Following on from Éclair, we have Éclair Blanche, the second “girls’ love anthology that resonates in your heart”. Much like the first, it is a collection of yuri stories by many different artists, as well as a few colour illustrations. There are fifteen different stories in this anthology.
The girls’ love anthology is back and bursting with stories to enchant and delight. Featuring works from favourites such as Canno (Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl), Hiroichi (Highschool DxD: Asia & Koneko’s Secret Contract!?), and Fly (Kemono Friends: Welcome to Japari Park), this new addition to the Éclair lineup will sweep you off your feet!
The cover for this anthology was drawn by Fly, and there are also colour illustrations contributed by U35, Yutaka Hiiragi and Non. The comics in this anthology are contributed by Fly, Musshu, Nio Nakatani, Kazuno Yuikawa, Tamamushi Oku, Kagekichi Tadano, Canno, Kabocha, Fumiko Takada, Shuninto Amano, Izumi Kawanami, Taki Kitao, Uta Isaki, Eri Ejima and Auri Hirao.
You’ll notice that Hiroichi is a name that isn’t actually on this list, so I have no idea if they are using a pen name or what. Perhaps if I was more familiar with Highschool DxD: Asia & Koneko’s Secret Contract!? I’d recognise their art style, but I’m not.
Also, I think Nio Nakatani being involved in this anthology is a bigger selling point than whoever this Hiroichi is…
Of course, as one would expect, all the stories in this anthology have girls’ love as a central theme. I would say that the selection here is not quite as strong as the first Éclair anthology, though.
Perhaps that is due to many of these stories not exactly having the happiest tone. There is some unrequited love to be found here, but some also focus on what just turn out to be fleeting desires. There are at least a couple which just seem to sort of end, too, without offering much in the way of a resolution.
Any collection of stories such as this one will tend to offer a variety of quality, and Éclair Blanche is no exception. Whilst a few of the stories in it didn’t really leave much of an impression on me, there are a handful that I did enjoy.
These include Musshu’s Happy Yellow Chick, Nio Nakatani’s Always in Profile, Tamamushi Oku’s The Evolution of Bed Sharing, Kabocha’s Though Summer Won’t Come Again and Taki Kitao’s The Princess and the Knight for Two Days a Week.
There are a select few others that I did enjoy, but these are the ones that happened to stand out most to me.
As for the content of the stories in this anthology, we get idols, a magical girl, an age gap, unrequited love, fleeting desires and there are even a few laughs to be found here and there. A mixed bag, to be sure.
You’ll also notice a explicit content warning on the front cover. That really only applies to a couple of the stories, and I’ve seen more explicit stuff in other yuri manga
Whilst I have no problem recommending Éclair to any avid yuri fan, Éclair Blanche is a bit more of a difficult one. Whilst it does have its moments, Éclair Blanche is not quite as strong as a follow up as one might hope for.
Rory Muses 