ブルーピリオド [Blue Period] Series by Tsubasa Yamaguchi

STILL LIFEYatora is the perfect high school student, with good grades and lots of friends. It's an effortless performance, and, ultimately... a dull one. But he wanders into the art room one day, and a lone painting captures his eye, awakening him to a kind of beauty he never knew. Compelled and consumed, he dives in headfirst--and he's about to learn how savage and unforgiving art can be...

Art has changed the course of Yatora’s once dull life, and now he’s aiming for Japan’s most competitive art school. With entrance exams a year away, he’ll need to expand his limited eye for art, and quickly. He turns to new peers and the masters to envision pieces only he can produce, and soon dives into his first competition–the same one where his Art Club role model nearly scored last place. Among geniuses and lifelong art kids, does Yatora even stand a chance…?

Relief is short-lived for Yatora after his first competition, where his piece was higher ranked than he expected, but far from his dream school’s standards. While he’s prepared to give Ooba-sensei’s challenges everything he’s got…what if all he’s got is still not enough? With 100 days until university exams, he must seize what’s beyond—beyond his singular drive, learned technique, and hard work—to produce an answer only he can.

PIECESYatora now has new materials in his tool box and a wider range of expression under his belt. But a week before the first exam, Ooba-sensei says he’s missing a crucial edge… With so much at stake, Yatora’s self-doubt brings him lower than ever before. Still, he has his fire, his resilience—and he might just get a lucky break, too.

SELF-PORTRAITYatora makes the best of a bad situation during TUA's first exam, and he must surpass these efforts for the second. But after all he’s gone through, Yatora is feeling a little out of sorts. To get back on track, he’ll have to step out of the studio and into new lighting… With the help of an old friend, Yatora bares his soul and some skin to take on his latest challenge: the nude self-portrait.

SECOND EXAMA surprising setback before the second exam shakes Yatora up, but after everything he’s been through, he must persevere. This time, the subject turns out to be something both new and familiar... But does an average guy like Yatora stand a chance against the geniuses and prodigies vying for a spot in the nation’s most competitive art school?

CITYSCAPEAfter a disappointing first assignment, Yatora is encouraged by Maki and is determined to move forward. His next assignment is a scenery of Tokyo. As he takes on new materials and methods, he also becomes exposed to new ways of seeing the city he thought he knew so well. Can Yatora finally evolve beyond the “exam art” that got him into art school…?

MOSAICSummer whizzes by like a typhoon, and Yatora has learned that large-scale pieces—in production and concept—only come together with elbow grease and teamwork. TUA opens its gates once more for the second term and Yatora’s back at it… But he hasn’t picked up a brush in months!

ART-MAKINGYatora prepares for the first-year show, where he'll have to pass an open review from intimidating professors and celebrity guest lecturers. To make matters worse, the self-directed nature of the assignment is more stifling than freeing, and he's no longer sure: Does he even like art? Why did he ever start? An all-nighter in Shibuya may hold the answer, but Yatora's not with his usual boys...

CHILD'S PLAYYatora's first year at TUA has left his soul and his bank account drained. To recover, he takes a part-time job at a community art class, working for none other than his former mentor, Saeki-sensei. However, teaching painting to young students is a creative challenge on its own!

SECOND TRYYatora’s back on campus for year two and suprises abound. He’s greeted by an old friend and then gets bombarded with new friends, instructors, and assignments! But one day, when Yatora encounters an artists’ commune, he begins to question if TUA is really the right place for him…

NO MARKSThanks to the influence of NO MARKs, Yatora is ready to return to TUA with a fresh perspective and renewed love for art--until a series of jarring events makes him question his recent choices. But as he considers what is right or wrong in his pursuit of art, he finds the inspiration to take a bold new approach to his assignment on "guilt."

Winner of the 2020 Manga Taisho Grand Prize! A manga about the struggles and rewards of a life dedicated to art. Popular guy Yatora realizes he's just going through the motions to make other people happy and finds himself in a new painting. But untethering yourself from all your past expectations is dangerous as well as thrilling... Now a hit anime!Yatora studies hard and gets good grades, and he parties hard, staying out late drinking and watching soccer with his friends... moreWinner of the 2020 Manga Taisho Grand Prize! A manga about the struggles and rewards of a life dedicated to art. Popular guy Yatora realizes he's just going through the motions to make other people happy and finds himself in a new painting. But untethering yourself from all your past expectations is dangerous as well as thrilling... Now a hit anime!Yatora studies hard and gets good grades, and he parties hard, staying out late drinking and watching soccer with his friends. He checks all the boxes he needs to be the perfect high school student. But it all starts to feel empty, and he begins to wonder what part of his life expresses who he is...or even if he has a unique voice at all. Then he wanders into the art room one day, and a lone painting captures his eye, awakening him to a kind of beauty he never knew. Compelled and consumed, he dives in headfirst--and he's about to learn how savage, unforgiving, and exhilirating creating art can be! less