Scan barcode
A review by gabus_
Citrus, Vol. 4 by Saburouta
2.0
Honestly, I don't usually take Citrus' story all too seriously. I still enjoy it, the art is very pretty, I like Yuzu quite a bit and it's nice physically owning a Yuri manga (I live in Brazil so there aren't many to choose from yet).
A good point about this volume and the addition of Sara was Yuzu being able to talk to another girl who also liked girls. Obliviously there was Matsuri and Himeko but they never talked about that in specific. I feel like, as a teen especially, when you are in the position of someone who isn't strictly straight, meeting other people like you can be conforting. I like how Yuzu found courage to talk to this stranger about her feelings after hearing that she also liked another girl.
Still, I personally dislike when romance manga introduces a brand new character mid way through the plot just to add some love triangle angst. You could argue that Himeko and Matsuri were just that, and yes, pretty much, but at least they were childhood friends of the main characters and Himeko even becomes part of Yuzu's friend group. Sara and Nina felt irrelevant from the moment they appeared, they are randons from a different school. Sara fell in love at first sight with Mei offscreen and barely felt like a real rival, even the potential drama of friends liking the same person felt stupid because they met 2 days ago. This is common in manga but in volume 4 it felt even more annoying because the fact it was just padding was staring you in the face. I also always thought that Sara's and Nina's designs felt out of place with the other characters. They are all manga characters, obviously, but I like how Yuzu's and Mei's outfits and hair fit their personalities (even Himeko with her lolita dresses feels believable with her being a rich girl and lolita being a fashion subculture in Japan) but Sara's and Nina's hair just screamed ANIME to me in a way most main characters didn't so far. This might be silly since it is manga anyways, but I really enjoy Saburouta's art and character designs so it bothered me a bit.
So, why 3 stars if I complained so much? While it was weak, I still had fun reading it despite my problems. The ending was cute and I do like most of the main characters. On it's own, it's not great, but I tend to rate it with the series as a whole in mind, since it's volume 4 of a manga.
At least, this volume's most under apreciated addition was showing for the first time someone in this story who knows about asking permission before you kiss someone!
A good point about this volume and the addition of Sara was Yuzu being able to talk to another girl who also liked girls. Obliviously there was Matsuri and Himeko but they never talked about that in specific. I feel like, as a teen especially, when you are in the position of someone who isn't strictly straight, meeting other people like you can be conforting. I like how Yuzu found courage to talk to this stranger about her feelings after hearing that she also liked another girl.
Still, I personally dislike when romance manga introduces a brand new character mid way through the plot just to add some love triangle angst. You could argue that Himeko and Matsuri were just that, and yes, pretty much, but at least they were childhood friends of the main characters and Himeko even becomes part of Yuzu's friend group. Sara and Nina felt irrelevant from the moment they appeared, they are randons from a different school. Sara fell in love at first sight with Mei offscreen and barely felt like a real rival, even the potential drama of friends liking the same person felt stupid because they met 2 days ago. This is common in manga but in volume 4 it felt even more annoying because the fact it was just padding was staring you in the face. I also always thought that Sara's and Nina's designs felt out of place with the other characters. They are all manga characters, obviously, but I like how Yuzu's and Mei's outfits and hair fit their personalities (even Himeko with her lolita dresses feels believable with her being a rich girl and lolita being a fashion subculture in Japan) but Sara's and Nina's hair just screamed ANIME to me in a way most main characters didn't so far. This might be silly since it is manga anyways, but I really enjoy Saburouta's art and character designs so it bothered me a bit.
So, why 3 stars if I complained so much? While it was weak, I still had fun reading it despite my problems. The ending was cute and I do like most of the main characters. On it's own, it's not great, but I tend to rate it with the series as a whole in mind, since it's volume 4 of a manga.
At least, this volume's most under apreciated addition was showing for the first time someone in this story who knows about asking permission before you kiss someone!