In his second year of high school, Yatora Yaguchi goofs off with his friends and studies hard enough to make good grades. However, neither makes him happy. Bound by normal activities, he wonders if there is something more. One day, he discovers the joy of drawing after becoming enchanted by a painting made by an art club member. Deciding he wants to do art as a living, Yatora faces a number challenges including his own hesitation on how far art can take him.
Ponderous slice of life shows really do have a way of making you so introspective about life. If you are looking for more anime recommendations like Blue Period, then head on down below.
Anime Like Blue Period
For Fans of Art
Bakuman
As a child, Moritaka Mashiro wanted to be a manga artist like his uncle. However, after certain events transpired, he refocused his efforts towards studying in middle school. One day, aspiring writer Akito Takagi notices some detailed drawings in Moritaka’s notebook and approaches him to propose they become a mangaka duo together. Realizing that he might be able to get his crush if they make an anime adaption of it with her as the voice actor, Moritaka agrees, and thus, the mangaka Muto Ashirogi is born.
While Blue Period is about traditional art rather than manga like Bakuman, both series really highlight the struggles that both kinds of artists face. Furthermore, they also imbue the viewer with actual technical knowledge about both art forms.
Arte
16th century Florence is awash with cultural and creative contributions during the Renaissance. Arte is a young lady from an aristocratic family who wants to contribute to this unique time. However, after her father’s death, she is expected to marry rather than become an artist. While she defies her family and looks for a mentor, she faces many obstacles in her path, one being that she is a woman.
Different era, same passion for art. Arte is indeed about an older time, but you’d be surprised how many similar obstacles both main characters face over their passion to pursue the arts.
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken
With sketchbook always on hand, Midori Asakusa has a passion for drawing both the world around her and the world in her boundless imagination. In stark contrast, her best friend Sayaka Kanamori and her calculated approach to life keeps her grounded. After a chance encounter with model Tsubame Misuzaki who has a passion for drawing characters, Kanamori, sensing a money-making opportunity, suggests they start an animation club.
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken is definitely a little bit different compared to Blue Period and a lot of bit more weird. However, the series is really a passionate love letter to animation as an art form, so I thought to include it. Both shows really convey a lot of the passion and love that people feel about both traditional art and animation.
Smile Down The Runway
Fujito Chiyuki has dreamed of being the star model for her father’s modeling agency since she was a girl. Unfortunately, she stopped growing and is considered too short to be a good model. Regardless, she kept pursuing her dream. Only did her resolve start to waiver in her last year of high school. However, after meeting Tsumura Ikuto, a classmate with a passion for designing clothes, does she join him on a seemingly impossible journey to achieve their dreams.
Just like living as an artist, becoming someone in fashion is a road riddled with obstacles. If you enjoyed the technical knowledge imparted in Blue Period as well as watching him overcome everything in his way, give Smile Down the Runway a shot.
For Fans of Seeking Meaning
March Comes in Like a Lion
Rei Kiriyama recently started to live alone in his last year of high school. He is able to financial support himself as a professional Shogi player, but while he officially became a pro in middle school, he is collapsing under the pressure to succeed. Burdened with his own problems, Rei has found solace among a kind family of three sisters, the Kawamotos. The oldest, Akari, likes to take in strays and Rei is the latest. While he feels conflicted about spending time with them, they provide accepting affection that he has gotten nowhere else.
March Comes in Like a Lion probably better encaptures straight up depression and overall confliction about path and purpose in life. However, like Blue Period, it follows a guy that is adrift. In both series you watch them find their place in the world and find themselves as a person. Shogi may sound pretty boring, but March Comes in Like a Lion handles it masterfully.
Iroduku: The World in Colors
In this world, there is only a small amount of magic left. Hitomi is a descendant of an old witch family who lost her emotions and ability to see color at a young age. Feeling bad for her granddaughter, the great witch Kohaku sends her into the past where interactions with her young self and Kohaku’s friends will hopefully foster some growth in her granddaughter.
Despite all the ways Iroduku is different (I.e. the time travel), the story still very much has that sense of exploration where a young person is discovering purpose and passion through their interaction with others. While not so much from the main character, Iroduku also has art play a big part of the story as well.
A Place Further Than The Universe
Upon discovering an old list she made in the last year of middle school, Mari Tamaki, who is now in her second year of high school realizes she is not making the most of her youth. Whenever she tries to do something new, she is paralyzed with inaction. Then one day she meets Shirase, a girl who’s mother went missing when she was in middle school on an expedition to Antarctica. Knowing full well it is close to impossible, she works hard in order to go to search for her mother and invites Mari along for the ride.
A Place Further Than The Universe has a bit of a more impossible seeming goal than getting into art school, but they make it happen in the most believable way. Both shows really highlight how inspired a person can become about life with just one spark from another. Though Blue Period has a more tangible theme overall, both series really explore young people finding purpose for their life.
For Fans of Starting as a Beginner
Welcome to the Ballroom
Tatara is rescued one day by a professional dancer and teacher named Sengoku. Ending up back at his dance studio, he meets a school mate that he had secretly come to idolize. From this moment, Tatara is thrust into the world of dance, aiming to improve as a dancer in order to be acknowledged by his peers and rivals while Sengoku nurtures his natural talent.
There aren’t some many anime series about art, and there is even less about dancing. Still, both series are tied together by watching an absolute beginner at both dive head first into it. However, Tatara’s interest is more casual at first, but he reaches Yatora’s passion soon enough.
Baby Steps
In order to work on his health, honor student Eiichirou Marou decides to spend his free time playing tennis. There he meets Natsu, another student who is determined to become a professional tennis player due to her love for it. Her passion begins to rub off on him, but as he continues to play, the more fascinated by it he becomes.
While Baby Steps is a sports anime about tennis, it does follow a guy that starts playing tennis and becomes enchanted by it because of someone else. He then finds his very own passion for it and falls right down the rabbit hole, not unlike Blue Period.
Stop This Sound
After the senior members graduated, Takezou is now the sole member of his Japanese string instrument club. Facing termination, he now begins his search for new members when suddenly a wily one bursts right into his club room. Chika has a strong reputation as a violent thug, but due to his grandfather being a renowned koto artisan before his death, he has a passion for the koto that will help Takezou revive his dying club.
Both series follow so-called delinquents getting involved in a traditional art from step one. Their passion and hard work carry them greatly while also imparting some knowledge to the audience. In essence, these shows really follow the same formula, but are about different arts.
Do you have more anime recommendations like Blue Period? Let fans know in the comments section below.
