The production art is stunning and I love that it follows the source material. Please give this show a chance and don't judge the community and the whole series by only viewing the first episode. At least follow the three episode rule.

So...I've been reading some of these lower reviews and I will say this (be warned spoilers abound)

This show is based off a 5 year manga. The characters are young, yes, and Mei's actions can seem a bit extreme.


There are reasons for this.


I do not deny that the plot of this series is.....odd. And to be honest....there's weirder characters on the horizon. Not to mention the forceful nature of some of the scenes and I do hate it when people rely on stuff like that at times but it does stop after a bit.

But compared to many series I've seen in the 29 years I've watched anime, it could be worse. I can list off at least 10 right now off the top of my head that would destroy people in an instant.

I have the manga, I know how these characters will grow and change. Many of the people I'm seeing write about this have said they skim or haven't read the manga, therefore they are not providing CONTEXT of some situations. So if you want to see where this can go and get a better understanding of the plot of two girls figuring out a series of complex emotions that many people go through, read it, then come back and watch the show. Maybe your opinion will have changed, maybe not, but read, THEN WATCH and use the knowledge YOU gained to judge not some of these reviews that are just telling you it sucks.

Why do I suggest this? Because if you do this, even if you don't like it at least you'll have a better understanding and you'll have made your own informed decision.

It isn't perfect, but I can look at it beyond the knee jerk reactions many people seem to be having.

When some companies make an adaptation of a media in an other format there are always fear that the translation will lose the magic of the original. But the Citrus adaptation was really done well and in a full episode format. The story isn't rushed like they did for Netsuzou Trap.

The graphic fidelity is really great, but think the anime will take shortcuts too. At first I thought htat the actress that played Yuzu wasn't the right person for the job, but now, I think she was perfect, I shouldn't judge on such short clips.

The only thing I didn't like as much is the music. But I can do with it. I have great expectation for the next episode.

As a young boy I always dreamed of the noble causes I would fight for when I was fully educated and older. Fighting political battles for the least of these, starting an organization to help the disenfranchised, defending those that can't fend for themselves.

Instead, I am here, defending a yuri anime, because sometimes life just works that way.

Look, I still haven't watched Girl With the Dragon Tattoo because the world is full of pretty-good movies that I haven't seen and I find no joy in watching rape happen. I have no firsthand experience, thankfully, but I still would rather watch a lot of other things. Other things without rape in them.

That being said, context given, the 1-star uproar about the physical abuse from the first episode doesn't seem fair to me and it sets of my SJW alarm. It feels like it is coming from the same camp that hates Beauty and the Beast because "it's a desensitizing stockholm syndrome movie that has taught girls all over the world to embrace and love their captors". My and many other people's opinions are that it shouldn't be the role of entertainment to have to clarify that if someone starts to rape you that is a bad thing. That scene establishes Mei as a dynamic character, a damaged character that has gone through physical abuse and has a really messed up idea of what love is. The second episode further establishes this, absolutely cements it, as this damaged character goes even further, Yuzu fending for herself, fighting back Mei, and having a really cool moment. Damaged characters make for dynamic and intriguing characters, and I know that everyone here is looking forward to watching Mei's layers get peeled back. Watching Yuzu give in to Mei is more of your typical yuri weeb stuff, I can't defend that, but watching Mei be softened by Yuzu is, I'm assuming, what the meat of this show is going to be about.

I really look forward to that, I really enjoyed the first two episodes, and many here will as well. If you take out the 1-stars the composite score of this show is really solid.

The manga is awesome and I've been waiting for it to get an anime adaptation. Unfortunately two of the already problematic scenes from the manga were really played up.



All that said, it's a visually gorgeous, the music is awesome, and the voice acting is spot on. I will give it a chance. The sexual assault scenes aren't played for laughs and are meant to be uncomfortable and they are. Like I said, I have read the manga and it gets away from that fairly quickly and the story gets much better. Especially when they go into Mei's back story.

After years of waiting for a nice yuri and shoujo ai adaptation just like Strawberry Panic and Kannazuki no Miko this romance has gone to what we always expected from a yuri anime to be by that I mean not bait or fanservice but just a sincere love story between two girls. It is faithful to its manga and even Saburouta draws in the credits. I love the fact the colors are nice and bright the city lanscapes fenominal it follows the manga accordingly with the plot. I am exited for the episodes that are coming out. Currently reading chp 33 of the manga and its extraordinary. As a scanlator member I feel honor to have help edit this manga. It derserves to have an anime. I am exited to see where it will lead. Congrats Saburouta! and the team.

I'll delve into the good for this and the reason it isn't a one star for me. It's visually beautiful. I enjoy the music. The main character can be identified with and it provokes some thoughts on how rigid Japanese culture can be on "success for the future". The content attempts to tackle a lesbian relationship dynamic.

All of this is hampered by problems in story telling that leave some plot holes. It also heavily detracts in an uncomfortable way from the source material in the most important factor. Yes, I am talking about the "sexual assault" stuff that is going on.

The manga displayed Mei as a character who lacks understanding and comes off a bit aggressive. While the anime outright makes her forceful. Where she gains the empathy in the manga, she becomes cringe worthy in the anime.

I understand the direction they are trying to take with the anime. It's a risky project to undertake since it's targeted audience is small. Mostly LGBTQ+, and mostly lesbian women. By upping the sexual tension at the start, it hopes to retain a broader audience. But it does this in ALL the wrong ways.

Don't discourage. If this is accurate, this likely will come to a close and /hopefully/ hold similar to the manga since we are past the necessary "retain the audience for three episodes" threshold to get them invested. At the end of the day, it's a matter of being able to get through three episodes of problematic sexual assault content to get a sense of getting back to normal.

If sexual assault is an uncomfortable bar to pass... read the manga. It's more tame. If you can stomach your way past the hurdle I mentioned, then continue on and fingers crossed.

For those uncertain why the "sexual" nature is a problem, allow me to offer some nuggets of insight. A lot of people don't like to talk about it. But the lesbian community has been showing to suffer a statistically high ratio of domestic and sexual violence from a partner. While I'm personally able to see my way through in the hopes it becomes what I want it to be, understand that the originally targeted audience (lesbian women) have a disproportionately high ratio of being victims of unwanted contact from a partner. In other words, it's easy to perceive this as glorifying something that has left them emotionally scarred.

While I won't actively tell people not to watch it, I will say to approach with caution. You can slice it anyway you want, but the subject remains true. You have many instances of a girl forcing herself on another girl without consent and they start to fall in love. For me, it suffers a moral bankruptcy that will be very difficult to redeem itself from.