It is always a special pleasure to be able to review a collection by an artist I have been following for many years. Today I will indulge in this pleasure once again by talking about Kitao Taki-sensei’s Éclair Special Sukinano ha Onnonoko Kitao Taki Yuri Sakuhin Kessakusen (エクレアSpecial 好きなのは女の子 北尾タキ百合作品傑作選) a collection from Kadokawa of 8 stories by a creator whose work has made me happy since the early 2000s.

Kitao-sensei’s stories are almost always centered around a pair of women, one of whom suffers from painful embarrassment and their lover who gently teases them because it’s so much fun. This collection also includes a few stories in which next morning jitters or poorly communicated feelings have a place in the plot but, everything generally works out.

Characters here are mostly adults, some workplace romance, some drunk sex, a few ill-considered choices, but there’s little melodrama.  There’s a lot of “this could be happily ever after, if that’s what they both want,” which works just fine for me. ^_^

The art is style that lays somewhere between loose sketchiness and tight drawing, but is neither one, nor the other. I’ve always like her style, but your mileage may vary on that, obviously.

My favorite stories in the collection are the bookmarks at the beginning and end, which follow Aki and Minami, an adorable couple, as we follow them in the morning and at night as Aki returns home from the office. Totally squee. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Stories – 8 Slice of adult life
Characters – 7 We don’t get much time with them, but they tend towards the emotional and adorable
Yuri – 9
Service – 4 There is some nudity

Overall – 8

This collection is a great opportunity to get a chance to see a less-known-than-she-ought-to-be veteran Yuri artist have free reign with her work.