I am struck with how shoujo-y this manga is, except that both of the girls are doing the forced kissing part, which is something, I guess. But there're ecchi elements too, like how tsundere Yuzu becomes when she's not a blushing virgin, and yuri elements, like the all-girl boarding school stuff that has absolutely no bearing on the dynamics of the characters. It's an interesting experiment, I suppose, but what results is utter incoherence in basic characterization. The story cycles through the tropes so thoughtlessly that the only constant is: Mei being emotionally unavailable, other people forcing themselves and their feelings on Mei, and Mei's personality being indistinguishable from a drooling zombie. She has the lifeless stare down pat.

The problem is that Mei's behavior is wildly inconsistent. She's kind to Yuzu one moment and cruel the next, and there's no reason given for most of such shifts. As readers we're invited to be intrigued by her but not to understand her and never rewarded for liking her. We understand Yuzu marginally better, except for the part that she luuuvvvs Mei and that she's alternately pushy/rapey and quick to tears. It's frustrating that they are supposed to be anchoring the manga.

It's not properly explained why Yuzu falls for Mei, why she she feels for Mei what she does beyond sexual attraction. She knows Mei as well as readers know Mei, which is to say, not at all. They're uninterested in each other except for possibly sex, but they lack chemistry for that, too.

Anyway, what this manga could be is fanservicey with the right kind of internal logic--it certainly has zero aspiration to by anything else--but awkward characterization is too whiplash inducing for even that.

Edit: I LOVE it that comments on this site are 99.9% bullshit but that so many of the comments on this particular stupid freaking manga is so freaking on point.

... Last updated on November 22nd, 2014, 1:08am

I've been waiting... And waiting...
.
The art is very pretty, weird expressions/kisses aside, it's clean and nice to look at.
The mangaka pays attention to characters' faces & hair styles and every one is easily distinguished from one another, looking completely unique while belonging to the same universe.
Though she doesn't do too well with the older ones (note - grandpa).
The interactions between the characters aren't done very well, and unfortunately the events seem forced and uncomfortable. So despite some cute parts, the plot lacks in fluidity and just common-sense, really.


I mean, sure, their attraction to each other is kinda fun, but that's that. I don't like Mei and I pity Yuzu (who's way more likable) for falling for such a messed up person, so I can't root for their relationship other than to fulfill my desire of seeing them have sex. So, yeah. There's much better yuri manga out there, even if the art isn't as shiny.

The editing on this one, is so pro... Can't help but admire it...
Go go Yuri Project!

... Last updated on October 22nd, 2013, 9:41am

I don't really read yuri (yaoi's more my thang), but I really loved this. Although this is coming from someone fairly new to the yuri scene, I found it quite cute and light-hearted, with nice art and as of yet, not too smutty (although I wouldn't object that passionately). I liked Yuzu, and even though she annoyed me at the start, found her quite cute as the manga progressed. X

As a person who's probably read waay too much yuri i find this one original and wonderfully drawn. its not your typical yuri. where everyone's so confused or thrown off by their feelings for another girl. naw they skip right past that and allow you to see a relationship that could bloom regardless of gender. their issues have little to do with their gender and everything to do with their pseudo sisterhood. i personally love it. its a new story to all the same ol' ones i've read. plus the art is AMAZING and only gets better with each chapter.

It's entertaining enough, beautiful sensual art without being overly vulgar, it was a pretty hot read. I guess that's a blinding element as I don't feel as negative about this manga as most of the reviews. Now thinking back on it is quite overly complex and dramatic, I think part of that is because of the annoying side characters, which seem to be an arc in themselves as Mei and Yuzu struggle to deal with side characters... I'd simply find Mei and Yuzu slowly developing relationship more interesting.

Something that /did/ bother me during the manga was the side characters sexuality though =_= Like seriously, all the characters were pretty much lesbian and even more annoying they all seem to fall for either of Mei or Yuzu and create trouble! Ok, so the author doesn't just ignore the existence of straight females and men in this manga, they also seem to be of the opinion that it's impossible for two homosexual girls to not have romantic feelings for each other. I guess I'm ranting about the wrong thing but as a girl myself it just seems extremely unrealistic and annoying. I also don't read that many yuri so if that is norm, I'm not used to it.

Character wise, it is quite stereotypical and I agree that Mei's character seems to have consistency issues but surprisingly I did find moments where I could relate to the characters, after all some people are known to be quite indecisive and hesitant or driven by urges/instincts. It was also realistic to some extent, at least for me as they overlapped with my experiences. There are a few moments where Mei acted pretty badass and all angsty and I liked that but those moments didn't really last and not much explanation was given as to why such an angsty expression was shown. Which is of course a bit disappointing.

So...my last thoughts, it's entertaining and sensual enough to read, just don't read too deeply or critically and like me you'll be ignorant of it's flaws and think it's better than it is plotwise.

Okay, I love love-hate romances and I practically live for my OTP which is a love-hate relationship, but this is not a love-hate relationship. She doesn't actually hate Mei at all beyond title pages. This is what I dislike about most love-"hate" romances--where the hate is never actually hate. They always approach it in a way where the "hate" is a result of tsundereism, which is often a cowardly way to approach it.

There's no chemistry at all. It feels extremely forced. I had such high expectations when I read the summary, and my hopes were crushed. = _=

It's melodramatic without the necessary build-up, and it's not "angsty" at all. More like wangsty.

I'm okay with cliches as long as they are done well. The cliches in this were done very poorly.


A LOT of plot holes.
Mei is an inconsistent character without reason for being so. She has no personality.

Nobody falls in love (in infatuation, sure) just from being kissed. = _= Ridiculous.

The art is the only thing good about this series. The art is fantastic. Other than that, a time-killer at best. She should've gotten a seperate writer for this.

... Last updated on May 15th, 2014, 12:55am

The first volume can be kind of misleading and make one think this manga is going to be full of drama and sex, but that's not the case at all. Citrus is primarily a Slice Of Life with light Romance elements. Even though there are 8 volumes worth of story, it wasn't until the two most recent chapters (33 & 34) that a real dramatic obstacle has come between the main characters. The other 30 chapters or so are very light in both drama and ecchi scenes.

Yuzu and Mei have been dating for months but they still act like middle schoolers around each other. The way their romance is being deliberately drawn out and contrived kind of takes away a lot of the fun. The character development also feels weak. Mei in particular, is kind of boring and some of the side characters are obvious fodder. Reading Citrus just made me want to go back and re-read the much better Yuri manga that are out there.

It's not all bad though. I love the character designs. Mei, Yuzu, Harumin, etc are all beautifully drawn. Their facial structure, hair, eyes and clothes are all very detailed and leave a distinct impression of who they are. The kissing scenes are always well done so the payoff in that regard is worth it.

All in all, an average manga. Recommended if you're running out of Yuri to read or just want to look at really pretty art.

10 Art, 10 Smut, 5 Character, 0 Plot Dev
So about an average of 6.5/10
The chemistry and art are great, the characters are great but they do NOT GROW. Growth is 1 page of sudden change and 0 pages of development. The plot is a roller coaster that goes 5 meters forward 5 meters back and zig zag all over the place. Also I now understand whhy Japan have a population crisis, whilst I enjoy steamy lesbian smut, and this IS a yuri manga, how is it that every character that is introduced will be lesbian or closet lesbian? There is a cast of 99% lesbian and one straight married woman who is in a SUPER long distant relationship with a husband she does not spend any time with. New characters show up every few chapters, and they are all lesbians or closet lesbians the proportion is so unbelievable the population should have died out ages ago. The story flies all over the place with the introduction of more and more rivals every few chapters alternating between the 2 main lesbian protagonists.

... Last updated on March 1st, 2015, 1:17am

I found it melodramatic, too unrealistic, filled with plot holes, and overly dependent on character tropes commonly observed in GL (cool, collected, dark-haired tsundere beauty; cute, bubbly, kind, straightforward blonde). But loads of other people seem to like it though, so maybe my GL tastes are just weird.

If you're looking for something which is the opposite of all the points I've mentioned above while also subverting the common character tropes present in GL, I'd recommend something like Sasameki Koto or Omoi no Kakera.

... Last updated on July 9th, 2014, 1:27am

The only good about the manga is the art, everything else is terrible, i'm still to this day incredulous why Yuri fans think this good, there many better yuri manga than this.