Blue Period (2024)
On the heels of it’s well-loved Netflix anime, Warner Brothers Pictures has recently announced a live action film adaptation of the manga, Blue Period, set to hit cinemas. Read on for more details.
A lot is happening with the Blue Period franchise. If you’re a fan of the Netflix anime, you may be interested to hear that before heading to the big screen, Blue Period has also been made into a stage play running in Tokyo this Spring with stage actor Kurumu Okamiya (Tabikurage Detective Diary – Crunchyroll) leading as Yatora Yaguchi.
Check out this fanciful image for the stage play:
Additionally, fans can also buy a digital English-language version of Tsubasa Yamaguchi’s manga from Kodansha Comics, volumes 1 through 14.
If you’ve caught the anime or read the manga – and noticed the abundance of live action movies pouring out of Japan – you may have been wondering when we’ll get a live action version for Blue Period. Well, here’s everything you need to know about Blue Period’s release, later this year.
What is Blue Period about?
Having launched as a manga in 2017, Blue Period focuses on high school student Yatora Yaguchi who’s easily coasting through classes and enjoying his social life but pretty much finding himself… bored.
Until he discovers a painting that changes everything. Captivated, he finds himself suddenly drawn to art and particularly to painting, having never done anything ‘difficult’ before. But determined to figure out this feeling, he plunges himself into a new world, unwavering in his new-found goal – to make it into Tokyo’s top art school.
Here’s a trailer of the anime if you’d like to watch it in anticipation of the film.
When will Blue Period live action be released?
The movie will hit big screens from August 9th, 2024, starting in Japan and hopefully quickly moving to a cinema near you – and me.
Who is included in the cast of Blue Period?
Japanese American actor, Gordon Maeda (Promise Cinderella, Tokyo Revengers), will lead the movie as Yatora Yaguchi, a high schooler who’s suddenly ensnared by a desire to make art and the ambition to do it well.
Fumiya Takahashi, whom you may recognize from Netflix’s I Will Be Your Bloom, or 2023’s Japanese high school romance, Our Secret Diary plays Ryuji ‘Yuka’ Ayukawa, Yaguchi’s gender nonconforming friend.
Hiyori Sakurada, previously paired with Takahasi in Our Secret Diary and also appeared in silent, plays Maru Mori, the upperclassman who first inspires Yaguchi with her painting.
Rihito Itagaki (MARS: Zero’s Revolution, Fermat’s Cuisine) is Yotasuke Takahasi, an art prodigy who is top competition for Yaguchi, spurring him to learn and create more.
Who is the director of Blue Period?
The live action director is Kentarō Hagiwara who also directed Tokyo Ghoul’s live action movie. Reiko Yoshida is known for the Blue Period anime and Violet Evergarden: The Movie and has written the script, which feels pretty exciting.
Quote from the creator of Blue Period:
In a quote from the manga creator published on ComicBook.com, Tsubasa Yamaguchi shares:
“I was honestly impressed by the movie Blue Period, where I could feel the reality in each scene and not the artificiality. The cast members spent a lot of time practicing painting and when I first saw them on set, I was amazed to see that everyone’s movements were similar to those of a painter. In particular, when I met [Gordon] Maeda-san, I felt so awkward that I felt like I was meeting my classmate Yaguchi-kun. How do you turn this work into a movie from the planning stage? I’m really glad that I was able to entrust this project to Director Hagiwara, who has a clear vision and is always thinking about delivering a film to the audience. I would be happy if everyone could feel the passion that people feel when they try to start something.”
Blue Period Trailer:
So you can see for yourself, here’s a trailer (sadly still without English subs) for the live action movie, Blue Period:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eb7G_5QIKE
Are you a fan of the Blue Period manga or anime? Did you recognize Fumiya Takahashi as Dan from I Will Be Your Bloom?
Click to read our Blue Period Season 1 Review or Blue Period Ending Explained story.
Click to read more stories about anime or Japanese drama & movies.