(kodoani.com)Yatora tries to woo her mother with a sketch, but reveals something much bigger about herself in the process.
Episode 2 of Blue Period Netflix’s main character Yatora plunges into the world of art. The young man completed many assignments during the summer break to develop his budding skills, especially in sketching and painting. But there is one more barrier to Yatora’s future career as an artist – his mother’s views on education. Without her approval, Yatora would not be able to apply to her university of choice, Tokyo University of the Arts. So, using his burgeoning skills, he decided to sketch her to convince her of his potential. In the process, Yatora made a surprising realization.
As seen from episode 1, Yatora is a thug who stays up all night with his friends night after night. So it’s not surprising that he’s not at home much, other than when he’s in his room doing his homework. As Yatora makes sketches of his mother, he begins to really observe the details of his mother, and this reflects back into the larger things in their family life.
He watched his mother as she washed the dishes on the sink. The first thing to notice is her hands – all bandaged and cut out from always making the dishes. However, she continued her duties seriously. Second, Yatora noticed the muscles in her mother’s arms. The young man hadn’t noticed them before, but quickly realized it was from constantly bringing groceries into the house alone. Seeing these things, and the utter devotion her mother had for her family, Yatora felt terrible for not helping, and more importantly, for not realizing it in the first place.
Without this sketch, Yatora wouldn’t have taken the time to really observe her mother. He wouldn’t notice her newly emerged hands or muscles, which meant he wouldn’t have this moment of guilt. Yatora’s new love of art is slowly turning the boy into a better person – before he realizes it, and he certainly won’t care. Although the sketch was used as a means to convince mom of her potential, it served its purpose but in a different way. Yatora’s mother can see how art is changing her son, moment by moment.
Realizing this and feeling guilty, Yatora, when he gave the sketch to his mother, apologized to her. Before this point, apologizing didn’t seem to be on Yatora’s mind. But this new, emotionally vulnerable version of Yatora is ready to apologize and mean every word of it. Yatora admits that he wasn’t around much to help and realize how hard his mother worked for their family, even to her own harm. What started as an attempt to convince his mother to let him pursue art has turned into a healthy and important family moment, showing how far Yatora has come in such a short amount of time.
All in all, his efforts to win her over for the job are obvious. She realizes how art has been changing her son for the better, and with just one look at the sketch, she is ready to acknowledge his creative potential. Although his artistic journey has only just begun, the positive effects are already showing.
