When I buy older art books and doujinshi, it can really be a mixed bag. On the one hand, I can see the artist's progression, and sometimes even different styles. But other times, the work isn't polished enough and can look quite amateur. I'm please to say though, that Takoyaki's doujinshi releases, new and old haven't disappointed. a Chroma first came out during the winter 2005 Comiket 69.

The book itself is staple-bound and full color, with 16 pages including the covers. The paper used for a Chroma is a thicker card stock paper and it has a slight texture that is visible to the naked eye. One thing I don't like about this kind of paper is that your dark colors are never quite dark enough, and always appear to be a bit faded. But those familiar with Takoyaki's work would also know he does work with a lot of pastel, soft colors and is more about grays than blacks, so it doesn't interfere with his work much.

a Chroma has more fantasy characters than Takoyaki (夕コ焼き) illustrates nowadays. His most recent doujinshi Onepi was entirely school girls, in more realistic settings. But even in 2005 Takoyaki took great pains to make sure the lighting in every scene kept its mysticism. I especially like the one with the girl on the ruins with the sun setting behind her.

Though there are only 13 illustrations, they all stand apart with different backgrounds, lighting and girls. In some of Takoyaki's earlier books, he left out the backgrounds, but the illustrations definitely have much more impact when they have a complete scene.

I actually bought this book years after it came out, for the bargain price of ¥500 off of Yahoo Japan Auctions. They pop up occasionally, so if it's something you're interested in, it's definitely worth hunting down.