Blue Period

Plot Summary: Yatora Yaguchi is smart but feels detached from his life. People consider him to be naturally intelligent and don't see how hard he works or how much pressure he is under. In his art class the teacher encourages him when he paints a picture how he sees it in his mind. After having a conversation with some other students about their painting, Yatora joins the art club. The art they do inspires him, and he decides he wants to attend the Tokyo University of the Arts, which is hard to get into on the first try. During the summer holidays he attends classes at an art prep school. The interactions between Yatora, the other prep school students, and their teachers leads to an understanding of how art affects all of them. The title of the show, Blue Period, comes from a group of paintings that Pablo Picasso did at a particular part of his life. 

Author Background: Koji Masunari is a Japanese director who concentrates on directing anime films and TV shows. Besides Blue Period, he has directed Kamichu!, Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, and Welcome to the Space Show (IMDb, n.d.).

Critical Evaluation: The animators and directors of the anime tried to keep close to the original manga's storyline. It is a little different than what people generally think of when they imagine anime. For example, many of the well-known or classic anime involve either martial arts, magical creatures, or a storyline from Japanese history. Blue Period doesn't have any of this. It is set in a modern school, and besides the obvious use of animation, the storyline is very realistic.

The character development is well done. Each of the characters, especially Yatora, has their own struggles they have to work on throughout the series. One critique I have involves the monologue in Yatora's head. He goes into deep discussions with himself about art theory that can slow down the story. It is important to know how he feels about art and what he sees in his pictures, but sometimes the expository dialogue goes on for too long. Other than that, I like the premise.

Speed-Round Show Talk or Short Show Trailer: Do you love art and anime? Do you dream of going to art school? Watch this show and see how Yatora follows his dream of attending art school!

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation: They don't use any specific terms like transgender or nonbinary, but one of the characters, Yuka, was declared male at birth, but wears a Japanese schoolgirl uniform. Yuka is referred to using They/Them pronouns. During on episode, Yuka is struggling with how others treat them and expresses some suicidal ideation. It is important to honestly and compassionately portray trans and nonbinary characters in media. They are experiencing discrimination right now and need our support.

Reason for Inclusion: Teens need to be encouraged to live their dreams. Those dreams can be realized. Yatora has a passion for art and does all he can in his quest to attend art school. If a teen has a similar passion for something they should be encouraged to look into it.

References

FA Channel with Paris. (2023, January 31). Tokyo University of the Arts 2023 graduation exhibit. [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8wkzDJlTfQ. 

IMDb. (n.d.). Koji Masunari. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0557948/?ref_=ttfc_fc_dr2. 

Netflix Anime. (2021, December 25). Art university graduate reacts to blue period / expert reaction. [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk0kaD8DXQI. 

Netflix Anime. (2022, February 2). N-ko's blue period art challenge. [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPcKooaP5Z8.