Blue Period

This anime made me think

Some Spoilers

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Aimlessly meandering through the days without ambition or cause, life wasn’t interesting to Yatora Yaguchi. Although succeeding in school and having a decent social life, you could say he was just simply going through the motions of what was expected of him. One day, Yatora found himself enamored in the beauty and darkness of the cutthroat world of art. And his goal was to be accepted into Tokyo University of the Arts, where only about one out of 200 applicants are accepted. Accompanied by clashing yet bold personalities in his school's Art Club as well as his art after-school, Yatora slowly but surely finds out what it means to live. And with that, the journey to his self-discovery starts to unravel.

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This anime wears its themes on its sleeve for the most part. Themes of self-discovery and passion are energetically deafening in the anime. To be frank, the discourse around it has been overdone. However, what theme I got the most out of in the story was dichotomies, which I rarely hear anyone talk about. There are so many parallels the anime traverses throughout its characters. Concrete versus the abstract, talent versus hard work, even masculinity versus femininity are explored deeply. Our main character is stuck in this sort of analytical mindset, basically incompatible for an artist, with art being the catalyst for his growth towards introspection and reflection. His diverse peers offer interesting perspectives as well. Take Yotasuke for example. Extremely gifted in the arts, yet harboring resentment towards our main character, essentially an artistic newbie. You could also compare our non-confrontational MC with Ryuuji Ayukawa’s passionate demeanor. Not to mention their literal physical differences, where Ryuuji finds a sense of self when cross-dressing.

Insecurity is universal. Strip away physical aesthetics, strip away demeanor and attitude, what is left of a person? I think the story is telling us that we are defined by something more innate than we presume, and people are a lot more similar than different. The dichotomies and parallels I was talking about earlier try to reinforce this. A tangible goal the cast is tethered by is the goal of attending Tokyo University of the Arts one day. Most of the cast also shares the same reflective, or abstract goals and aspirations as well. Although foils in so many aspects, whittling down the characters of Ryuuji and Yatora, we find two insecure high schoolers seemingly fighting alone against societal pressures and norms. This concept was literally spoon-fed to us during the intimate beach scene where the two were supposed to draw naked self-portraits. The scene has so much more weight and meaning to it than that, but I digress.

Although I love the complexity of the characters, I believe it reveals my only glaring critique of the anime. While the story is fleshing out some character development or plot points, I feel as if the story itself gets wrapped​​ up in a sort of melodramatic tone at times, especially in some of the dialogues. The overly dramatic nature of the characters seeps into other parts of the anime as too. As much as I love to understand the artistic vision or purpose of one's work, not enough time is spent on the techniques and procedures of​​ the art. I think that putting a bit more effort into the process of art would have immersed me with the anime a bit more.

The sport being played in any sports anime is rarely the main focus of the show. It is usually just the backdrop the plot used to contain the plot. It also provides the goals and obstacles the characters have to overcome. Blue Period coincides with this type of world-building, replacing said sport with painting. Comparing this show to a sports anime may be disingenuous, but I really cannot word a better explanation. This is not necessarily a bad thing though, and Blue Period is a lot more earnest than most in the sport, or sports adjacent genre. It is definitely a step above yaoi or yuri bait fanservice anime, where cute or hot characters partake in some niche activity, pleasing a niche audience. The show still uses its time very wisely and effectively to captivate you, even if art isn’t the main focus.

Me rambling:

Deep into twilight, long after the yellows and oranges of the sunset fade away, I see my own version of the Blue Period. The potent dark blue enveloping the sky seems almost sublime some days as it casts its filter across the horizon. I think it's a beautiful transition to the nightly abyss of a pitch-black atmosphere. Things slow down and take their time, but nothing ever halts to a complete stop, yet. The bustling lights, cars, and people begin to simmer, and the temperatures begin to cool as well. Yatora’s Blue Period and mine are exactly the same, but literal opposites. His takes place at dusk, mine is at twilight. Yet we both yearn for that sleepiness, dreamlike atmosphere the somber blue engrossed both of us in.

People who compare anime adaptations to their manga or LN are dumb btw.