Citrus

Citrus is a slice of life yuri romance based on the manga of the same name by Saburouta.  The anime ran for 12 episodes in the Winter of 2018.

    Yuzu Aihara is a girl with more sense of fashion than tact or candor.  Her mother remarries and they move, forcing her to transfer to an upscale all-girls high school.  The flamboyant girl has a hard time fitting in and following the strict regulations.  The student council president, Mai Aihara, in particular causes her much stress.  Before she has had the chance to adjust to the new surroundings her new step-sister moves in with her and her mother.  Little surprise...Mai Aihara is her step sister.  Mai's family owns and runs the school.  Her grandfather is the school's chairman and her father used to teach there.  He broke from his families tradition and left the profession to travel the world...typically absent from Mai's life.

    If Yuzu's situation wasn't difficult with having to share a bedroom with her biggest academic obstacle, it becomes dangerous when she inexplicably begins to fall in love with her.  Yuzu hasn't had much interest in other girls as romantic partners but something about Mai has struck her with feelings she has never experienced.  When Mai doesn't exactly reject Yuzu's awkward advances the situation turns stressful for both of them.  What is it that these two want in life and can that be provided by the other?  Can they even have a future together given their status as step-sisters and their positions in society?

   I really enjoy campy romances and this one was rather campy.  But I am not sure if I ended up enjoying this one.  The artwork wasn't too bad, but the characters and their motivations weren't believable enough for me.  Mai's entire personality is a pampered spoiled and ignored brat who has no idea how to express her desires and feelings to other people, she is an alien.  Yuzu is the yuri version of a shonen male protagonist.  She's flighty, inconstant, unable to express herself or prevent uncomfortable misunderstandings.  The idea of them being step siblings does little to change things up as well.

 

    I have seen worse series, but I have seen way better and in the end I wasn't satisfied with the conclusion of the story.  At times its uncomfortable and blatant who the audience is for this story.  From a certain perspective you can just consider this a typical shonen romance story developed to an audience that would rather not have to deal with a male protagonist interrupting their fantasies.

 

    The series was streamed on Crunchyroll and is available on disc via FUNimation.