2026's Best Ongoing Manga Is Breathtaking, So Why Is No One Talking About It

Published Jun 30, 2026, 5:30 PM EDT

Zach joined the ScreenRant Anime team as a contributor in June 2024, before taking on a Senior Writer role in November. Since then, he has covered breaking news and produced features and lists about the most popular anime titles.

It also isn't rare that great anime and manga titles are drowned out by the constant stream of noise accompanying online anime and manga fan spaces. Some will have their day in the spotlight, and are moved on from rather quickly. Tsubasa Yamaguchi's Blue Period is one of those series.

The award-winning manga debuted nearly a decade ago, and found wider global success after being adapted into a 12-episode anime series in 2021. Since then, the fanfare has largely faded, and the lack of an anime continuation has kept more casual fans at arms' length. Nevertheless, Blue Period continues to be one of the most impressive, consistently breathtaking currently ongoing manga series, and it deserves far more love than it's given.

Blue Period Is One of the Best and Most Underrated Ongoing Manga Series

At first glance, Blue Period might not appeal to a wide section of anime and manga fans. The series follows Yatora Yaguchi, a fairly popular student with little direction in life who, after describing art as a useless subject, sees one Shibuya morning as being blue and uses the scene as inspiration for an art project. It's there he feels passionate about something for the very first time, and devotes himself entirely to becoming a better artist.

Non-artists might not be won over by such an art-focused plot, but there's much more to Blue Period than it simply being a manga series about art. Yatora is a relatable and endearing protagonist, and the series places its emphasis more so on his giving himself to his passions than it does on the art itself. Blue Period is the journey of a young man who has found what it is that keeps him whole, and who decides to pursue a dream even while knowing the odds are stacked against him.

The manga boasts an impressive cast of characters in general, many of which play major roles in Yatora's growth as an artist. The series is also helped by creator Tsubasa Yamaguchi's unique and often breathtaking artwork, and the artist has a knack for placing her highly likable characters in dramatic situations. Blue Period is still ongoing, and all chapters are currently available to read on Kodansha's K Manga app.

Blue Period Is a Unique, Often Breathtaking Manga Reading Experience

Though the series has been ongoing for nearly a decade, Blue Period isn't all that long of a read. New chapters are released monthly, a schedule that has allowed the series to retain its absurdly high quality throughout the entirety of its serialization so far. Unfortunately, it appears the anime will not be returning, though the original source material is without a doubt the best way to experience the story. Yamaguchi's understanding and own love of art bleeds through the narrative, and helps to make Blue Period a moving, highly entertaining journey.

Though landing on a new anime or manga series may be a difficult task these days, with any and all options available at the touch of a button, manga fans will not regret diving head first into Blue Period, one of the best and most underrated ongoing series.