Yuzu and Mei return, two high school students and half-sisters, and their sweet and passionate love story in Citrus + 1the long-awaited sequel to Citrus both published in Italy by Planet Manga. Born from the pen of Saburouta, serialized in the magazine Comic Yuri Hime from Ichijinsha from 17 November 2012 to 18 August 2018, the first series also generated an anime available also in our country on Crunchyroll. The sequel instead began to be serialized on December 18, 2018. If in the first series we had witnessed the first meeting of the girls and the birth of a still confused feeling, Citrus + shows their love and their first steps in search of a radiant and happy happy ending.
Do you remember when we went out together that time? And did we talk? At that moment I was determined to make you understand that I wanted to be with you, so I thought it would be enough for me to just enter the university but now that’s not the case anymore. Because I have decided to marry you. I don’t just want to be close to you but also to be strong and help you. So I want to be as close to you as possible.
Citrus + 1: where were we?
Citrus + 1 picks up exactly where the last volume of the first series ended. Mei finally returns home after refusing an arranged marriage from the school principal and her grandfather and of course Yuzu couldn’t be happier. Yes, because after all the misunderstandings, tears and difficulties that the two have had to overcome, now they can finally enjoy their love story and understand what they really want for each other.
The two girls in fact had to clash not only with feelings they had never felt before, but also against what they have always believed and desired, in particular. Mei who at first we found closed, unable to feel any kind of emotion, almost like a robot. This was because of the path she had decided to take in order not to disappoint her father nor the too high expectations that her paternal grandfather had placed on her shoulders. A destiny already written about her, symbol of how Japanese society is still too closed and limiting towards women.
At first Mei was cold and detached, difficult to approach, but the unexpected encounter with the exuberant Yuzu, who would become her half-sister, leads her to know and touch a new world, made of choices and possibilities. A world so vast as to be scary but also beautiful, full of colors and happiness. If at the beginning the two girls could not bear each other because they were diametrically opposed, slowly something arises between them, an attraction that neither of them has ever felt up to that moment. After all, isn’t it said that opposites attract each other? Thanks to Yuzu Mei it changes. She becomes less cold, she manages to show her weaknesses and let herself be helped.
The one that appears in Citrus + 1 she is a completely different Mei, sweeter and more relaxed, who still cannot fully show what she feels, but who no longer has doubts about what she wants to be and what she desires. And Yuzu is part of his future. The one who has hardly changed is Yuzu, still exuberant surrounded by her friends, happy to be with Mei and does not make a secret of it, on the contrary, he would like to shout her world of her love for the girl. What has changed is the girl’s new maturitydetermined to become a person worthy of Mei, able to walk alongside him as an equal.
Citrus + 1: a love that has no limits
What immediately catches the eye and that I particularly appreciated reading this sequel is that the two girls are closer, especially in emotional terms. If we think of physical contact, in reality also in this case the two protagonists limit themselves to kissing, so whoever expects something more, could be disappointed. More than one yuri, the story of Mei and Yuzu is indeed one shoujo-ai, in which the feelings of the two girls are exalted but in which scenes are completely lacking or pushing scenes that go too far. History is not affected on the contrary: it is an enjoyable read in which we fully immerse ourselves in the emotional world of the two girlsin the exuberant and brightly colored one of Yuzu and in the calm one like the sea, of a shy blue color, by Mei.
If in Citrus the two protagonists are presented to us with strong emotional contrasts now these seem to have been smoothed out, even from a psychological point of view. The biggest change can be seen in Mei that it is now as if she has come back to life: she has come out of her shell and is not only more relaxed when she is close to Yuzu, but she lets herself go, allowing the love she feels for her. his girlfriend to touch her heart. Now Mei makes us tenderness especially when she worries about her future with Yuzu. In fact, she fears that she is not equal to her and the only thing she wants is not to disappoint her. His love for her is deep and nothing can affect this feeling.
The author is able with great skill to paint what resides in the hearts of the two girls and to bring it to light with simplicity and complicity. Yuzu and Mei are serious and are thinking about their future. They are both more mature and stronger and are not afraid to be happy. On the contrary, they want to fight for their happiness.
The graphic style and the edition proposed by Planet Manga
Saburouta manages to give life to drawings that are not only very beautiful from a visual point of view, but accurate and decidedly expressive, so much so that it is impossible not to fall in love with the two protagonists and share their own emotions. The backgrounds are also detailed, although in this case they are not fundamental to the plot, but I really appreciated the attention that the author put into making the story.
Also curated the edition that offers us the Planet Manga, starting from the dust jacket in which Yuzu and Mei were drawn on a pink background, which recalls their love a little. Inside we find the first pages in color, which gives an extra touch to the story and a brief description of the main characters, useful for brushing up the memory on what happened in the first three volumes of Citrus.
