This past weekend at Japan Society NYC, I got a chance to see the live-action adaptation of Tsubasa Yamaguchi’s critically-acclaimed manga, Blue Period, a month before Japanese theaters are showing it. As someone who hasn’t read the manga beforehand, but knew the premise, I wanted to see why this series is beloved by a lot of fans, especially those who have been through art school.

The movie captures the 1st major arc (Volumes 1-6) of the series. I was impressed with the portrayal of the main character, Yatora Yaguchi. He totally gave off the vibe of someone who’s just going along with the flow until the world of art comes into his life. Ryuji Ayukawa left an impression on me as well. I thought his relationship with Yatora was fascinating as both have different personalities on how they view life. Yotasuke Takahashi was great in the film. He had a lot of audience reactions from the crowd at certain moments because he’s quite a bit of a tsundere. I don’t have much of an opinion on Maru Mori, despite her being a prominent influence on Yatora. However, one of her paintings that involved prayers looked fantastic on screen.

I did read all of Volumes 1-6 afterwards to compare and contrast. A lot of the information about art styles and techniques was cut off from the movie, so the story became even more of an emotional story. I love how grounded the movie is and while there were some CG effects in the movie, they were minimal. I liked how the movie made the process of getting into a top-tier art university intense as hell. It helps that Yatora’s inner monologues about himself and the process are so well-portrayed by Gordon Maeda, the actor who plays him. The scenes where you see the actual art process during the manga’s important art moments are impressive as well.

Even though some character plots and portrayals were put on the back seat, Blue Period was a fun movie to watch. I did almost tear up at certain moments because I have at times wanted to just follow the expectations of others to feel safe. But I felt life became exciting and full of meaning once I decided to choose how I wanted to live. Sure, I may not be rich and life is sometimes hard as hell, but I feel like I’m living a life I’m okay with. Plus, even though it may not be contemporary art, manga art has had quite the influence on my life. Manga art has compelled me to think a lot about life and the relationships that definite it. Although I never wanted to draw, I realized how much I wanted to talk about the medium’s stories to a lot of people I know. I also understood why former art school students love Blue Period so much.

I know a good amount of live-action adaptations are hit or miss, but I can tell you this one is a hit due to how real the story and themes are. If you’re a fan of the manga and the movie comes out in your area, this is worth a watch.