Blue Period 1

By Tsubasa Yamaguchi,

Book cover of Blue Period 1

Book description

Winner of the 2020 Manga Taisho Grand Prize! A manga about the struggles and rewards of a life dedicated to art. The studious Yatora leaves a dry life of study and good manners behind for a new passion: painting. But untethering yourself from all your past expectations is dangerous as…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Blue Period 1 as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This Japanese manga series about a disillusioned high schooler who finds purpose through painting speaks so pointedly to my reality as a creative professional that sometimes, after reading a chapter, I will lie down on the ground, struck through by dread, electric possibility, or some combination thereof.

Beyond the fact that I’d be remiss if I didn’t somehow represent anime and manga, which have played outsized roles in my creative formation, this book is refreshingly blunt about the realities of making a living from art. But it’s also so generous with its characters, who represent every stripe of a budding…

From Lio's list on the transformative power of art.

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