Well it’s been like a day since I last talked about Citrus… no seriously it has. See when I saw that the second volume was coming out this week I decided to get it and the first volume and with the time I had for the release of the second volume I read Citrus Vol. 1 (read the review here). The first volume of Citrus had its ups and downs, but at the end of the day it had more ups. This second volume is actually better. The world is mapped out better and some lingering questions I had with the first volume are actually handled in this volume.
This volume picks up shortly after the events of the first volume in which Yuzu has confessed some feelings for Mei and then run off. Now Yuzu has been staying with Hurumin to avoid going home. The problem is Yuzu is still thinking of Mei non-stop. The other twist of course is that the student council vice president Momokino is on to Yuzu. She calls her out of class and Yuzu runs away, but when Momokino tells her that she’s aware of their meeting in the Chairman’s office Yuzu stops dead in her tracks. They agree to meet the next day outside of school.
The conversation is used to give a bit more of background on Mei and her relationship with her father, but then also to establish Momokino’s character and relationship with Mei as well. No big surprise, but Momokino is way, and I mean way, into Mei. It seems like Mei is just popular in general which probably gets tiring for her.
The rest of the volume is spent dealing with Mei’s dad and actually shows Momokino, Hurumin and Yuzu becoming friends of sorts. The stuff with Mei’s dad was pretty enlightening and while we don’t get any insight into Mei’s thoughts and feelings, we at least find out why she is so strict and protective of the school.
The only part about Mei’s father that bothered me was the marriage… basically Yuzu’s mom married a man who is perpetually traveling and setting up schools and teaching all over the world… I really have to wonder what the point of that is other than a clever way of taking him out of the picture and putting Mei and Yuzu in the same house, but I suppose I’m not supposed to dwell on that and instead focus on Mei and Yuzu’s relationship.
Speaking of which I liked the character growth for both in this volume. Yuzu can’t ignore her feelings for Mei, but it’s not as much lust in this volume. There’s deeper feelings now and you can honestly relate to the pain her heart is feeling. Mei seems emotionally damaged in general and there’s a scene that really shows that. It’s sad because she seems like she’s been programed all her life and maybe Yuzu’s “act-first-think-later” spirit is just what she needs. It also casts doubt that Mei has any romantic feelings for Yuzu or any other girl for that matter, but that’s why we’re reading right? To find out.
There’s improvements in the art though most of my comments on the first volume still stand. I wasn’t confused by the art this time around though so that’s good. There were just awkward movements between the gutters of the pages that confused me in the first volume, but that’s under control for the most part in this volume. I can only think of one scene that looked confusing at the start, but it worked itself out quickly so it was okay in the end. Overall I would still kill to see this book fully colored. I mean just look at that cover! It’s so glossy too which just makes it look even better.
In my first review I didn’t talk about the Citrus+ found in the back. These are shorter stories and honestly they add a lot to the main story. Little things that are mentioned, but not shown are found here in very short story format. They also tend to be funnier and sometimes I wish the series would have some more comedy because it would elevate the story and keep it from being too serious. They’re fun though and worth mentioning.
I enjoyed the first volume of Citrus, but I actually liked Citrus – Vol. 2 more. It all boils down to character development to which there is plenty in this volume. If you dug the first volume then you’ll definitely like the second volume, and if you were on the fence then I would give it another shot. Again, I don’t know if I’ll continue reading Yuri mangas, but I’ll definitely continue reading Citrus and will be looking forward to the third volume.
Score: 4/5
Citrus, Vol. 2 Writer/Artist/Creator: Saburouta Translation: Catherine Ross Publisher: Seven Seas Entertainment Price: $13.99 Release Date: 4/6/15 Format: Trade Paperback; Print