Opposaka student are badly disoriented from university admissions examinations, so she takes them to Bone Museum on a field trip. Yatora and the other group spend the morning looking at the exhibits. Even though they were at lunch, Ooba-sensei told them to visit the exhibition again, this time their sketchbooks come in with them. We put on our first stop in order to see these displays as visitors. This time, they look at them as artists. The students who pass the first examination will be welcomed back by Ooba-sensei waiting at the art institute. If you don’t have the manga, then you will want to stop reading it, but there’s no way to continue discussing it, but naming those three: Hashida, Kuwana and Yatora. Regardless, what Ooba-sensei says, is innumbly cheerful, as much energy as ever. The next test is oil painting, and Yatora is worried about the quality of his colour. A bit of a discussion about the colour shaped wheel is stopping me to go to the art shop to buy more supplies. Who should he meet that is but Yuka who calls him, much more feminized, non just clothes and makeup, but speech mode also, something referred to in the translation notes at the back but which truly means difficult to render in English which doesn’t have very different masculine and feminine speech modes like Japanese. This is quite a challenge for the translator. Yatora doesn’t know that Yuka went out of the first test because she was putting a large X on her canvas. But she discovers that Yukas has been fired from art school and is working part-time as a hostess of a bar. Even though the real interests of Yukas are unclear, the parents can not take care of the situation. Only their grandmother, who nurtures Yukas talents as an artist, remains sympathetic. There are people who love Yuka because I won’t spoil you here and contact Yatora. The two have a big weekend going to a hotel. Did you ever draw yourself on the crossword? Yuka replies silently, but Yatora doesn’t reply. The young artists divide their hotel room with a screen and a swoop to either side of the room, with mirror and sketchbook, they strip off and start drawing. As you work, Yuka begins to speak out about their feelings for the first time to Yatora and Yatora share his insecurities about the upcoming exams. If they return to the world and face the challenges of their own, there’s a new understanding that flows from this shared experience. But is it enough to get them through the next few days? Since Netflix is releasing two-three weeks behind Japan, the anime will probably have overtaken Kodansha manga US publications. As good as anime is (and it’s good) I am glad I had the opportunity to read and evaluate this volume myself before I saw it in anime form. There’s a lot more in this manga. There’s also the fact that the manga can be a bit slower to tell more technical stuff about using colour, as Ooba-sensei talks about the language behind the Yatora. Of course the info dump is better integrated into the plot in the manga than in the other books. It’s still so much simpler to distinguish between different colours for red paint, the difference between color animations! However, chapter after chapter, Blue Period slowly and impressively gained into depth and character development, and there are also chapters here that show Yatora and Yuka as their escapes to the seaside in the winter, the best that Yamaguchi has given us so far. The Yuka we saw here is a conflicted city – radiating a palpable aura of despair and fury. I think Yukas eyes and I’ve been shown them – the way that Yatora sees them being like a crazy creature. Yuka has known Yatora since the middle of school and isn’t afraid to lash out at him, accusing him of being always in danger of life. The fact that we don’t know what Yuka really intends is terrifying. As per the book’s author, trigger warnings about suicide and helpful addresses for US readers. This is the first in the series to err on a true meaningful and honest exchange of thoughts and feelings between both people so far. Although they were mostly seeing Yuka from the Yatoras point of view, these chapters were truly absorbing. Yuka notices the red weals of urticaria on Yatoras arms and buys him, as they part, a bundy of anti-itch cream (Hives B-Gone), an act of spontaneous kindness, smearing gesture. Yuka may have been envious of Yatora yet deep-down, but they might consider him as an allies. But then the final chapter of this volume brings Yatora, Kuwana and Hashida to the test day. The ominous chapter title is The Unexpected Enemy Attacks, bringing readers into the cliff, and gives them the tidbit to it! The fifth volume of Blue Period is as handsome as the others in Kodanshas edition, with another compelling character portrait (Kuwana, this time) and shinily embossed brush strokes on the front and Western-style ‘Atlantic’ colour panels on the front, each encapsulating a plot element explored inside. The colour page now is a chapter of our Blue and came halfway through the volume, not at the front. Yamaguchis art is a movement of strength to strength with whole page and double-page spreads that although in greyscale, are atmospheric and effective. The letter “Ajani” is in the end of the word, and the translation notes they get back at the beginning are still useful. The mangaka credited once again the artists who contributed their works which represent the students’ paintings. There are two bonus stories this time that read well. One is about Kuwana, which she gifted to her older sister, and the second is about the Art School Entrance exam Meals, where the three remaining students and their lunch plans are all taken. Then, four-yon-koma strips sit halfway through the volume, not at the end. Despite the Japanese release, Volume 6 doesn’t go out of Kodansha until March 2022 (since the digital version is due before February 2022), so the digital version will likely be out first, as soon as the physical version is going to be available. Look back at the Yatora Volume 1 as it’s fascinating to discover how hes changed. Yamaguchi portrays the young man at the very beginning. His expression is self-confident but detached, his skin stinging and pierced ears give delinquent look. Making his own art is stripping away everything he built to protect himself. The Yatora in these chapters is vulnerable and he can, for the first time, talk honestly with Yuka. I feel so light today as he sits to paint, so I don’t even look as though I don’t even notice a single person being photographed. Blue Period, Tsubasa Yamaguchi/Kodansha Ltd.
