Reviews

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.