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ブルーピリオド [Blue Period] #16
Blue Period T16
高２で絵を描くことの楽しさに目覚め。猛烈な努力の末に東京藝大に合格した矢口八虎。
藝大２年目の夏に描き上げ、初めて学外のコンクールに出品した作品が入賞し、美術館に展示されることになった八虎は、大学での「講評」以外の評価、アートの他人への影響力に驚く。
自分の作品を見た、会ったこともない「他人」への影響力に混乱する八虎は、その困惑の理由が、アートの持つ力、深さであることに気づく。高２で出会った絵が自分の人生を変え、自分もまた誰かの人生を変えうるのだと。アーティスト「作家」への道が自分にも開かれていたのだ。
漠然とした夢が具体的な目標に変わり、大人へのステップが始まる。
新しい出会い、新しい課題、美術との関わり方、八虎の人生も新しい局面へ。
アートの歴史や可能性を詳細に活写、美大に進学した青年たちの情熱や奮闘を描く、
今までになかった美術系青春漫画、早くも最新刊登場！！
藝大２年目の夏に描き上げ、初めて学外のコンクールに出品した作品が入賞し、美術館に展示されることになった八虎は、大学での「講評」以外の評価、アートの他人への影響力に驚く。
自分の作品を見た、会ったこともない「他人」への影響力に混乱する八虎は、その困惑の理由が、アートの持つ力、深さであることに気づく。高２で出会った絵が自分の人生を変え、自分もまた誰かの人生を変えうるのだと。アーティスト「作家」への道が自分にも開かれていたのだ。
漠然とした夢が具体的な目標に変わり、大人へのステップが始まる。
新しい出会い、新しい課題、美術との関わり方、八虎の人生も新しい局面へ。
アートの歴史や可能性を詳細に活写、美大に進学した青年たちの情熱や奮闘を描く、
今までになかった美術系青春漫画、早くも最新刊登場！！
192 pages
First published November 21, 2024
20 people are currently reading
257 people want to read
About the author
Tsubasa Yamaguchi
32 books430 followersTsubasa Yamaguchi (山口つばさ, Yamaguchi Tsubasa) is a Japanese mangaka.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
January 1, 2025
It is always so awesome to read Blue Period when one is struggling with your own art, gives you a sense of relief.
November 25, 2025
Maybe I just have a hard time with summer vacation arcs? I found Hirayasumi’s a little disappointing and have been struggling with Blue Period as well, which just wrapped up something similar.
Whatever the reason, Blue Period roars back to life this volume, offering a fascinating study in Yatora’s first second-year assignment. Partly because of the content, I think, and how I came to engage with it, which is something I don’t often get to reflect on.
First, we have the art competition that Yatora got a prize in, which lets him reunite with his high school buds and take stock of where they all are in wlife. It is the first seed of what will become something truly interesting.
Yatora is struggling with his future because he’s not even sure he wants to be a pro artist, and, if he does, the likely return on his investment is minimal and his parents are helping pay for this privilege. Sure, he won prize money, but that’s already down to the fumes.
His second assignment ends up being a collaboration with another artist. Admittedly, when Ryuji made their reappearance early in the book I was so, so sure it would be the two of them winding up together.
Ryuji and their gender identity and messy life are always so interesting, so even when it pivots away from what I expected, having them feature prominently in this story was very welcome.
Between this assignment and his dwindling finances and Ryuji’s own place of employment, Yatora finds himself working in a host club. This would seem incredibly diverting from what the central premise is, but it works because it shows what Yatora will do and endure to make art (that tequila scene? Don’t try that at home, kids!).
And being in this community is part of Yatora’s plan to get inspiration for his project as well. He’s fretting over not having a style or signature aspect to his work and, you know, that really checks out if you look back over the series.
The thing is, this makes perfect sense in a way. Because his art is literally sourced from proper artists, Yatora himself is basically an artistic proxy, sourced from different parts, so he’s an artist’s mouthpiece filled with the art of others.
Even if he did do nothing but, say, still life portraits of fruit, he’s doing that because of what has been commissioned by the mangaka. Rather than find this soulless, I find it fascinating. It’s a philosophical puzzle that has no real answer.
Now, the answer in-story is that having a signature isn’t strictly necessary, but on a meta level it’s fundamentally impossible because you have somebody drawing for somebody that somebody else is drawing. Trying to pin an artistic style on somebody who is a gestalt creation is enough to drive you mad, in a good way.
This makes me happy, as the nature of art is entirely dependent on your viewpoint and this gave me so much to chew on that I rarely expect from the series. It made art in and of itself, beyond the usual, and I was savouring the whole thing.
Oh, the actual art project is really good too. It makes sense and I loved the way it took so much of what Yatora had both learned and experienced. There’s a thought behind it that felt like Yatora’s ability and process maturing that I appreciated.
I mean, even without my brief descent into the series’ philosophies as expressed and filtered through its inner workings? It’s a fabulous return to form. Ryuji is great, Yatora is actually reacting to his world in ways that make sense. It cut back on the supporting cast and focused on new ones and they almost all made an impression.
Plus, it made me have a fantastic digression on the nature of artistic expression in my own head, completely unintended by the author, and that’s something I’ve never seen before.
5 stars - it’s hard not to give this anything less after I had such a great time parsing the questions the series inadvertently posited, so I won’t. And, as noted, it works superbly even without that aspect.
Whatever the reason, Blue Period roars back to life this volume, offering a fascinating study in Yatora’s first second-year assignment. Partly because of the content, I think, and how I came to engage with it, which is something I don’t often get to reflect on.
First, we have the art competition that Yatora got a prize in, which lets him reunite with his high school buds and take stock of where they all are in wlife. It is the first seed of what will become something truly interesting.
Yatora is struggling with his future because he’s not even sure he wants to be a pro artist, and, if he does, the likely return on his investment is minimal and his parents are helping pay for this privilege. Sure, he won prize money, but that’s already down to the fumes.
His second assignment ends up being a collaboration with another artist. Admittedly, when Ryuji made their reappearance early in the book I was so, so sure it would be the two of them winding up together.
Ryuji and their gender identity and messy life are always so interesting, so even when it pivots away from what I expected, having them feature prominently in this story was very welcome.
Between this assignment and his dwindling finances and Ryuji’s own place of employment, Yatora finds himself working in a host club. This would seem incredibly diverting from what the central premise is, but it works because it shows what Yatora will do and endure to make art (that tequila scene? Don’t try that at home, kids!).
And being in this community is part of Yatora’s plan to get inspiration for his project as well. He’s fretting over not having a style or signature aspect to his work and, you know, that really checks out if you look back over the series.
The thing is, this makes perfect sense in a way. Because his art is literally sourced from proper artists, Yatora himself is basically an artistic proxy, sourced from different parts, so he’s an artist’s mouthpiece filled with the art of others.
Even if he did do nothing but, say, still life portraits of fruit, he’s doing that because of what has been commissioned by the mangaka. Rather than find this soulless, I find it fascinating. It’s a philosophical puzzle that has no real answer.
Now, the answer in-story is that having a signature isn’t strictly necessary, but on a meta level it’s fundamentally impossible because you have somebody drawing for somebody that somebody else is drawing. Trying to pin an artistic style on somebody who is a gestalt creation is enough to drive you mad, in a good way.
This makes me happy, as the nature of art is entirely dependent on your viewpoint and this gave me so much to chew on that I rarely expect from the series. It made art in and of itself, beyond the usual, and I was savouring the whole thing.
Oh, the actual art project is really good too. It makes sense and I loved the way it took so much of what Yatora had both learned and experienced. There’s a thought behind it that felt like Yatora’s ability and process maturing that I appreciated.
I mean, even without my brief descent into the series’ philosophies as expressed and filtered through its inner workings? It’s a fabulous return to form. Ryuji is great, Yatora is actually reacting to his world in ways that make sense. It cut back on the supporting cast and focused on new ones and they almost all made an impression.
Plus, it made me have a fantastic digression on the nature of artistic expression in my own head, completely unintended by the author, and that’s something I’ve never seen before.
5 stars - it’s hard not to give this anything less after I had such a great time parsing the questions the series inadvertently posited, so I won’t. And, as noted, it works superbly even without that aspect.
February 5, 2026
I like this volume for how straightforward it is, and it made me think of how artists, aside from making different kinds of arts, they also live different kinds of lives. Yatora worked on Kabukicho for this assignment and everything's just so... how do I say this? That there's really a lot to learn. And I'm also glad that we get to see Yuka again!
December 31, 2025
I’ve missed Ryuji so much~
June 20, 2025
chaque tome je me dis "non mais j'aime moins" et chaque tome on transcende la plotline de l'artiste pour parler des gens et de la vie, pour faire de la philosophie, et j'adore
October 3, 2025
4.5⭐️
Edición panini México
Esta historia me gusta mucho, pues ver el desarrollo de Yatora es muy satisfactorio, porque es tan humano como uno, tiene sus caídas, sus momentos de desespero, de duda sobre si está siguiendo su camino correcto., lo triste es que tardan mucho en salir los tomos.
Yatora entra al segundo semestre del segundo año y tiene que pensar en su nueva actividad, por lo que comienza a trabajar en un club lo cual le da la idea de realizar su tarea, pero parece que él aún no confía en sus aptitudes
Edición panini México
Esta historia me gusta mucho, pues ver el desarrollo de Yatora es muy satisfactorio, porque es tan humano como uno, tiene sus caídas, sus momentos de desespero, de duda sobre si está siguiendo su camino correcto., lo triste es que tardan mucho en salir los tomos.
Yatora entra al segundo semestre del segundo año y tiene que pensar en su nueva actividad, por lo que comienza a trabajar en un club lo cual le da la idea de realizar su tarea, pero parece que él aún no confía en sus aptitudes
July 28, 2025
Cosa c'è da dire su un'opera così ben riuscita, così densa, profonda e ben disegnata? Ogni volume ragiona ed elabora differenti punti di vista del fare artistico, della sua ricerca e della sua incorporazione (che si può leggere anche in-corpor-azione) nella nostra vita. Il percorso di Yatora non è un percorso fatto per diventare Qualcuno, che sia famoso o ricco questo "Qualcuno" ancora non è chiarissimo, ma in suo vero Sé, la versione più genuina del suo Essere. In questo volume, vi è un compito molto interessante che gli viene affidato da quello che sembra il più tranquillo dei suoi docenti dell'università d'arte (il nostro corrispettivo d'accademia, se vogliamo). Ciò lo porterà ad intraprendere una breve avvenuta molto, molto interessante. Questo, come tutti gli altri volumi, è altamente consigliato.
July 23, 2025
chillo cada vez que sale una obra en este manga.
gran tomo🌱
gran tomo🌱
March 31, 2025
Cuando salga el vol. 17, le daré las 5 estrellas. ¿Por qué? Simplemente todo lo que se ha construido, lo que se ha esperado, ha llegado a un momento agridulce, muy agridulce, de lo que aspiramos a ser, de lo que queremos ser y por quién lo hemos hecho.
Ahora, si mezclamos eso con la historia de Sanada y Takumo... carajo, me lástimas Blue Period, me tienes con las lágrimas a punto de caer.
Supongo que esto pasa porque en estos momentos, para el momento que escribo esto, me siento como Yaguchi.
Mas que nunca.
Ahora, si mezclamos eso con la historia de Sanada y Takumo... carajo, me lástimas Blue Period, me tienes con las lágrimas a punto de caer.
Supongo que esto pasa porque en estos momentos, para el momento que escribo esto, me siento como Yaguchi.
Mas que nunca.
January 26, 2025
I will just say that volume revived my opinion on this manga. So good! 4.5/5
June 1, 2025
Décidément plus les tomes passent, plus la série me laisse perplexe. Je vois bien que l’autrice essaie de se montrer didactique et de faire partager la passion qui anime ses héros mais je trouve son scénario tellement brouillon et ses choix maladroits…
Il faut dire que j’ai beaucoup de mal avec son héros, Yatora, chez qui la passion est difficilement communicable avec nous. Etant sans cesse en train d’étudier et réfléchir sur tout, il ressent peu et nous avec, contrairement à ses condisciples que je trouve bien plus intéressants mais qu’on voit moins…
Pour tenter de le faire grandir, l’autrice lui lance défi sur défi qu’il relève, mais comme il le dit, sans dégager de ligne claire dans ses choix artistiques, du coup, c’est fade. Ici, son nouveau projet est une expo à deux à présenter à un prof et ses choix de co-artistes sont tellement consensuels que je n’ai pu m’empêcher de lever les yeux au ciel. Pour moi l’autrice donne l’impression qu’elle croit avoir un public qui manque de culture et elle prend des figures déjà archi connues de l’art (Bacon et Warhol), ce que je trouve décevant. Surtout que comme d’habitude, elle est bien trop didactique, ce qui ne me parle pas du tout et me rend cela terriblement chiant à lire. Bref, je m’ennuie.
Il faut dire que suivre Yatora plonger dans le monde de la nuit japonais, franchement, je m’en serais bien passé. Entre le fait que je n’ai aucune attirance pour cet univers, le fait qu’il n’a rien à y faire, que le regard posé est archi vu et revu, et que le lien avec l’art est tellement ténu, il n’y a pas grand-chose à sauver. Le seul aspect positif ici, c’est qu’il retrouve un personnage avec qui il avait une interaction que j’adorais autrefois. Et peut-être un peu que Yatora continue de se chercher en réalisant qu’il est un artiste opportuniste dans touche ou sujet bien a lui.
Alors que dire de mon rapport à la série ? Il est compliqué. Je reconnais les bonnes intentions de l’autrice de nous montrer ce héros qui se cherche sans cesse, d’essayer de nous cultiver ou encore d’avoir des réflexions pertinentes sur la difficulté à vivre de son art sous bien des aspects. Mais la forme ne prend pas. Il y a trop peu d’avancées du héros et je n’aime pas ses choix d’artistes à nous présenter. Ils sont trop faciles. J’aimerais apprendre des choses.
Article complet : https://lesblablasdetachan.wordpress....
Il faut dire que j’ai beaucoup de mal avec son héros, Yatora, chez qui la passion est difficilement communicable avec nous. Etant sans cesse en train d’étudier et réfléchir sur tout, il ressent peu et nous avec, contrairement à ses condisciples que je trouve bien plus intéressants mais qu’on voit moins…
Pour tenter de le faire grandir, l’autrice lui lance défi sur défi qu’il relève, mais comme il le dit, sans dégager de ligne claire dans ses choix artistiques, du coup, c’est fade. Ici, son nouveau projet est une expo à deux à présenter à un prof et ses choix de co-artistes sont tellement consensuels que je n’ai pu m’empêcher de lever les yeux au ciel. Pour moi l’autrice donne l’impression qu’elle croit avoir un public qui manque de culture et elle prend des figures déjà archi connues de l’art (Bacon et Warhol), ce que je trouve décevant. Surtout que comme d’habitude, elle est bien trop didactique, ce qui ne me parle pas du tout et me rend cela terriblement chiant à lire. Bref, je m’ennuie.
Il faut dire que suivre Yatora plonger dans le monde de la nuit japonais, franchement, je m’en serais bien passé. Entre le fait que je n’ai aucune attirance pour cet univers, le fait qu’il n’a rien à y faire, que le regard posé est archi vu et revu, et que le lien avec l’art est tellement ténu, il n’y a pas grand-chose à sauver. Le seul aspect positif ici, c’est qu’il retrouve un personnage avec qui il avait une interaction que j’adorais autrefois. Et peut-être un peu que Yatora continue de se chercher en réalisant qu’il est un artiste opportuniste dans touche ou sujet bien a lui.
Alors que dire de mon rapport à la série ? Il est compliqué. Je reconnais les bonnes intentions de l’autrice de nous montrer ce héros qui se cherche sans cesse, d’essayer de nous cultiver ou encore d’avoir des réflexions pertinentes sur la difficulté à vivre de son art sous bien des aspects. Mais la forme ne prend pas. Il y a trop peu d’avancées du héros et je n’aime pas ses choix d’artistes à nous présenter. Ils sont trop faciles. J’aimerais apprendre des choses.
Article complet : https://lesblablasdetachan.wordpress....
February 6, 2026
5/5 🌟
Volume 16 might just be THE volume. This was one of my favourites if not the favourite itself. As someone who began reading this at Yatora’s age and funnily enough has aged with the character, as an artist and a now 19 year old, it’s relatable and informative, it really hits you deeply. Essentially, it begins as most of these volumes do, Yatora at TUA, in this case he was returning after his summer break to begin their first assignment of the semester. The students are given a choice between 2 professors and 2 assignments, one professor’s assignment basically being a still life while the other was a collaborative assignment with more freedom, a less clear objective in a way, Yatora chose the latter. This “two-person show” assignment sends Yatora on a bit of a ‘side quest’ where amongst his confusion of deciding his collaboration, he runs into Ryuji, catching up with each other and getting referred for a job.. as a host. With this new job and environment Tora does questionable things for money throughout this volume, associating himself with new characters who aren’t necessarily ideal people but.. in his defence, $2000 is $2000.
Volume 16 might just be THE volume. This was one of my favourites if not the favourite itself. As someone who began reading this at Yatora’s age and funnily enough has aged with the character, as an artist and a now 19 year old, it’s relatable and informative, it really hits you deeply. Essentially, it begins as most of these volumes do, Yatora at TUA, in this case he was returning after his summer break to begin their first assignment of the semester. The students are given a choice between 2 professors and 2 assignments, one professor’s assignment basically being a still life while the other was a collaborative assignment with more freedom, a less clear objective in a way, Yatora chose the latter. This “two-person show” assignment sends Yatora on a bit of a ‘side quest’ where amongst his confusion of deciding his collaboration, he runs into Ryuji, catching up with each other and getting referred for a job.. as a host. With this new job and environment Tora does questionable things for money throughout this volume, associating himself with new characters who aren’t necessarily ideal people but.. in his defence, $2000 is $2000.
June 27, 2025
Blue period me estaba encantando y entonces... comenzamos la universidad. Pensé que me encantaría leer sobre esta etapa, pero fue todo lo contrario. En general, me ha resultado muy aburrido. No hay personajes nuevos que me gusten tanto como los primeros y sólo cuando estos hacen apariciones es que vuelvo a conectar con la historia. Yatora, por mala suerte, no es suficiente para sostener todo su manga.
Las cuestiones sobre el arte me resultan repetitivas y a veces demasiado confusas. En varias ocasiones las ideas se entremezclan tanto que me es difícil seguirlas y termino no entiendo nada.
En este tomo, por ejemplo, Yatora decide que será un artista... pero, pero, pero ¿eso no lo había decidido ya? ¿Por qué matarse dando un examen y entrando a una facultad de arte si no quieres ser un artista? Tuve la misma reacción que su madre: ¿eso no lo habías decidido ya?
Este tomo me resultó un poco más entretenido, pero tampoco me encantó. Hace tiempo que Blue period va cuesta abajo para mí.
Las cuestiones sobre el arte me resultan repetitivas y a veces demasiado confusas. En varias ocasiones las ideas se entremezclan tanto que me es difícil seguirlas y termino no entiendo nada.
En este tomo, por ejemplo, Yatora decide que será un artista... pero, pero, pero ¿eso no lo había decidido ya? ¿Por qué matarse dando un examen y entrando a una facultad de arte si no quieres ser un artista? Tuve la misma reacción que su madre: ¿eso no lo habías decidido ya?
Este tomo me resultó un poco más entretenido, pero tampoco me encantó. Hace tiempo que Blue period va cuesta abajo para mí.
August 6, 2025
Me encanta esta parte de la historia de Blue Period donde baja a lo terrenal, donde suceden las cosas, en la calle misma, y justamente al traer un personaje como Yuka le da mayor fuerza a todo este discurso que quiere transmitir Yatora. Sinceramente, Yuka es mi personaje favorito del manga, su historia, como debe sobrevivir en todo es mundo artístico, las reflexiones que les da a Yatora con tal de sobrevivir. Además, toda la reflexión artística sobre el mensaje artístico que desea presentar en su exposición de la universidad es muy buena.
November 19, 2025
Making us wait for over a year to get the next volume was absolute murder. Even so after all that time my how easy it was to be sucked right back into the story. Watching Yatora continue to struggle with his identity as an artist is near and dear to myself and my own struggles. I like how Yatora gets epiphanies in the most unlikely places because much of the art we all enjoy comes from those dark places and we never truly know the meaning behind the strangeness and beauty of a piece without experiencing some of the lifestyle of the artist. My own experiences speak of such as well.
July 7, 2025
Uffff, este manga es magnífico. La forma en la que se mete en berenjenales éticos y morales para ir abriendo debates que permite que fluyan o cierra cuando ha dejado clara su postura es muy delicada. La única pega que le saco es que, al estar referenciando constantemente artistas muy famosos, a veces peca de falta de diversidad en ellos.
December 27, 2024
sin duda este es mi tomo favorito hasta ahora ♡
January 3, 2025
loved this recent volume and yatora's arc in the host club.. as always he never fails to move me.. my precious boy 🥹
Read
March 15, 2025Yakumo breaks my heart :(
June 7, 2025
porfin un número que se parece a lo que empezó siendo esta serie 🥲
June 8, 2025
Uffff, Siempre perfecto
October 4, 2025
È incredibile come in ogni momento di svolta o scelta della mia vita esca un nuovo volume di Blue period, da anni a questa parte. Ormai è di supporto emotivo.
November 2, 2025
uno de los mejores de este manga
November 25, 2025
[Blue Period, Volume 16 - Tsubasa Yamaguchi → ☆☆☆☆]
December 4, 2025
Yo I got scared for a sec- thought he was becoming a hoe 😅
Read
December 11, 2025I always forget just how amazing this manga is during the wait time in between its volume releases. It hits my artsy soul in every way. 💛🧡❤️🩷💜💙🩵💚
January 1, 2026
Reading and finishing this the day I submit a fellowship application hits super different
January 17, 2026
You can really see Yatora maturing more with his work in these last two arcs, really exciting things here
January 18, 2026
“Quando sei tu a seguire gli altri vuol dire che hai già perso.”
“Ho solo scelto di vivere nell’inferno che andasse bene a me.”
“Ho solo scelto di vivere nell’inferno che andasse bene a me.”
January 26, 2026
A great look into what makes an artists and collaboration vs competition. Good resolution and as always very in depth analysis.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews