Review of Blue Period

Blue period was an interesting concept and a pretty engaging story, but I think it falters in some of its better aspects, making it fail to really be too noteworthy. It's by no means low quality, it just could have used a few changes to really fulfill its full potential. Starting with its story and premise, which I think is overall pretty solid. It focuses around Yatora, a delinquent student who finds out how to express himself through art and decides to make that his mission in life. The show follows his journey up until his entrance exam into Tokyo University of the Arts. This conceptwas fairly original to me, and it definitely enlightened me on some of the more technical aspects of art. While not groundbreaking, this concept was overall pretty intriguing which was one of the main factors towards me liking it. The story itself is also executed quite well, with good overall pacing and a nice progression of events. But honestly, other than some more specific character-related scenes which I'll cover shortly, I don't think it was amazing, just 'good.' Which is plenty enough for me to be satisfied, so no complaints here.

So characters, this show has them, and they're honestly a mixed bag. None of them are really bad or anything, but a good portion of them don't really contribute or do much in the story. They could be replaced with someone else or removed completely without changing much. There are obviously plenty of exceptions, but a good chunk of the main side characters really don't serve much of a purpose. Most of the cram school crew doesn't do much other than just be present, and are a prime example of this problem. And then the rest of the cast lacks any real depth except for Yatora, who has some fine development, and Ayukawa, who honestly was the most interesting part of the show. Their story was serious and interesting, and was one of the things that grabbed me the most. Ayukawa's plotline was honestly Blue Period at best, and were definitely one of my favorite characters. Yatora also has his own developments, mainly about him struggling to become the great artist he wants to be and finding himself as a person, which was also fine. Just not as good as Ayukawa's.

The sound and music was honestly kind of unremarkable. The OP was one of the better ones of the season, although I am a person who can always get down to some funky piano tunes. But the rest of the soundtrack was honestly pretty forgettable, either that or it just wasn't present and I just don't remember the silence. Listening to it now it doesn't sound bad or anything, but it didn't really pique my interest, so it was just pretty average.

The art was a mixed bag just like the characters. I liked some aspects of the style and thought that it looked pretty nice. It's just that it had some pretty weird faces and character designs that just looked a tad bit off. And then finally, the artworks themselves were really a mixed bag. I mean yeah art is subjective yada yada, but I am writing a review of the show, and my entire opinion on the whole show is subjective anyway, so who cares. Most of the pieces look pretty fine, some of them were fairly interesting looking, but quite a few looked a bit strange. Overall the art was fine but not really that amazing.

In conclusion I think this show really just comes to a pretty fine show. By no means bad or even really mediocre. It just wasn't really amazing, and had quite a few areas that could have done with a little upgrade.