Thank you so much to Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this Manga!!! Yeaaaaaaa this one is definitely a blue period kitchen princess mashup(fluffy underdog with intense artists). Its a university level starting out which is unexpected and there's not many artistic references with expositions which if you are not a fan of exposition, you'll appreciate this manga. I love the characters(although one of them is a little questionable........) and I appreciated the humor and camraderie between them. Overall though, I believe this manga needs to get out of digital jail and fill in the void that we need of artistic manga/anime. 4.5 out of 5 stars

The art in this is really fun, it feels fluid and you can really see the movement of the characters on the screen; but I admit I didn't click with it, particularly. Whilst I love that the MC breaks away from the mold set by so many shoujo manga of gentle, soft women, she was just a touch too much for me. Her naivety and goofiness felt a bit annoying; and I would have liked to see a moment or two more of her being serious about the situation, feeling down about what's happened - then rising from it to move forward cheerfully. The balance of emotions felt off. I wonder whether this would change in future chapters though, and whether her personality is a front, a barrier against feeling the loss that's hinted at within this volume.

This was a fun introduction to a new series about an art student trying to do her best in a new university. The art is interesting and the characters may develop in interesting ways. It has a feeling of Nodame Cantabile for art students (a little Honey and Clover minus the melodrama!).

However, it felt a little prozaic at first, with the introduction of the hot older student interested in the main character, other wacky art students and an antagonistic art tutor.

This volume did end on an exciting note, and that bumps up my star rating.

This sweet manga about persevering with a smile was quite touching. After Nico enrolls into a prestigious art academy, she runs into strict teachers and students with ulterior motives left and right, but never loses her energy and how art brings her joy.

While I liked the themes, I had a hard time engaging with the plot and characters. It took me too long to realize what the plot actually was and which characters were going to end up being important, but I think that might have been my own disconnect. If you like school settings and bubbly main characters, you're sure to love this manga!

It was ok, compared to other manga about the arts it fell a bit short for me. I can't really figure out why this is though. The art is not bad and concept of the story seemed to be interesting... However, it is ranked lower on my list of manga to continue to read, but there is always a chance I continue reading it to see how it progresses. Basically what I got from volume one is that the art school should allow the students to have a bit more freedom in their art versus having a set way. Our main character stands up for what she believes is right, ends up in the same position as the other student.

I think ok is probably the best overview for this title. I liked the art and the story in the first book is ok. The art exhibition and the lead up is a bit far fetched but in the end it’s still nice enough to read.

Nico is a ‘character’ and not always in the best sense. Overall, I did like Nico, but she doesn’t come across as a person. She is whimsey, brave and full on. She reads more like a character that has to have set traits because of *this story* and *this background*, instead of a rounded individual that you just happen to be reading about.

This is a cute manga about a hopeful art student. She is perky and wild and does not get along with a specific professor. Her positivity is infectious. In the hopes of changing the professors opinion, she teams up with other students to show they are not what their professor believes.

A great slice of life Story!

A rebelic Art-student who fights for her rights. Nico is very sympathic. The story ist smart and funny, and also motivating.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our list for order this year and will recommend it to students. I do hope it eventually gets a physical release!

Nico Sorano is in the dictionary under "free-spirited"...which makes her an instant celebrity at her art university. But one professor, the career making-or-breaking Kageiwa-sensei, has only a limited tolerance for her aggressively good-natured optimism. Unsurprisingly, Nico isn't fazed...it just means she's going to have to make her own way to stardom, with the help of her friend Mitsuki and the inscrutable, notorious Soichiro Togo. No matter what, it'll be an interesting college debut

This one really missed the mark for me. Initially, I was intrigued by the synopsis and was looking for a new manga to get into. But I’m afraid this just was not for me.

It felt like the story was quite rushed. The art style was overall fairly consistent with what I would expect from a slice-of-life, school themed manga. Each panel mostly focused on illustrating the main characters, with simple back drops of either shaded backgrounds or sometimes a clear backdrop. There were some frames that were more intricate, though I think more detail would have been appropriate since this focuses on an art major, therefore with more detail it would have supported that theme a bit better, in my opinion. The dialogue and interactions between characters at times lacked maturity and sensitivity, and is not dialogue I would expect from art university students or professors. Unfortunately, there was a lot of off-putting and demeaning language and behaviours/gestures that threw me off.

So, essentially, this manga was not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an eGalley for review. All opinions are my own.
Source: NetGalley and Amazon purchase (book archived prior to reading)

This was such a fun manga - Nico is a young art student from the countryside who enters art-school with a smile on her face and a lot of unique ideas on how to make art. This was by far the quickest manga read I have ever had - the art style really accompanied the manga's light feel, and I genuinely left it feeling like it picked me up. A very expressive art style with a cutesy design and some genuinely nice characters, I think I will continue this series as I enjoyed it *very* much!

<i>I received a complimentary copy of this volume from Kodansha via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, which I leave voluntarily - my rating is unaffected</i>.

Are you looking for a serious manga about the realities of studying art? Then read <i>Blue Period</i>. Would you rather read about an aggressively perky art student who apparently didn't actually prepare for her oil painting major, got into art school anyway, and has all the subtlety of a hot pink bulldozer? Then, my friends, <i>A Nico-Colored Canvas</i> may be the book for you.

Speaking as someone who watched her sister go through two art schools, a highly competitive graduate program and a regular undergraduate program, I can't say that much about this volume rings true. The creator does say that she based it on her experiences at art school, but either she had a much different one than most art students I know or she's painting the whole thing with a liberal day-glo brush. The story lives and dies on heroine Nico's crafted quirkiness, and it's frankly a bit much. Nico's so ~zany~ and ~special~ that she becomes hard to take at all seriously, and we're forced to question why she's majoring in oil painting rather than illustration or performance art (assuming that's a major), because she's very much about putting on a show. She's absolutely right to call out the hard-nosed jerk professor who prides himself on not passing everyone and calls her a monkey in class, but everything else about her screams mid-2010s TV show starring Zooey Deschannel. It's not so much bad as it is exhausting, and while I love the art style, I can't say that I'll be coming back for volume two.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kodansha Comics and the author for an advanced copy.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Nico, a free-spirited artist, heads to college and her first class is with a professor that has limited tolerance for her over the top personality and unusual ways of creating art. Unfortunately, this professor is the "career making or breaking Kageiwa-sensei" and Nico isn't one to back down/change who she is. Will they be able to get along?

I was intrigued by this manga, it's about art after all! So I was really excited to read it and see what kind of art story it would be.

Unfortunately, it wasn't quite what I was expecting and although enjoyable, I didn't like it as much as I hoped I would.

The story itself isn't bad, free-spirited girl who loves art heads to a college a bit out of her comfort zone considering she's from a small town. Stern professor who is no-nonsense and strict on "his way" of doing things. Definitely lots of potential and love the point of being yourself and not changing who you are.

However, Nico herself was just.... a bit too much for me. Just a little too out there, too over the top, too "I gotta be insanely different", just too much. I feel maybe the author went too far with trying to make Nico so different and unique. I just couldn't relate to Nico nor found her all that likeable. It's almost as if Nico was trying to hard not to fit in, trying to hard to be different that she was just going overboard which defeats the whole "just be yourself" point.

I did like that Nico had a different pov with her art and wouldn't change her art just to fit what the professor wanted. Art is about expression, expressing how you view things and shouldn't be forced into a box of "this is how it should be done". Kicking someone out of class because their art isn't what you want, they didn't do things your way shouldn't be acceptable and I like that Nico wants to do something about that.

I think if Nico chills just a little with being so over the top, this story could be a really good one. Although I didn't fully like Volume 1, I do plan to read Volume 2 to see how things continue.

This was a silly, artistic manga with a wild cast of characters! I really liked all of the art components that this first volume contained. It was fun to see inside our main characters head as she was determined to further her artistic journey regardless of what anyone else had to say about it.

The side characters were hilarious even when they were weird but that just added to their charm, I think! Overall, this was a solid start to this series and I’d recommend it if you like a contemporary, college setting with tons of art and a fun main character who is full of spunk and energy!

3/5⭐️

This is a cute manga about a manic pixie dreamgirl who gets into an art institute but her unsophisticated ways are snootied down upon by others at the school. Nico is cute (but a little exhausting, lol). She recruits and growing core of strong friendships/followes with her relentless optimism (and cluelessness). She's basically the human embodiment of "no thoughts, just vibes." It was interesting, but not interesting enough that I'll bother to pick up the next volume.

Cute, fluffy and fun to read. Nico is hilarious and undaunted by anything. She just wants to do art and have it be seen. I love her enthusiasm and spunk. She doesn't give up no matter what. Definitely worth checking out.

What a great start to a promising manga. I love that this takes place in an art school and our main character Nico is an underdog we can root for. She is a free spirited, out of the box thinker from the countryside. She has a huge heart and a lot of guts and no self-awareness. Also the side characters are just as charming in their own way and have their own quirks and agendas that we are still trying to figure out. Every panel in this manga feels like it has a lot of life and joy in it.

It’s in a college setting so we get to see the students' art work and ambitions and it feels fresh. It’s about Nico trying to find her way to success when she and a very important teacher disagree on an issue. We also get to meet her fellow classmate Nishinomori who I hope we get to see his progress in art as well. They are very much the opposite of the other and I think will help each other grow.

It’s nice to see Nico, who calls herself inexperienced, learn to find her own way in art and still have fun in the process. We get to see a juxtaposition of her spirit versus her new friend Mitsuki who is very straight-laced and already a favorite with instructors, and their budding dynamic. Togo by far is the character with the most intrigue because we don’t know his intentions towards Nico, but he is also a colorful guy himself.

I highly recommend this title. It has a lot of heart and is just getting started. This is a Kodansha digital release.


Special thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

Wow Nico had so much bounce and energy I felt like it could literally fling off the page and give me my own serotonin boost! I love Nico's drive, energy, ability to see the positive even in not so great situations and just what great acceptance she has of others and her pure determination to never give up. A super cute manga.

🍄Rating: 4.5 leaves out of 5
-Characters: 4/5
-Cover: 4.5/5
-Story: 4.5/5
-Writing: 5/5
🍄Genre: Art
🍄Type: Manga
🍄Worth?: Yes!

Hated|Disliked|Liked|🌿Loved🌿|Favorited

First want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review. What a lovely and cute volume. The art in this books is wonderful and the story is cute but also a bit nerve racking. I would love to read the second volume! I need to know how it turns out and everything. Really enjoyed it. Sorano is lovely and the professor she had is a POS... and that is putting it nicely!