The newest Yuri anthology on the block, Mebae, continues on with a Volume 4, and so I guess I’m going to have to start taking it seriously now. ^_^

The stories vary widely, but there are still clear indications in both contributing artists and content that indicates that, despite the protagonists mostly being schoolgirls, the audience is presumed to be adult men who like reading stories about schoolgirls. Nonetheless, there were a few stories I found appealing. Among these, it was a surprise and delight to read the Kurogane Kenn story which combined the end of the world and girl’s love in a rather romantic way.

The most wonderful story was, IMHO, Matsuzaki Miyuki’s “Duet”, which followed two young ladies doing ballet as friends and rivals, until their relationship is strained by the rivalry. The end, in which they do a pas de deux together as professional dancers made me extremely happy. ^_^ Most importantly, the pas de deux is done both in women’s roles/costumes. That was especially nice.

So, yeah, I’m going to have to stop treating this magazine like a fly-by-night and acknowledge it as the successor to Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari that it is.

Ratings:

Overall – 7, but I’m following a couple of the series now, so maybe 8 since I’m in a good mood. ^_^

Volume 5 hits shelves the end of November 2015.

I’ve been reading tons of manga, but been so have busy with the Yuricon Shop that I haven’t reviewed much and I’ve been mostly watching Star Trek: Voyager re-runs on Amazon Prime (I know, I know, but it’s not as bad as I remember) so I find myself at the end of the day tired, with nothing to say.

And since I have nothing nice to say, I thought I’d write a  quick review of the Yuri manga anthology Mebae, Volume 3. (メバエ) ^_^

So, you know when you’re watching a martial arts movie and the obligatory love scene comes on and you just sort of cringe because….ewww? That’s pretty much how Mebae, Volume 3 strikes me.

Here we are, going along and there’s a character who seems okay and the lover and they’d be kind of cute together and then the art goes all TITS and CROTCH and what the HELL is THAT even?!? and you’ve lost the moment.

The one story I genuinely liked involved a house shooting out into Earth orbit and no sex at all. Why it’s in the volume, I have no idea, there’s nothing to indicate the characters are anything but friends, but I was glad it was. Got my mind off the really confused anatomy lessons of the rest of the book. ^_^;

Ratings:

Art – No. Just, no.
Story – If you took out the nasty sex, a few of them aren’t awful, but most of them still are.
Characters – 0 Variable, from nil to nada.
Yuri – 6 There’s darn little affection for all the nude antics.
Service – 101232530

Overall – 3 A solid meh.

I had some small dregs of hope that bits of it might be worth reading, but it really isn’t. Oh well.

Nature abhors a vacuum, we’re told and apparently that goes for Yuri anthologies, as well. With the retirement of Tsubomi and Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari (although several of those titles have migrated to web format),  a new anthology has jumped into the space.

Mebae (メバエ) is decidedly male gaze, but it had only a few stories I found completely unpalatable. And it’s a good reminder that the Yuri audience is varied in both demographics and intent. For every Yuri fan that is looking for a Takemiya Jin story, there’s another looking for  something by Kurogane Kenn.

With such a service-y cover, it was not really a surprise to find the opening story was in fact by Kurogane Kenn. (And along with Kurogane-sensei’s work, there were a few other Tsubomi contributors in the pages.) It was a little surprising to find the opener bereft of emotion or connection. He usually works a little harder than this. Two girls have sex in a restaurant booth, with little setup, in a classic PWP.

The next story is a complete contrast, “Paanto,” which is a melancholy look at admiration and competition in ballet.

I very much liked  “kitsuku! DAITE Honey”, which was a cute little twist on a superheroine and the girl she protects and loves, who turns out to not be who she seemed. In fact, Mei turns out to be Kurara’s arch enemy. Despite her spectacular defeat, Mei finds Kurara waiting for her after school anyway.^_^

Akamurasaki’s “Nibi-iro Nokosu,” was a pleasant look at a woman’s reluctant affection for her unfashionable friend.

The final story in the collection “Aoi Honoo Kaoru Tsuchi,” by Naruko Hanharu, appeared, I believe, actually in Tsubomi magazine, and is re-cast here as a nice ending piece in which time heals several wounds.

While I didn’t find the more explicit stories particularly appealing, I certainly didn’t hate this collection. In fact, Mebae Volume 2 is in one of the piles, waiting to be read. I’m kind of interested how many of the Tsubomi contributors just picked up and another anthology jumped in to fill the gap.

Ratings:

Overall – 6

For those of you interested, Volume 3 hits the streets at the end of this month.