Ryuji is a side character in the short anime series Blue Period. He challenges both gender and sexual norms both directly and passively at various points throughout the series. How the anime deals with Ryuji as well as how the other characters interact with him spans nearly the entire range of how people who present in this way get treated in the real world. Without being overt, or distracting from the main character’s story Blue Period manages to give a remarkable depiction of the challenges that nonconforming genders and sexualities can face. As well as the impacts that such things can have on the individuals facing those challenges.
Blue Period follows the story of Yaguchi, a young boy who struggles to find his purpose in life. When he is invited to the art club by Ryuji, he discovers something that he is very good at and has a passion for. The rest of the story is a tale of self-discovery couched within preparations for university entrance exams. Yaguchi has his sights set at the top, and nearly burns himself out with all of the work that he puts into achieving his goal. He is only able to succeed by falling back on the support of his friends and teachers.
Who is Ryuji?
Ryuji is a student in the same year as Yaguchi at their public high school. He is a male character, however, vastly prefers to wear feminine clothing. Enjoying the style so much that his ideal profession is to design fashion. More than just wearing feminine clothing, Ryuji wears his hair long and has a higher-than-average voice. Because of this, he is repeatedly mistaken for a girl throughout the show.
Ryuji school’s art club and studies traditional Japanese painting. Later Yaguchi discovers that this is just to satisfy his grandmother and that his true passion is fashion design. He does take the first art school exam with Yaguchi, but on the first test day he simply draws a large X on the canvas and walks out. Essentially sabotaging his art school aspirations.
How Does Ryuji Identify?
There are very few situations in which Ryuji addresses his gender head-on. The first time is when he is talking to a guy that he is interested in. Yaguchi asks if he told the guy that he is actually a man and Ryuji says yes.
Later in the show, Yaguchi rents a room for two guys. When they arrive the proprietor hesitates since he believes that Ryuji is a girl. In this situation, Ryuji pulls his clothes forward and drops his voice to convince the man that he is in fact male. This certainly implies that Ryuji does still identify as a male, but it is also possible that he simply finds it is easier to deal with things in this way.
What is Ryuji’s Sexuality?
This is another grey area in the anime: Ryuji could very easily be bisexual, or straight. (Or possibly gay depending upon gender identity, but running with the male assumption.) There are only two individuals with whom Ryuji shows real interest and two others with whom he flirts. There is the boy at the beginning of the series who rejects him, and a mystery girl who he reveals to Yaguchi he has a crush on.
This information certainly suggests that he is bisexual, especially when there is a brief scene of him flirting with a guy in a bar. However, he reveals to Yaguchi that he just feels like things would be easier if he just liked guys, since he presents so feminine. So does he flirt with the boys previously mentioned because he is actually interested in them or just to try to make his life easier? He also flirts with Yaguchi occasionally, but this seems to be to get a rise out of him more than genuine interest.
How Does All of This Affect His Life?
Ryuji has a horrible home life before he leaves home anyway. It is never explicitly made clear that this is due to his identity or sexuality, but the rejection he experiences is a common occurrence among this population. Similarly, he talks about how he has considered ending his own life but isn’t quite ready yet. Again it is not explicitly tied to his identity but it is likely that they are related. It certainly affects his dating life as that initial boy breaks up with him when he learns he is actually a man.
Ryuji is a female presenting male who certainly likes women and probably likes men. This makes him a very real and compelling depiction of the fluidity that can be found in both gender and sexuality. He doesn’t quite fit into any one box, although he acknowledges that his life would likely be easier if he did. Ryuji is confident in who he is, and never has trouble accepting himself, however, by the end of the show he also has the confidence to leave behind the people who hurt him and make the life he wants to live.