Alli Predicts- Part Six: Blue Period

I've been sitting on this one for a while, since the season was still ongoing, but it just wrapped up and I can't wait any longer! It's time, let's talk about a masterpiece.

We are winding down our mini-series as we approach award season. Not counting today's post, we only have two more posts before nominees are officially announced on January 18th. It was at this stage that I wanted to switch over to group predictions, rather than spotlights like we've been doing, to cover more ground. I decided to push it off one more week though because I felt this one needed a spotlight. If you haven't seen it yet, let me proudly introduce you to who I believe is another candidate for Anime of the Year- Blue Period.

I know this probably feels anticlimactic since I have already stated in Part Three that I believe that Tokyo Revengers will be the one taking home the award [and I still stand by that], but trust me this isn't one to be brushed off. This is well deserving of a nomination and I will be sorely disappointed by the injustice of it all if it is not. This anime is solely listed as a coming of age story and it is a beautiful one at that. This is adapted from the original manga by the same name, that had it's genre listed as seinen, which I found to be an interesting but heartwarming choice that perfectly sets the tone for this review.

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We interrupt this program to bring you a short vocab lesson:

Seinen- a genre of manga that is specifically geared towards the "young men" demographic (men between the ages of 18-30). Not to be confused with Shonen, the genre geared towards the "teen male" demographic (boys between the ages of 12-17). The largest notable difference is usually found in the depth of the story. This genre is also often used to bridge a gap between the Shonen and Shojo (the demographic geared for teen girls and young women) genres. The most notable example of this latter use would be Banana Fish.

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The genre is so interesting because you hardly ever get coming of ages from the male perspective, couple that with it being geared towards ADULT men rather than their younger counter parts is an intriguing decision from the outside looking in, but once you watch it you'll understand the heartfelt intention behind such a move. Maybe I can even make you see a little of that with our story summary. Let's find out.

Yatora Yaguchi is 16 and understands too well how the world works. If you want to have even a remotely comfortable life, you've got to play the game. Be likeable to everyone, excel in school, get in with the cool crowd, make sure all your bases are covered so you can get into a decent college, to get a decent job- that's the plan and it doesn't leave much room for hobbies. But that's okay because "hobbies" and "passions" are delusional and a waste of time. That's what he thought at least, up until he saw a painting that simply took his breath away. Something about the quiet encounter shakes him, coupled with the voice of an art teacher who seems to see right through him, he finds himself picking up a paint brush under the guise of homework and instead finds he never wants to put it down. Throwing away all the plans he and his family have worked his whole life for, he embarks on a journey, only to find himself on a rollercoaster of emotions that help him discover who he really is- as a son, as a friend, as an individual, and as an artist.

This show is masterfully done, and breaks through the thick wall of cynicism set by societal standards. I could talk about how utterly gorgeous the art is or the goosebumps you get from the score, but what shines more than anything else in this show is the heartbreaking realism of the characters. They are diverse and tortured by the same things that haunt all of us in everyday life, and the creators did not shy away or minimize a single moment of their struggles. The good, the bad, and the ugly is all there like an open wound for all to see. Watching Yatora and his friends restructure and change not just the course of their lives but who they actually want to be is inspiring and scary to equal degree, because it is clear that the creators message of "you can change too" screams through every single moment of it.

Because this is such an emotional show, it makes it hard to anticipate how crowd reception to it will be. But if it speaks to even a fraction of people who participate in the awards, I know we will see it in multiple categories across the board. Best Protagonist, Best Boy, Best Girl, Best VA Performance in Japanese, Best Animation, Best Character Design, Best Drama, Best Score, and of course, Anime of the Year. Now I don't think it will earn each of these nominations but in certainly qualifies for all of them. Hands down though, the one I think I would like to see it nominated for and win the most would be Best Character Design for Ryuji "Yuka" Ayukawa.

I wanted to show her to you, and looked through so many incredible shots of her, but ultimately chose the one above- her jumping while passing Yatora and his friends. I chose it because it is the first time you see her in the anime and though it seems like a simple enough design, you are led astray time and time again by the layers of misunderstanding that cover her. Minor spoiler alert (you find out in the first episode), seeing a trans character, in a leading role mind you, be portrayed in a serious way and not as the butt of a joke meant so much to me. Someone I love dearly is trans and has had lengthy discussions with me regarding the impact of lack of representation, as well as, the ridiculously detrimental impact of false representation not only in the past, but what still happens today. Hearing their words in my head, while watching this gorgeous, multidimensional character blossom on the screen was emotional to say the least. Now, I want to clarify that as I am not trans, I can't and won't sit here and say that everything was accurate. I will leave that to the trans community to determine and speak on, but I will say that the intentionality in this characters development felt authentic and that is something that I can deeply appreciate.

Wow, that was a lot huh? That should just go to show that this anime inspires conversation, thought, and hopefully for some of us, action. With that being said, Blue Period is definitely an anime to check out and keep your eye out for on the nomination lists. You can find it on Netflix, it's first season just completed less two weeks ago, so unlike when I was watching it, you can binge to your hearts delight. I hope it stirs your heart, even if you're not an artist, to simply create- leave your mark on the world, however that looks for you.

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Thank you so much for tuning in to the tail end of our mini series: Alli Predicts. I hope you have been enjoying our nomination predictions. James and I have spent A LOT of time getting through these shows and discussing them in length as we go to see who qualifies, who doesn't, and who stands out amongst them all. It has been our biggest project yet, by far, but we have had so much fun doing and hope you have as well. I also hope your last week of 2021 is whatever you need it to be- good, fast, or just over. No matter how it ends though, let's all start fresh and meet back here in 2022! Until then, stay safe, stay nerdy and stay messy otaku!