Talented student Yaguchi Yatora decides to pursue art, and throw his delinquent lifestyle away. This is a review and discussion for Netflix’s Blue Period.
Introduction: Falling in Love with Blue Period Episode 1
A Stunning Series Premiere and My First Impressions
Wow, I think I’m actually in love. That was an amazing first episode for this series premiere! I honestly don’t even know where to start.
Also, full disclosure – I think I’m feeling so giddy because I went to art school. A lot of the things Yatora said or experienced – like the way the city looks early in the morning – sounded familiar to me.
I used to spend hours just staring up at buildings while sitting on a campus balcony, or hang out in the 7th-floor stairwell when there was no space to sit by the windows on higher floors, and just stare at the water towers from a large window ledge.
I even did a fair bit of writing from just staring at the architecture of New York City; short stories that lay dormant in notebooks inside my bedroom dressers.
Related: Want to see how Blue Period stacked up against the rest of its premiere season lineup? Check out our breakdown of the Highly Anticipated Anime Series: What to Watch in Fall 2021 to revisit the biggest heavy-hitters of the year!
The Relatability of Shibuya in the Early Morning
Yatora Yaguchi’s Blue Awakening vs. Real-World Nostalgia
One time after graduation, when I was still working out there, I got a free month of bagels from Panera. I already went into work early on weekends back then, just so that I had ample amounts of time to walk around empty city streets and take pictures, so that freebie was perfect for me.
There was a Panera location right next to Bryant Park and the New York Public Library – giving me a place to sit down, and an excuse to people-watch extra hard on those days.
I remember sitting in the window, eating my bagel – headphones blasting music when I noticed…that the street around me was blue.
Like at a certain time early in the morning, when everything was quiet, the shadows of building silhouettes cast light in a certain way that gave the appearance of the entire city having this blueish-greenish-grey hue.
It was so pretty, and I was successfully able to capture it in photos a few different times.
Hearing Yatora say that Shibuya looks blue in the early mornings, or watching him stare at the way sunlight catches on the high-rise buildings that lined the streets, made me extremely happy.
Then sad, when Yatora’s friend didn’t really understand what he was trying to capture.
Then I was happy, again, when Yatora found another person who understood him, and his friend group’s later realization of what Yatora meant about Shibuya once he painted what he saw in his head out onto canvas.
So, you could say Yatora’s early morning blue Shibuya painting inspired him to have a real conversation with his friends for the first time in his life.
I know it may not sound like much, but it’s just a nice thing to see on screen. Especially if it’s something you’ve never experienced before, or something you have but rarely spoke about outside of certain circles.
Finding Your Circle: The Reality of the Art School Experience
The Struggle of Being Misunderstood by Outside Peers
I’m not sure if I’m making sense here, but when I first got into art school at orientation, the professors told us to make friends with our fellow classmates. That people in other schools (within the university) would not understand (you), and your peers will be working alongside you in years to come.
I didn’t really understand that piece of advice back then, and kept trying to hang out with my new friends in different schools under the university umbrella.
Eventually…they got tired of me.
My classes were much longer than theirs (I majored in Cinema Studies – so four-hour classes included a film, discussion, and short lecture. As opposed to their 45 minute – 1 hr and 15 minute classes), and I often had different events to go to that were not open to them as they were not members of my department or school.
Despite trying my best to meet up during certain times or explain why two of my classes accounted for 8 hours of my day, they didn’t believe me. They didn’t enjoy the things I spoke about or understand why I was stopping in the middle of the street to take a photo of the sun setting between two buildings during the golden hour.
So, we stopped hanging out.
Or rather, they ditched me enough times after promising to meet at a certain place and deciding not to wait for me that I finally wisened up and stopped talking to them.
Building a Tribe: Creative Collaboration and Friendly Competition
I made friends in my own school.
Most were also Cinema Studies, some were from the Film & TV department (which I was taking about half of my courses in at one point in time), some were from the secluded law school (who also crossed over into our school due to studying business law and the legality of entertainment things) and some were in computer programming (as that was also in our school…surprisingly).
It took some getting used to, but after that, I never had problems with people misunderstanding me. Or laughing at me because what I said sounded dumb to them.
I never had to explain why I was pulling out a piece of paper mid-sentence to write something down, or why I was standing in between the aisles of an old bookstore while angling my camera toward the incoming light.
When I had to make student films for my courses, the professors never questioned why I wanted to shoot entirely during the golden hour (or around twilight, like when Yatora was frantically trying to sketch his neighborhood’s veranda) or why I put a blue filter on my short film about solitude and loneliness in the city.
Just as Saeki-sensei told Yatora, one of the benefits of attending an art school is witnessing firsthand what your peers are doing. Whether that be learning and sharing new techniques with one another, or competing in a friendly manner to spur your art forward.
And just as my own professors told us, Yatora learned he would be working with his peers after graduation. In real life, I’ve since learned that most organizations have one or two alumni from my school.
My old friends work for some of the bigger production studios, or museums (as I did for a time) – and a few people in my year are even famous actors, actresses, and directors and/ or producers.
Related: Speaking of my time working at the museum, you can read my personal reflections on cross-cultural traditions and storytelling in The Importance of Chopsticks, which details my deep-dive experiences firsthand at the Japanese cultural center!
Or they are on TV, attending the Emmys or Cannes, being awarded for their work. Two people from my year are on Riverdale, of all shows. Haha. It’s really amazing the pull that network has.
The same goes for the law students who mingled with us – they are each (for the most part) in dignified firms or dealing in their chosen fields.
Reader Favorite: If you love media that beautifully blends the creative struggle of an artist with evocative, quiet city aesthetics, you’ll love our review on Timeless Love and Art – Our Beloved Summer Ep 1 & 2 Review!
Analyzing the Premiere: Talent vs. Raw Ability
Yatora’s Conversation with Mori-Senpai
I know I’m talking a lot about my own personal experiences, and not enough about the anime, but just watching Yatora be so passionate about his art that he kept a sketchbook tucked away made me happy.
Hearing Yatora’s conversation with Mori senpai about the merit of talent vs raw ability was fascinating.
Overcoming Fear and Stepping into the Art Club
Seeing Ryuuji recognize that Yatora is passionate about art, but just needed a kick in the ass to start, was magnificent.
The way Mori senpai, Saeki-sensei, and Ryuuji slowly eased him into figuring out he wanted to pursue art, and eventually join the art club, before he could talk himself out of it due to fear of what others thought was also magnificent.
The TUA Gamble: Chasing High-Stakes Dreams
Reckless Ambitions and the Pressure of Dream Schools
I hope Yatora pulls off getting accepted to TUA. I’m sorry, I keep bringing myself up, but I did something similar. The program I was in only admitted twenty graduate and twenty undergraduate students each year – and they rarely took transfers.
I was really reckless back then, and got it into my head that if I couldn’t get into the hardest school in the university with the lowest acceptance rate, that I was worthless as an artist, and would give up if I failed to get admitted to the school of my dreams.
I don’t know how I did it, but the gamble paid off.
And looking back, I am glad I did it.
Especially since that was the only place I applied to, because I never really wanted to go to college, anyway. It was lonely, and I was always tired from the cycle of class, internship, commuting, and work – but I learned a lot about myself.
People outside of the university used to refer to it as ‘Hogwarts’, and it’s at the top of the list for many aspiring artists as their dream school. I think the U.S. ranking recently went up for the school as well, and now it’s first for film and the arts.
Final Thoughts: What’s Next for Blue Period?
Join the Discussion: Are You Loving the Anime Adaptation?
Anyway, I’ve probably droned on about this long enough.
I hope Yatora perseveres to allow his dreams to come true, and doesn’t stop himself out of fear midway. I hope he makes friends with the art students and can still hang out with the delinquents if he truly wants to.
I hope everything works out for these students and that Mori-senpai gets into the private program she’s dreaming about. And if she doesn’t – maybe it wasn’t meant to be, and she’ll find something else.
Either way, I think I’ll leave this one here.
Are you enjoying the Blue Period anime adaptation? (I realize that I might need to read the manga after our story ends.)
Industry News: With streaming networks heavily expanding their animated programming budgets this year, make sure to read our latest exclusive coverage on Netflix at Annecy 2026: First Looks at THE ONE PIECE, Ghostbusters Series, and Charlie vs. The Chocolate Factory Revealed to see what’s hitting your screens next!
Did you hear that Ryuji’s character is actually a male who possibly identifies as a female named Yuka? Hopefully I didn’t offend anyone by calling them Ryuji earlier – I was just reading Reddit while editing this and found out.
What else do you think we’ll see from this series?
Next Up: Don’t stop sketching just yet! Follow Yatora’s next creative hurdle as he faces new club dynamics and intense creative pressure in The Goddess of Art – Blue Period Ep 2 Review.
Leave your thoughts in the comment section below, we’d love to hear from you! Also be sure to follow us for more weekly Blue Period reviews and discussions!
☆ In Asian Spaces ☆ Ephesians 6:12 ☆
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