I’m quite miffed with the way Netflix has turned the distribution of Blue Period into a total FUBAR situation.  I’m not crazy about Netflix distributing anime to begin with.  Producing it is one thing – I doubt stuff like Great Pretender or Godzilla S.P. is getting made any other way.  But the stuff they just license, well…  Their stubborn refusal to adapt to the way anime fans consume material doesn’t do anybody any good, including themselves.  But with Blue Period, delaying the series in the West, even as it continues on schedule in Japan, is really gross malfeasance.  More people should be taking about this show but it never really had a chance.

As I noted a couple of weeks ago, I really appreciate anime that’s actually about something.  And Blue Period is – a lot of somethings in fact.  The art angle is very, very important to be sure – and I’m not sure I can remember another anime doing that better.  But in a sense, the art is the canvas and the character stories are the painting.  It works splendidly as is but I think Blue Period could tell a similar story using music, or writing, or even sports.  Life is a crucible, and the pressure of trying to become great at anything certainly extracts the essence of who someone really is.  It’s a fascinating process to watch play out.

Yatora and Yuka’s night at the beach is equally fascinating.  I still puzzle over how these two mismatched kids became so intimate – and they are intimate with each other (non-sexually), that much is clear.  In life, we tend to put other people (and ourselves) into boxes of our own creation.  Yatora can’t stop telling people how he’s envious of their talent.  Yuka is perpetually judging and dismissing other people, and this relentless “honor student” nonsense is very much in-character.  Yatora demeans others’ work ethic by dismissing them as “geniuses” – Yuka dismisses Yatora’s talent by sarcastically raving over his work ethic.

“The grass is always greener” is one of those old truisms that’s so self-apparent we tend to forget just how true it is.  Neither of these youths would consider their lot something to be envied, but they do envy each other in many ways.  What I sense from Yatora more than Yuka is a desire to understand the other better – he seems less sure of his assumptions than Yuka does, and less inwardly focused.  The idea of going to a love hotel together obviously makes him uncomfortable, but he’s not afraid of Yuka for being different, and he genuinely wants to understand what makes Yuka tick.

I thought the ryokan thing was going to get ugly there for a minute, but the owner (manager?) turned out to be a decent enough sort.  This is certainly the most extended time these two have spent together, and one senses that Yuka has never opened up to anyone to the extent they do here.  Yatora’s rash – which has clearly gotten worse – horrifies Yuka, and serves as a shocking reminder of how vulnerable and weak Yatora is – just like Yuka.  As I suspected, Yuka chose Japanese art to please his grandmother – and as I predicted, Yatora gives them a push in the direction of fashion design (something Yuka clearly wants to do).

The two of them drawing themselves nude was an interesting turn – a bit metaphorical to say the least.  I’m sure Yuka is correct that doing a nude self-portrait does more for Yatora’s headspace going into the second exam than painting the ocean would.  Stripped of their inhibitions the two pretty much share whatever secrets they still hold.  It’s certainly true that there’s nothing to hide behind in this situation – for an artist, it can’t be easy being forced to look at yourself as you really are (physically at least).  But for an artist, that’s certainly a good thing.

Unfortunately, Yatora’s physical breakdown seems to be going beyond his stress rash.  Whatever’s happening to him (eyes? back?) is directly connected to the pressure that’s been building up on him for months.  As for the business about the elevator, I’d like to think that was coincidental – though this being Japan, I wouldn’t put it past the university to do something like that on purpose as some sort of demented winnowing strategy.  Either way it seriously sucks, especially in Yatora’s current physical condition.  But since great art is rarely produced without suffering, maybe it will do him some sort of good.