Citrus (Volume 9) - Till Death Do Us Part?

The summer vacation is coming to an end and that means Yuzu has to finish her summer homework. Hopefully, she’ll have time to fit in one last date with Mei. It could be their last one ever…

Citrus (Volume 9) – Till Death Do Us Part?

What happened?

Matsuri overheard Shiraho and Momokino talking about their arranged marriages and how they still hadn’t met their future partners. She’s incensed to think that the same fate might await Mei. If that’s the case why has she been doing everything she could to ensure Yuzu and Mei got together? She hated the idea of what it might do to Yuzu. Harumi calmed Matsuri before Yuzu and Mei found out what was being discussed, but that also pretty much ended the weekend.

The next day, they all headed home, where Yuzu had her summer homework to catch up on… there was a lot of it. However, she managed to convince Mei to go on one last date before the end of summer. Mei’s only condition was that Yuzu finished her homework first. On their date, they wandered aimlessly enjoying each other’s company. Mei seemed a little distracted, but then they stumbled upon a bridal boutique that was taking photos. When they saw Mei and Yuzu they asked them to model some dresses for them. Yuzu was delighted, however, for Mei it was a reminder of what she had coming.

Citrus Volume 9 Matsuri overhears Shiraho and Momokino talking

One evening, Mei received a call from her grandfather asking her to meet with him. She got ready, putting her ring on the necklace and hiding it beneath her clothes. She was to meet her future husband. He was the second son of a wealthy family. He was the manager of the cafe that Yuzu worked at and the owner of the cottage they stayed at. He was surprised to learn that Mei was to be his bride and that she was Yuzu’s younger sister. Step-sister, Mei corrected. She asked him not to tell Yuzu until she had a chance to. He agreed.

On the first day of school, Yuzu got up and found her mother in the kitchen. She wanted to tell Yuzu something but couldn’t. Yuzu had found a new vigour and was determined to succeed in everything she did so that she could be by Mei’s side always. When she returned home from school, she found a note from Mei. It detailed their year and how Mei hadn’t always treated Yuzu right. She told her how she had chosen to follow her family’s plans to marry and take over the school. She did it this way because she knew she wouldn’t be able to walk away from Yuzu in person. Yuzu was devastated.

What did you think?

I’m not crying, you’re crying! Seriously though, when I thought about the big reveal coming at the beginning of this episode, it never occurred to me that they would arrange another marriage for Mei. That’s some nice foreshadowing since we learnt of the first engagement back in volume one. It was cancelled and that seemed to be that. Meanwhile, that seed had been planted and forgotten about. When the idea resurfaced, it seemed obvious.

That final section that showed Yuzu’s day with the letter from Mei was hard to read. It was like being kicked in the guts, but for whatever reason, you needed to keep getting kicked so that you could finish it. Then you are rewarded with this picture of Yuzu crying. It’s a stunning picture. There’s no doubt about that. It must have been heartbreaking to draw. I just hope there’s more of her being happy in the last volume.

Not to mention the scene with the wedding dresses. That was a killer with Yuzu excited and dreaming of the day they might wear them for real, all the while Mei knew her day was approaching and that Yuzu would not be there beside her. There was always going to be a last-act twist that threw a spanner in their relationship, but did it have to hurt this much? Hopefully, that just means the ending will be that much happier… This story better have a happy ending!!!