Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Mik4ansei
"Draw This, Then Die!" A phrase that perfectly captures the passion behind this anime, but perhaps the real question is: what happens when the thing you love becomes the thing that makes you lose yourself?
Draw This, Then Die! is more than a story about a group of high school girls creating manga. It's a story about passion, burnout, self-discovery, and remembering why you started in the first place.
At the center of the story are Ai-chan, an aspiring young mangaka whose life was changed by a manga she loved, and Teshima Rie-sensei, a former professional mangaka who abandoned her career after losing herself in the pursuit of her dream. Rie encourages her students to keep manga as a hobby, not because she doesn't believe in their talent, but because she knows firsthand how painful the pro…
Read at the sourceAgazi
I usually almost never leave positive reviews, as I'm one of those people who mainly only leave negative reviews when something deserves it, because obsessive fanboys and toxic positivity are already more than enough for the positive side
That being said, this anime absolutely deserves all possible praise; this anime is very good, it has everything. If you only watch the first few episodes, you'll think it's the typical superficial anime whose only hook is the cute format, but nothing could be further from the truth. It's a fairly complex anime that talks about many things; everything is well-structured and told in a way that won't leave a bad taste in your mouth at all
I'm giving a very vague explanation because I don't like to give spoilers or any clues, I can only say that it is recom…
Read at the sourcemarioink508
Completed - 8.00
MAKING MANGA ISN’T EASY—IT’S EVEN HARDER IF YOU LOVE IT.
My first read on this series was a softhearted comedic slice-of-life, and while that’s exactly what it is on the surface, Draw This, Then Die! carries underneath a profound sentiment on storytelling and the world it represents. At first glance, it plays as little more than a clumsy, fun, cute girls doing cute things series, centered around a manga club just starting to find its footing in the craft itself—though, it doesn’t stop there; as it unfolds, it becomes apparent that this is a series with a clear understanding of what it means to pursue a passion on your own terms, and what’s lost when creative freedom ends up traded for someone else’s expectations. Draw This, Then Die! has a firm grasp on its own identity,…
Read at the sourceMouldyBreastMilk
i'll keep this one short and sweet. [draw this then die] is incredibly mundane and mundanely incredible.
for a show about a bunch of highschoolers from rural japan wanting to be manga artists, the characters are surprisingly colourful with depth. this anime tells a story about the contrast and conflict between an adult with burnout about drawing manga and a few kids eager to step into the mangaka world. by the end of the season, every single one of these characters has grown. and they understand each other a lot more. they change their way of thinking a little bit because of the influence from each other. and they continue/rediscover their dreams because of the inspiration/support from each other. it's almost magical how a mundane story with colourful but still realistic characters can tu…
Read at the sourcethepandaboi
I am writing a review. Or am I? But whatever it is, I know for a fact that Kore Kaite Shine moved me.
How do you put such things into words?
Maybe it’s the little things. The sunshine you see when looking at her smile. The glorious beam of energy you get through her innocence. The fun of having people close by in your daily life. The redemption a character gets by trying to protect her precious fan. Is it any of these? I’d say it’s all of these put together.
This is not an objective review by any means whatsoever. But in the depths of the seasonal lists of MAL exists a hidden gem that everyone must know of.
I don’t care if it’s too cutesy for your liking. Sometimes the characters can get too loud, and there are traces of fan service here and there, even if mostly for comedic value. B…
Read at the sourceTheEasternModie
"Draw This, Then Die!" is a show I urge everyone to give a shot. Yes, it doesn't have the most Sakuga moments compared to other series and no, it doesn't have huge hype or aura moments. But what it provided in these 12 episodes is a cast of characters that is not only very well written, but that also gives you a hint at what the author behind this project went through. It cleverly shows their passion about manga, their original love for them, the complexity that comes with this artform, the fun in just reading other people's stories but also the less fun moments of being a mangaka. How the industry constantly drains your energy from you by making you work without sleep and constantly rejecting your ideas when all you want to do is draw a story that you enjoy. At the same time, it is also n…
Read at the sourceFirechick12012
(According to both MAL and AniList, this is my 660th completed anime!)
I don't know how exactly I learned about manga, but I know I was fairly young when I did, probably around 2004-2005. I would have been around 11-12 years old. I do remember the very first manga I ever bought: A version of Pokemon Adventures volume 6 where all the artwork was flipped in the American left-to-right format instead of the Japanese right-to-left format. My first unflipped, authentic, right-to-left manga was volume 3 of Tokyo Mew Mew. This was before I learned the concept of Japanese reading right-to-left and that manga followed a continuous story that you had to keep up with across multiple volumes. I was already diving deeper into anime back then, but learning about manga on top of that was a total game cha…
Read at the sourceWallnutWasTaken
This did exactly what it had to do and nailed it. Kore Kaite Shine is one of the love letters to manga of all time, and people who seriously love this medium as a whole will enjoy it as much as I did. This is supposed to be a recommendation but, I'm going to vent about things I didn't quite like about the show,
I am usually a pretty big fan of CGDCT but I feel like this just went a bit overboard with the tropiness and it's genuinely kind of hard to watch at times. I may not be the target audience for it but that's that. There were a few episodes where the really tropy CGDCT stuff get to me and I straight up took out all the enjoyment of mine for the episode.
I do think that the show ended with the right message just at the right time by the season finale however, pretty mixed about gett…
Read at the sourceChuy_diazz
Making a living from art or living for art? That is the question.
We are looking at an anime that examines the hobby of manga—both reading it and creating it. It approaches the subject from the perspective of manga as a mere pastime, while also exploring what it means to pursue a career in the medium. To explore this concept, the story presents two contrasting characters: Yasumi and Rei. Yasumi is a girl who grew up reading manga and learning life lessons from it; she possesses boundless energy and an immense imagination—so much so that she can invent a story based on the very first thing she sees. A pivotal moment for her is visiting a convention similar to Comiket, where she is inspired to try creating her own manga. On the other hand, there is Rei, a former mangaka who now works as a t…
Read at the sourceOF62
Man, what a ride I had with Kore Kaite Shine. I've never seen an anime this amazing before. Especially in my five years of watching anime. Stop sleeping on this hidden gem, please!!
=== What's Good About This Anime ===
+ Man, what's not to love about the characters? All of them don't feel one-dimensional and they're very well-written - especially the FMC, Yasumi Ai, and the sensei, Teshima Rei. Speaking of Rei, her arc in episode 7 is *very* well done.
+ The writing felt polished for A LOT of its runtime, and nothing felt rushed. Normally this would've been another run-of-the-mill CGDCT anime, but after a few episodes every one had been banger after banger. The CGDCT elements shown here are spot-on, as it's an all-female cast!
+ The production values look outstanding here - character moti…
Read at the sourceKokoRose
Draw This, Then Die packs a hell of a punch when it dives into specific feelings and inner processes. The way it visualizes Yasumi's imagination coming to life, or Fujimori drowning in silence and suffocating isolation... Truly fantastic sob-out-loud moments.
I'll briefly mention the side of the anime that is (for all intents and purposes) a tourist ad for Izu Ōshima, as well as for COMITIA. It's nicely executed, pleasant, works well with the CGDCT elements, and never feels too excessive. It's woven into the rest of the story seamlessly and lends the anime a backdrop that feels very real.
Characters are another strength. Mostly. This story is chock full of lovable weirdos, but Teshima-sensei can be a pretty difficult character to like, and this anime features an awful lot of her.
By the…
Read at the sourceEmpireDeLuna
You know what's missing from something like Bakuman or Shirobako? THIS MAGMA! Whereas those two feel rigid, bleak, and industrialized, Draw This Then Die takes you back to the fundamentals and reignites the SPARKS others are losing!
Been missing that slice-of-life spot that used to be P.A. Works' forte, and now i'm compensating with whatever gimmicky moe blobs get thrown at me. That's when i came across this seemingly regular CGDCT. While it looks redundant on the surface, it's far from a chore! This anime offers the daily development and relatable struggles i've been missing for.
With the style and heart of the legendary Fujiko Fujio, Doraemon's creators, this is the one anime in a long while that has successfully honored the meta while transcending the medium with passion. Don't care…
Read at the sourceFaintEcho
This is actually my first time writing a review on MyAnimeList, but Kore Kaite Shine! completely compelled me to share how much I enjoyed it. As someone who doesn't watch this specific type of anime very often, I didn't expect to be this moved.
What makes this series truly brilliant is how it handles perspective. On one hand, it captures the pure, innocent joy of discovering manga and falling in love with storytelling. On the other hand, it doesn't sugarcoat the brutal realities, exhaustion, and emotional pressure of actually pursuing art. Seeing this contrast—the bright, infectious enthusiasm of the youth balanced against the hard-earned wisdom and caution of the adults—creates a remarkably grounded story.
It gave me a newfound appreciation and deep understanding of what creators go thr…
Read at the sourceBrotherCoa
This slice of life show was a nice surprise this season. Because it offers much more than a simple SoL experience, it is also showing us the light and dark parts of manga world. This strange combination and colorful characters really makes it for many watchers one among the favorites.
Animation and music: quite solid. Animation quality is standard one but it does not lose quality nor do you notice that it is on the budget. And the manga scenes were given absolute love and attention and I very much welcome that. Music was ok, nothing special but it got the job done.
Overall - animation is standard with special love given to manga scenes while music is business as usual without any noticeable tracks.
Characters: there are quite a bit of them, with special attention given to two main roles…
Read at the sourcetripleaamin
There are times an anime just starts, and it wins you over. If you are someone who loves reading manga, I highly urge you to give "Draw This, Then Die" a shot. The story is simple, where it shows the protagonist Ai Yasumi in episode 1 discovering and falling in love with manga. Showing how impactful these stories can be, especially in our youth.
Where the story really stands out is with Rei Teshima who is the deuteragonist in this story, as she is Yasumi's teacher. Her dynamic with Yasumi is outstanding because she, like Yasumi growing up, fell in love with manga. Though through her we see some of the realities. How Rei guides Yasumi is a point that is done well. The series have other notable characters in how they view manga.
Production-wise, Shin-Ei Animation is on this, and they are d…
Read at the sourceJonaRM
It’s a very entertaining story about a girl who falls in love with manga at a young age; she meets the creator of her favorite manga—which is no longer in publication—and they begin a wonderful mentor-student relationship. We also get to see the backstory of how the creator developed her manga and why she stopped publishing it.
The protagonist is incredibly positive and hardworking; she has an imaginary friend who encourages her to think like a manga protagonist. Meanwhile, although the creator claims manga brings no good, it’s clear she loves it too, and she gradually opens up as the story progresses. The protagonist also has three friends who round out the story, each with their own entertaining subplots.
The series effectively conveys the challenges of creating manga, the creativity r…
Read at the sourceahmadjavedaj
Its a deeply passionate anime about the process of creativity, and how that intersects with the real world. I loved and it was quite the journey most of the characters are deeply endearing. They have their struggles between learning to do what you love vs what is expected of you. I think its a great watch especially if you are on the younger side. You will take away so much more from this anime. The art is little bit on the basic side but I didn't mind it as it kept the same quality through out the series. I rather have a good story at the end of the day which this was.
Read at the sourceMarinate1016
Feels like I’ve been saying this a lot lately because we’ve been getting so many recently, but I really do love a good coming of age story and Draw this, then die certainly was one. A group of cute girls coming together to chase their dreams and overcome adversity will just always resonate with me. It’s why I like idols and cute girls doing cute things anime like this. They soothe my soul in increasingly tumultuous times. This was a really cool story about staying true to yourself even in the face of rejection and one of the best teacher-student relationships I’ve seen in anime. I truly enjoyed every episode of this show and think it’s the hidden gem of the season. Criminal this didn’t have more eyes on it because every single episode was beautifully crafted and heartwarming. We need more…
Read at the sourceZeroMajor12
Honestly, it would be very easy for me to praise Draw This, Then Die! for plenty of reasons to be found. Hayamin gave an incredible performance as our cynical, kind of stuck-up sensei, Rei Teshima. Not only are we blessed with very good voice performances for the rest of the cast, but the characters are some of the most well-written I've seen for a fairly niche anime about manga culture, and the attention it's getting is far too little for this anime. It truly fits the definition of a hidden gem in a seasonal run. I'm also a fan of the little art touch they gave each character, most notably one of the main protagonists, Ai Yasumi, whose mouth is drawn similarly to a Doraemon character's. A long-established studio like Shin-Ei Animation happens to be very fitting to helm this hidden gem, si…
Read at the sourceSkyBlue1012
LIVING LIFE AS AN ARTIST IS LIVING IN DIFFICULT MODE
Kore Kaite Shine perfectly encapsulates the angst and struggles of an ordinary mangaka.
Rei Teshima encourages her students to treat manga as a hobby rather than a dream because she has experienced firsthand how heartbreaking and soul-crushing it can be to produce even a single successful work.
Kids and young people can be naive and innocent about how cruel the world can be. In that sense, Rei is trying to guide her club members in what she believes is the right direction, hoping to spare them from the mental and emotional toll that she has already experienced in her own life.
There's a saying that artists are weird because they perceive and interpret the world differently from the masses. The anime embraces that idea by giving its c…
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