The manga and anime series Blue Period reviewed

Manga and anime have been long-time favorites of comic book and movie lovers. While manga refers to comics or graphic novels, anime are cartoons—and Blue Period is both. The storyline is gripping and touches on many prominent themes in life: struggle, love, and coming-of-age.

Blue Period is the perfect first-time introduction to the world of manga and anime. Here you’ll find a review of the first volume, background information on author Tsubasa Yamaguchi, and plenty of interesting facts to share with anime and manga fans at your art club or art school.

Who writes Blue Period?

Unfortunately, little biographical information is available about mangaka Tsubasa Yamaguchi, the author of Blue Period. All we know is that she was born in Japan on 26 June (year unknown). A graduate of the Tokyo University for the Arts, she first came to prominence with the publication of two one-shot manga series in Good! Afternoon magazine.

Her first success in the art world, however, came with the 2016 publication of her first full series, a manga adaptation of She and Her Cat by Makoto Shinkai. A year later, she launched Blue Period in Monthly Afternoon magazine. 

In 2019, Yamaguchi not only got married but was among the nominees for the Manga Taisho grand prize and the Kodansha Manga Award. Blue Period won both accolades in 2020 and also received a Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize nomination.

Such was the book’s success, it was launched as an anime series in 2021. Tsubasa Yamaguchi tweets regularly in Japanese. To give you a little insight into her personality, here is a quote published on Yamaguchi’s Goodreads page:

“I am not talented at all. It’s just that I spend more time thinking about art than others. Also, thank you for your kind words, but…art still requires you to study various techniques and such. So when you simply call it talent like that, it makes it sound like I haven’t done anything…”

What is Blue Period about?

Blue Period is a journey of self-discovery. A young man’s people-pleasing traits lead to deep frustration until his life takes an unexpected turn when he discovers a stunning piece of art.

Yatora Yaguchi is an excellent high school student who gets good grades all the time, yet he feels empty inside. Everything changes when he walks into his high school’s art room and is bowled over by a painting of angels. The artwork opens up a whole new world to Yatora, who soon resolves to enroll at the Tokyo University of the Arts.

In Blue Period 1, Yatora doubts his ability to attend art college. He grapples with his choice for the first time and has to overcome self-doubt and earn the respect of his art club peers.

As the story develops, Yatora Yaguchi has to take on a still-life assignment and meets fellow art student Yotasuke Takahashi, who ends up producing the best work in the class. When Yatora tries to befriend him, he doesn’t respond.

After coming to terms with his insecurities, Yatora finally wins the approval of others and proceeds with his plans to study art.

In addition, the protagonist must learn to understand Yuka. His friend gets rejected by a boy after discovering that even though he was born male, Yuka identifies as female.

With preparations for the upcoming prep school art competition in full swing, Yatora and his fellow students grapple with what it takes to produce great art.

All of which sees Yotasuke Takahashi leave cram school because he feels it doesn’t teach real art. Yatora continues working to improve his techniques, however. The two meet at a Tokyo University of the Arts exhibition, and Yotasuke tells Yatora that he doesn’t need art. But rather than paying attention, the protagonist takes Yotasuke’s outburst as fuel for inspiration and produces his own best work to date.

Ultimately, Yotasuke must dig deep as his lecturer challenges him to produce better art.

Towards the end of Blue Period 1, Yatora can’t decide whether to quit art and carry on. The first volume concludes with the protagonist receiving good feedback on his work but still feeling that he can do much better. He resolves that art, at times, is hard work.

Our Blue Period book review

Lots of Blue Period customer reviews are available online. Moreover, many bloggers have penned articles on the series. Here’s our take on the book.

As a discourse on art, Blue Period is an insightful read. But if you’re looking for a page-turner, you might be disappointed. In that sense, creatives will understand and appreciate the story, while everyone else will likely find it hard going.

It goes without saying that comic and anime lovers adore the book, and so will any art student who can relate to the protagonists’ struggles and motivations.

Try Speechify Audiobooks for a new reading experience

For something a little different, check out Speechify audiobooks—a platform with thousands of book titles and growing every day.

The site delivers hundreds of classics free of charge while still giving authors a great deal. If you’re looking for books on what it means to be an artist, there is an abundance of titles, including Lisa Congon’s Find Your Artistic Voice and James Joyce’s classic A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

You can also check out American Comics – a History or Marvel Comics the Untold Story to broaden your cartoon horizon.

FAQ

Why is Blue Period so good?

Blue Period should feature on the reading wish list of creatives of any kind. The series poses all the fundamental questions about art in a challenging and meaningful way. It also depicts a slice of life that any artist faces, namely the struggle associated with unforgiving art.

Is Blue Period appropriate for younger readers?

As a coming-of-age story, Blue Period is a great read for young adults. The young man at the center of the story faces many challenges that young people must overcome.

What is the message of Blue Period?

The core message of Blue Period is that every artist has a unique talent. While artists can find inspiration from the greats, they must express their authentic gift.

What is the author’s purpose for writing Blue Period?

In many ways, Tsubasa Yamaguchi wrote the book to come to terms with her own struggles as an artist. The book’s title references The Blue Period of Pablo Picasso, during which he applied a blue-gray hue to all his paintings following a friend’s suicide. The Barcelona Picasso Museum exhibited the artist’s Blue Period work throughout 2022.

Does Blue Period have any moral?

Rather than putting forward a moral framework, Blue Period depicts the awakening of an artist and all the challenges they face during this process. As such, any aspiring creative should read it. Blue Period also tells us that artistic success is as much about hard work as it is about talent.