Alexis U's Reviews > Citrus, Vol. 1

I will start by saying this is trash. Like, I had very low expectations and it met them. But it's the kind of sordid trash that I will probably throw money at for quite a while because goddammit it's compelling as fuck.

Is this a healthy romance? No. Not at all. (view spoiler)[It's borderline incest with one of the sisters' previous relationship having been heavily implied sexually abusive with an older male teacher. And I think my problems with this would be halved if Yuzu would stop insisting that she had to be the best older sister to Mei while also being in love with her. Like... girl, you gotta pick one. But at the same time her dedication to giving Mei a reliable family was admirable. (hide spoiler)] I am conflicted. Fuck. I like these characters.

I'm also seriously concerned about the attitude towards relationships between two girls as "just hormones, they'll go back to men eventually." Gag. Stop.

I will keep reading this and I will also hate myself for it every second of the way. I do not recommend anyone pick this up unless you also have a weird guilty pleasure for garbage fire romance.

edit: after reading NTR - Netsuzou Trap Vol. 1, I have a little more appreciation for this manga and how cleverly Mei's character was handled (at least in this volume, idk how it progresses). Both manga feature one love interest who is being sexually abused and, in turn, begins to sexually assault their love interest as a result. The difference is, (view spoiler)[I never felt like the scenes where Mei forces herself onto Yuzu were SUPPOSED to be sexy. It's made abundantly clear that Mei is feeling hurt and she is lashing out-- thinking specifically of the first kiss, when Yuzu asks what kissing the teacher was like, Mei forces herself on Yuzu unexpectedly and forcefully and says "it was like that." And Yuzu has this thought that Mei's face looks so strange, and realizes later that it's because she looks so sad. Even though Yuzu is beginning to have feelings for Mei, her main goal is to protect her and give her a normal family life. (hide spoiler)]

I still have very little faith that this aspect of the story will be handled very well, and I stand by that this is not something I would recommend to people, but I do have a little more appreciation for what was accomplished in this first volume at least.