Netflix’s ‘Blue Period,’ based on Tsubasa Yamaguchi’s manga, is a wholly Shounen TV anime. The novel becomes a coming-of-age tale showing the protagonist’s inner conflict and his family’s financial troubles up close.
As the story progresses, we learn more about the character of Yatora Yaguchi, a popular and capable high school student who is searching for meaning and purpose in his life.
Then he comes upon art and understands it’s the final piece of the puzzle he’s been searching for. Episode 1 of ‘Blue Period,’ which is currently airing on Netflix, ends with a bang. WARNING: This section contains plot spoilers.
Episode 1 of the Blue Period (Season 1) Review
Three new characters are introduced in the first episode: Urashima, Sumida, and Koigakubo (titled ‘Awakening to the Joy of Painting’).
They enjoy one other’s company while they eat, drink, and smoke while watching soccer. Yatra appears to be a highly outgoing person who spends little time learning.
As a result, when he achieves high exam scores, his peers believe he is gifted. In actuality, he assures them, he’s a dedicated worker who puts in long hours.
However, he doesn’t appear to be interested in anything. Yatra is lost in his thoughts. He engages in various activities, such as studying and socializing with his peers, because they all fit into a larger pattern.
A picture created by one of Yatora’s seniors is discovered while visiting the art class to retrieve a pack of cigarettes he had unintentionally left behind.
It has a tremendous effect on him. He makes friends with art club member Ryuuji Ayukawa. It starts adversarial, but as they get to know one another, their friendship evolves.
What Will Yatora Study in the Future? Blue Period Episode 1’s Finale
Yatra intends to pursue a career in the arts shortly. His family’s financial situation, on the other hand, does not permit him to attend a private school.
As a result, the only option left for him is a public school. Sadly, there is only one school that offers a painting degree: Tokyo University of the Arts. This school has Japan’s lowest acceptance rate.
The choice hasn’t come easily to him. Having come from a working-class background, he first has a low opinion of pursuing an artistic career.
Because it is rooted in reality, the starving artist is a common literary and cinematic cliche. Only a tiny percentage of artists go on to have a successful career. In addition, he even wonders if he has the talent to succeed as an artist.
Yatra’s art teacher, Masako Saeki, assures him that his concern about financial stability is neither unique nor troublesome by relating stories about Picasso and how commercially minded the brilliant painter was.
Senior artist Maru Mori, whose work he admired, teaches him the importance of experience and wisdom above pure skill. Together with Yatora’s personal experience while painting his Shibuya-inspired vision, all of these factors sway his conclusion.