There are stories about fans who meet their favorite artist and leave that experience completely transformed. Not always for the better, not always for the worse, but always irrevocably. Draw This, Then Die! is exactly that story, and its second trailer confirmed the premiere for July 3, 2026 along with the season’s ending. The adaptation of the award-winning manga by Minoru Toyoda has everything in place.

The second trailer offers more of Ai Yasumi‘s story and the emotional moments that define her journey, building on the initial images with scenes showing the impact of the encounter between a passionate fan and the creator she admires. The ending is called “Conifer”, composed specifically for the series by Regal Lily. The opening “Isho” is performed by Tatsuya Kitani.

Voice Cast

• Akira Sekine as Ai Yasumi. (Ariane Olgren in The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World and Princess in Princess Principal).
• Saori Hayami as Rei Teshima. (Shinobu Kocho in Kimetsu no Yaiba and Yor Forger in Spy x Family).
• Inori Minase as Hikaru Sekiryu. (Rem in Re:Zero and Hestia in DanMachi).
• Noriko Hidaka as Pokota. (Akane Tendo in Ranma ½ and Satsuki Kusakabe in My Neighbor Totoro).
• Atsumi Tanezaki as Nana Teramura. (The iconic Anya Forger in Spy x Family and Frieren in Sousou no Frieren).
• Yukana as Hana Kongoji. (C.C. in Code Geass and Evangeline A.K. McDowell in Negima!).
• Kikuko Inoue as Hebichika-sensei. (An industry icon, known for Belldandy in Ah! My Goddess and Sanae Furukawa in Clannad).
• Saya Hitomi as Kokoro Fujimori.
• Kanon Fujimura as Sachi Akafuku.

Production Team

Direction is by Hiroaki Akagi at Shinei Animation, with Hiroko Fukuda overseeing the scripts alongside Aki Itami and Kanichi Kato. Character design is by Takekazu Segawa, and the music is composed by Hiroaki Tsutsumi of MIRACLE BUS, with sound direction by Tatsuhiro Amano.

About Draw This, Then Die!

Draw This, Then Die! (Kore Kaite Shine) is a manga by Minoru Toyoda, also the author of Love Roma, published in Shogakukan’s Monthly Shonen Sunday since November 2021. The ninth compiled volume is scheduled for June 12. The series has an impressive record: it won the Shogakukan Manga Award in its 70th edition in January 2025, was nominated for the Manga Taisho in 2023, and achieved a prominent position in the Kono Manga ga Sugoi! of that same year. The story follows Ai Yasumi, a first-year high school student living on the remote island of Izu Oshima, whose passion for manga leads her to meet Rei Teshima, the creator she idolizes, triggering a process that completely transforms her understanding of art and creativity.

Do you think meeting your favorite artist up close can ruin the magic of their work, or is that collision with reality necessary for growth as a fan?