Blue Period (ブルーピリオド) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tsubasa Yamaguchi. The series has been serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine Monthly Afternoon since June 2017, with its chapters collected in 18 volumes as of November 2025. The series is licensed in English by Kodansha USA. An anime television series adaptation produced by Seven Arcs aired from October to December 2021. A live-action film adaptation premiered in Japanese theaters in August 2024.
By November 2021, the manga had over 4.5 million copies in circulation. In 2020, Blue Period was awarded the 44th Kodansha Manga Award in the General category and the Grand Prize of the 13th Manga Taishō award.
Premise
Yatora Yaguchi is a fairly popular student who excels in school, but secretly grapples with feelings of emptiness and frustration. After a night out with his friends, Yatora sees the morning scene of Shibuya in a shade of blue that awfully touches him. This feeling would inspire his first drawing for art class, which he normally viewed as a useless subject. However, later, when visiting his high school's art club and feeling passionate for something for the first time, Yatora decides to pursue art. He eventually aspires to attend the Tokyo University of the Arts (TUA) after he graduates from high school, the most prestigious public art university in Japan. The acceptance rate is extremely low, so to pass the entrance examination, Yatora must work very hard.