Tuesday, February 28, 2023

BT3 by Mebae

 BT3 is a 2018 illustration dōjinshiby mebae, a Hokkaido artists who, according to their profile, works as an animator in Takashi Murakami's Factory-like Kaikai Kiki. Their illustration work tends to focus on pinups of tsundere girls, and BT3 is no exception.


The 24 pages, B&W booklet is part of a series focusing around the misadventures of an invisible protagonist and his rebellious, yankee-like housemaid. There is no plot to speak of, and the flimsy setup is no more than an excuse to present the comely, young housekeeper in a number of funnily embarrassing, sometimes risque situations with comedic overtones. 



The often scantily-clad maid has a tendency to be lazy and, while dedicated to her work, rather slovenly, traits that the protagonist self alternatively keeps in check, or takes advantage of for some ecchi fanservice - he is as likely to gift her briefs so she won't flash him while cleaning high up places, as he is to take advantage of her to creep on the nape of her neck (an erotic body part in Asia, as well all know). 



Mebae's visual style is not particularly reminescent of Kaikai Kiki's output, quite the opposite: stark white backgrounds aside, it fits snugly into that whole range of PIXIV 'beautiful girl' pinup galleries that are the site's main fare. The artist's line is clear, essential at times, and always eschews chibi even in the purest comedy situations. They seem to have recently switched to an even cleaner, color-based style that, while not particularly Murakami-ish, certainly makes more sense in the context of Mebae's day job. 

ひつじ雲の帰り道 by Itodome

 Another purchase entirely made on the cover alone. I was entirely unfamiliar with Itodome (いとどめ), though there is some pretty good stuff to...