Mermaid Line

[MangaDex]

 

[mirewitch]

I'm not a big fan of this anthology. This is primarily because almost all the stories end either ambiguously or with the characters broken up. I don't mind occasional melancholy; one of the stories even talks about happy ends not being realistic. But having 3/4 stories end that way implies that most lesbian romances are just a phase or something, which is both not realistic and not narratively fulfilling. The one story that doesn't end ambiguously is probably also the most interesting, but it doesn't counter the overall "meh" feeling I had after finishing this book.

 

[TheRealSenpai]

An unrequited love goes unnoticed. It's just a sad fate to some people, it's a cute story. Would love to see more of this in the future. The art style is very clean and airy, it leaves a lot to the imagination. It gives the reader a lot of room to imagine how fluffy this story is, only to leave you unfulfilled.

As a hopeless romantic, the ending made me sad, but it feels very realistic in a way so it's worth the feels.

 

[CatrACAB]

3 stories end ambiguously yes, but 2 of the 3 end ambiguously good. While their futures together remain uncertain,

Spoiler

Megumi & Aoi are happy

together again, and

Spoiler

Okabe & Miura-san appreciate each other.

 

[LewynMartell]

I'm not a big fan of this anthology. This is primarily because almost all the stories end either ambiguously or with the characters broken up. I don't mind occasional melancholy; one of the stories even talks about happy ends not being realistic. But having 3/4 stories end that way implies that most lesbian romances are just a phase or something, which is both not realistic and not narratively fulfilling. The one story that doesn't end ambiguously is probably also the most interesting, but it doesn't counter the overall "meh" feeling I had after finishing this book.

it doesn't imply at all that it's just a phase. on the contrary. this manga shows the lives of women who are attracted to women in various, but realistic ways. you can talk about it being not narratively satisfying if you want, but that implication you mentioned is completely wrong. these are surprisingly psychological musings on love between girls. it doesn't necessarily need to always end up like a fairy tale to be valid.

 

[LewynMartell]

does anyone know if this is the actual order of the chapters on the book?