#1 Sisters on different extremes
Yuzu is a typical gyaru character. A pretty and popular girl who bleaches her hair and wears lots of make-up. She loves to hang out with her friends and talk about boys, but her dark secret is that she has no actual romantic experience and is afraid other people will find out.
Her life changes completely when her mother remarries and she is forced to move from a typical Japanese school to a big academy that is much more uptight about dress code and acting proper. Yuzu stands out, for the worst in most regards, and only manages to make a single friend. Adding to her hardship is her new sister-in-law Mei, who is on the student council and a perfect fit for the academy’s rigid approach to enforcing rules. She is cold, distant, and intimidating, which immediately causes conflict between the two girls who have nothing in common.
However, Yuzu begins to notice that Mei is not entirely honest with herself and the people around her. While Mei tries desperately to keep her at bay, Yuzu continues to make efforts to grow closer together by breaking down the wall Mei maintains around her and find out who she truly is. The honor roll student and the reckless gyaru may bicker a lot, but they also draw out each other’s hidden potentials and tucked-away emotions. They may fight a lot, yet they also end up helping each other forward and overcome some serious mental hurdles and life problems.
#2 Very awkward sex
Yuzu is inexperienced in love to the point that she hasn’t even had a first kiss yet. However, this changes when a confrontation between her and Mei ends with the two passionately making out. While Mei tries to downplay its significance, this first kiss flares up a passion within Yuzu that continuous to dwell in her thoughts.
The romantic elements between two sisters are made interesting by how tense and uncertain they are. Both girls make moves on the other, yet often at moments where the other doesn’t expect it or doesn’t even want to. It’s animated really well and passionately, yet maintains an element of discomfort and aggression.
It makes for a strong hook. After that first kiss, I became intrigued with seeing if future romantic scenes would be more consensual and where it would even lead.
#3 Ayane Taketatsu as Yuzu
I wasn’t very fond of the voice acting throughout Citrus or, really, much of its presentation. It cheaps out in a lot of places and most of the characters sound terribly generic. This made it a surprise to see Ayane Taketatsu of all people putting up a great performance as main girl Yuzu.
Yuzu was already my favorite character in the show and I’d even say she is my favorite gyaru character in anime thus far. Ayane puts up an interesting performance with a voice that is certainly deeper than you’d expect and which sounds cute for such an emotional and easily-flustered character. Usually, I find Ayane’s characters underwhelming, such as Kirino in Oreimo or Suguha in Sword Art Online, so I was pleasantly surprised to see her kill it here.
