Eri Takenashi is a Japanese female manga artist and illustrator originally from Miyagi Prefecture, born on December 16th. She is the sister of fellow manga artist Shinichi Yuhki, also known as Yuuki Kokoroichi. Takenashi began her artistic career by creating dojinshi, or self-published works, primarily based on popular visual novels from the company TYPE-MOON. She was active in the anthology comic scenes for Tsukihime and Fate/stay night, even receiving praise from the writer Kinoko Nasu and participating as a guest contributor for the game Fate/hollow ataraxia. In addition to her TYPE-MOON inspired works, she also produced content based on early titles from the game company Leaf.

Takenashi is best known as the original creator of the manga series Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens. The story follows Jin Mikuriya, a high school student who carves a statue from a sacred tree, which then becomes inhabited by a goddess named Nagi. The manga began serialization in Ichijinsha's shonen magazine Comic Rex from the January 2006 issue and ran until the September 2017 issue, spanning a total of twelve compiled volumes. Its popularity led to a thirteen-episode anime television adaptation produced by A-1 Pictures, which aired in Japan from October to December 2008. An original video animation episode was also released in May 2009. The series has been licensed for English release in North America, and a light novel adaptation illustrated by Takenashi was published in December 2008.

In November 2008, Takenashi suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a serious medical emergency that required her to be hospitalized. This illness forced Kannagi to go on an indefinite hiatus starting with the January 2009 issue of Comic Rex. After a period of recovery, she returned to the industry, and the manga resumed serialization in the magazine's September 2011 issue. Due to ongoing health concerns, the series was later changed to a bimonthly schedule. During her sick leave, a spin-off manga titled Kanpachi - Crazy Seriola Dumerili was serialized in Comic Rex beginning in March 2010. While the original story is credited to Takenashi, the art for this particular work was provided by her brother, Shinichi Yuhki.

After completing Kannagi, Takenashi created the original manga Niji to Kuro (Rainbow and Black). This series, published in English by Kodansha Comics, tells the story of a college student named Kuroe whose monochrome life is changed by a mysterious, brightly colored creature. This work reflects a recurring aspect of Takenashi's artistic identity, which often blends supernatural or fantastical elements with character-driven comedy and slice-of-life settings. Another distinctive personal trademark is her self-portrait, which stands in stark contrast to her gender and the cute aesthetic of her art. She often represents herself as a muscular, bald, naked man with a dark expression, a persona that was animated in cameo segments in the Kannagi anime, where she also provided her own voice.

Before her major success with Kannagi, Takenashi published an early original work titled Puri Puri Planet in 2001. She also compiled her TYPE-MOON doujinshi into two commercially published anthologies, Take Moon and Take Moon 2, released in 2004 and 2006 respectively. Her contributions to the industry are significant for bridging the world of popular visual novel franchises into the manga medium and for creating a successful supernatural comedy series that received a major anime adaptation. Despite facing a severe health crisis that interrupted her career, her return to manga demonstrated resilience and allowed her to complete her most famous work while continuing to create new stories.