English Dub Review: Citrus “winter of love”

Yuzu meets a new friend who gives her some helpful girl advice.

Overview (Spoilers Below):

After an awkward incident on Christmas night, Yuzu feels distanced from Mei. Running late for a school trip, Yuzu meets up with a sweet lost girl named Sara. They catch up with their groups together, learning more about each other as they go. Turns out they’re staying at the same hotel. Destiny seems to be pulling them closer – but will Sara be a help or a hindrance for Yuzu and Mei’s romance?

Our Take:

It’s only now after watching this episode that I’ve realized how much I disliked the Matsuri plotline that’s dominated the show for the past two or three weeks. Now that Yuzu has met such an adorable kind new friend, Matsuri seems even more like a paper-thin plot device designed merely to cause strife for Yuzu. But enough about Matsuri! This episode gave our main character Yuzu and a new cast member Sara their time to shine.

It’s easy to sympathize with Yuzu over how cut-off from Mei she must feel after the events that took place on Christmas. Mei offered herself to her, but for various reasons, she couldn’t allow it to happen. (In her thankfully brief appearance, Matsuri is shocked they didn’t “bang”.) Yuzu is still struggling with how to feel about her step-sister. So it’s very refreshing to see her meet someone like Sara, who is pretty much the anti-Matsuri. She actually seems to like Yuzu as a friend, and as someone who develops feelings for people regardless of their gender is poised to offer an insightful perspective to Yuzu about her unique sister situation.

This week, the dub added Felecia Angelle to the cast as Sara, and I couldn’t be happier. She has a knack for making characters sound like normal humans, while also having the range to deliver in big emotional scenes. I’m excited to see how Sara factors in further as we draw closer to the series finale.

Only two more episodes remain! It’d be nice to get some closure on Yuzu and Mei’s relationship. With the additional plot wrinkles brought up by Sara’s crush on Mei, however, I doubt if anything will be resolved in next week’s episode. But I still can’t wait to cheer on Yuzu as she continues in her quest to reach Mei’s, closed-off heart!