Character sheet for Citrus.
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Main Couple
Yuzu Aihara
Voiced by: Ayana Taketatsu (Japanese), Megan Shipman (English)
Your average girl who transfers to a new school with hopes of getting a boyfriend, only to find out that she is enrolled at an all-girls school. If that's not bad enough, she has a rocky confrontation with Mei, the student council president on the first day. Then when she arrives home, she finds out that she is Mei's older stepsister.
- A-Cup Angst: When she's about to get caught with her cell phone again, she tries to hide it like Harumi does; it turns out that she doesn't have the kind of assets Harumi has to pull it off, much to Yuzu's dismay.
- Above the Influence: As much as she wants to have sex with Mei, and is frequently on the receiving end of the latter's advances, Yuzu utterly refuses to cave into her desires because she knows that Mei usually does that because she's emotionally distressed. She won't sleep with someone unless it's out of love and the other person is in a clear state of mind to consent.
- Affectionate Nickname:
- Harumi calls her "Yuzu-chi".
- Shirapon calls her "Yuzupon" as thanks for her nickname.
- Ambiguously Bi: When Yuzu's first introduced, she loudly declares her intent to get a boyfriend, and she's seen being attracted to a male teacher. However, the moment she meets Mei, it's pretty clear she's smitten. Before Mei, she had never once fallen in love with a guy, and despite her aforementioned attraction to her teacher, it's Mei she is obsessed with after spying on the two kissing. Most notably, Matsuri finds this strange when she and Yuzu meet each other again.
- Angrish: After seeing Amemiya kiss Mei, Yuzu's so shocked that she mutters a bunch of unintelligible gibberish to herself.
- Brother–Sister Incest: One-sided at first, as Mei tries her best to either hide her feeling towards it or outright ignore it, though they aren't blood-related.
- Can't Hold His Liquor: A promotional image for Valentine's Day has Yuzu getting drunk from accidentally consuming a few alcoholic chocolates.
- Cool Big Sis: Tries to be this for Mei, while squashing her sexual desires. It quickly becomes obvious to Yuzu that her passions are too strong for her to be this way to Mei. She was this to Matsuri when they were younger in a more conventional manner as Yuzu is Oblivious to Love on Matsuri's end. Matsuri hints that Yuzu naturally tries to be this for everyone.
- Cooldown Hug: She frequently gives these to Mei when the latter tries to use Sex for Solace, rather than deal with her emotions.
- Determinator: For better or for worse, Yuzu does not know when to give up. She is especially this when her family, her friends, or something she personally believes in is at stake.
- Didn't Think This Through:
- While her intentions were pure and her motives noble, Yuzu clearly didn't consider the ramifications of blurting out over a microphone in front of everyone, including her grandfather-in-law, the chairman of the school, during assembly to everyone that she saw Amemiya, one of the school's teachers, kissing Mei. Said incident caused Mei's grandfather to remove her from Yuzu's mother's care and place [Mei] back under his own.
- Yuzu does this frequently in her everyday life, which is one of the reasons the people who have feelings for her find her so charming.
- Disappeared Dad: Her biological father died when she was three.
- Distracted by the Sexy: A running gag has Yuzu spacing out while staring at Mei.
- Drunk on Milk: When Yuzu finds out Mei had a confession earlier that day that she accepted and is going out with the person during the school trip in Kyoto, she is seen ranting drunkenly while downing a bottle of a fizzy orange drink.
- Dumb Blonde: Played with. Yuzu herself has admitted that she isn't exactly the smartest person in school; however, she has shown on occasion that when she applies herself, she's far more intelligent and perceptive than she lets on. It should be noted that as revealed in Chapter 17, her original hair color is actually darker like her mom's, and that she had dyed it chestnut to resemble her late father.
- Eating the Eye Candy: Yuzu eats it whenever she and Mei are alone together, but special mention goes to when they are bathing together in Chapter 2. Yuzu fantasizes about Mei's hair and skin and how soft she would be to touch. Mei eventually notices and makes suggestive advances towards Yuzu, teasing the latter about her unspoken desires.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The foolish sibling to Mei, being a girl with relatively poor grades who flouts the dress code and often acts impulsively.
- Forceful Kiss: In Chapter 4, Yuzu returns the favor to Mei after the latter discovers her yuri incest manga and decides to give Yuzu a rather hypocritical lecture on how they are just sisters. Yuzu attacks and kisses her while tearfully voicing her intense confusion over her feelings towards Mei. This begins Mei's defrosting process.
- Gayngst: Not at first. While she does become very confused by her feelings, it's not until after she and Mei start dating that she realizes that her feelings might be ridiculed by others and it doesn't help that they're stepsisters. Mei convinces her that she should love who she wants.
- Genki Girl: Yuzu is a ball of manic energy and exuberance. In retrospect, this makes her the perfect contrast to The Stoic, aloof Mei.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Gives a hard slap to Mei when she first tries to have Sex for Solace. It's one of the few times Yuzu has ever been angry at Mei and makes sure Mei understands that she is family, not a toy.
- Gyaru Girl: Yuzu's gyaru lifestyle immediately puts her at odds with Mei, who's responsible for enforcing the dress code, among other things.
- Hair Color Dissonance: Fans cannot tell whether Yuzu's hair color is blonde or chestnut. This is justified due to Saburouta's inconsistent coloring of Yuzu's hair. According to Yuzu herself, her hair is supposed to be chestnut, but that has not stopped it from being colored bright yellow in certain images.
- Happily Married: With Mei in the final chapter.
- Imagine Spot: Once she realizes that her mother has married into a wealthy family, Yuzu briefly imagines herself throwing around cash in front of a hot pink limousine.
- Important Haircut: Yuzu almost gets one to signify that she needs to get over her love for Mei so that she can properly treat her like a sister in Chapter 7, with the "ceremony" being performed by Harumi. This is narrowly subverted when Mei scolds them for trying to do this at school.
- Living Emotional Crutch: Slowly becomes this for Mei, shown best when she helps Mei patch things up with her dad. This is not without its angst factors since Yuzu realizes that Mei needs a supportive sister more than a lover. Even after they become lovers, Yuzu understands how fragile Mei is, forcing her to be very careful about how she shows affection. She is also one to Matsuri, as Mei lampshades this to Matsuri in Chapter 12. Because she never gets affection and attention from anyone, Matsuri relies on Yuzu for that.
- Luminescent Blush: She does this pretty much anytime the situation involves Mei, which is meant to show her inexperience with love and intimacy.
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: She's a downplayed version for Mei, but still meets most of the characteristics, despite being the protagonist. While Yuzu does undergo some Character Development, her relationship with Mei has a far bigger impact on the latter. She's energetic and quirky, and helps The Stoic Mei develop emotionally and think about what she wants in life, instead of just doing what's best for her family. This comes to a head later on, when Mei, having grown enough to acknowledge her feelings for Yuzu, is distraught over having to choose between her and the Aihara family when she gets engaged. Before meeting Yuzu, she probably wouldn't have thought twice about quietly acquiescing to her family's wishes.
- Meaningful Name: "Yuzu" means "citrus", which is title of the manga, which of course can count as Character Title.
- Nice Girl: She's almost constantly pleasant and cheerful to almost everyone around her, and she is always willing to lend a helping hand to her family and friends when they are in need. Even if she sometimes ends up doing more harm than good.
- Nom de Mom: Played with. Yuzu changes her last name from Okogi to Aihara along with her mother.
- Nonconformist Dyed Hair: Her natural hair color is chestnut, but she dyes her hair blonde to be a non-conformist Gyaru Girl. It makes her stand out a lot in the conservative Aihara Academy.
- Not Blood Siblings: She became step-siblings with Mei when their parents got married, which becomes a problem since she became attracted to Mei at the same time and is now forced to live with her, causing an extra layer of awkwardness.
- Oblivious to Love: When it comes to girls who aren't Mei, Yuzu is extremely dense. Matsuri's feelings since childhood never register with her. It is also implied that Harumi has feelings for Yuzu, but Yuzu never picks up on it. For example, Yuzu doesn't pick up on Harumi imitating an ecchi panel of a yuri manga with her as anything more than goofing around.
- Official Couple: She's Mei's Love Interest and most of the plot revolves around their romance The Distant Finale shows they later get married.
- Parental Title Characterization: She's significantly more casual with her parents than Mei is, calling her mother "Mama," and her stepfather "Papa."
- Platonic Life-Partners: Yuzu and Harumi became best friends almost immediately after they first met.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: She's able to go to her school while ditching the uniform, completely ignoring the school's culture and rules and trash-talking teachers and authority figures because her grandfather-in-law is the chairman. She doesn't even realize that she's pulling this off until it's explained to her.
- Sex Equals Love: Enforced by Yuzu herself. More like sex is for love, the reason she keeps stopping Mei from ravishing her is that Mei only tries to have sex with her when she is emotionally distressed, rather than from love. Yuzu wants both of them to be happy and comfortable for their first time.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: A variation. Yuzu is normally cleaned up and beautiful, but when she's in a wedding dress without her gyaru makeup and clothes, she's so elegant and gorgeous that it makes Mei's jaw drop.
- Shipper on Deck: Tells Sara she fully supports her relationship; this being Citrus, it becomes a problem when it turns out Sara is in love with Mei. Nina tries to force Yuzu to uphold her promise when Yuzu finds out.
- Stepford Smiler: After Mei leaves in Chapter 36, Yuzu acts like her regular cheerful self, but the end of the chapter shows that she is still heavily hurt and depressed over Mei breaking up with her.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Subverted. Yuzu's mother mentions that she kept being told that she did not resemble her father, who has chestnut hair, so she dyed her hair the same color. Near the end of Chapter 17, she dyes her hair darker to fit the school protocol, and now resembles Mei with wavier hair. However, it is revealed in the next chapter that she is wearing a wig.
- Understanding Boyfriend: Girlfriend in this case since she knows that Mei has a lot of issues and is actually a very sensitive individual, so she tolerates a lot of Mei's sexual advances and cold behavior and, later, hesitance in their relationship.
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: A lot towards Mei.
- Victoria's Secret Compartment: Played for Laughs in one of the extras. Yuzu tries to invoke this but realizes (very late) that her cleavage isn't large enough to hold a phone and gets caught.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: How she views her relationship with Himeko. When Mei is short with Himeko due to a cold, Yuzu makes her apologize.
Mei Aihara
Voiced by: Minami Tsuda (Japanese), Amber Lee Connors (English)
The student council president and Yuzu's new younger stepsister. She is the granddaughter of the chairman of Aihara Academy. To say she has issues is to put it lightly, so when Yuzu comes in and shakes up her world, Mei's issues come out pretty harshly.
- The Ace: She is beautiful, intelligent, gifted, and the most popular girl in school... at first glance, anyway.
- Affectionate Nickname: Himeko calls her "Meimei" sometimes, generally when trying to emphasize their past as Childhood Friends.
- All for Nothing: After her father returns and tells her he isn't planning on returning to Aihara Academy, Mei realizes that all her efforts of shouldering on his burdens and keeping the school running were for nothing. It's actually somewhat of a Despair Event Horizon for her.
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Dark hair? Check. Aloof? Boy, is she ever. This is somewhat subverted, as it becomes increasing clear that her aloofness is more of a front, and that she's actually quite emotionally fragile.
- Arranged Marriage: She was engaged to Amemiya at the beginning of the story, but thanks to Yuzu it was cancelled. Chapter 35 reveals that she has a new prospective husband: Manager Udagawa.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: A minor case, since after stealing Yuzu's first kiss, Mei acts polite and respectful around her stepmother. Yuzu, who's still bitter about the incident, makes note of the change but doesn't say anything.
- Broken Ace: Later in the story, it's revealed that Mei pushes herself to keep up the image as the unflappable student council president and a model student because of the ridiculous expectations her grandfather has foisted upon her and the burden her father left on her shoulders. Needless to say, this has caused her endless personal anguish and inner turmoil.
- Broken Bird: Between her family issues and everyone she knows putting the moves on her, it's not hard to see why she is so cold to the world.
- Cannot Spit It Out: While both have issues with this, Mei especially struggles with conveying her feelings towards Yuzu. It's usually because she cannot articulate the right words, is too shy to say them, or is in denial. This is played for drama later on. Mei cannot bring herself to confess to Yuzu about her feelings and impending Arranged Marriage. Instead, she does it through a letter that also explains her circumstances and breaks up with Yuzu.
- Chick Magnet: And Dude Magnet. She's hit on by several guys and girls over the course of her story.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: After she sees Matsuri kiss Yuzu, Mei makes some advances towards Yuzu later on at home, much to Yuzu's confusion.
- Closet Key: Yuzu didn't know she was attracted to girls until Mei kissed her.
- The Comically Serious: Her insistence on following Yuzu's fantasies from her notebook during their date is played up to hilarious levels.
- Cuteness Proximity: She finds bears to be extremely cute.
- Deadpan Snarker: She's really good at the deadpan part, and given her Emotionally Tongue-Tied and slightly weird personality, it's hard to tell when she's serious and when she's insulting Yuzu.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: She starts the story being very cold and emotionless, especially towards Yuzu. She very slowly starts to defrost as she bonds with Yuzu and solves some of her emotional issues.
- Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: Her whole personality is based on others' expectations of her, and when those expectations go away or change, she becomes lost and desperate.
- Emotionally Tongue-Tied: Finds it very difficult to express her true feelings. She also has trouble saying "no" to a sexual advance, even from someone she's not attracted to.
- Emotionless Girl: Even when she's confronted emotionally by Yuzu or reprimanded by her strict grandfather, Mei always keeps her emotions in check.
- Endearingly Dorky: Surprisingly, she can be this, though it's much more subtle. It's implied that she tends to tuck Ansoniko into a makeshift bed before she sleeps. And, when she starts dating Yuzu, she follows Yuzu's dating guidebook to the T because she genuinely has no idea how to approach a relationship.
- Even the Girls Want Her: There really doesn't seem to be anyone who isn't attracted to Mei, which is probably why she is so cold towards people, since she doesn't know anyone who doesn't want to have sex with her.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The responsible sibling to Yuzu, as a serious and dutiful daughter who's a model student and works hard to inherit her family's academy.
- Forceful Kiss: She's prone to doing this when the situation calls for it.
- Giver of Lame Names: In the anime, she initially named the bear keychain her father gave her "Kuma-san".note Yuzu renames it "Ansoniko."
- Happily Married: With Yuzu in the final chapter.
- Head-Turning Beauty: People of both sexes often mention how beautiful she is, and wonder if shes a model.
- Heroic RRoD: In Chapter 6, Mei collapses due to overworking herself, much to Yuzu and Himeko's concern.
- Hey, You!: For the first few chapters, she refuses to address Yuzu by name, something Yuzu once calls her out on.
- Hidden Depths: Cold and does a lot of inappropriate things, but is actually incredibly sensitive underneath and tends to consider other people's desires before her own, which is both a good and bad thing. Also, she surprisingly cannot sew.
- I'm Crying, but I Don't Know Why: After Yuzu puts her ring on her finger, Mei suddenly bursts into tears. She has no idea why they're there, but it's pretty obvious to the reader that they're Tears of Joy.
- Indirect Kiss: She gives one to Matsuri, whom she saw kissing Yuzu before, and even tells her that she has taken back Yuzu's lips.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's cold, distant, and seems smug and amused whenever she gives Yuzu a "Shut Up" Kiss or makes inappropriate sexual advances towards her. Her heart of gold comes out more as she warms up to Yuzu and settles some of her personal issues.
- Love Epiphany: Happens in Chapter 8 during the first real kiss between her and Yuzu.
- Luminescent Blush: As she opens up more to Yuzu, Mei starts blushing a lot, especially when she realizes that she's falling in love with Yuzu.
- Lust Object: Mei is so used to being this that when Yuzu denies her sex, it truly confuses her since Yuzu obviously wants it. It doesn't occur to Mei, at all, that Yuzu wants a relationship more than she wants sex.
- Master of the Mixed Message:
- Mei initially wasn't really interested in having a relationship with anyone, but for various reasons went along with others' wants.
- Regarding her feelings for Yuzu. In later chapters, it's shown that when she actually starts falling in love with Yuzu, she's very confused as to what she should be doing. As such, this causes Yuzu no end of angst.
- Missing Mom: Her biological mother is entirely out of the picture. The only thing that's revealed is an offhand comment from Mei that her parents divorced, presumably when she was really young.
- Mood-Swinger: Cold and aloof to sexually predacious to bitterly depressed, then back to cold and aloof. And that's just the first chapter.
- No Sense of Personal Space: In her very first encounter with Yuzu, Mei embraces her without warning in order to grab her cell phone. After that, getting up-close-and-personal with Yuzu, and on one occasion, Matsuri too, is practically a matter of habit for her.
- Not Blood Siblings: She became step-siblings with her Love Interest Yuzu when their parents got married. At first she often brings up the incest angle as to why they shouldn't be together, but deep down she doesn't think it's a problem and is just using it to hide it from her intimacy issues.
- Not So Stoic: Has a stone-faced expression on her face most of the time, but she tends to emote more around Yuzu once she starts confronting her feelings and behavior.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Mei's frequent attempts at Sex for Solace become somewhat normal in her and Yuzu's relationship, and Yuzu continually refuses them. During the spa trip, Mei is in extreme distress over her impending Arranged Marriage. But this time, she's so upset that she hides it and acts normal, leading Yuzu to believe everything is okay and try to have sex with Mei. Before they are interrupted by the commotion outside, instead of going for it, Mei gets nervous and resists, which leads to Yuzu believing Mei is just being shy about saying she loves her. She is nervous about saying it, but also guilty and scared of what will happen when she's taken away from Yuzu by her fiancé. Right when she's about to stop fighting it and tell Yuzu she loves her, they're interrupted by Matsuri's furious screaming.
- Official Couple: She's Yuzu's Love Interest and most of the plot revolves around their romance The Distant Finale shows they later get married.
- Ojou: Her family owns Aihara Academy, which is partly why she's treated like royalty there.
- Parental Title Characterization: She used to call her father "Sensei", and explains to a young Himeko that it's because she sees him as her teacher. Apart from that, she usually calls her father and stepmother "Father" and "Mother," with the formal address showing to be somewhat more mature and serious than Yuzu.
- Perpetual Frowner: You can count the amount of times she's genuinely smiled on one hand.
- The Rival: Matsuri sees her as this for Yuzu's love.
- Sex for Solace: When Mei's emotions become too much for her to bear, she'll turn to using sex as a way to comfort herself. Yuzu seems to be aware of this quirk and has refused Mei each time. When she stops doing this late into the manga, it becomes harder for Yuzu to realize when something is wrong, and when Mei genuinely wants to have sex with Yuzu, Yuzu is too afraid to go on with it, leaving Mei confused.
- "Shut Up" Kiss: Mei claims the only reason she kissed Yuzu was to get her to shut up, this can also be seen as her reason for kissing anyone. She also gives one to Matsuri in Chapter 10.
- Single-Target Sexuality: Yuzu is the only person Mei has ever shown any kind of desire towards. Her kissing and physical interactions with others only frustrate her and she goes along with it simply because she thinks it's expected of her.
- Sour Outside, Sad Inside: Generally stern and no-nonsense and can say and do some pretty nasty things, especially towards Yuzu. Though, it's quite clear that Mei is also suffering from a lot of sadness due to heavy responsibilities, stress, and having her father abandon her.
- The Stoic: Generally when she does show emotion, it tends to mean that she's upset or sick.
- Student Council President: She's the president of the student council of Aihara Academy and can be quite the hardass about her job. Justified since she is the heiress to the academy, so she has to treat it like a job since it will eventually be her job.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Mei puts up a very convincing facade when in public in order to keep up a good image for the school's reputation and her own personal agenda. When the situation calls for it, however, she can get pretty romantic with Yuzu.
- Supporting Protagonist: By the time that she spotted Matsuri kissing Yuzu, the story continues from her perspective as she deals with the former.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: This is Yuzu's reaction towards Mei whenever she's Eating the Eye Candy.
- Troubled, but Cute: A rare female example. She's a beautiful girl who has a habit of using Sex for Solace when her emotions become too much for her.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: The flashbacks to her childhood friendship with Himeko show her to be a cheerful little girl who greatly admired her father. But after he left her...
- When She Smiles: Mei usually doesn't have a reason to smile, but when she does, she's so beautiful that she stuns Yuzu into complete silence.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: Mei's dad was a perfect teacher and heir to Aihara Academy — right up until he suddenly decided to leave his obligations behind and go on a world tour, leaving Mei torn apart between a desire to see him return and assume his rightful place and a need to become a suitable replacement.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: What Mei ultimately aspires to be.
Friends
Harumi Taniguchi
Voiced by: Yukiyo Fujii (Japanese), Margaret McDonald (English)
The first student Yuzu befriends, in fact being her closest friend in her new school.
- Aborted Declaration of Love: In Chapter 39, if you interpret her feelings for Yuzu as more than platonic, Harumi confesses to Yuzu after the latter admits to being in love with Mei. It shocks Yuzu enough to knock her to her feet, but Harumi adds an "as a close friend" at the end, easing the shock.
- Bare Midriffs Are Feminine: When not wearing her school uniform, she often wears outfits that expose her belly, showing her girly "stealth Gyaru Girl" persona.
- Bespectacled Cutie: During middle school.
- Beta Couple: She and Matsuri grow to become a secondary couple in the story in Citrus Plus.
- Big-Breast Pride: She occasionally brags and makes jokes about her large chest, even letting Yuzu cry on it to "cheer her up".
- Big Sister Instinct: While not blood-related, she is very protective of Yuzu and sees herself as her big sister.
- Buxom Beauty Standard: She has a very well-endowed figure, with the largest bust in the school, which is why many people find her so attractive. Yuzu shows envy and awe about it a couple of times throughout the story.
- Genki Girl: She's always excited and hyper-positive, and tends to greet Yuzu with The Glomp.
- Gyaru Girl: In her own words, she's "a stealth gyaru". Since Aihara Academy is so conservative, she does dress like a normal girl, but very much acts like a rebel. It's why she so quickly befriends Yuzu, as she finds her a kindred spirit.
- Hime Cut: Invoked. She has the trimmed bangs and side locks that are associated with regal and traditional women, but that's just so she'll better fit in at the academy and with her family, as her personality is that of a Gyaru Girl.
- In-Series Nickname: Almost always referred to as "Harumin", insisting Yuzu call her that when they initially meet.
- Love Hurts: Matsuri deduces that Harumi is scared of being hurt in love so even if she has feelings for someone, she won't pursue them on the chance it would end badly.
- Ms. Exposition: She's used to inform Yuzu (who is a transfer student) everything about the school and its students.
- Ms. Fanservice: Between teasing Yuzu and her regular clothes, she certainly creates a big chunk of the fanservice. The anime adaptation also added a lot of Male Gaze to many of her scenes.
- Nice Girl: Supportive, loyal, and kind. She's cheerful and positive, as well as helpful and selfless just like Yuzu. Honestly, everyone needs a friend like Harumi. That being said, if she doesn't like you or has a bad feeling about you, she's not going to treat you the same.
- Only Sane Man: Can come across this way thanks to not having any particular drama in her life.
- Platonic Life-Partners: Harumi seems to see herself as Yuzu's best friend/protector/shoulder-to-cry-on. Though in a special chapter, Matsuri hints that Harumi may, in fact, have feelings for Yuzu, but afraid of being hurt, she doesn't act on them. Harumi's reaction is rather ambiguous but leans toward Matsuri being correct.
- Pseudo-Romantic Friendship: She and Yuzu are so close that to an outside observer it might look like the two are in love.
- Ship Tease: A bit in a special chapter with Matsuri. Prior to that, Harumi proves to be one of the few people to see past Matsuri's manipulative nature.
- Stepford Smiler: She tends to hide her anxieties and negative emotions with a cheery, friendly facade to avoid any type of conflict with others. Matsuri is the only person who notices and calls her out on it.
- Victoria's Secret Compartment: Where she keeps banned items, like her cellphone.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Like Yuzu, this is her relationship with Himeko.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: She is so afraid of her sister that a single text sends her into a massive panic.
Himeko Momokino
Voiced by: Yurika Kubo (Japanese), Bryn Apprill (English)
Mei's rich childhood friend. She is the vice president of the student council.
- Adaptational Early Appearance: She doesn't appear in the manga until Chapter 4. In the anime, however, she appears in the first episode.
- Affectionate Nickname: A younger Mei called her "Hime-chan." As a teenager, Mei generally calls Himeko by her first name, without honorifics.
- Art Evolution: In her first appearances, she had pretty normal eyebrows. However, as the series went on, they grew larger, becoming her distinctive trait. This isn't featured in the anime, though.
- Big Ol' Eyebrows: She has a big ol' bushy pair in the manga.
- Blush Sticker: The anime shows her having these as a kid.
- Childhood Friends: She and Mei have been friends since they were kids.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: She's very clingy towards Mei, which leads to her initial dislike of Yuzu. However, with Yuzu and Mei being Not Blood Siblings, not even she can separate them.
- Elegant Gothic Lolita: Himeko's idea of home clothes is this.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: In Citrus Plus, Himeko mentions that while she is jealous, she accepts Yuzu as Mei's lover because she wants Mei to be happy.
- If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: In the volume 2 special, while not fully accepting their relationship, she tells Yuzu that if she ever makes Meimei cry, she'll break Yuzu's face. Yuzu smiles and accepts the terms.
- Lovable Alpha Bitch: She starts to become this as she gains more focus.
- Moment Killer: In Chapter 6, Himeko comes up to Yuzu and Mei just as Yuzu is about to hold Mei's hands.
- Ojou: She might beat Mei in family wealth and is treated like school royalty in the same manner, as both are part of the student council.
- Ojou Ringlets: She's a rich Ojou with ringlets, and her hairstyle has earned her the nickname "Drill Hair" from Yuzu.
- Only Friend: Heavily implied to be this for Mei, due to the latter constantly being seen as a symbol of status or being put on a pedestal.
- Rich Bitch: She comes from a wealthy family, which gives her a haughty, arrogant personality.
- Ship Tease: Citrus Plus gives her a bit with Suzuran Shiraho. Himeko mentions that Shirapon has helped her come to terms with her feelings for Mei, while doing this she also strikes Shirapon's favorite pose.
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Yuzu prior to seeing her as a worthy rival.
- Tsundere: She doesn't like Yuzu and definitely is not having fun hanging out with her even after accepting her as a worthy competitor for Mei's affection.
- Unrequited Love: No matter how hard Himeko tries to guilt trip Yuzu in Chapter 5, Yuzu and Mei are still Not Blood Siblings and living in the same house, so naturally it would be exceptionally hard to keep them away from each other.
- Why Can't I Hate You?: She would have very much liked to hate Yuzu, but eventually comes to see her as no worse than a worthy rival. By no means does it stop her from finding Yuzu irritating at times, however.
Matsuri Mizusawa
Voiced by: Sayaka Horino (Drama CD), Shiori Izawa (Anime) (Japanese), Kristi Rothrock (English)
Yuzu's childhood friend who wants to get rid of her younger stepsister Mei.
- Affectionate Nickname: She calls Harumin "Taniguchi-senpai", even though Matsuri doesn't go to the same school as her until Citrus Plus.
- All for Nothing: After finding out that Mei is still in an Arranged Marriage, Matsuri is infuriated because it means her giving up on Yuzu romantically and helping Yuzu and Mei advance their relationship had no point.
- Attention Whore: Implied. Her being The Gadfly and constantly manipulating people for her amusement seems to be a way to get people to pay attention to her, given how lonely she is in her home life.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She's first introduced comforting another girl whose boyfriend broke up with her. A moment later, she insults both of them. It's also implied that she is the one who broke them up.
- Childhood Friends: Her and Yuzu hung out a lot as kids and Matsuri refers to her as Onee-chan.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Pretty much like Himeko, this time for Yuzu. Later on, she displays shades of this with Harumi like getting irritated at Nene's antics or managing to hang out with Harumi nearly every day.
- Defeat Means Friendship: After finding out that Mei suggests that Yuzu should keep Matsuri company on Christmas Eve despite Matsuri's blackmailing attempt. She subsequently refers to both Yuzu and Mei as Onee-chan and says that she can really get used to this.
- Establishing Character Moment: Her first scene showcases her manipulative nature. Shortly afterward, she expresses a desire to check in on Yuzu, establishing their close friendship and the other main aspect of Matsuri's character.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Not evil more so than shamelessly manipulative, but Matsuri truly does care about Yuzu and genuinely wants her to be happy.
- The Gadfly: Somewhat. In Chapter 13.5, she comments on Harumin's gyaru style of dress for seemingly no reason other than to provoke a reaction.
- Girl Next Door: Used to be with Yuzu when they were young.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Clearly hates Mei for being too close to Yuzu. She even tries to make Mei one.
- The Hedonist: Matsuri likes to humors herself by befriending couples so she can destroy them from the inside out. In fact, her main motivation for doing anything is amusement.
- Hidden Depths: Harumin implies she gets exceptionally good grades, contrary to her typical attitude.
- Hypocrite: Calls Mei out for using Yuzu as a Living Emotional Crutch despite doing the same thing.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Though her trickster personality makes it hard to discern her true motives, she really does want Yuzu's happiness, exemplified during the summer trip arc.
- It Amused Me: Matsuri often breaks up relationships for her entertainment.
- Jerkass: Matsuri is extremely possessive of her friends, and destroying their romantic relationships is a hobby for her, though it's more personal with Yuzu. She also trolls people nonstop and forces Mei to go on a compensated date. Yuzu doesn't realize how terrible she is, but everyone else can see it clearly.
- Jerkass Has a Point: As much of a megabitch as Matsuri is, she's completely in the moral high ground about Mei not telling Yuzu about her impending Arranged Marriage.
- Jerkass to One: While Yuzu's the only person Matsuri is nice to, Matsuri seems to be especially contemptuous of Mei.
- Karma Houdini: Matsuri blackmails Mei into (almost) being forced to go on a "date" with a random man. Not only does nobody call her out on how bad this actually could have been, but Yuzu's worried that her "selfishness" is hurting Matsuri.
- Manipulative Bastard:
- She tells two boys to hide and take a picture of her and Mei together.
- In Chapter 11, she blackmails Mei into going on a "date" with her "internet friend". Thankfully, nothing comes of it.
- In general, Matsuri seems to view relationships (and love) as little more than "games".
- Moment Killer: The racket she makes in her fury interupts Mei right as she's about to tell Yuzu that she loves her.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: A non-lethal example. She hates Mei and she really wants to keep her away from her "Onee-chan" Yuzu.
- Never Bareheaded: Subverted. She is always seen with her headphones but they are around her neck most of the time.
- No Sense of Personal Space: Has no qualms expressing her love for her "Onee-chan" in public even if it means trespassing at Yuzu's school. She even gets all up in Harumin's grill and touches her face in Chapter 13.5.
- Parental Neglect: In Chapter 12, it's said that she's often by herself because both her parents are busy with work.
- Rage Breaking Point: She starts screaming and ranting after finding out that Mei will have to marry someone else, breaking Yuzu's heart and making Matsuri's I Want My Beloved to Be Happy pointless. She's even angrier that Mei didn't tell Yuzu this. It's so loud that it wakes up the entire inn and interrupts Yuzu's attempt to have sex with Mei. She's so furious and loud that it distorts the entire art style of the manga into rough sketches for several pages.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives one to Mei in Chapter 10 about using Yuzu as a Living Emotional Crutch. However, it's not like she has a leg to stand on herself.
- Security Blanket: Her headphones. Whenever people start to argue around her, she dons them and blasts tunes.
- Ship Tease: Chapter 13.5 starts a series of ship tease between her and Harumin. This is even more blatantly in one of the anthology side chapters. When all of the girls are hanging out and studying, she asks what the others would want their crush to do if they could make them do anything. She then more or less ignores Himeko, Shiraho, and Nene's answers while taking a great deal of interest in Harumin's. She then expresses disappointment when the latter said she doesn't have anyone she's interested in. She also encourages her to think more seriously about looking for someone to love.
- Shipper on Deck: After realizing that Mei is deep down a good person, she becomes somewhat supportive of Yuzu's efforts to develop a romantic relationship with Mei, although it's more than implied this is because she now wants both. After finding out Mei is going to have to leave Yuzu to marry a man for their family gains, she goes back to hating Mei again.
- Shipping Torpedo: Her favorite pastime, and her latest target is that between Yuzu and Mei. Her introduction implied that she is the one who torpedoed her friend's relationship.
- Strike Me Down with All of Your Hatred!: Her reason for delivering a "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Mei is to try and get the latter to hit her while she secretly films it, probably to show Yuzu later on. When she receives a kiss from Mei instead, Matsuri decides that this unexpected development will work even better for her plan.
- Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Outright says she cons older men out of their money by posing as a camgirl. This is subverted by the fact that she clarifies that the videos and pictures she sends are random ones that have been already posted online, so technically it isn't actually her behind the camera.
- Unrequited Love: Matsuri doesn't have much luck with Yuzu.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: During her childhood with Yuzu.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Downplayed in the sense that it wasn't entirely directed at Mei. Upon finding out that Mei has been keeping her Arranged Marriage a secret from Yuzu, she lets out a series of furious questions towards Himeko and Shiraho asking why Mei even started dating Yuzu in the first place. She tops this off by giving Mei a dirty, disappointed look.
Sara Tachibana
Voiced by: Hisako Kanemoto (Japanese), Felecia Angelle (English)
A student from another school whom Yuzu befriends. Despite her short height, she is the older twin sister of Nina. She has a crush on Mei whom she sees as her "fated person".
- All-Loving Hero: As Nina puts it, Sara will do anything to make sure the people around her are happy, even if it means she herself will be hurt.
- Because Destiny Says So: Loves pointing out how things are played according to destiny.
- Graceful Loser: After realizing that she and Yuzu are in love with Mei, she lets Yuzu go after her.
- Greater Need Than Mine: Likes to make people happy while putting her own happiness aside.
- Idiot Hair: She has a strand of hair that stands atop of her head.
- Incest Subtext: With her sister Nina. In a special side chapter, Nina becomes obsessed with the idea of becoming lovers, and while Sara is a first freaked, she later becomes more open to the idea after getting jealous when seeing Nina talking to a boy and then later talking with her friend about her feelings.
- Living Emotional Crutch: For Yuzu, of all people. When even the normally heavily determined girl gets down on herself, it's Sara that usually will be the one to bring her out of it.
- Love at First Sight: She falls in love with Mei immediately after seeing her for the first time.
- Love Confession: Confesses to Mei in Chapter 14.
- Older Than They Look: She looks like an elementary/middle schooler but she is in the same high school year as her sister Nina and is the older sister.
- Red String of Fate: She believes that she and Mei are destined to be together.
- Shipper on Deck: Supports Yuzu in her love, not knowing they are both in love with the same person. Though after finding out they were both in love with the same person she continues to support Yuzu. She in-fact is the most active shipper in the series and not once but twice helps Yuzu confess her feelings to Mei.
- Western Zodiac: Is fond of horoscope.
- White-Haired Pretty Girl: In the colored pages of Chapter 13, she and Nina have grey-white hair.
Nina Tachibana
Voiced by: Rei Matsuzaki (Japanese), Megan Emerick (English)
She is the younger twin sister of Sara, despite being the taller girl. Of the two, she is more attractive and popular.
- Cool Big Sister: Well, the Little Big Sister, but she is very devoted and protective to Sara.
- Huge Schoolgirl: Yuzu's first impression of her when they first meet.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Her real motivation for wanting Sara and Mei to be together. She just wants her sister to be happy.
- Incest Subtext: Even in the main series, it is lightly hinted she has more than sisterly feelings for Sara. In a side chapter, after reading a popular yuri manga about two sisters and thinking about Mei and Yuzu, she decided she and Sara should be lovers.
- Innocent Fanservice Girl: Doesn't really seem to get that she is extremely attractive.
- Manipulative Bitch: Well, bitch might be a bit much, but she does try to trick Yuzu into supporting Sara's feelings for Mei.
- The Matchmaker: For her sister and Mei. For bonus points, they go to a shrine that sells matchmaking charms.
- One Head Taller: When compared to her sister Sara.
- Shipper on Deck: Ships Sara/Mei.
- Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: Wears a purple ribbon hairband.
- White-Haired Pretty Girl: In the colored pages of Chapter 13, she and Sara have grey-white hair.
Nene Nomura
A middle school student who is a fan of Yuzu. Her first day as a high school student gets off to a rocky start when she is confronted by the student council and later Mitsuko.
- Audience Surrogate: Her being a Yuzu/Harumin shipper is likely the author's response to the shippers who would rather see Yuzu/Harumin happen over Yuzu/Mei.
- Ascended Fangirl: Nene introduces herself to Yuzu as one for her. At the end of Chapter 17, she comes to school with the same gyaru appearance that Yuzu did back in her first day.
- Call-Back: Her situation with the student council and Mitsuko is this to Yuzu's in the beginning of the manga.
- Fangirl: For Yuzu. To the point that her Yuzu-inspired appearance gets her into trouble during her first day.
- Odd Friendship: She and Matsuri could not be more different, but if Matsuri isn't hanging out with Harumin, she will most likely be with Nene instead. The three of them together is a pretty regular sight during summer break.
- Shipper on Deck: For Yuzu/Harumin.
Suzuran Shiraho
A third year high school student that Yuzu befriends when taking supplementary classes during the summer.
- Emotionless Girl: She was trained to not show emotions at an early age. The only time she lets out an emotion is when she screams at noticing that Mei has changed.
- In-Series Nickname: Yuzu gives her the nickname "Shirapon".
- Sherlock Scan: Does this to Yuzu in their first meeting.
- Shout-Out: Constantly puts her hands on her face in the over the top manner that is frequently used by characters from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
- Stalker without a Crush: Follows Mei around due to the fact that unlike everyone else, Mei's defenses doesn't have a crack.
- Yakuza: Her family is implied to be this.
Others
Mitsuko Taniguchi
Harumi's older sister. She's the former student council president at Aihara Academy, and is feared and respected by many students.
- Affectionate Nickname: Maruta calls her "Micchan".
- The Dreaded: For her younger sister, Harumi. Apparently, Mitsuko's strict enough to scare Harumi to the point where a single text drives the latter into a massive panic. However, Mitsuko is clearly not happy about this, as a bonus chapter reveals that even some teasing about Harumi being scared of her is enough to make her depressed.
- Drives Like Crazy: During the summer trip, anyone who rides in a car with her, sans Maruta, ends up looking like they just had a near death experience.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Gets mentioned a few times by Harumi. While she does not show up in Chapter 17, she is seen in the opening page's background.
- Incest Subtext: During high school, the mere mention that Harumi didn't like her would cause her to become depressed. In present time, a passing compliment from Harumi causes her to blush furiously.
- Japanese Delinquent: Implied to be this by Harumi. A bonus chapter further hints at this, as Maruta states that Mitsuko used to "challenge her partner" back in middle school. This is apparently one of the reasons why Harumi is so scared of her.
- Oblivious to Love: Doesn't notice Maruta's feelings for her.
- Student Council President: A former one and is much stricter than Mei in terms of school regulations. When she comes back to her former school, she doesn't take Yuzu and her fan very well.
- Tomboyish Ponytail: Sports one when she was Student Council President.
Kayo Maruta
Voiced by: Ikumi Hayama (Japanese), Natalie Hoover (English)
Mitsuko's friend and the other vice-president of the Student Council.
- Bespectacled Cutie: Due to No Name Given in the early chapters, she was known as "Glasses-senpai".
- Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: Has no particular goals in life, until she met Mitsuko.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Is implied to have feelings for Mitsuko but so far, has kept it secret from her.
- In-Series Nickname: Harumi calls her "Glasses-senpai".
- Nice Girl: By far one of the nicest people in the manga.
Ume and Shou Aihara
Top: Shou Bottom: Ume
Ume's voiced by: Kana Ueda (Japanese), Terri Doty (English)
Shou's voiced by: Tomoaki Maeno (Japanese), David Wald (English)
The eccentric father and loving mother of Mei and Yuzu.
- Dark and Troubled Past:
- Ume's first husband died and even a decade later, thinking about him can cause her to dissolve into tears.
- Shou became disgusted with himself after his divorce from his first wife and now travels the world in order to find himself.
- Good Parents: Ume has shown several times to be this. She is a caring and supportive mother to Yuzu, and upon first meeting Mei, she completely accepts and treats her as her own. And when Yuzu reveals that she is in love with Mei and had a relationship with her, Ume accepts it without any question, saying, "It's not wrong to love people."
- Like Father, Like Son: Both Yuzu and Mei take after their respective parents, specifically Yuzu takes after Ume's Nice Girl tendencies and caring nature, while Mei takes after Shou's inability to express his true feelings and reluctance to address the elephant in the room.
- Muscles Are Meaningless: Despite not having any more muscle then her teenage daughter, Ume is shown to be very strong, easily picking up a box Yuzu couldn't even get off the ground. It probably helps that she's a construction worker.
- Nice Girl: Ume to ridiculous degrees. Not many people would marry someone they just met, in order to adopt their troubled daughter while that person travels the world, then treat that girl like their own child. It's not hard to see where Yuzu gets her tendencies from.
- Odd Couple: It seems odd that Ume would marry someone she just met, only to immediately never see that person as he travels around the world. She didn't marry Shou for him, she married him for Mei.
- Parental Abandonment: As much as he regrets doing it, it's still hard to ignore the fact that Shou left Mei to travel the world when she was only 11, which ended up giving her a really stressful and lonely life. Shou even lampshades it himself.
- Parents as People: Shou eventually realized that he didn't want to be the next chairman of Aihara Academy, prompting him to suddenly drop his responsibilities and travel the world for some soul searching. Even though he tried to convince Mei to come with him and she refused, he still left her alone for five years (though, he did regularly send her letters that Mei never ended up reading).
- Sexless Marriage: While the two do in fact like one another, theirs is more a marriage of convenience than one of love. Ume really only married Shou so she could adopt Mei.
- Tsundere: How Ume describes Shou's personality since he has a hard time voicing his feelings, she thinks it's cute.
- What the Hell, Hero?: In their bonus chapter, Ume calls Shou out during their first meeting for leaving Mei behind to travel the world.
Amemiya
Voiced by: Shō Nogami (Japanese), Dave Trosko (English)
Amemiya is Yuzu's homeroom teacher and Mei's fiancé, at least until Yuzu exposed him in public.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Appears to be an affable and polite teacher when meeting Yuzu, but is later revealed to be a self-conceited Gold Digger.
- Faux Affably Evil: Is depicted as friendly at first, but is later revealed to be a conniving cheater who forcefully kisses Mei.
- Forceful Kiss: He gives one to Mei, which Yuzu notices.
- Gold Digger: Is in on the arranged marriage for the status it would give him.
- Hate Sink: A sleazy scumbag who's only interested in marrying Mei for the status it would give him, and forcefully kisses her without her consent.
- It's All About Me: Excluding the lover that he has on the side, he only cares about himself.
- Laser-Guided Karma: He's an opportunist Gold Digger who's going to marry Mei just for her family's money and status, while planning to keep a girlfriend on the side. His method of trying to seduce Mei is by forcing himself on her, which is what gets him in trouble when Yuzu tells it to the whole school, which gets ends his engagement to Mei and gets him fired from the academy.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Him sexually assaulting Mei contributed to Mei's tendencies of being forceful with Yuzu.
- Social Climber: Wants to marry Mei solely for the status.
Mei's Grandfather
Voiced by: Kinryū Arimoto (Japanese), Charlie Campbell (English)
Chairman of Aihara Academy, he's Shou's father and Mei's grandfather. He had suffered from an accident, rendering Mei being burdened with running things while he recuperates.
- No Name Given: While his last name is presumably Aihara, he is only ever referred to as grandfather and his first name is never given.
- Perpetual Frowner: He always has a stern facial expression, with stress lines are evident on his forehead.
- Pet the Dog: Cares for his granddaughter Mei, and considers reverting Yuzu's expulsion after she saved his life.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He's very harsh and strict, but not completely unreasonable. While he still thinks Yuzu's a bad student, he's willing to brush off her rude attitude when she exposes her homeroom teacher as a sex-offender and a Gold Digger, taking the claim seriously and actually getting Amemiya punished. When he later expels Yuzu is only because he thinks she was forcing herself on Mei, and he reminds the expelling with an apology when it's revealed to be a misunderstanding.
- Took a Level in Kindness: He's introduced as being a strict and ruthless man who takes rules and discipline extremely seriously, to the point of being overbearing to non-conformists like Yuzu. After his Near-Death Experience, he has a change of heart and becomes much more lax.
- Tough Love: He does legitimately love Mei and believes his stern ways are helping her grow as a person. When he realizes just how much pressure he's put on her and how suffocated she feels by him controlling her life, he backs off and lets her handle her life as she sees fit.
Manager Udagawa
The owner of a cafe where Yuzu worked part-time and Matsuri frequently visits.
- Arranged Marriage: He is later revealed to be Mei's second fiancé.
- Hidden Depths: He is actually the second son of a wealthy family but would rather run his cafe than do his familial duties.
- Nice Guy: Polite, reasonable and benevolent.
Kana and Manami
Kana's voiced by: Haruka Yamazaki (Japanese), Michelle Rojas (English)
Manami's voiced by: Yuka Ootsubo (Japanese), Brittany Lauda (English)
Yuzu's friends from her old school.
- Innocently Insensitive: They mock the idea of two girls becoming a couple in front of Yuzu, unaware that she herself is part of one such couple.
- Those Two Guys: They're generally shown together.
Grandmother Taniguchi
Harumi and Mitsuko's grandmother. She lives near Aihara Academy, separate from the main house.
- Cool Old Lady: She very supportive of Harumin being a gyaru.
- Granny Classic: Besides being a Cool Old Lady, she's also quick to point out that Mitsuko's trying too hard to reconnect with Harumi.
Ichika
Sara and Nina's friend.
- Genki Girl: Friendly, energectic and rather laid-back.
- Student Council President: Of the school where Sara and Nina attends.
- Shipper on Deck: For Sara/Nina.
Characters Introduced in Citrus Plus
Sayaka Hikami
A very serious and no-nonsense girl who joins the Student Council in her first year. She is very close with her childhood friend Miyabi.
- Childhood Friends: With Miyabi.
- Gayngst: She is in love with Miyabi but knowing such a relationship would be looked down on by society she tries to squash not only her feelings but any and all same-sex relationships she sees.
Miyabi Sakuraba
A kinda childish but sweet girl who joins the student council in her first year. She is very close with her childhood friend Sayaka.
- Childhood Friends: With Sayaka.
- The Ingenue: She is pretty sheltered and doesn't seem to have much thought about her relationship with Sayaka beyond wanting to be with her.
Inori Mizusawa
Matsuri's younger brother.
- Innocently Insensitive: His first conversation with Harumi is him asking if her chest is real. Naturally, Harumi is annoyed.
- Precocious Crush: It's shown that he has something of a crush on Harumi after meeting her for the first time, due to her cool attitude, large chest and treating him to dorayaki.
