Citrus is a popular anime series in the yuri genre, meaning girls’ love, released in 2018. The anime is based on a manga series written and illustrated by Saburouta. It was animated by the studio Passione. Citrus is directed by Takeo Takahashi and Naoyuki Tatsuwa, whom we know from the popular anime series Dakaichi. Originally aired on AT-X, Tokyo MX, SUN, BS Fuji local channels between January 6, 2018 – March 24, 2018, the first season attracted great attention. Thanks to the Crunchyroll and Funimation license, the series has spread worldwide. After about four years, fans are still waiting for a new season. So, will there be a second season of the series?
- 1 Citrus Season 2 Plotline
- 2 Will there be a second season of Citrus?
- 2.1 Manga status of the anime
- 2.2 Disc sales of Citrus
- 2.3 The popularity of the anime
- 3 When is the second season of Citrus?
Citrus Season 2 Plotline
Synopsis: Fancy Yuzu thought differently about the first day of her new school after her mother remarried. She didn’t know it was an overly rigid and tutored school. So instead of her sweet high school crush, she conflicts with the head of the school council, Mei. Mei is actually her half-sister. And she will learn that hate and love are not that far away. Unable to deal with what is now, Yuzu discovers a brand new beginning, her sexual side, and discovers more about Mei.
After the first season: The first season was full of intense tension, love triangles, confused emotions, and distractions. By the end of the season, Mei finally confessed her true feelings. Unfortunately, Yuzu couldn’t respond clearly, creating an awkward atmosphere. The second season will allow Yuzu to further explore their relationship by agreeing to their feelings.
Will there be a second season of Citrus?
As of August 2, 2022, at the time of writing, neither studio Passione, manga publisher Ichijinsha, nor any related company renewed the Citrus anime for a second season. However, hopes remain as there is no cancellation. We can see a new season of anime years later, and this period can take more than five years sometimes. Right now we can only speculate about the possibilities of the new season and air date. There are some important criteria, such as source material, popularity, and sales, to examine second-season possibilities. Let’s start with the series’ original, manga.
Manga status of the anime
As we mentioned at the beginning of our article, Citrus anime is a TV adaptation of the manga of the same name written by Saburouta. Originally published by Ichijinsha, the manga consists of 10 volumes in total and aired between November 17, 2012, and August 18, 2018. In the meantime, it is possible to reach animation in English thanks to Seven Seas Entertainment. Manga is not ongoing anymore and it’s not good news.
Animes are sometimes renewed to increase manga sales. However, as the manga is no longer running, such advertising purposes are gradually decreasing. But the good news is that there is a sequel manga currently ongoing. The sequel manga Citrus Plus has reached 4 volumes in total with the volume published on January 18, 2022.
The anime’s first season progressed faithfully to the manga. It covers 4 manga volumes in the first season. The remaining 6 volumes are quite enough for a second season and also there are additional stories from Citrus Plus. For the anime to have a second season, there is no problem in terms of source material availability. Meanwhile, those who want to continue the story with manga can start reading the 5th volume of the main manga.
Disc sales of Citrus
It is good that the manga contains stories for a new season but it is not enough for this decision alone. Disc sales are also important for anime as they generate financial returns. However, there has been a serious decline in disc sales in recent years. This is due to changing habits in video watching. However, disc sales figures are still good data to compare with animes released in the same period.
The anime’s disc sales were made in the 2018 winter season, and it only sold 1,342 units. There was still interest in discs at that time and this sales figure was well below the targets. In the same period, Overlord managed to sell 6,280 units with its second season.
The popularity of the anime
While disc sales make the new season unlikely, the production is not only local and is also broadcast on global streaming channels. When we look at the overall popularity, we see it ranked 397th in Myanimelist’s popularity ranking. For an anime released in 2018, this ranking can be said to be above average.
The anime is followed by around 45k people on Twitter. Since it is the official Japanese Twitter account, it mostly reflects its popularity in Japan. It’s a similar situation to disc sales, and it seems that Citrus anime is a little underrated in Japan. However, despite the underrated situation in Japan, when we look at the searches made on Google for anime, we see that it still has above-average search volume, and this keeps the possibility of a second season alive.
When is the second season of Citrus?
Citrus is not renewed as of August 2022. As a result of the evaluation, we see the probability of a new season around 40% when we consider the positives and negatives. The animation studio is a small company and is currently busy with other anime series, and there is no leak that they are working on Citrus. On the other hand, the anime studio has created ten anime and three OVA series so far. However, none of them has a sequel. We think that the studio’s work is mostly based on advertising to feed the manga. Nevertheless, still, there is enough source material and viewership for a new season of the series. If the anime will be renewed, we can see a new season around 2023 – 2024.
