It feels like a lot longer ago, but it was only 2018, when I reviewed Éclair Bleue: Anata ni Hibiku Yuri Anthology (エクレア bleue あなたに響く百合アンソロジー) and today, thanks to Yen Press, just a hair over two years later, I am able to tell you that the third Éclair Yuri anthology from Kadokawa, Éclair Bleue: A Girls’ Love Anthology That Resonates in Your Heart is imminent!
Just like the previous Éclair volumes, Éclair and Éclair Blanche, this collection features a variety of pro and semi-pro (i.e., doujinshi) Yuri artists. Among them are names that are well known to you, such as Canno (Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl), Miman (Yuri is My Job) and Nakatani Nio (Bloom Into You) and hopefully you are becoming familiar now with some of the other names, like Kitao Taki and Fly, both of whom have had works reviewed here.
Éclair Bleue is a hefty volume in English with 250+ pages of Yuri content by over a dozen creators. The opening illustration is a welcome return to published Yuri by Reine Hibiki, the illustrator of the Maria-sama ga Miteru novels and early Yuri manga magazine Yuri Shimai covers, among other things. Also notable was U35, whose name I hadn’t seen for many years!)
Aya Fumio’s “Unfinished Prologue” and Kitao Taki’s “Sato, Tears, a Woman and a Woman” both appealed to me as best of volume this time. In a sense they are both similar, as the triggering event is someone seeing a person being melancholy or sad. But they are otherwise different, in both style and content. And yet, both left me feeling positive. (Note to Christian: You will be pleased that Canno’s series about Hazumi and Mao continues. ^_^)
The translation by Eleanor Summers is very good. A special shout-out has got to go to letterer Alexis Eckerman, who had to find new and exciting ways to communicate a dozen different forms of shouting, pouting, confessions and lovey-doveyness. ^_^
Ratings:
Overall – 7 All ratings are variable, as it is anthology
Éclair Bleue is a a decent Yuri anthology with a nice variety of stories and styles. I’m always super excited that we’re getting an anthology series in English! This volume comes out at the end of this month and the Éclair Rouge pre-order is up for Kindle & Comixology or in print with a release date in late September.
My sincere thanks to Yen Press for the review copy!
Oh, another one shot from Fly (if I understood you correctly). I understand that many yuri authors prefer to publish one-shots and fly primarily works as an illustrator, but I still dream of at least one volume from them.
Yes, another one-shot from Fly.
Hooray, Hazumi and Mao! (Thank you Erica!) Really looking forward to this (and not only for Canno)
I thought you’d want to know. ^_^