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The best thing about Blue Period is how raw and honest the emotions are throughout. It is a show filled with tender moments that are moving yet not overly dramatic, a sense of realism exists in the way that Blue Period explores its themes. The best moments so far have to be when Yatora’s friend correctly spots that his painting is of early-morning Shibuya, as well as when he spoke to his mother about going to art school. Yatora’s exploration of art enabled him to get closer to his mother and really see her for who she is. In drawing his mother, Yatora discovered the beauty that lies in artistic expression, and the raw honesty it takes and invokes. This scene is one that you can’t help but tear up at, and by the time we get to episode 3 and explore more of Yuka’s character, Blue Period has already established itself as an amazing story. Art is a conduit through which Yatora finally gets to express his true voice, his true feelings. By episode 2, Blue Period lets out the emotions by showing us Yatora’s conversation with his mother regarding his desire to go to Tokyo University of the arts.
The exploration of Yuka’s gender identity and sexual orientation has been quite interesting in this show, as her pairing with Yatora leans more into the trend of a toxic relationship forming between a protagonist and a character who is trans or gender non-conforming in some way. Episode one was misleading in a sense. While their spat was a real attempt to do damage on both ends, there’s a weird familiarity between them that’s unmistakable. We’ve mentioned that Yatora dead-names Yuka throughout the series.
For those who don’t know, “dead-naming” refers to the act of referring to an individual who is trans by their birth name. This is usually post-transition, where an individual will have chosen a name for themselves and no longer go by the one they were once given. It’s common among individuals who have known the person from before their transition (or their decision to change their name).
In episode 3, Yuka is seen flirting with a male senpai at their art cram school. She asks him to take her out on a date, to which he very shyly accepts, burning up a little at being propositioned by a beautiful girl. Yatora is in the Oil Painting course while Yuka is in the Traditional Painting course, so they’re separated for most of the episode and we see Yatora get to know some of his eccentric classmates.
After visiting a gallery, Yatora and his classmates Takahashi Yotatsuke and Hashida Haruka hit the park. There, Yatora notices Yuka having what seems like an upsetting conversation with the senpai we saw her ask on a date. Yatora finds her crying at a park bench, and she explains that he got uncomfortable after “finding out she’s a guy”. Yuka explains that she was always seen by girls as another girl, and wonders what is so wrong about being a man who wants to dress in pretty clothes, date, and fall in love with other men. The show uses visual cues to show us that Yuka is feeling trapped in this body, but more so trapped by the society that has decided that she’s weird. Throughout Yuka’s tearful venting, Yatora gains even greater insight into Yuka as a person; much like we have and by the end of it, he feels more understanding of the things he thinks make her weird. However, Yatora also comes to realise his personal failings, his prejudice of Yuka and judgment of her based on appearances, as a matter of being low-level not just as an artist, but as a person.
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