When we last left Yatora he was experiencing a bit of a slump… into the wall of the stairwell leading to his second TUA admission exam. Will he even make it to the starting gate, let alone have the chance to stumble out of it?
Blue Period is the celebration of art that I never knew I needed and it makes me want to learn to draw almost every single time I read it (I won’t, too much manga to read, but I do enjoy the momentary inspiration).
Even this volume, where it seems like Yatora’s aspirations are as likely to land him in hospital as they are TUA. The way he gets an assist from some friends and teachers and struggles to survive the exam is a neat encapsulation of all he’s both achieved and is trying to achieve thus far.
Make no mistake, this book itself is also art and it has two especially excellent moments worth noting - one where Ooba gives somebody a much needed hug and another that shows the bonds of friendship between Yatora and his high school buds.
That latter one in particular is just a couple of panels and no words and yet it’s incredibly moving. I love how they took a bunch of dudes who’d just be bro-ing out in a lesser story and turned them into something so much more interesting.
A lot of this volume focuses, appropriately, on Yatora’s second test and I don’t want to give too much of it away because I felt the reveal was excellent and tackles a subject that manga in general has little issue with, but in a much more interesting and mature setting than the norm.
If I had one complaint, it’s that this does feel a little Chekhov’s gun with the events of the last volume, but the approach Yatora takes is riveting and it’s interesting to see how underneath his facade we get here, although it makes perfect sense.
If I had a second complaint, it would probably be that some of the technical parts do go a bit long, although that is the rare slip as most of what we get is fascinating stuff. Watching people paint is often as fascinating to me as watching it dry, but I really enjoy it here.
This process sprawls all over the book, but it doesn’t feel at all snobby or pretentious (okay, minus one character who we know is up their own butt), just a story of one person trying to express himself and wanting to see how far that desire will take him. It’s very welcoming in a way the art world doesn’t necessarily feel at times and that’s pretty critical to its success.
Part of me does wish this turned out a different way rather than what we got, but it’s no less of a story for it. Especially with the promise of a return for a character we haven’t seen in a while at the end, who gets a pretty meaningful cameo ahead of that.
5 stars - this series is so good and it makes me appreciate art a lot more than I did beforehand, which is a rather impressive feat in and of itself and therefore worthy of my praise. That everything else is likewise a delight is just icing on the cake.
The intensity levels up as we follow Yatora's struggles for the second of the exam. It is pretty much only focused on him, and I loved that. It tackles the intensity of exam season for students and how bad it is for their mental health, and some parts made me pity Yatora so much. But what I love the most about him is that he always manages to rise up by taking on a new perspective on his problems. He has the support he needs to help him get stronger, and that's just so interesting to read about.
I especially love his thought process while coming up with his art. All of his struggles truly pay off once he gets his realisation about what his drawing should look like and he ends up doing yet another masterpiece. Seeing the look of admiration on his friends faces is always so worth it. I love how supportive they are of each other !
I can't wait know the results of the exam, and how the plot will evolve from it.
The exam arc is over and I can't wait to see where the story goes from here. I personally enjoy the incorporation of famous art works and tips/methods for creating different types of art. I am learning so much while enjoying an all-around great story. This is where season 1 of the anime ends, so from hereon out everything is a mystery to me - I can't wait!
It’s here at last – the final exam for the oil painting course at TUA. It is somewhat bittersweet to get to this point, but as a capstone for the anime and also the first major arc in Blue Period, Volume 6 is a dense but thoughtful instalment. There are numerous callbacks to earlier narrative beats that Yamaguchi’s been building up to, and she makes sure to tie them neatly into the climactic chapters.
We get a lot of outcomes here for characters that we come to love. Since I don’t want to spoil what happens, I will say that I loved Yatora’s artistic process as he goes through the second exam. Over the series, we’ve seen him struggle with perspective, composition, medium, and colour, so it’s really rewarding to see him pull together all he has learned and apply it to the challenge. Likewise, when the results come out there are a lot of feelings to be processed, and the graduation ceremony is framed as ultimately triumphant even if for some it is not what they had hoped for.
One of the things that stuck with me across read-throughs is that Yamaguchi refuses to conflate failure of admission with failure as an artist. For many young people, failing an exam or not getting admitted to university can feel wildly destabilizing. In Blue period however, there’s a realistic portrayal of the many ways people can keep art in their life, or pursue their passions elsewhere rather than make it a calling. Some people won’t go to university and instead enter the workforce. Others will work part-time and reattempt the exams. Ooba, the gregarious art teacher who guided Yaguchi and his compatriots through the exams, is sanguine about success. To paraphrase her teaching method, success is never based on what others tell you, nor about whether you get into a school or major exhibition. It is solely defined by what you choose for yourself. Most artists would be lucky to listen to her words.
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-For people who watched the anime, it is really such a pleasant tidbit to get what happens after the exams. We find out what his drinking buddies are going to do after graduation, the art club students are graduating and heading to various universities.
-Those sketchbook panels that Yatora made for the exam were really lovely. The different brush style and also the marquette like composition was tonally different from the standard manga style but its work-in-progress quality was very engaging.
Los momentos más tensos de la historia han llegado: exámenes, exámenes, exámenes. . A pesar de que hay nervios a flor de piel, la falta de confianza en uno mismo es total, y el reloj tiene las agujas aceleradas; es el momento donde el proceso creativo está en su esplendor y el desarrollo del protagonista, Yaguchi, es más notorio. . Parece fácil pensar en dar un examen donde hay que plasmar conocimientos técnicos y habilidades plásticas; pero si a eso le sumamos la subjetividad a la hora de crear, la actividad plástica se convierte un proceso sumamente introspectivo, interior. Por más que vos entiendas lo que querés mostrar, tenés que dejárselo claro a los demás también... . Termina la primera parte de la historia... Y yo creo que no tengo muchos mangas más para avanzar con esta nueva etapa que debe estar llena de sorpresas... Tengo que ponerme las pilas en seguir coleccionando mangas 🫢
E anche questo capito l'ho concluso. Yatora è entrato alla Geidai, ma infondo avevo qualche dubbio che non entrasse? Assolutamente no. La sua bravura straborda da tutti i suoi pori. È un talento grezzo e la sua determinazione è strabiliante. Probabilmente è il ragazzo a cui porto la maggiore stima. Forse lo vedo un po' come il mio idolo, perché vorrei essere letteralmente come lui. Soprattutto mi piacerebbe avere due sue caratteristiche, ovvero non arrendersi alla prima difficoltà e portare sempre a termine le cose che si iniziano. Ci vuole tanto coraggio e forza di volontà e lui ne ha molta.
Ora non mi aspetta altro che iniziare il secondo capitolo della sua vita alla Geidai. Non vedo l'ora di avere il volume 7 nelle mie mani, poiché l'anime si ferma a questo volume qui, perciò sarà tutta roba nuova!🤩
"... se sono migliorato fino a questo punto, è proprio perché non riesco a credere in ne stesso."
"Vestirsi è l'atto meschino di nascondere la propria nudità."
"... io credo... nei miei quadri."
"Prima di dipingere, io ero sempre stato ." --> Grazie all'arte, Yatora ha conosciuto sé stesso.🩵
"Un'opera d'arte... è finita solo quando rinunci a migliorarla."
Aviso: esta reseña contiene spoilers sobre los anteriores tomos de este magnífico manga, todos reseñados anteriormente en el blog.
Un joven que sentía que le faltaba algo en su vida se topa con un cuadro que le hace introducirse en el mundo de la pintura. ¡En el desenlace del arco del examen de ingreso a la Geidai veremos si su ambición y sus esfuerzos obtienen recompensas! Como es habitual, el dibujo de este manga es magnífico, un dibujo lleno de detalle y que representa a la perfección los sentimientos ocultos de los personajes. Este increíble dibujo se acompaña de una composición artística magnífica, no sólo a nivel del maquetado de las viñetas, sino que dentro de las mismas hay ilustraciones que parecen cuadros. Nunca me cansaré de admirar el arte de Blue Period.
Si bien este manga destaca por su introspección, es posible que este tomo sea el más introspectivo de todos. Después de un primer problema, nos sumergimos en la mente de Yaguchi de cara al examen. En éste, nuestro protagonista comenzará a pensar en sí mismo, en quién es y en cómo quiere que el mundo le vea, en una corriente de pensamiento muy bien llevada que en ningún momento se vuelve cargante. Un monólogo interior que nos demuestra lo mucho que el arte a cambiado a Yaguchi y hace que le cojas aún más cariño al personaje.
En definitiva, este tomo es magnífico, pienso que es el que más me ha gustado de todos los que he leído. Blue Period es un manga excepcional que cualquier amante de la pintura o del manga debería leer, por su dibujo, sus personajes y su increíble historia. Con cada tomo, sólo me demuestra que es uno de los mejores mangas en publicación.
بلاخرهههه آرک کنکور تموم شد و میریم زندگی دانشجویی یاگوچی رو داشته باشیم :') قشنگ ترین چیز راجع به بلو پریود همزمانی اتفاقای مانگا با زندگی منه... من و یاتورا همزمان تغییر رشته دادیم، باهم واسه کنکور هنر تلاش میکردیم ( اون عملی من تئوری :/) و دوتایی دانشجو شدیم کنجکاوم ببینیم تا کجا باهم قراره ادامه بدیم :']
Jak zaczynałam czytać tą serię wydawała mi się strasznie pusta, ale potem gdy próbowałam myśleć jak ci artyści i próbowałam zrozumieć co czują zmieniło to dla mnie punkt widzenia. Jeśli ktoś nie spojrzy na nią w ten sposób jak ja, nie wydaje mi się żeby się komuś to spodobało na tyle, chociaż nie jestem od oceniania. Polecam 💋💋⭐
Yaguchi’s examination journey was such an exciting story to read, and it’s a joy to see the realistic and enthusiastic blossoming of a painter coming into their own.
The ending of this manga volumes is one of the most beautiful and heart warming full circle moments in a piece of media. A true reminder that no matter what caliber someone is on, all artists are inspired by another, and that that other could even be you.
Blue Period si porta ancora dietro il difetto della troppa verbosità, però mi continua ad appassionare da morire. A quanto pare è finita una “saga”, molto curioso di sapere che succederà all’università.
Nice! Exam arc completed. This is an interesting manga, a little confusing at times and a little weird too, but the characters are fun and the depth in which it talks about traditional art is unparalleled. Really gets me in the art making mood!
I love all the characters so much and it was so satisfying to reach the end of the exam prep/exam arc. Every line of this manga is so relatable as an art student and I continue to find solace in this manga. So good!