Blue Period
ブルーピリオド
(Burū Piriodo)
Genre
Coming-of-age[1]
Drama[2]
Manga
Written by Tsubasa Yamaguchi
Published by Kodansha
Original run June 24, 2017 – present
Volumes 11 (List of volumes)
Anime television series
Directed by Koji Masunari & Katsuya Asano
Written by Reiko Yoshida
Music by Ippei Inoue
Studio Seven Arcs
Licensed by Netflix (streaming rights)
Episodes 12 (List of episodes) Yatora Yaguchi (矢口八虎, Yaguchi Yatora) Voiced by: Hiromu Mineta[3] (Japanese); Johnny Yong Bosch[4] (English) Ryuji “Yuka” Ayukawa (鮎川龍二, Ayukawa Ryuji) Voiced by: Yumiri Hanamori[3] (Japanese); Marcy Edwards[4] (English) Yotasuke Takahashi (高橋世田介, Takahashi Yotasuke) Voiced by: Daiki Yamashita[3] (Japanese); Daman Mills[4] (English) Haruka Hashida (橋田悠, Hashida Haruka) Voiced by: Kengo Kawanishi[3] (Japanese); Todd Haberkorn[4] (English) Maki Kuwana (桑名マキ, Kuwana Maki) Voiced by: Yume Miyamoto[3] (Japanese); Erica Lindbeck[4] (English) Maru Mori (森まる, Mori Maru) Voiced by: Mayu Aoyagi[5] (Japanese); Triya Leong[4] (English) Masako Saeki (佐伯昌子, Saeki Masako) Voiced by: Fumi Hirano[5] (Japanese); Anne Yatco[4] (English) Sumida (純田) Voiced by: Masaya Fukunishi[5] (Japanese); Adin Rudd[4] (English) Koigakubo (恋ケ窪) Voiced by: Shinichiro Kamio[5] (Japanese); Chris Tergliafera[4] (English) Utashima (歌島) Voiced by: Tatsumaru Tachibana[5] (Japanese); Griffin Burns[4] (English) Umino (海野) Voiced by: Miku Hiratsuka[5] (Japanese); Jenny Yokobori[4] (English) Shirai (白井) Voiced by: Ikumi Hasegawa[5] (Japanese); Amber Lee Connors[4] (English) Shirota (城田) Voiced by: Yuna Nemoto[5] (Japanese); Kayli Mills[4] (English) Yamamoto (山本) Voiced by: Aoi Koga[5] (Japanese); Erica Lindbeck[4] (English) Sae Okada (岡田さえ, Okada Sae) Voiced by: Emiri Suyama[6] (Japanese); Kayli Mills[4] (English) Mayu Oba (大葉真由, Ōba Mayu) Voiced by: Yuki Kazu[6] (Japanese); Julia McIlvaine[4] (English) Takuro Ishii (石井啄郎, Ishii Takurō) Voiced by: Taishi Murata[6] (Japanese); Griffin Burns[4] (English) Hanako Sakuraba (桜庭華子, Sakuraba Hanako) Voiced by: Saori Ōnishi[6] (Japanese); Amanda Celine Miller[4] (English)
Blue Period is a superior series that deals with the creation and development of painting much the same way Kids on the Slope dealt with Jazz. It’s surprisingly mature and sophisticated, something you don’t often get to say about most high-school animes. The characters are full rounded and quite authentic, even the secondary characters.
Yatora is an honors student, conscientious and bright, but still trying to figure out who he is. One day he happens across a prayer-themed painting by a junior classwoman, and is inspired to try his hand at drawing. It is a simple line drawing of the buildings in his home town, but he wanted to capture the essence of the town Shibuya in early morning, so he elected to have a background of various hues of blue. That flourish catches the attention of the art teacher, who encourages him to pursue this new interest.
To his delight, this addresses an inner lack he only barely knew existed.
The twelve 24 minute episodes take him from his first tentative steps in prep school to the exams to enter the prestigious Tokyo University of the Arts.
Along the way he encounters teachers and classmates who have positive or negative personalities, and no, they don’t correlate to his own personal growth as an artist. Two of the more striking characters around him are Ryuji “Yuka” Ayukawa, a crossdresser whom he initially dislikes but who ends up playing a huge role in his preparations for the final exam, and Yotasuke Takahashi, a sour, introverted and blunt kid whose talent Yatora admires but whose personality presents a deep challenge. In lesser hands this could easily have dissolved into the silly nonsense of a new bad and a new challenge each episode, but the deft writing maintains a smooth and credible flow showing the growth and development of the characters, both as characters and as artists.
The artwork attributed to the characters is often stunning, and deeply authentic. There are at least a dozen actual masterpieces featured during the run of the series, including a couple of Vermeer, some of Manet’s work, two Van Goghs (including an earlier version of “Starry Night” that I had never seen before, “Poppies” by Klimt, and Degas’ “Dance Class.” I looked in vain for authorship of the students’ art that was displayed during the series, but some of it is masterful.
A truly excellent review of the series can be found at 10 Reasons why Blue Period is a Must-Watch for Artists.
One of the best animes this year. Now on Netflix.