Citrus + Volume 4 (Citrus Plus vol. 4, Manga review)

    Citrus + (Citrus Plus) volume 4 continues the sequel story to the Citrus Manga. Short-take: it doesn't have the deep plot and high stakes as the original series (maybe a negative?) but also doesn't have as much salaciousness as the original series (a plus for me). Volume 4 feels a bit adrift, almost like a fan fiction or a low-key fanservice just to give us more time with the couple. That's neither good nor bad, just know that it's mostly just low-key slice of life/romance that is neither particularly well done, nor particularly bad or problematic.

    Of course, being Citrus, it has plenty of busty teen girls and lots of horny camera operator framing of their bodies. But unlike the original series, the actual sex is toned way down. With different art, this would just be a run-of-the-mill yuri romance at this point. I read it because I like the original series even with it's many faults and I want more time with Mei and Yuzu.

    Volume 4 of Citrus + is focused on Mei's attempt to buy a birthday gift to Yuzu as well as their ongoing preparation for entrance exams. Matsuri pokes her head into a few places, but unlike in the original series, she seems to be less intent on stirring the pot and actually is supporting Mei and Yuzu's relationship. The upsetting subplot with her from the original series doesn't seem to play into Citrus + at all leading us to believe that the resolution of it in the original series has stuck. 

    If the art wasn't so intent on putting breasts into our faces at every turn, I would really like it. So basically, I do like it and I just ignore the unnecessary fan-service aspects. From the writing standpoint, I found the characterization of Mei occasionally weak here but it could also be that since this volume skips around in time that there are things going on in between that would contextualize some of her more.

    Basically, it isn't the strongest series, and I wouldn't recommend it unless you like the original Citrus for the romance (and not the sleaze). Volume 4 feels the weakest yet in Citrus + as if it just is spinning it's wheels a bit, but at least we get some Mei and Yuzu cuddling.

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Even Though We're Adults volume 5 (Manga Review)

    I'm still not sure what to make of the series "Even Though We're Adults" by Takako Shimura, and the same goes for volume 5. 

    Disclaimer: I love both her series "Sweet Blue Flowers" and "Wandering Son" even though many would call her writing uneven and a bit problematic in ways, and maybe even raise concerns about her legitimacy as a writer not knowing for sure what her personal sexual/gender identity is and whether she has any business writing about LGBTQ characters. I frankly don't care if she is a cis-woman (and I'm not saying Shimura-sensei is, just that it wouldn't matter to me if she was or was not) because I find so much connection with those two series and they are so personally meaningful to me as a trans-lesbian. As I mentioned to an acquaintance once, I like her writing because her characters and stories are messy. They aren't "perfect" LGBTQ spokespeople, their lives don't neatly fit into media and agenda friendly boxes. To me, that's what makes them more real and the complexities of their experiences resonate. 

    But I can't quite figure out if "Even Though We're Adults" rises quite to the heights of those earlier series. 

    As you may know, this focuses on a married young woman who develops a relationship with a single young woman and then needs to decide what on earth to do with that. In the early volumes (light spoilers), Ayano eventually tells her husband about Akari and the three even meet up. This didn't strike me as the way anyone in this situation would handle things. But eventually Ayano does ask her husband for a divorce. 

    However, in volume 5, she still has not told her family exactly what is going on with her husband. They think they're just fighting and that's why Ayano is living with her parents. So, her parents continue to invite her husband over for dinner, again and again, and even forcing things a bit further. Wataru, the husband, even pushes things himself with Ayano in one of the most painful moments I've read in a Shimura-sensei work (I won't give it away). That was a moment that hinted at Shimura-sensei's powers as a writer. That scene felt true to me on many many levels. 

    We also see that despite their attempts at creating space, Ayano and Akari can't stay away from each other. But we don't get much of them together in this volume.

    Interestingly, Volume 5 also spends some time with Eri, Wataru (the husband's) sister, and her emotional/social struggles as well as relationship with her mom. I find that the mom is well written, particularly in this volume, as a real and whole person, not a stereotype. And while some of Eri's hikikomori-type ("shut-in") tendencies have been depicted decently throughout the series, the turn her arc takes in volume 5 felt a bit abrupt. However, in that abruptness, Shimura-sensei again creates messiness, which has it's own value yet again. Maybe the abruptness was only a factor of the medium and not wanting to prolong getting to this particular plot point? Maybe it will feel less abrupt if I were to read volumes 1-5 in succession rapidly to catch little changes in Eri that I just didn't remember when reading volume 5?

    Thinking about how I sometimes struggle to fully appreciate manga series when months go by between volumes, only to find more cohesion when I re-read the series all at once, I bet that will emerge with this series too. Even then, I'm not sure it will have the profound effect on me of her earlier two series, but I'm starting to see the messiness I like in her stories/characters. 

    And maybe "Even Though We're Adults" doesn't have to be profound, complex, or genre defining? Maybe Shimura-sensei is just writing a "simple" (for her) story with engaging/messy characters, and that's enough? I'll definitely keep reading because even in it's potential lack of greatness it is still much better than most of the middling shoujo and yuri manga I end up reading (not for lack of trying to find better stuff, trust me, and suggestions always welcome).

✩🚺

Please legitimately purchase or borrow manga and anime. Never read scanlations or watch fansubs. Those rob the creators of the income they need to survive and reduce the chance of manga and anime being legitimately released in English.

All comments are moderated by a real person who only checks them once a day. Therefore, comments may take a while before they show up. Thanks for understanding. It's how we keep this a community of lovingkindness.