Blue Period

Alternate Title

ブルーピリオド

Synopsis

Yatora Yaguchi is a popular second-year high school student with excellent grades and a good sense of humor who has become bored of his life and feels empty. One day, he comes across a painting in the art room at his school and is completely captivated by it. So much so that he decides to pursue art as a career and begins studying to attend Tokyo University of the Arts. But with an entrance rate of only 1 in 200, and with only 650 days to go until the exam, Yatora has his work cut out for him if he wants to make his newfound dream come true!

Background

Blue Period is a manga series written and illustrated by Tsubasa Yamaguchi that began serialization in Kodansha’s Monthly Afternoon manga magazine in July 2017. The manga has been published under their Afternoon KC imprint, and 11 collected tankobon volumes have been published as of September 2021. The series is also licenced for English release in North America by Kodansha USA, and the fifth volume will be released in November 2021.

A TV anime adaptation was announced in January 2021. The series is being animated by Seven Arcs and features Koji Masunari as chief director and Katsuya Asano as director. Other staff members include Reiko Yoshida, who is handling series composition and scripts, Tomoyuki Shitaya, who is handling character designs, and Ippei Inoue, who is composing the music. The anime’s opening theme song is "EVERBLUE" by Omoinotake, and the ending theme song is "Replica" by Mol-74. The anime will premiere in Japan on Sep. 25, 2021 on Netflix ahead of his TV broadcast, which will premiere on Oct. 1 as part of the Super Animeism programming block on MBS and TBS stations. The anime will begin streaming outside of Japan on Oct. 9.

Characters

Yatora Yaguchi (Voiced by: Hiromu Mineta)
A second-year high school student. He is a smooth operator who is able to hang out with his rowdy friends while still maintaining excellent grades. Though a normie in the upper hierarchy of the school, he feels empty. He becomes fascinated by art and aims to major in oil painting at Tokyo University of the Arts, one of the most difficult universities in Japan to get into.

Ryuji Ayukawa (Voiced by: Yumiri Hanamori)
A member of the art club who is classmates with Yatora and gets along well with him. She is a popular girl in class who has a unique sense of style. She is nicknamed Yuka-chan by those around her. She wants to major in Japanese painting at Tokyo University of the Arts. She invites Yatora to join the art club.

Yotasuke Takahashi (Voiced by: Daiki Yamashita)
A genius whom Yatora meets at an art prep school. Although he is the same age as Yatora, he has outstanding artistic talent and skills, though he isn’t good at communicating and doesn't talk much. Like Yatora, he plans to major in oil painting at Tokyo University of the Arts. He has a lot of shirts that look the same.

Haruka Hashida (Voiced by: Kengo Kawanishi)
A high school classmate of Yotasuke’s who knows Yatora from an art prep school. Due to his hobby of viewing other people’s works, he visits art museums all over and has accumulated a wide range of knowledge. He has a Kansai dialect and is very friendly, even to Yatora who is uncomfortable around him.

Maki Kuwana (Voiced by: Yume Miyamoto)
A girl who is highly regarded at the art prep school that Yatora attends. Both of her parents graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts. She feels pressured due to the fact that her older sister was accepted into Tokyo University of the Arts. However, she doesn’t show it and acts cheerfully.

Maru Mori (Voiced by: Mayu Aoyagi)
A third-year high school student and the president of the art club. Though small in stature and unathletic, she has a passion for art and aspires to get into Tokyo University of the Arts’ painting school. She paints on huge canvases, which later inspires Yatora to take up the arts.

Masako Saeki (Voiced by: Fumi Hirano)
The art instructor and advisor to the art club at the high school that Yatora and his friends attend. He is always smiling and has a soft demeanor, but he also gives keen advice to the club members based on his experience and knowledge.

Sumida (Voiced by: Masaya Fukunishi)
One of Yatora’s rowdy friends. He has short hair and no eyebrows, which makes him look scary, but he is also a reliable guy who is thinking about marrying his girlfriend. His parents run a tofu shop, and he decided to take over the family business after graduating from high school. Among the club members, he is the most easily moved to tears.

Koigakubo (Voiced by: Shin'ichiro Kamio)
One of Yatora’s rowdy friends. He has slicked-back hair and no eyebrows, and is often feared by those around him. However, he is sensitive enough to notice changes in Yatora. Although he doesn’t tell anyone about it, he actually has an unexpected dream. His nickname is Koi-chan.

Utashima (Voiced by: Tatsumaru Tachibana)
One of Yatora’s rowdy friends. He is the type who doesn’t think too far ahead and lives happily in the moment. He is lighthearted and is fairly popular due to playing guitar in a band. He is the mood-maker among his friends. He wears glasses for show.

Umino (Voiced by: Miku Hiratsuka)
A second-year high school student and a member of the art club along with Yuka and Mori. She likes to draw bishoujo characters. She knows a ton of interesting manga.

Shirai (Voiced by: Ikumi Hasegawa)
A second-year high school student and a member of the art club along with Yuka and Mori. She likes boy’s love manga and even creates doujinshi for Comiket.

Shirota (Voiced by: Yuna Nemoto)
A first-year high school student and a member of the art club along with Yuka and Mori. She has long, fluffy hair. She likes Western-style clothes and even makes unique outfits for the art club’s annual summer vacation project.

Yamamoto (Voiced by: Aoi Koga)
A third-year high school student and a member of the art club along with Yuka and Mori. She is close with her underclassman and creates doujinshi with Shirai and the others.

Mayu Oba (Voiced by: Yuki Kazu)
An instructor at the art prep school that Yatora and the others attend. She stands out due to her large stature and loud voice. She instructs the students, all of whom are peculiar, including Yatora who is new to the art world, using a mix of encouragement and critique. She is also a strong mother who is raising three sons.

Sae Okada (Voiced by: Emiri Suyama)
A classmate of Yatora at the art prep school. Her characteristic feature is her bob hairstyle. She hopes to attend Joshibi University of Art and Design. She likes bones and gets excited whenever she sees a specimen of an animal skeleton in front of her.

Takuro Ishii (Voiced by: Taishi Murata)
A classmate of Yatora at the art prep school. He gets stressed out during tests, which his teacher Mayu is concerned about. He is applying to several art schools, in addition to Tokyo University of the Arts.

Hanako Sakuraba (Voiced by: Saori Onishi)
A classmate of Yatora at the art prep school. She has been applying to universities for two years and wants to get into Tokyo University of the Arts. She wears a school uniform so she doesn’t have to worry about it getting dirty.

Music

• Opening Theme Song: "EVERBLUE" by Omoinotake
• Ending Theme Song: "Replica" by Mol-74

• Anime Site (Japanese)
• Twitter (Japanese)

• Original Creator: Tsubasa Yamaguchi
• Chief Director: Koji Masunari
• Director: Katsuya Asano
• Series Composition/Script: Reiko Yoshida
• Character Design: Tomoyuki Shitaya
• Art Director: Ken Nakamura, Yuji Kaneko
• Art Setting: Mamio Ogawa, Mika Nakajima
• Color Design: Ritsuko Utagawa
• 3DCG Director: Arimasa Omi
• Director of Photography: Yasushi Hattori
• Editing: Kazuhiko Seki
• Sound Director: Hiromi Kikuta
• Sound Effects: Kenji Koyama
• Special Effects: Naomasa Fukuda
• Music Producer: Kohei Sakai
• Music: Ippei Inoue
• Music Production: DMM Music
• Animation Production: Seven Arcs