Ai Yasumi learned how to interact with people by reading manga. The characters came to life for her and gave her advice on what to say and when to say it. Ai gradually made friends over time, but she never lost her love of manga. Her first visit to Comitia (Comiket) inspires her to draw her own manga. We’ll see how far she gets in the world of manga when the award-winning Draw This, Then Die! (Kore Kaite Shine) premieres sometime in July 2026.
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Minoru Toyoda released the original Draw This, Then Die! manga series on November 12th, 2021. Shogakukan has since published eight volumes in Monthly Shonen Sunday.
Draw This, Then Die! Cast
The budding mangaka, her imaginary friend, and her teacher are as follows:
- Ai Yasumi — Akira Sekine (Maryu Reage from Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?). Ai’s love of manga pushes her to create her own book.
- Pokota — Noriko Hidaka (Shiny Chariot / Professor Ursula from Little Witch Academia). Pokota is Ai’s imaginary friend, based on a character from Robota and Pokota.
- Rei Teshima — Saori Hayami (Yor Forger from Spy × Family). Rei is Ai’s teacher and the creator of Robota and Pokota.
Liden Films maintains a home page, a TikTok page, and a Twitter (X) page to promote Draw This, Then Die!. You can find more information about the series and the key visuals at those sites.
The Path of a Mangaka is Difficult. Draw This, Then Die!
Ai Yasumi loves reading manga. She has read most of the manga at her local shop and continues to visit it daily. Manga has helped her navigate different social interactions, allowing her to make friends. Ai is especially fond of Rei Hoshino’s independent manga, Robota and Pokota. The robot character Pokota remains her imaginary friend, helping her navigate the world around her.
Ai quickly bought a ticket to mainland Tokyo to attend Comitia (Comiket) after finding out that Rei Hoshino would be selling a new book. The indie mangaka all explain that they both wrote and drew their series, which both surprises and inspires Ai to create her own manga. She’s also surprised to discover that Rei Hoshino is her strict teacher, Rei Teshima. Ai sets out to fulfill her dream of becoming a manga creator, despite Rei constantly warning her away from that path.
Will you set off fireworks when you watch the premiere of Draw This, Then Die!? Have you read the manga series? Will Ai and her friends successfully create a manga book? Let us know in the comments below.
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No girlfriend? No problem! April 14 is Black Day in South Korea, when single men mark the occasion by eating black noodles. They missed out on Valentine’s Day chocolate on February 14, and had no one to give white chocolate to on White Day, March 14, but so April 14 is their day! J-List is celebrating with a huge 15% sale on all Japan-based products through April 20. Start browsing now!
