Blue Period, Vol 1. by Tsubasa Yamaguchi is a teen manga about art, finding something you are passionate about and going after it.
Yatora is a great student, he has a lot of friends and does everything that is expected of him. But doing what is expected of him, is easy and... boring. One day, when taking an art class for school, Yatora notices a painting that captures his interest and gets him thinking about art and what the craft entails.
Consumed with this idea of creating something beautiful, Yatora immerses himself in the art world and realizes that behind the beauty is a competitive, critical world he longs to embrace.
It has been such a long time since I picked up a new manga to read and I really enjoyed this one. Not only does it have an interesting storyline, but it is chock full of information about art and the art world in general. And I don't think you need to have an interest in art to read this book. Yes, there are some facts I really didn't care about but for the most part, the story is accessible to any level of interest.
This is definitely a teen+ book because there are some mild sexual references and quite a bit of drinking and smoking. None of this is the focus and it isn't idolized or anything, but it is there and something to note. The characters are sophomore or higher level high school students, so that should tell you something.
Overall, I think this manga series will appeal to a wide variety of teens. Although, I can see a romance blossoming, it isn't the focus of the story, which I find refreshing. This one gets 4-5 stars from me.
That's all for now!
-M-