Tsubasa Yamaguchi

"Second Exam. A surprising setback before the second exam shakes Yatora up, but after everything he's been through, he must persevere. This time, the subject turns out to be something both new and familiar... But does an average guy like Yatora stand a chance against the geniuses and prodigies vying for a spot in the nation's most competitive art school?" -- back of cover.

Yatora, a perfect high school student with good grades and lots of friends, wanders into the art room one day where a painting awakens him to a kind of beauty he never knew, soon consuming him and sending him deep into the savage world of art.

"Thanks to the influence of the guru-like leader of NO MARKs, Yatora is ready to return to TUA with a fresh perspective and renewed love for art--until a series of jarring events makes him question his recent choices. But as he considers what is right or wrong in his pursuit of art, he finds the inspiration to take a bold new approach to his assignment on "guilt.""--

"Summer whizzes by like a typhoon, and Yatora has learned that large-scale pieces--in production and concept--only come together with elbow grease and teamwork. TUA opens its gates once more for the second term and Yatora's back at it. . .But he hasn't picked up a brush in months!" --Back cover.

Yatora prepares for the first-year show, where he'll have to pass an open review from intimidating professors and celebrity guest lecturers. To make matters worse, the self-directed nature of the assignment is more stifling than freeing, and he's no longer sure: Does he even like art? Why did he ever start? An all-nighter in Shibuya may hold the answer, but Yatora's not with his usual boys... --

"Art has changed the course of Yatora's once dull life, and now he's aiming for Japan's most competitive art school. With entrance exams a year away, he'll need to expand his limited eye for art, and quickly. He turns to new peers and the masters to envision pieces only he can produce, and soon dives into his first competition--the same one where his Art Club role model nearly scored last place. Among geniuses and lifelong art kids, does Yatora even...

"Yatora studies hard and gets good grades, and he parties hard, staying out late drinking and watching soccer with his friends. He checks all the boxes he needs to be the perfect high school student. But it all starts to feel empty, and he begins to wonder what part of his life expresses who he is...or even if he has a unique voice at all. Then he wanders into the art room one day, and a lone painting captures his eye, awakening him to a kind of beauty...