Shogakukan's Finest Rally for a Manga-About-Manga
Starting June 24, the official Draw This, Then Die! anime account on X posted a daily countdown to tonight's premiere, each day featuring an original illustration and comment from a different manga legend. All nine artists publish under Shogakukan, the same publisher behind Draw This, Then Die!
The lineup, as reported by Anime Anime: Sōichirō Yamamoto (Teasing Master Takagi-san), Daijirō Morohoshi, Ryōji Minagawa (Spriggan), Kazuhiro Fujita (Ushio and Tora), Hiroyuki Nishimori, Rumiko Takahashi (Inuyasha, Ranma 1/2), Kazuhiko Shimamoto, Mitsuru Adachi (Touch, Cross Game), and Gosho Aoyama (Detective Conan), who closed out the countdown on July 2. The full collection of illustrations and artist comments is on the anime's official site.
The nine represent several generations of Shogakukan manga, from Takahashi and Adachi, who shaped the publisher's catalog in the 1980s, to Yamamoto's currently serialized Takagi-san.
What Is Draw This, Then Die!?
Based on the manga by Minoru Toyoda, serialized in Shogakukan's Monthly Shōnen Sunday (Gessan), the story follows Ai Yasumi (安海相), a manga-loving first-year high school student on a remote island in the Izu chain. When an unexpected event pushes her to try creating manga herself, Ai discovers both the joy and the pain of the craft in this self-described "manga x high school girl coming-of-age story." Toyoda's manga won the Manga Taishō 2023 Grand Prize and the 70th Shogakukan Manga Award.
Shin-Ei Animation (Doraemon, The Dangers in My Heart) produces the adaptation, directed by Hiroaki Akagi with series composition by Yūko Fukuda and character designs by Kenju Segawa. Akira Sekine and Saori Hayami were the first cast members announced, playing protagonist Ai and Rei Teshima respectively. In March, the additions of Atsumi Tanezaki (Anya in Spy x Family, Frieren in Frieren: Beyond Journey's End) as Nana Teramura and veteran Noriko Hidaka as Pokota drew a strong response. Inori Minase, Yukana, and Kikuko Inoue complete the cast.
Tatsuya Kitani performs the opening theme "Isho," while Regal Lily handles the ending theme "Conifer."
Looking Ahead
Draw This, Then Die! premieres tonight, July 3, 2026, at 23:30 JST on NTV's Friday Anime (Fura Ani) late-night block, airing across 30 stations nationwide. The first episode starts slightly later at 23:35.
No international streaming partner has been announced, and the manga does not have a confirmed English-language release. For fans following the source material, volume 10 releases July 10, 2026 in Japan, with nine volumes currently available.