Episode 1
Ah, Blue Period it’s nice to see you animated! I almost wish I was going in blind so I can experience Yatora’s revelation for the first time, but I really love how this episode played out. The way the little comments start to build up and change his feelings about art is really nice to see. The episode starts out with him trying to figure out why someone would be so interested in Picasso’s art, but with the varying interactions he has, it starts to become clearer to him.
One of my favorite moments in this episode is how Yatora talks about how he doesn’t feel any of the praise when people call him a genius. He’s recognized that if he puts in the time and the work to ‘grind’ he’ll level up his skills. Even though he recognizes that for himself he still makes the comment to [Mori-senpai] that she’s talented at art. In that moment she could have easily just laughed it off and agreed with him, but I’m so happy that she responds with the same feeling. She also puts in the work to continue to think about it and learn – it’s dismissive just to equate it all to talent. When paired up with other small moments in this episode, I think that conversation plays a key role in his perspective changing.
Because afterwards he earnestly tries to complete the favorite scenery assignment (and I appreciate that they kept the boob art in there) and is able to express his experiences through the artistic medium. And to top it all off, he received praise, not only in his friends, but also from Yuka-chan. It pays off for him, he’s able to express something without words and he feels like he genuinely connected with people. That feeling then inspires him to move start leveling up his skills in art. And personally, I enjoyed watching him attempt to draw the tissue box or drawing his classmates during class. I don’t know if it’s a universal experience, but I know I’ve definitely done those things before. It’s nice to see him move from ‘I don’t really have a passion, but I should play life safe’ to ‘I think I might have the passion for this and I want to try’. It felt very nice to end the episode with him declaring that he wanted to the public art school and would bring in his application tomorrow. I look forward to seeing his journey play out!
Episode 2:
In the previous episode, we got to see Yatora change his mindset from just going with the flow to finding something that he can be passionate about. This episode feels much more like his first step into the journey. Now, he’s focused on truly improving his skills so that he can get into art school.
One thing that I really like about this series, is that we get to learn alongside Yatora. His knowledge is very limited from the very beginning, so we get to learn about new techniques and tools that are used to create the art. For instance, prior to this series I never knew that holding the pencil out towards your subject was a way of measuring it. I’m not sure what I thought they were doing, but it definitely wasn’t that. And… if I’m honest, this also leads to a little disappointment for me. I love all the things that Yatora learns from just joining the art club, but only so much can be shown in a single episode. I felt that we sped through the summer break, which is where he makes significant improvement. It was probably the best decision for the animators to make, but I can’t help but want more.
Now, I will say one of the interesting things about watching all of these scenes, is… well… crying over everything again. I’m happy that Mori and Yatora got to have their one-on-one conversation about art, and why she draws what she draws. It leads to a lightbulb going off for Yatora for convincing his mom to let him go to an art school. Up until recently, he was just thinking about getting a job that would help him make enough money to support himself. And there’s no doubt that his parents contributed to that thought process. So, when he was able to provide his drawing to her, it was still pretty emotional. I love the way he’s able to convey to her that art helps him see things that he wouldn’t have noticed and in seeing all the little things he recognizes that she does it because she cares deeply about the family. From making sure to rotate the dinners, to keeping ‘the worst parts’ for herself, he realizes it’s her way of showing that she loves them. And while he doesn’t directly say it, but in him explaining all of this, his gift is like a grand way of saying ‘thank you for everything you’ve done for me’ and that’s just really sweet.
Now, the scene that I forgot about was the graduation. Mori is such an important person to Yatora’s story. If he had never seen her art that fateful day, he probably wouldn’t have started this journey. So, it was really sweet of him to draw a picture of her in front of the large canvas with the angelic imagery. Even though as anime watchers we’ve only seen her for a short amount of time, that moment made me emotional. Mori, thank you for existing!!
I can’t wait to see how Yatora continues to grow in this journey. I’m excited for him to connect with other aspiring artists and learn about the things that drive them to do art. And quite frankly, I’m also just interested in learning about new art techniques right alongside him. I’m looking forward to the upcoming episodes!
First Impressions:
(Sorry everyone, here comes story time) It’s pretty rare for me to start a manga before I’ve seen the anime and Blue Period is one that I stumbled across around Christmas time last year. My roommate was interested in reading manga but had never picked one up before. So, I dug around a bit to find something they might like and lo and behold this was one of the series I picked out for them. And then as soon as they finished, I stole the volume, fell in love with it and have been trying to get a hold of the others ever since (Volume 4 I promise I’ll get ahold of you!!). So, this is honestly one of the first times where I’ve read the source manga before an anime came to be. And I must admit, it’s a really interesting experience. I love being able to meet characters all over again. And it’s really interesting seeing what they decide to focus on as well as what content the ultimately gloss over.
Overall, I am happy with the series so far (granted it’s only been two episodes). I came into knowing that it wouldn’t be as if I was watching the panels come to life, but rather that this was going to be a new way of telling Yatora’s story. And when I take a step back, things feel pretty cohesive, so I can’t wait to see how we move forward! I can’t wait to meet new characters and develop more from the art club. I really wish they could have released it all at once!
Now, I do want to say that the animation… is not my favorite. If I’m honest, there were moments that were pretty great, where they captured the scene nicely, but others… felt really lackluster. I don’t think it will make or break my viewing experience, but it was certainly something that stood out to me. Still, I’m way too excited for this series, so I’ll let it slide.
I promise going forward, I will definitely focus more about what each episode covers, I just really needed to gush about the manga! I hope that the anime will get more people interested in this series! Blue Period, I’m expecting great things from you. I can’t wait to see what’s coming!
Possibility of Watching – Guaranteed
Possibility of Blogging – Guaranteed
(note! since episodes were released early on jp netflix and then tv broadcasting a week later, i’ll be following the broadcasting schedule. so next week there will be an entry for episodes 3 & 4!)
