I say glue cause she's like the stage crew for a play. The stage crew is never noticed, but they are responsible for everything in the play. The set, the props, making sure the actors have their shit together. Harumin is the stage crew. She is the glue that ties it all together.

Yuzu is the one who goes out like the lead role on stage and makes the big plays to move and sway the audience. But even she loses it without Harumin watching her back. In fact we all know there are MULTIPLE times where Yuzu falls apart and the only one to save her was Harumin.

Harumin's a very laid back kind of person, which is good considering the amount of shit she has to wade through on a daily basis. She often plays the middle ground.

She kind of plays a mother figure for some of the characters and keeps an eye on them to be sure everything's okay. This is seen several times with Yuzu, Matsuri, and almost constantly with Nene once she comes into the picture.

A lot of her time is spent covering for Yuzu's adventures, getting dragged into them with Yuzu, or essentially babysitting the younger gals, And she seems to do all of this with ease. And even when it's not, she tries her best anyways. Despite her saying herself that she half ass's shit like school studies or being a gyaru in disguise, she puts her heart and soul into her efforts. This is often seen when she tries so hard to cover for Yuzu's antics. Just, don't ask her to lie for you. She's really bad at it.

So far this makes her sound like some perfect multitasker badass best friend, but that's far from the case. She carries many scars of her own.

Harumin undergoes a lot of stress. And it's easily seen throughout the story. I'll tell you, when going through to pull pics for this review, for every pic of Harumi smiling, there are 4 of her with stressed, depressed, or angry expressions. There are many reasons that cause her stress.

The first is her sister. Mitsuko Taniguchi is the foundation for why Harumin is the way she is. The awkward tension between these two is at times unbearable. Growing up with Mitsuko and seeing how brutal and manipulative she is rocked Harumin at her very core from an early age. The the reason she's a gyaru in disguise.

She's afraid to embrace anything true to herself because of how intensely manipulative her sister is. She wanted to stay out of the spotlight and out of her sisters gaze. And since nothing was ever really done to fix this Harumin gets anxiety just hearing when her sister is near.

This is stressed the absolute most when her sister decides to show up at the school. She's so scared that her sister is going to destroy Yuzu because of how she is that she even urges her to give up the very thing that fills Yuzu's world with color. This drives a very big wedge into the seemingly unbreakable bond that is their friendship.

After that they don't even associate for a while until, like a whirlwind, Yuzu does the unexpected and rises to Mitsuko's challenge for Harumin. And because of that, you actually see changes in both Harumin and Mitsuko's behavior towards each other. That doesn't mean that there aren't still scars. But that wound is slowly healing.

Sometimes Yuzu's antics like her part time job add stress to Harumin's plate, but the other biggest issue for her is Matsuri. Matsuri's mischievous nature and attachment to Harumin has them clashing often. Whether it's intentionally fucking with her(like calling her an old hag trying to look like a flashy teen) or playing lighthearted jokes(putting a lizard in her bag), Matsuri urks her very core in a different way than her sister does. Whereas her sister brings out the anxious fearful side in Harumin, Matsuri brings out her rage and annoyance.

Overall, Harumin is one of my favorite characters. She's like the pillar that holds everyone up and isn't afraid to speak her mind. She's always getting pulled into things but always takes it with this grace that's unrivaled by other characters. She knows the value of true friendship and family and is willing to put herself in the line for them. Everyone needs a Harumi Taniguchi in their life.

Okay that wraps up the second review of the Citrus gals. I had originally planned to do this yesterday but I work 12 hours shifts at a factory and didn't have time to finish it. Hope you enjoyed. Gimme a shout if there's a specific one you want to see next.

[violetgun394]

Considering she's in every chapter I've built up more than enough content for Yuzu's review. So that's next.

[enderoftheend]

citrus review coming soon to a dead youtube channel near you