After being enraptured by a senior classmate’s painting, the athletic riajuu Yatora Yaguchi decides to take an art class assignment seriously and later joins his school’s art club. As Yatora progresses as an artist, he struggles with capturing his creative vision, finding subjects, and seeking approval from his parents and art-minded peers. He eventually sets his sights on getting accepted into a prestigious art school. The story also follows the journeys of Yatora’s classmates at his high school and art prep cram school.
Blue Period features the area around Ueno Station including Ueno Zoo, Ueno Station Park Exit, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.
The school Yatora aims for, Geidai, or Tokyo University of the Arts, has graduates that include the likes of minimalist composer Sakamoto Ryuchi, composer Toshiro Mayuzumi, and painter Carl Randall. According to an article, two Blue Period manholes were installed on the grounds of Geidai in March 2022.
The paintings featured in the anime, which were all real photo-scanned canvases, were exhibited in real life in 2022 from June to August at a studio on the reclaimed Tennozu Isle in Tokyo Bay known as the Teradasoko G 1 Building.
