Blue Period

Solid at school, popular with his colleagues, talented and with the prospect of a successful future at university - that's Yatora, who has only one serious obstacle: his family simply can't afford a first-class private university. Rather by chance, he discovers another world off the beaten track, the world of art. He was drawn to painting, which gave him a more spiritual and fulfilling approach to the world. But even here, the only way to the top was via a public art academy, the renowned Tokyo University of Arts, to which only a select few are admitted. Yatora realises that he doesn't have the means to buy his future, he has to work hard on himself. With absolute dedication, he spends all his time improving his artistic skills in the shortest possible time in order to gain entry to the most coveted art university. But his competitors aren't sleeping either.

The story of Blue Period began as a manga series, which has been running since 2017. Manga artist Tsubasa YAMAGUCHI received several awards for her work. Her original was then turned into an anime series (currently on Netflix) by anime script specialist Reiko YOSHIDA (her script also for The Colors Within at Japannual). Her screenplay also served as the basis for director Kentarō HAGIWARA's live-action feature film. He already has experience in turning manga/anime into feature films (Tokyo Ghoul, 2017). Gordon MAEDA, the son of martial arts legend Sonny CHIBA, played a major role in the film's success. Maeda himself also wanted to go to Tokyo University of Arts. His failure at that time was the inspiration for the role of Yatora. This year he was also involved in another blockbuster, Golden Kamuy (currently on Netflix).