WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 2 of Blue Period, "He's Not Tanned At All," now streaming on Netflix.
Episode 2 of Netflix's Blue Period throws main character Yatora headlong into the world of art. He completes many assignments over the summer break to grow his budding skills, especially in sketching and painting. But there's one more barrier to Yatora's future career as an artist - his mother's opinion of his education. Without her approval, Yatora won't be able to apply to the university of his choice, the Tokyo University of the Arts. So, using his growing skills, he decides to do a sketch of her to convince her of his potential. In the process, Yatora comes to a shocking realization.
As established back in Episode 1, Yatora is a bit of a delinquent, staying out all night with his friends night after night. So it comes to no surprise that he isn't very present at home, besides when he's in his room doing homework. As Yatora does the sketch of his mother, he starts to really observe the details of his mother, and this in turn reflects back on larger things in their home life.
He watches his mother as she does the dishes over the sink. The first thing he notices is her hands - they're all bandaged and cut from always doing the dishes. Yet she continues her task dutifully. Secondly, Yatora notices the muscles in his mother's arms. He hadn't noticed them before, but he quickly realizes it's from constantly carrying groceries into the house all by herself. Seeing these things, and the complete dedication his mother has to her family, Yatora feels terrible for not helping out, and more importantly, for not noticing in the first place.
Without this sketch, Yatora would not have taken the time to really observe his mother. He wouldn't have noticed her hands or her newfound muscles, which means he wouldn't have had this moment of guilt. His new love of art is slowly turning Yatora into a better person - before he wouldn't have noticed, and he definitely wouldn't have cared. Even though the sketch was meant as a means to convince his mom of his potential, it served its purpose but in a different way. Yatora's mother is able to see how art is changing her son, moment by moment.
Because of this realization and the onslaught of guilt, Yatora, when handing over the sketch to his mother, apologizes to her. Before this moment, apologizing would almost seem out of character for Yatora. But this new, emotionally vulnerable version of Yatora readily apologizes and means every word of it. He acknowledges that he's not around a lot to help out and recognizes how hard his mom works for their family, even to her own detriment. What started out as an effort to convince his mom to let him pursue art turns into a wholesome and important family moment that shows just how far Yatora has come in such a short amount of time.
All in all, his efforts to win her over clearly work. She realizes just how much art is already changing her son for the better, and with one look at the sketch, is ready to admit to his creative potential. Even though his journey into making art is just beginning, the positive effects are already revealing themselves.
