Learn Japanese with Blue Period

Anime by Japanese level › N3 to N2

How hard is the Japanese in Blue Period?

Ikkimi rates Blue Period at N3 to N2 (faster talk with more unusual words). What sets its level: art school words, inner monologue. Of the 192 anime Ikkimi rates by hand, 112 are easier and 53 are harder.

Levels follow the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, from N5 (easiest) to N1 (hardest). They are Ikkimi’s estimate of how hard a show’s Japanese is to follow, from how fast people talk, how many unusual words there are and how clear the voices are. They are not official JLPT ratings.

Format, episodes, year and genres are from AniList’s entry, which may cover only the first season.

The words in the title

The Japanese title, ブルーピリオド, is a first lesson in itself. Its 2 words, as a dictionary lists them:

How to learn Japanese with Blue Period

Ikkimi lists Blue Period on Netflix. What each service carries varies by country. Ikkimi does not stream anything: you watch on your own account, in Chrome on a computer, and Ikkimi adds a Japanese line you can click on top of the player.

On Netflix

On Netflix, turn on Japanese subtitles in the player, where your country’s Netflix has them for this title, and Ikkimi makes the line clickable. If there are none, open the Ikkimi popup, choose Find Japanese subtitles, and search Jimaku’s catalogue or load a file from your computer.

1. Add Ikkimi to Chrome

   Get the extension from the Chrome Web Store and sign in.

2. Play an episode

   Open Blue Period on Netflix. The Japanese line appears on top of the video.

3. Click the words you keep hearing

   The video pauses and the word opens: kana, romaji, meaning, JLPT level and a recording by a native speaker where one exists (never a computer voice; otherwise the line from the show plays again). At this level, turn on the English line under the Japanese at first, and keep only the words that come back.

4. Review them later

   Kept words come back as flashcards on the Ikkimi website, with the scene and the line they came from, just before you would forget them.

Easier and harder shows

Shows within a level of Blue Period, with the most genres in common first.

Easier

• N3A Silent Voice聲の形a film, school talkNetflix
• N3Mob Psycho 100モブサイコ100casual speech, one fast talkerCrunchyroll
• N3Your Lie in April四月は君の嘘school talk, music words, poetic monologuesCrunchyrollNetflix

Also N3 to N2

• N3 to N2Violet Evergardenヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデンformal polite speech, letters read aloudNetflix
• N3 to N2BEASTARSschool talk, long inner monologueNetflix
• N3 to N2Chihayafuruちはやふるclub talk, classical poems read aloudCrunchyroll

Harder

• N2My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFUやはり俺の青春ラブコメはまちがっている。wordy, cynical monologuesCrunchyroll
• N2March Comes in Like a Lion3月のライオンshogi words, long inner monologueCrunchyrollNetflix
• N2Attack on Titan進撃の巨人military words, fastCrunchyroll

See every N3 to N2 anime or all 192 anime by Japanese level, and read how to learn Japanese by watching anime from zero.

Questions

Is Blue Period good for learning Japanese?

Not as a first show. Ikkimi rates it N3 to N2 (faster talk with more unusual words). What sets its level: art school words, inner monologue. It is harder than most beginner shows. Watch it for fun from the start if you like, but learn your first words from an easier one.

What Japanese level is Blue Period?

N3 to N2, on Ikkimi’s scale from N5 (easiest) to N1 (hardest). Of the 192 anime Ikkimi rates by hand, 112 are easier and 53 are harder. The level is Ikkimi’s estimate, not an official JLPT rating.

Where can I watch Blue Period with Japanese subtitles?

Ikkimi lists Blue Period on Netflix. What each service carries varies by country. On Netflix, turn on Japanese subtitles in the player where they are offered, and Ikkimi makes every word clickable.

What does the title ブルーピリオド mean, word by word?

ブルー (buruu) means “blue”; ピリオド (piriodo) means “period (esp. in European languages); full stop”.

How many episodes does Blue Period have?

AniList’s entry lists 12 episodes of about 24 minutes, first aired in 2021. Later seasons may be listed separately.

What should I watch before Blue Period?

Shows a little easier than Blue Period, with genres in common: A Silent Voice (N3), Mob Psycho 100 (N3) and Your Lie in April (N3).

Sources: show details from AniList; meanings from JMdict (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0); readings and word splits from kuromoji.js with IPADIC; JLPT word levels from Jonathan Waller’s unofficial lists. See Credits. Spotted a mistake? Tell us at hello@ikkimi.app.