Blue Period

This is nothing but a complete waste of what could have been a fantastic anime. I’m not kidding when I say that at its core Blue Period has some of the best characters, themes, and ideas you’ll find in recent anime. But for everything it does right it also does something wrong. The series is completely devoid of life and personality, and to call the finished product disappointing would be an understatement.

Blue Period is about passion. It’s about identity. It’s about the differences between hard work and talent. And of course, above all else, it’s about art. Putting the actual presentation aside for a ... second, the anime does a fine job at exploring a variety of themes and concepts. Similar character-driven anime will fall into a habit of forcing too much drama out of characters, detracting from the realism and relatability of the show. Blue Period, in comparison, is incredibly down to earth and consistent. Try and remember that this is an anime about art, so I went into it expecting a lot of extended metaphors that achieve nothing in the overall narrative besides sounding clever. To the credit of the author though this was not the case. There are still some moments that came across as excessive but at least they managed to relate back to the main themes and ideas of the show.

But despite all these strengths it turned out to be one of the dullest shows of the season. You’ll probably see plenty of people making jokes about how the series about art has terrible art and animation, and they aren’t wrong. It’s not insultingly bad, and I genuinely believe that animation means very little in the overall quality of an anime. Good directing can save even the most awful-looking shows, and most faults seen in Blue Period can’t be blamed on the art quality alone. Hell, some parts of the show don’t even look that bad. The actual artwork looks fine, and it’s easy to pick the values out of them as though they were a real painting.

So, where exactly did it go wrong? In a number of places, but to simplify things most of the issues stem from a complete lack of care put into the anime. Or if you wanted to sound smart you could say that the series ironically lacks passion, the very thing it tries to express the importance of. As a result of this the show feels incomplete. Entire scenes will go by without any background music, and this wasn’t deliberately done to increase tension, it was done out of pure laziness and lack of a solid production. And when they do finally decide to play a soundtrack, it ends up sounding mediocre at best and adding no value to scenes whatsoever. This completely undermines the importance of major moments in the series and fails to guide the viewer through scenes the way that it should. Instead of having incredibly impactful scenes with beautiful directing and music you get to listen to the sounds of brushes awkwardly hitting canvases while characters randomly cry as they deliver meaningful lines in the most monotone voices imaginable. Dialogue and character interactions become an absolute mess due to this and id present throughout all twelve episodes. What a joy. This isn’t the fault of voice actors or animators though; it’s the result of a product being rushed out before it is properly polished and refined.

The characters of Blue Period are amazing, and this still holds true despite the lack of production quality. Some major character moments aren’t as meaningful as they could have been, but the fundamental ideas behind the characters and their development are always there. Yaguchi, the main character, aims for his goals through hard work rather than natural talent. Of course, it isn’t the most original idea, but the way he is explored through his dedication and passion for art is simple but well-executed. He truly becomes his own unique character throughout the series rather than a simple copy-paste of any typical drama or sports protagonist. The side characters are equally as great. Each one gives a unique insight into the varying minds behind art, all with their own motives and values. Some people might enjoy art as a way to express themselves, others might pursue it due to a lack of other options. All kinds of people are presented in the side characters, and they’re all equally engaging to watch. My favourite character is by far Ryuugi though. He’s probably not the first time a crossdressing character has been written with such seriousness, by very rarely do you see a genuine crossdresser written with this much depth, particularly in anime. The series gives such a down-to-earth view of his character and manages to do this while tying it all back to the main topic of art. All of the character writing in Blue Period is great, but again it ends up losing a lot of its significance due to the lackluster directing, art, and sound.

Fundamentally, Blue Period should not be a bad series. It has a solid base with great characters and plot elements that allow it to convey its messages relating to art and passion. Unfortunately, it lacks just about everything else. Animation is the bare minimum, background music is almost nonexistent for entire episodes, and the pacing is all over the place. I’m sure all these things are a lot better in the manga, but this is about the anime, and frankly the anime is a lifeless slideshow with way too many glaring issues to be considered a good production in any way.

First off, let me just say I am not a huge fan of art. I currently live in a city full of great art exhibits and have visited one in my entire life. Honestly, why should I go out of my way to get out of my house and stare at paintings? I thought people knew NFTs were the new wave. With that said, Blue Period is one of the more down-to-earth shows I have seen in a while. This show is about following what you want to be and how you will make your dreams come true. Yes, I know it sounds like a ... generic shounen trope but hear me out. This show is more serious and dramatic than other shows you’ll find nowadays. You might not cry but you will see how everyone tries to overcome obstacles in the real world.

Pros:

The story and characters are by far the greatest strength of Blue Period. We are introduced to Yatori as the main character. He is a bookworm that has been following whatever the norm is in society and hangs out with some rockhead friends. He sounds kind of boring, doesn't he? But trust me, things start to get more interesting when he starts to question what he wants to be. As the story progresses more, we see Yatori face his dreams head-on through constant thoughts of failure, self-doubt, and passion.

For the supporting cast, they are not copy and paste characters that are easily forgettable. Most of the time there isn't one problem targeted towards one character. Take Ayukawa for example, a non-binary friend of Yatori. We don’t feel terrible for Ayukawa just for their gender. His concerns for the future and the family situation were executed masterfully. I'd argue that his story was presented better than Yatori, but that's just the author being brilliant having an in-depth story. The other secondary characters also affect the overall tone of the story as we also get to see how they confront their goals. Even Yatori’s unmotivated friends keep the story interesting as well as if we should root for every single one of them to succeed.

Cons:

Some anime studios manage to confuse me, not because of what they do, but because of what they don’t do. Who would have thought a show about art would be the lowest point of the show? Well, I will present to you Seven Arcs. Their studio gives a poor impression considering other notable works they have is Tonikaku Kawaii which isn’t too spectacular animation-wise. If you are familiar with art in general, you might recognize some pieces throughout the story which do not look too bad in anime form. There are moments where the animation is supposed to stand out. But most of the time the characters like to make stiff and uncomfortable movements to the point where it kills the whole vibe of enjoying this story. The directing just follow the source material from panel to panel which is why most of the characters make herky-jerky movements.

Overall:

Is Blue Period worth watching? Well, it depends on what you’re looking for. If you couldn’t tell from my disgust for the visuals, this is a flawed adaptation. However, it manages to pull through adversity by keeping the story and characters interesting from start to finish. A great manga does not always translate to a great anime. I'd recommend the manga instead if its premise gave you any interest.

Blue Period feels like a battle shonen in disguise, with a lot of yaoi-bait. Sort of. We have Yatora, the generic main character, who's an underdog, badass, sexy, edgy boy who is also wicked smaht at the top of his class, but doesn't have any passions, until he discovers art and instantly devotes his entire life to it without a second thought. He then accumulates a ragtag team of other fighter-AHEM artists, each with their own set of abilities, and starts levelling up his art and competing in competitions.

I think why Blue Period feels so unengaging to me, and why the battle shonen format ... feels so inappropriate here, is that "Art" as a concept is presented so arbitrarily. We don't see Yatora making clear progress, as he goes from stick figures, to crappy cartoons, all the way to advanced-looking art. He just leaps immediately to seemingly professional-level art and just tells us that the composition is apparently bad or something. As someone with zero knowledge of art, it feels totally arbitrary and I'm not convinced at all by any of it. A lot of the 'progress' of each episode is just a character waxing philosophically about how everyone has to find their own path and determination, and that somehow renews their motivation and we're supposed to feel like meaningful progress has been made.

Yatora paints some photorealistic-looking still life, and then is sent into shock when he sees his classmate's equally great-looking still life, because apparently it's just better? Maybe an actual art student would appreciate this more, but personally it feels like they might as well have replaced the paintings with numbers, and whoever paints the highest number is the best artist, because that's how simultaneously vague and objective this show treats the quality of art. It also doesn't help that the show itself is pretty ugly. I can understand a low budget, but the show just looks drab and depressing 90% of the time. They're always in blank gray rooms with dim, cold lighting, depressed faces, and this quiet, boring music.

The cast of characters are essentially just the usual, tired anime girl tropes (tsundere, kuudere, etc.) but pasted onto boys. The drama usually stems from a character being completely unreasonable, behaving exactly as you would expect their female counterpart in a usual trashy shonen would, and then it's resolved after Yatoro stares at them and says something dramatic and they all blush and romantic feelings are HEAVILY IMPLIED BUT NOTHING HAPPENS.

Next complaint: just let them kiss already. We know you want to. We want you to. Just do it. I haven't read the manga so I don't know if that's what's supposed to happen, but the show is constantly baiting romance between virtually every male character, without ever really crossing the line into explicitly implying attraction. They just blush, a lot, every time they talk to each other, and do typical tsundere stuff. It feels cowardly, like they want to attract the audience who's interested in that type of romance, without scaring away the people who dislike it. Stop being a coward, Blue Period.

I'm being too harsh, honestly. The show is not bad it just fails to really grip me anywhere. The first episode I was excited because I've never seen something like this. I wanted to learn more about the characters, see what it's like to become an artist, possibly see some romantic development. But nope, the show has its blinders on and only cares about art, but treats art like it's some kind of Bleach superpower where Yatora has to complete a study mission to level up his Composition Ability from lvl 3 to lvl 4. All of the characters fit neatly into character tropes that were tired 20 years ago, the only difference is they're boys instead of girls I guess. And Yatoro just goes through the same cycle of getting discouraged, inspired, then making a dramatic proclamation to get better. Again, it's not bad, it's just mediocre all around. Let's hope it proves me wrong in the second half

Edit: K so this is me from the future and this review is very bad and extremely biased. I read the manga after watching a bit of the anime and when I realized how good it was, I started really hating the anime for its average production values, and so gave it a very unfair score just because the production did not do this manga justice. I still think that this adaptation should've gotten much better treatment but that is beside the point. The production itself is average, it is not bad. It shows the manga's story well and so as an adaptation, it is ... okay. It's just a shame that the anime didn't get a high budget or a great studio as this anime could've been something really special. The reason I'm editing the review and not just deleting it is that I think it's important to have this review up to remind me about my mistakes and to think about things objectively and not just give an anime a bad score cause the production is not as great as I expected. The best way to experience this work is in manga form ofc but the anime is a solid choice if you don't want to have to read the manga to experience this story. That's it from future me. If you want to read my cringe review, then by all means go ahead.

Original review:

Extremely dissapointed with this adaptation... I thought the art and animation were pretty bad but okay, y'know? And although this adaptation intrigued me enough as to make me read the source material, after actually reading it I can 100% say that this adaptation does not do the original manga justice. At all.

It's not extremely bad, don't get me wrong, and it will at least give you a feel for what the series is about if you don't particularly enjoy reading manga and want to check the story out. It's just, when actually compared to the source material, this adaptation is lackluster, and just looks bad. It's like if they adapted something like Fullmetal Alchemist into a run of the mill, mediocre anime about an OP guy who gets all the girls, and defeats the bad guys and stuff. Well, it doesn't really change the actual story, but the art and the actual feel of the anime just gives it a really cheap look and vibe, and with an anime that's all about art, and the manga itself having wonderful artwork, this anime just ends up being a dissapointment.

So yeah, not horrible, not a 3 or a 2, but for a manga this good, it is really dissapointing to see such a mediocre adaptation.

LISTEN BEFORE YOU BARK AT ME!

THIS IS A NETFLIX ANIME, FIRST AND FOREMOST!

That said, you must take the anime with a grain of salt. Like, it could be better, yes, but the story is beautiful. I loved this anime, and I typically hate Netflix animes besides Kakeguri.

Honestly, this anime is genuinely beautiful, whether the art design or the story. I love the characters and the growth of their personalities. They are fleshed out, and the story is something that anyone within the art community can relate to. It depicts the desire to do better and the inner conflicts one may have.

I do ... not care what anyone says, this is a good anime to watch if you want to watch an anime that makes you feel good while also feeling inner dread about your life. Somehow, that is what makes it beautiful. Having mixed feelings about everything makes it so unique.

Blue Period the anime is good. Really good. However, this is an underwhelming adaptation that could have been executed so much better.

Maybe underwhelming is not the right word to describe this adaptation. Because it is a solid portrayal of the source material. The characters stay true to form, the art looks fine, the story is the same and paced similarly. All-in-all, it is a good show with a decent adaptation.

But, I could not help feeling anything but disappointed after finishing each episode of Blue Period. The manga is presented in a way that is miles above anything the anime did. The source material has this ... cold atmosphere that is created by the great tension that the story creates. The art is very sharp and striking to look at and conveys a very potent feeling. I feel like the anime does not capture the same atmosphere at all due to the rather disappointing art and direction that it took.

For example, in the first episode, Yatora is seen smoking a cigarette outside as the sun rises in Shibuya after a night out with his friends. This panel in the manga just radiates this cool and somber atmosphere as Yatora seemingly reflects on the sunrise. However, this scene in the anime is almost robotic. The CGI(?) smoke and how this scene in the anime is presented is just drained of any character and feeling. How can a manga panel convey a better atmosphere than an anime with music, color, and animation?

Speaking of music and art, why was it so underwhelming? I expected there to be a somber, jazzy soundtrack to convey this feeling of “blue” like the manga did. But, that is not what we got. This soundtrack was weak in most places. Many scenes lacked any music and general. I think that they tried to convey the feeling of “cold” by having a lack of music, but I think it was to the detriment of the show. Also, you’d think a show about art would have amazing art and animation. But unfortunately, that is not the case with Blue Period. The art and animation are drab and uninteresting. It failed to replicate the sharp and clean look of the manga.

I wish this show was boundary-pushing. I wish this show was executed in a more artistic fashion that took advantage of the great source material. I wish that this show did not play it safe and adapted a better art style.

I know I should just be happy that one of my favorite manga got a decent adaptation, but I cannot help to be disappointed in the execution. I expected and wanted more.

Main feelings: I had pretty nice vibes with this story. It's one of those rare anime where it's bad but you can't hate it because it has good intentions about taking care of ourselves and following our life calling and dreams. Despite what I said, I didn't like much the main character for some reason.

(-)What lowered the score: animation and character design, predictable, incoherence in what they say and we have seen, lack of realism, no relevant music at all.

(+)What I appreciated: the concept of the main plot, the values about life, inclusive characters that we normally don't watch in anime without using it ... as a gag comedy.

Not gonna lie this show is mid. character are boring the main character is all over the place. he went from trouble maker to bland. everyone is bland. the painting was somewhat nice to look at but overall just makes it hard for to watcher to care or want to continue. The story is original which i like of it but it just does carry its weight to other animes. there is no real depth just basic personality traits with no growth. The main character keeps reminding the viewer how unoriginal he is and how untalented he his throughout the show which makes it even ... harder to like him. the side character had no substances to the plot aswell.

I had a very high hope toward Blue Period when I heard that it is about a high school student's journey pursuing art. I had a pretty similar background; I was a well-rounded model student back in high school and could basically choose any kind of major if I wanted to but ended up going to an art school (an equivalent art school in my country to Tokyo University of the Arts since both are public university). The differences between Yatora and I come to the fact that I was good at art since I have been doing it since I was little (and I ... chose to take ceramic courses instead of painting).

But unfortunately, this anime isn't as satisfying as I thought it would be. Why? Probably because it's so main-character-centric and Yatora seriously is a very plain main character. Yes, he is hard-working, but that's all. In the creative world, to be successful one has to be distinctive, and Yatora is far from the word "intriguing." In 12 episodes of the anime, the majority of the plot is revolving around Yatora and his "mundane problems", and that is seriously pretty uninspiring. The other casts though are actually way more interesting; Yuka-Chan and their gender/family problems, Kuwana and her rivalry with her talented sister, Hashida a very unique and likely the most "artist-like" traits and personality, etc. Sadly the anime only talks a bit about these interesting characters.

And don't let me start with the art. For an anime about art, the art is pretty mediocre. I don't even want to talk about it since I guess everyone watching this anime would agree with me.

Overall it's a so-so anime, but don't expect to feel all "inspired" once you finish it.


Ps: I love the opening song though, Omoinatake did a super great job at it!

At first, it was a bit fast-paced, at least for me, but then it sort of got mellowed out, perhaps explaining why a lot of reviews seem to find it boring.

Now, from the perspective of someone who likes art and enjoys drawing whenever the spare time arises, it was meh. I like to think I could do the same. Oh, for those who found it "educational" that's not what this anime is trying to assimilate in the least but rather more so of finding one's passion and expression. In this case, art. And also in this case, as a career. Which is uh, well, from ... someone who is into maths and computer science, pretty reckless. But you do you. Obviously.

So yeah, this is quite an interesting take. And obviously, [having not read the manga] I would expect the manga to hold within its pages a far better experience and portrayal of art and story and all the things that blend such passion into its reader, oppose to its based anime counterpart. So yeah it was fine.

This show is very good though not quite on the level of great.

What this series does is make you feel inspired. I think any artist can relate to the main character though not always in the same way. The MC's dedication to bettering himself is what makes each episode interesting. He is applauded by his peers and teachers because he demonstrates potential. And I think the show's theme is exactly that. It's not as big or as good as it perhaps could have been. The characters we meet aren't well-rounded, but they add to the story enough so that they aren't completely dull.

I know ... the manga is still going so I hope the show continues as well.

Mild manga spoiler at *

The anime is not bad but having to watch a seinen manga with such dept get adapted into a PG-13 is really sad, so much content was cut that it changes the meaning of certain conversations sometimes, and it's just disappointing. *There's some upcoming nude for art purposes in the manga that's probably gonna get cut out too to make it more family friendly but it would change the anime from the source material entirely*.

After reading the manga, the anime is just lacking. I understand those who only watch the anime for whatever reason, but if you also think something is ... missing, the manga has the answer, feel free to check it out.

Watching this anime, my mind goes to some other related to art anime too, like, Put your hands off Eizouken, Kakushigoto, Shirobako, Barakamon, Bakuman, despite of, they have to do with different kind of art and stories. Also other artistic or with strange stylistic art anime, are, FLCL, Tatami galaxy, Dorohedoro and Idaten deities (Heion sedai..).

I would score this as a 6,5/10 because the sound and story are ok, characters are interesting and the art style is good enough but the enjoyment and all in all, the anime isn't something so extraordinary. I don't know what's missing to put a better score but there's ... a point from where it turns in meh instead of wow. Maybe it's the pacing or the dull colours in some scenes or analysing some side characters more than it needs to or maybe even that there's not much interaction between the mc and -generally between- the characters, as classmates. I think more scenes were needed, to look more active (like when they all went to an art museum or like when Yatora and Ryuuji went somewhere together and sketched and discussed and compared their artworks), I don't really know.

The mc Yatora, in the beginning is a boring typical boy, ok maybe an excellent student but how usual, like many others in his age that haven't decided what to do in their lives. Some would say that he decided to go with the easy way and be a penniless artist but art, isn't easy at all and mostly the art school he decides to attend to, despite of his mother's objections and that's where his character becomes interesting.

While studying for the exams and struggling with being an artist, expressing his passion and trying to improve his skills, he also meets with many different types of people. People of art, have usually an odd lifestyle and are attracted to or surrounded by other interesting people, (teachers and classmates in this case) and their stories (see Ryuuji, Maki etc).

Finally, some say it's more inspiring to school/college/art students but since it's not only focusing in art but human relations too, I'd say it's for everyone. Socialising, communicating, learning to interact, developing skills and friendships, connecting, making bonds and trying to understand others and yourself, growing up and becoming more mature, are also parts of life.

As a plagiarist, I found its inceptivist fundamentalism annoying. Especially since its focus on the mythical externally validated conception of what originality is put next to its secondary themes about gender non-conformity. By that I mean: don't you think it's at least a little hypocritical to claim that we are each individuals with the freedom to express who we are how we want, and then to say that certain forms of expression (here, copying) are inherently inferior or inchoate? To cry "I am this" and have someone reply "No you're not," or "That's not OK," or "Not like that." Or, put another way, you see ... how this ideological zeal for Original Authors having more of a right to embody an idea conflicts with the much more important cause of trans rights, ...right?

At one point, they literally mark down a perfectly good piece for no other reason than it was "too similar" to his last major work. Fuck off. All that is is installing and enforcing a certain value (anti-plagiarism norms) held by the artistic establishment at that school, so that students leave under the misapprehension that they have simple answers as to why they are the best. And why they are the best also just so happens to coincide with the interests of high-end art markets that they will more than likely never have access to. The mindset twists itself into a huge mess of knots to keep itself from truths that are actually pretty fucking simple. Plagiarists are cool, too. Trans people are cool, too. Discriminating against people because they are outside of the orthodoxy you descend from is Bad.

The show is quite pretty, tho. And when it's not pissing all over its messaging by focusing on originality, it's a fun little shounen ride.

Hmmmm No sure what I think of this.

It's okay I guess
The story is okay, it goes onward which is nice. A bit boring maybe from time to time but then it picks up and introduces a new phase of the MC's journey which I like.

The MC is very good! I like how he's rational, normal, smart character and you can easily put yourself in his shoes. Very pleasing to watch him. There's no dumb decisions so far imo.

The animation is a disappointment. There are moments which are heavily pulled down by the sheer jankiness of the animation.

Blue Period had right intention, but I felt that execution was not that good. The story was quite slow and wasn't much progressive. Although the manga rating is very high, I became less and less interested as the show progressed.

The motif of the MC to find himself by drawing is a good thought, but it felt dragged to me and also the side characters didn't seem amusing at all. The animation was good by Seven Arcs and maybe the story might develop for further seasons.

For Season 1 of Blue Period, I was a bit enthusiastic to watch but wasn't much impressed except the animation ... and the ED (Replica) of the anime.


My Rating : 5/10

Real talk.!
This series is only about art, there is nothing special in this series. I really don't know if all watcher can enjoy this, but if you love art and you have a talent in drawing something then I recommend this you, but if you are someone that doesn't interest in art then you will get a little bored trust me, it really depends on you.

Overall:
There is nothing unique in the story, I really doesn't enjoy this series so much I did get little boredom. it is because I am not a fun of art, and the story is only based on art, the ... good news about this series is the character creation they have so much detail and that's it for me. Caution! don't watch this if you get bored fast (and not a fun of art).

Reviews if you don't have time.
*SPOILER-FREE*

In almost every season there is a show dedicated to exploring or present a topic that, sometimes is neglected by a large portion of media or that not many people know or are interested and make them more appealing to learn. “Blue Period” is a manga adaptation with studio Seven Arcs as the animation responsible, that tries to bring light to what it is like to pursue an art school.

Unfortunately, for an art focused show, “Blue Period” didn’t reach that good of a mark in the animation department. The painting scenes ... were almost never shown, and the final product just appeared at the end of 30 seconds of the characters faces looking at the canvas. Some scenes were good, don’t get me wrong, but if a show is about art and paintings, I think a little bit more time could have been spent on the action itself.

However, it does some things really well, mainly the way it portraits the characters emotions and hardships they need to go through when applying for an art school. As a very scientific person, I’ve never considered or thought about how are is it really to enter in art schools or how the process is done. In that aspect, I think the show really helped to teach people who are not familiar with the theme.

Overall, “Blue Period” is a decent show that present well the difficulties of pursuing art and going to an art school. It has some weaknesses being the animation one of them, not for being bad but for not making the show justice. Plus, the opening is a banger and really well done.

I'll be honest and cut to the chase.

Blue period caught my eye because i haven't watched many series that are about...art and artists.
The story line seemed interesting because i thought perhaps i could relate to it. Esp the Picasso part- "anyone could make it''

Immediately after watching episode 2, i realized this was not my cup of tea. There is not a set pace. Its not smooth?
Plus one would think the animation and art should be really good for this as it is an art anime? but its not.

I read a line in a review that is just like food wars but without the cooking ... scenes. The cooking scenes are replaced with character drama. Yes. That is definitely what this is.
But at least, in food wars, the anime has got you hooked. this is just. it gets boring.

I also think the addition of a LGBTQ character, has no use? like as though it was just put out there for people to watch it because there is representation? Perhaps the manga portrayed it differently (aka in a better manner) but it just was like meh in the anime. (No hard feelings towards the LGBTQ ppl, i just think that was meh and boring)

Each character was very well portrayed however, I also liked the way they interacted. The characters seemed relatable and they had a smooth...uhhh idk how to phrase this but their overall performance was very smooth.

This anime could have been WAYYYYY better with better directing and animation. Actually, even with just better directing, leave the animation part out. It's kind of a waste.

This is my first anime review so I'll try to give my opinion the best way I can right now.
First of all, I don't know why but the dialogues seemed pretty odd to me. The voice acting was decent, but when they're added up to each other it kinda didn't work out, like there was too much space between the lines and the emotions didn't correlate enough.
The scenes didn't have too much impact on me. I dont think it's because of the story, it's not a bad one. The adaptation was a bit rushed in my opinion (as most of the NetFlix animes). The ... ost was kinda cliche, the animation was stiff, and as I mentioned before the dialogues sounded a bit weird.
The characters were interesting I'm not gonna lie, but the main character, hmmm, I'm not sure about him. He was a hard worker I'll give him that, but everything else, meh. The trans-girl I believe her or his name was Ryuuji, was definitely more interesting than Yaguchi in my opinion. It might be my favorite character here.
The things I liked the most were the opening and the paintings.
The opening was pretty good visually and musically. It really fitted the vibe of this show. About the paintings, I don't know who drew them, but my god were they amazing. I'm not gonna analyze them cause they are clearly explained in the anime so yep.
It could've been way better. It had so much potential but unfortunately, this is what we got. My expectations were a solid 8 and the reality is between 5.5 and 6 in my opinion. I don't know what you think. Maybe you liked, maybe you hated it. I like to watch other people's perspective as well