User blog:AustinDR/PG Proposal: Yuzu Aihara

What is the work?
Citrus is a romance manga series that was later adapted into a 12-episode anime series released by Passione in 2018. Citrus revolves around a gyaru named Yuzu who goes to attend an all-girls school where she has a few run ins with the student council and finds love in the oddest of places.

Who is she? What has she done?
Yuzu Aihara is made to attend a new school after her mother Ume remarried and relocated. Upon finding out that she was to attend an all-girl school -- the Aihara Academy -- Yuzu gets into conflict with the Student Council lead by Mei Aihara, who was also the one next in line to inherit the academy from her grandfather. Yuzu at first doesn't get off on the right foot with Mei, especially when she learns that she was her new stepsister.

As the two further began to learn about each other, Yuzu started to develop feelings for her stepsister despite initially being convinced that she was going to get a boyfriend at some point much like her friends. Her feelings for Mei become so strong, when she learns that Amemiya -- someone that the chairman of the Aihara Academy arranged to marry his granddaughter -- was being unfaithful with Mei by mentioning that he'd marry her for her fortune, Yuzu takes it upon herself to expose Amemiya in front of the student body. This simultaneously causes her to get expelled from the academy, and Mei is removed from Ume's care. However, her expulsion is reversed when Yuzu discovers her step-grandfather was having a fit on the ground of his office. After calling the police to help him, Mei's grandfather ponders over the turn of events and allows Yuzu to continue attending the Aihara Academy.

Shortly afterward, Yuzu helps Mei with her father when she learns that he wasn't going to return to run the school. Taking her best friend Harumi Taniguchi's bike, the two manage to arrive to the subway station where Mei gets to speak to her father before he left. Yuzu then meets a girl she had babysat during her childhood named Matsuri Misuzawa who quickly began to resent Mei due to her being close to Yuzu. After Matsuri arranges for Mei to go on a date with a client she contacted on the internet, Yuzu berates her for what she had done and goes to have her apologize to Mei for what she had done.

There are a few more instances to discuss such as how in Chapter 36 of the manga, Yuzu initially opts to let Mei be when she learns of her being arranged to marry someone else and her coping with her grief over it before ultimately having things work in her and Mei's favor, but that'd be too much.

Goodness Zone/Corrupting Factors
For the most part, Yuzu stands as one of the most compassionate out of the other characters, so much so, she could be a good example of a chaotically good character. While she starts the series off with being a stereotypical "dumb blonde," Yuzu quickly displays that she greatly cares for others oftentimes where she would run into problems for their sake. This is most common when it comes to Mei. So much so, that often one of the main gripes that many fans have with Mei is that she doesn't put much effort into the relationship that Yuzu does. Really, it is because of Yuzu's constant tampering into her affairs, that this gradually caused Mei to fall for her. But she is also the type of character who would also respect the wishes of others such as when she was willing to allow Mei to continue with the arranged marriage even if it was an emotional blow.

As for corrupting factors...mmm, honestly don't see any major issues with her. There is one instant where she kisses Mei in a similar fashion to how Mei would kiss her at surprising moments. The manga and anime series are notorious for these turns of events which can easily be construed as being exploitative. However, there is actually some context behind it. Mei is simply someone who was hard to read. She always acted a certain way and the kisses that she gave Yuzu do have meaning behind them such as one instance where she kisses Yuzu when she asked how it was like to kiss their homeroom teacher (as in it was disgusting). Here, Yuzu does so because she was frustrated that Mei wasn't being direct with her and she acts with her impulses. And unlike Mei who did this kind of behavior frequently, Yuzu did it once, and from that point onward, their kisses became more consensual. For any minor factors...like I said, she does have moments where she did get mad, but they never clouted her judgment. She can sometimes be a little inept, but otherwise, she always has the best intentions.

Admirable standard
I'd say the pivotal moment of this is either when she exposes Amemiya despite risking expulsion over it because he wasn't treating Mei right, or her willingness to sacrifice her own happiness so Mei could inherit the school in Chapter 36. It is a very noble character moment that also shows that she had developed over time.

Verdict
Abstaining admittedly after thinking on it a little more.