Birth of An Ego - A Blue Period Video Essay

Summary

In 'Birth of An Ego - A Blue Period Video Essay,' LucOfLegends delves into the journey of Yatora Yaguchi, a character in Blue Period, exploring themes of identity, self-expression, and societal expectations. The video emphasizes Yatora's transition from a conformist to a passionate artist, driven by the discovery of a passion for art that defies logical arguments and societal norms. Through the exploration of other characters, the essay highlights various pressures and expectations faced by artists, ultimately focusing on the transformative power of individuality and personal expression in art.

Highlights

• Yatora Yaguchi starts as a cog in the societal machine, feeling like a mere number. 🔢
• Discovering art sparks a profound change in Yatora, awakening his true passion. 🌟
• The series explores the balance between societal expectations and individual desires. 🔄
• Characters like Maki and Yotas provide contrasting experiences around art and expectations. 🎭
• Blue Period showcases the complex interplay between talent, hard work, and personal growth. 📈

Key Takeaways

• Society often reduces people to mere numbers, but art allows for unique self-expression. 🎨
• Yatora's journey in 'Blue Period' is about finding his true self through art. 👨‍🎨
• The series challenges norms and explores the balance between talent and hard work. ⚖️
• Yatora's relationships and experiences shape his artistic and personal growth. 💪
• Failure, while painful, can lead to personal freedom and new directions. 🌱

Overview

In the video essay, LucOfLegends explores the character of Yatora Yaguchi, a seemingly typical student living an unremarkable life dictated by societal norms. However, a chance encounter with art triggers a passionate journey of self-discovery that defies logic and expectation. This transition from a conformist to a fierce advocate for artistic expression forms the crux of Yatora's captivating story.

The essay highlights not just Yatora's trajectory, but also the diverse cast surrounding him, each facing their own struggles and pressures within the artistic realm. Through vibrant storytelling and character exploration, Blue Period raises important questions about the nature of talent, hard work, and the societal pressures that shape us. Characters like Maki and Yotas offer perspectives that enrich Yatora’s journey and highlight the varied experiences of artists.

Ultimately, the video essay illustrates how Blue Period serves as a profound commentary on individuality and the power of personal expression. It exemplifies how art not merely serves as a creative outlet, but also a means of truly understanding oneself and the world. LucOfLegends portrays this narrative with a captivating blend of insight, empathy, and an appreciation for the transformative journey of its protagonist.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 01:30: Introduction The chapter serves as an introduction to the content, warning viewers about potential spoilers for 'Blue Period.' It suggests that viewers would benefit from engaging directly with the series to fully appreciate its themes. The chapter also hints at the exploration of the idiom 'a cog in the machine' which captures the speaker's attention and is likely a thematic element in the discussion that follows.
• 01:30 - 04:00: The Society's Perception of Individuals The chapter explores how individuals are perceived within the broader societal structure. It discusses the concept of individuals playing seemingly insignificant roles within a larger organization and how these roles, when viewed on a grand scale, contribute to upholding society as a whole. Despite the perception of insignificance, the chapter emphasizes that the collective movement of individuals in harmony with their group is what truly matters in society. Actions like job roles, personal hobbies, and daily routines are portrayed as less important than the alignment with societal norms and movements. There is a sense of detachment in how individuals might perceive their roles, yet their synchronized actions ensure the functioning of society.
• 04:00 - 06:30: Yatora's Awakening to Art The chapter introduces Yatora Yaguchi, a high school student who is seen by society as just another number, despite his delinquent appearance, academic success, and close group of friends. The narrative delves into Yatora's thoughts, revealing that his good grades are merely a responsibility to secure his future, rather than a reflection of his passions or desires.
• 06:30 - 09:30: The Role of Self-Expression and Interpretation in Art The chapter explores the dichotomy between societal expectations and personal fulfillment, illustrated through a character who follows the traditional path of education and social engagement but finds no genuine satisfaction or identity in these achievements. The character, Yat, is portrayed as someone who dutifully meets societal quotas - attending a good school, securing a decent job, socializing appropriately - yet finds the resultant rewards and recognitions hollow. This narrative underscores a critical reflection on the importance of self-expression and personal authenticity in art, juxtaposing it against the backdrop of fulfilling external expectations, thus suggesting that true value in art comes from genuine, personal interpretation and expression rather than mere adherence to prescribed roles or accolades.
• 09:30 - 13:30: Artistic Development and Individual Beliefs The main character, Yat Yaguchi, struggles with existential thoughts and confusion about the meaning of life. However, an unintended event sets Yaguchi on a new path. This leads to a growing interest, which evolves into a passion. Through this passion, Yaguchi experiences a significant personal development, often described as the emergence of an ego, highlighting the impact of art on individual beliefs and personal growth.
• 13:30 - 16:30: Talent vs Hard Work The chapter titled 'Talent vs Hard Work' opens with an observation, seemingly ordinary yet unique to the observer. It begins with a scene set in the morning at Yatra Shabuya, described as having a 'somber Azure Beauty'. While this observation might be dismissed lightly by friends, deemed olfactory akin to 'TR crash,' it symbolizes the observer’s distinct perception and hints at the theme of the value in unique perspectives. The chapter suggests that what might seem trivial to some can hold deeper beauty and insight to those who possess the talent to see the world differently.
• 16:30 - 21:00: Maki Kuwana's Experience with Pressure and Failure In this chapter, Yatra experiences a significant moment of self-realization when he is given an assignment to describe his favorite scenery. This opportunity allows him to express genuine feelings, which he had not done before. The response and praise he receives from this assignment deeply impact him, contrasting starkly with his previous experiences of going through the motions with insincere words and logic. It marks the first authentic conversation he has had in a long time, highlighting a poignant moment in his personal growth.
• 21:00 - 28:00: Yotasuke Takahashi's Struggles with Talent and Freedom The chapter delves into Yotasuke Takahashi's internal conflict regarding his passion for art. Despite his logical reasoning and societal beliefs dismissing art as uneconomical and a waste of time, Yotasuke is unable to extinguish his desire to pursue it. He grapples with acknowledging his love for art, even though it contradicts his previous life choices and efforts. This chapter focuses on Yotasuke's struggle between conforming to societal expectations and following his true passion for art.
• 28:00 - 40:30: Yuka's Journey of Self-Identity and Expression In the chapter titled 'Yuka's Journey of Self-Identity and Expression,' the narrative delves into the transformative power of art as a medium for genuine self-expression. The protagonist, Yuka, finds that once they engage with art, their passion ignites, allowing them to finally express themselves authentically. The chapter underscores art as both a form of self-expression and interpretation, emphasizing that while traditional fundamentals in art are important for distinguishing quality, the expression of one's true self is paramount.
• 40:30 - 53:00: Yatora's Internal Conflicts and Growth The chapter focuses on Yatora's internal conflicts as he navigates the world of art. It stresses the importance of personal interpretation over mere technical skills, emphasizing that art involves understanding and expressing one's thoughts and feelings. Different artists perceive the same object, like an apple, uniquely, and this individuality is crucial to creation. Yatora realizes that mastering both the emotional and technical aspects of art, like framing and composition, are essential. His growth in the chapter showcases a balance between enhancing his technical ability and developing a deeper understanding of his personal artistic vision, even as he quickly picks up technical skills.
• 53:00 - 57:00: The Essence of Blue Period's Story The chapter titled 'The Essence of Blue Period's Story' details a significant breakthrough for the protagonist as an artist. Initially focused on technique and composition, he comes to a realization while working on a painting about bonds and relationships. This experience marks a shift from merely using tools to express technical abilities, to using them to convey deeper interpretations of the world around him, signifying his growth as an artist who has something meaningful to say through his art.

Birth of An Ego - A Blue Period Video Essay Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 okay so before I begin I would like to say that this video does contain spoilers for most of blue period including the entire R of the anime and up to the most current chapter of the manga that being chapter 59 at the time of recording this obviously I can't stop you from watching this but at the very least I do recommend either reading or watching the series at some point as it will do far better Justice to the themes mentioned here a cog in the machine is a common idiom that catches my interest from time to time in a literal sense it represents
• 00:30 - 01:00 a person playing a small mundane part of a greater organization but expanding its scope out to a much larger scale leads to imposing a notably different meaning society and its entirety is upheld by the will of the masses but the specific role of each person inside of society is perceptually insignificant it doesn't matter what your job is what hobbies you enjoy or what time you decide to brush your teeth in the morning all that matters is how you move with the rest of your group it's a bit of of a detached
• 01:00 - 01:30 way of viewing things but Society at large doesn't view people as people but instead as nothing more than numbers on a sheet such a person destined to become nothing more than a number was one yat yaguchi despite the first impression he may display a striking delinquent look academic excellence and a close-knit group of friends would indicate that his life is far from unane but that illusion is quickly dismissed as we delve into his thoughts his grades are nothing but an oblig ation to ensure he gets into a
• 01:30 - 02:00 good school to ensure he gets a good job to ensure he can support his family he goes out to events with his friends who he does actually hold a genuine appreciation for but he never holds interest in the events themselves yat himself sees it all as merely fulfilling a quota and while he puts more stake into reaching that quota than others he notes that the reward and praise he gets in response is empty and Hollow to him he has become nothing more than a number filling up up a different number and
• 02:00 - 02:30 that first one can't seem to figure out what life even means anymore that was the course that yat yaguchi was destined to tread but fate always has an interesting way of changing plans a chance error leads to an interest that interest into a passion and through that passion the birth of an [Music] ego
• 02:30 - 03:00 [Music] everything begins with an observation a tiny one one blown off by his friends but a unique perception of the world nonetheless to yatra shabuya in the morning is blue he sees a sort of somber Azure Beauty in the quiet of the morning even if it only comes off is smelling like TR crash to his friends but when
• 03:00 - 03:30 given a chance to express this feeling yatra comes to face his first palpitation of self the assignment asking for him to describe his favorite scenery offers an outlet to fully Express these feelings he's had for the first time in his life and the praise he receives for it sways him like nothing else has in a routine where he always gets by with fake words and anti logic this is the first genuine conversation he's had in a long
• 03:30 - 04:00 time this lights a fire deep inside of yatra one that continues to burn despite how many logical arguments he throws its way to dampen and dismiss it despite it not being economical he wants to do art despite it being a complete waste of time in his mind he wants to do art despite it spitting in the face of everything he has worked towards in his life so far he still wants to do art yatra has to come face to face with the realization that he actually does love
• 04:00 - 04:30 art and once he does those flames of passion finally erupt forth into someone who can finally begin to express themselves genuinely art at its Center is a hobby of both self-expression and interpretation though this comes from the perspective of someone who doesn't have experience in more traditional art blue period as a series does make clear that certain fundamentals do help differentiate the good pieces from the bad but a sign ific part of its focus is
• 04:30 - 05:00 spent on the beliefs of the individual instead of any particular skill no two people see an apple the same way and no two people use the same lines to draw it learning how to interpret your thoughts and feelings is just as important to art as the technical elements of Framing and composition and yatra has to start from the basics of both the progression of y's artistic ability isn't very much focused on his actual technical skills which he does pick up relatively quickly
• 05:00 - 05:30 but instead on how he needs to interpret the world around him and convey that into his pieces this is a breakthrough most clear in his painting about bonds and how he sees them before he only focused on using composition and whatever tools he had learned in his works but through this piece did he realize that he had only been using the tool to express the tool this was his first piece where he had something he wanted to say and finally had the skills
• 05:30 - 06:00 to express it it gives us one of the most intimate looks into yatra as a character and because of it his artistic ability skyrockets because he can finally tell the world what he exclusively wants to [Music] say one thing that becomes clear to readers of blue period quite early is that yatra is a character influenced by
• 06:00 - 06:30 those around him yatra is a naturally social person willing to delve into conversations and social events and does seem to Value relationships now that his ears are open to the World At Large through painting this gives him a door into the perspectives of others and the author takes ample opportunity to explore the different mindsets of people around yat consensus is a pipe dream for many different points of debate in the story characters including y may present
• 06:30 - 07:00 their own ideologies and stances on a topic then another character be it appear p a mentor May acknowledge that argument before giving their own stance and reasoning some of this comes off as practical advice such as the importance of still lives in developing fundamentals or the use of medium in an art piece but others addressed far more contentious topics like if so-called exam art which is Art made in the process of preparing for an entrance exam should be considered art at all the series rarely if ever declares one side more correct
• 07:00 - 07:30 than the other as many of these topics lack any sort of simplistic catchall answer what this means is that the viewer gets a front row seat as yatra processes and reflects on the different interpretations he's been shown over the course of the manga one specific topic the series returns to on a regular basis is the argument of talent versus hard work the author clearly takes the stance that hard work is far more important but this topic never stops coming up and
• 07:30 - 08:00 characters continuously deit its different aspects throughout the series one of the most interesting discussions comes later in the manga with different characters breaking down the basic argument that yatra introduces into entirely separate arguments such as hard work being dependent on one's environment or addressing the inherent labeling that comes with the word talent all of these unique viewpoints fit their respective characters but it also Builds an image of the subject in Yo's mind and causes him to re-evaluate his personal stance for better and worse before
• 08:00 - 08:30 expressing it in one of his pieces y's mind is a canvas first and foremost and the words of those around him a brush to paint it with it will be a long time before the full image is completed in his mind but every observation and conversation adds and mixes color into his own personal work permanently changing the way our protagonist views the world
• 08:30 - 09:00 aside from putting focus on our protagonist blue period as a series also takes its time to explore the other characters close to yat this allows the author to flesh out The Supporting Cast while also tying back into yatra through giving him a fresh set of stories to absorb there are a few different characters which best exemplify the focus on individuality that this Series highlights and most of them I will be talking about here in a bit but Maki kuana I think has an experience that's
• 09:00 - 09:30 particularly interesting as it gives a hint into the pressure many artists feel outside of the perspective of a newcomer like yat Maki should have all the tools she needs to succeed she most certainly has the artistic ability to get into the monolith that is the Tokyo University of the Arts considering how striking and defined her Works tend to be there are stumbles along the path that she takes in the prep course including a well-known Superstition but she seems poised to get in with little problem
• 09:30 - 10:00 from the perspective of her protagonist under the surface however Things become far more clouded Maki comes from a family of artists importantly ones that have a history of being alumni in the University that she's trying to get into a university that is notorious for its extremely low acceptance rate more distressing is the fact that her older sister aced the exam on her first try a fact that is treated as a gen genuine Rarity by those in the prep school Maki
• 10:00 - 10:30 is her own person of course but with all those factors in mind it would be hard to not feel at least a little stressed especially with the shadows of those that came before you looming overhead it's very apparent that this pressure had gotten to her during the buildup to the exam with the greatest stressor being that everpresent reminder that she's on some level being compared to her sister her sister is an obstacle that not continues to measure herself up
• 10:30 - 11:00 to but is also a shackle she can't free herself from even posing to yatra that she might be able to enjoy drawing more if a certain person didn't exist this poisonous mindset spreads to the rest of her prep as she constantly feels the need to compare herself to others most sadistically upon hearing that one of her friends is hospitalized due to the stress of the exam she can't help but feel good watching them snap under the pressure because it means one less
• 11:00 - 11:30 person she has to compete against this is all in maki's head of course both yatra and the prep teacher uba Sensei make clear that she is very much not her sister in terms of her art and even her sister Yuki seems somewhat aware of the problem she has created and tries to give Maki the support she so desperately needs Maki isn't really in any sort of Shadow but she continues to believe she is trapped within one a shadow her mind
• 11:30 - 12:00 convinces her is growing larger and larger as time goes on and soon it becomes so large that she fails from a place of personal experience failure is a conflicting State simultaneously crushing and relieving on one hand failure [ __ ] hurts no to two ways about it whatever
• 12:00 - 12:30 information or experience you've gained doesn't make it acceptable when everything you've worked towards amounts to essentially nothing but on the other hand just as much as it weighs you down failure ends up feeling like a weight lifted off your shoulders everything goes back to square one and there's something therapeutic about starting again with everything you've learned along the way when Magi failed it's OB obviously hurt even more so in the way
• 12:30 - 13:00 she failed by unconsciously making the same piece she did in the prep school and fulfilling the Superstition that she was so afraid of in the first place but more than anything Magi was terrified of being the odd man out in her family so without her knowing she desperately clung to the hope of not having to change but just as much that failure relieved her a little bit and let her finally escaped that shadow that she
• 13:00 - 13:30 felt cast from her family a girl cutting her hair is the single biggest Trope of character development but when she did it it felt more like a change in Direction More Than Anything a willingness to try something new now that she's no longer trapped in the shade a chance perhaps to be her own person again and that's a chance she would be happy to take
• 13:30 - 14:00 yotas Takahashi is in almost every way a perfect foil standoffish introverted gives a look of visible disgust whenever somebody tries to initi conversation with them yotus is very much not interested in interacting with people and would much rather be left to his own devices a far cry from the social butterfly that is yatra from the start of the story yatra is is placed as someone with a loving family great
• 14:00 - 14:30 friends and an open Future despite being a newcomer to the field of art conversely yotas is defined in the story exclusively by his art skill the point of him directly saying all he has is Art most importantly as a foil though yatra directly Compares himself to yotas yatra even saying that his own skill is achieved through constant monotonous hard work while declaring that yotas is is merely the result of sheer Talent
• 14:30 - 15:00 despite the blatant hypocrisy that this statement entails considering y's own distaste of being labeled as talented all of this paints a picture of yotas being a natural Prodigy when it comes to Art a notion that yotas himself may be buying into in a lot of his interactions with yat yotas comes at art with a sort of condescending air in his words and critiques like he knows how good he is and that he can do better than the art
• 15:00 - 15:30 of those who actually got into Tua in a metaphorical sense I see it as a weird reflection of the statement made by yat at the beginning of the story that he can make up work of Picasso but instead of saying it out of ignorance of the medium for yotas it comes from place of sheer confidence in their artistic ability just as much does this label restrain as it does enable however when yotas says all he has is Art it's
• 15:30 - 16:00 because his artistic skill is the only thing people seem to Value about him his parents have always pared that he's only good at drawing from an early age and essentially helicopter him for most of his life perhaps out of a feeling of need to protect their son this belief has been reinforced through the story by yatra yotas parents and many others and the burden of this artistic talent directs him at every possible iple Junction forcing him into a mold of what
• 16:00 - 16:30 the world desires from him first and foremost yotas seems aware of this pressure to some extent and violently Rebels against what others say in search of his own Freedom resisting any attempt to be forced into one specific box but in this process he pushes almost everything away even advice that may actually help him improve as an artist while definitely approaching him from a
• 16:30 - 17:00 more antagonistic angle one of his college professors does have a point that while he is talented that Talent has caused him to stagnate and that he needs to actually grow as an artist to further his Pursuits at Tua but yotas merely pushes this back because he's been pushed and pulled in so many different directions across his life that he can no longer tell between actually good advice and the will of the people trying to get something out of him y s is a rabbit trapped in a cage
• 17:00 - 17:30 but the exact nature of that cage is something that comes into question was he locked there by the will of those around him and their image of what he is supposed to be or is it one of his own valtion unknowingly shutting himself away from the rest of the world due to his own ego perhaps that's why his relationship with yra continues to be one of the most interesting in the story simply because no other character pushes you yotas more than our protagonist it's
• 17:30 - 18:00 through yat that yotas is actually willing to take more risks explore new avenues and experience things he never could have before including willingly going out with his friends on his own as small as that may seem maybe he can even begin to see a shabuya similar to the one that yat sees even if just a little bit yotas still has the tendency to stick to his own beliefs first and foremost but now it feels like he is
• 18:00 - 18:30 truly moving in the right direction his ego one that has remained so rigid for his entire life might finally be starting to change shape y's character development at this point doesn't feel complete far from it call it a hunch but he's a character that'll likely stay through to the end of the story whatever that may entail but one thing is certain at this point yotas has a evolved past the impression of just someone amazingly
• 18:30 - 19:00 good drawing in y's mind yotas isn't just a prodigy yotas is [Music] human ryuji ayukawa or more commonly known as Yuka is a character character who is contentious to say the least
• 19:00 - 19:30 since I am CIS I had a chat with a friend who was trans about this character and they recommended not touching that discussion with a 30ft pole so that is exactly what I will be doing for the duration of this video I will be referring to Yuka with they them pronouns and if this for some reason offends you I don't know what to tell you dud just get over it Yuka at their core views how they represent themselves the of rebelling against societal Norms
• 19:30 - 20:00 why should they care about people not understanding how they dress why should they care about people's opinions on what's normal for dating what does normal even really mean anyways the only view we get that is normal is our own ryuji already tried conforming to what everyone else considered as normal but they hated that more than death itself so instead ryuji chooses to be who they really want want to be and that takes
• 20:00 - 20:30 the form of Yuka yuka's character revolves around the idea of perception Yuka takes their current self in stride but no matter what they do it'll always create some impression in a person's mind be it positive or negative for the girls of their school that impression is the prince for yat it's that guy who crossdresses even in the process of building an image that Rebels against
• 20:30 - 21:00 the Norms of society one has to understand what Society perceives as its Norms how we are perceived by others is entirely inescapable and only through taking that jump to learn more about each other can we transform these perceptions into something far more personal while they likely wouldn't admit it Yuka actually has quite a bit in common with the yat in the way that they are both very much caught up in
• 21:00 - 21:30 what people think of them I'll get into this a little bit later with our protagonist but Yuka themselves is insecure with how people View and treat them in response to how they present themselves when they get dumped by a guy Yuka is most hurt by the guy saying that he did it because he's normal and this reaction shows that Yuka does to some extent hate being called a freak for who they are especially by their parents who are very clearly unhappy with how Yuka
• 21:30 - 22:00 expresses themsel yat says he always thought Yuka was the type to never care what other people thought of them to which yuk responds all I ever think about is what other people think of me all this comes to a head when Yuka realizes that Japanese art really isn't their passion but doesn't want to give it up because of how much their grandmother loves it the grandmother that was the single supporting Beacon of yuka's true self when everyone else
• 22:00 - 22:30 seemed to scorn them Yuka while talking about how much they don't care about what everyone else thinks still can't shake away the guilt they would feel if they changed to a different field because they don't know what it would do to the person they hold dearest it's love that insulates Yuka against whatever the world may think of them but what good is that love if they don't even know what form it takes anymore a friend in middle school once told Yuka
• 22:30 - 23:00 that if they want to die they had better be naked or put another way they would have to be able to look past what people think of them nakedness is even described in the story as a metaphor of facing one's true self a form of shutting the guilt that hides your most Earnest feelings like shedding clothes from your body it's only through a literal Showcase of nudity between Yuka and yat that the former really begins to
• 23:00 - 23:30 disregard that cloak of guilt and it results in a heartfelt conversation with the two finally on the same page entirely breaking down the perceptions they had built of each other Yuga fully realizes they don't have to be what everyone else thinks Yuga is they can just be Yuka yuka's Arc in my humble opinion at least is centered on their Central identity certainly they strive
• 23:30 - 24:00 to be abnormal in how they portray themselves and value their freedom of self but beneath this bravado is someone still trapped by the perceptions of who they are and how others want them to be identity is all about how we represent ourselves but the definition is in its truest form if that representation of oneself is who we truly want to be Yuka more than any other character is linked to Fashion but it is only when those clothes are shed that they truly become
• 24:00 - 24:30 [Music] beautiful an underdog a hard worker a hypocrite dozens if not hundreds of words could apply to yatra and all of them would be in some way correct but the one that keeps coming back to my
• 24:30 - 25:00 mind is Hollow in the beginning yat is a character that conforms not directly to society as a whole at least but instead around his environment he excels at school not out of a desire to do well himself but instead because his parents want him to get a good job in a promising field he watches soccer with his friends not out of a like of the sport but because that's what his friends want to do he fulfills whatever
• 25:00 - 25:30 obligations he has to others but everything past that is dull gray nothingness of course once he starts to delve into the world of art things begin to change and his views start to shift once again art is a realm of expression first and foremost even if there are right and wrong ways to convey it and through this realm does yatra learn what things he wants to express but while he does develop through the story I still
• 25:30 - 26:00 feel like Hollow is the correct operator yat even now is a person who tends to approach life like an exam if there is a problem there is always a best solution every time he interacts with someone he is acutely aware of his thoughts and responses trying to find the words that will best satisfy them almost like solving a math problem but there is is no one true answer in art instead a
• 26:00 - 26:30 focus on what exactly you think the answer is so much of his internal conflict is based on trying to find a correct answer when there was never one in the first place one of my favorite moments expresses exactly this idea where yatra is told the thing he is missing as an artist is an element of self-centeredness and the ability to have fun he's always making art for some arbitrary reason like to impress some person or to complete some assignment
• 26:30 - 27:00 why can't he just do it because he wants to it's never a lack of technical skill that holds him back as an artist but instead a matter of mindset yatra locks himself into these assumptions about how something needs to work what a person is looking for in a piece when really he doesn't know at all most people don't question why a complex math formula works the way it does they just use it
• 27:00 - 27:30 to get the answer so yat never questioned why you would use an oil painting in an oil painting course simply because it's a given right but the series is dead set on proving these assumptions wrong every time they come up and it always throws yat for a loop this problem solution thinking affects far more than is Art though it bleeds into every personal connection he carries so many of his interactions with
• 27:30 - 28:00 people feel almost rehearsed in a sense like he's already prepared a dozen points to take the conversation wherever it decides to go it's a trait that feels far more prevalent earlier in the story but it still has a tendency to rear its ugly head at the worst possible times there's an additional element though one that Yuka actually puts best when someone is is drowning yatra is the type to throw the person a life preserver but
• 28:00 - 28:30 never one to jump in and save them himself he gives people exactly what is required and nothing more he says he wants to be friends with someone but has never willing to actually form a meaningful connection with them especially if it would put him at risk because he is more afraid of that risk than anyone else yat yaguchi more than anything else presented thus far is massively insecure and almost
• 28:30 - 29:00 destructively self-critical a fact that becomes more and more apparent as we become more and more aware of his internal thoughts yat gets bogged down so often in not being as good as his peers when he spent so much of his life before art ahead of the pack Not Having learned to take art his own pace every criticism strikes like a knife to the heart and heak atates himself relentlessly as to how he could have ever made such mistakes with his work in
• 29:00 - 29:30 the first place perhaps he fixates so much on hard work because it's a quantifiable way of denoting his own progress as an artist and without that quot he would have been caught a drift in a sea of confusion and self-doubt in his own peace on nakedness he comes to the conclusion that his truest self is something pathetic and unreliable and he uses his social tricks to hide that weakest part of himself the fear that
• 29:30 - 30:00 nobody wants to see it giving the appearance of solidity from the outside but seeing that nothing is really there if you strip away the layers Hollow but do you know what else yatra is a friend yatra is a character defined by personal connection and it's clear that he really truly enjoys forming those relationships with people even if
• 30:00 - 30:30 they may not form in a way that he initially imagines like with yotas yat would have never understood his own taste and preference in art without the specific musings of hashida never could have begun to conceive the struggles of being an artist without lending an ear to maki's own insecurities and would never have taken those steps towards realizing his truest self with without seeing Yuka at their lowest all of this
• 30:30 - 31:00 is possible because he was willing to form that connection his Works always tend to have a focus on people be it himself or others and that's because he has learn to embrace all of the ways that these connections can form think back to the bonds painting and really ask how he describes these bonds thin like a string sharp like a blade shaping around their surroundings and becoming
• 31:00 - 31:30 stronger with every blow tatra bonds are a type of metal and that metal influences every part of his life and tempers his own blade of self and those bonds are no longer a one-way Street as yat has treaded the path of an artist more and more have we seen that mask break away to Showcase moments of his own own passion and innocence once past
• 31:30 - 32:00 that insecurity yatra reveals himself to be someone with a lot to say who voraciously throws himself into his work as someone who truly loves the process of making art and expressing everything he has to say through it this is the true yatra yaguchi someone who has finally experienced the birth of their own ego and is never going to forget
• 32:00 - 32:30 it full disclosure I really didn't have much of a concise point when I first started drafting this script I was merely motivated by the desire to talk about this story and to explain what messages of individuality that I could
• 32:30 - 33:00 glean from it it's really how I approach most things that I want to talk about less a consistent argument acting as a guiding marker through the entire project and more A random assortment of jumbled ideas that need to be patched together before turning into something vaguely coherent but something interesting happened with this as I went on as I Revisited each chapter of the manga analyzed each panel and collected
• 33:00 - 33:30 my thoughts for every section that through line that eluded me everywhere else began to appear blue period is a series about what you and other people think certainly it's a story about art but the art always feels like this culmination of the character's developments and how they now perceive the world especially so with yat many of the conflicts are not caused by some direct antagonist or terrible disaster
• 33:30 - 34:00 but instead because the mind is Our Own Worst Enemy and the words of others can so easily poison our thoughts the words of others of course can also change us for the better but only if we genuinely listen and reflect on what has been said of course that's only my interpretation of it some like to focus on the gritty of the art the series likes to highlight
• 34:00 - 34:30 While others lean more into the deconomy of talent and hard work there are a lot of different interpretations that can be taken from Blue period and that's fine because if what you see is blue then let it be blue whether it's an apple a rabbit or just maybe even the streets of Shibuya in the morning