Draw This, Then Die!

Episode 4

This episode crammed a lot of stuff in, and a part of me feels like that might've been a missed opportunity. This episode elapses what appears to be a couple of weeks' worth of time, and that's only in its first half, while the second half focuses on the new arrival of another main cast member named Hikaru. I'll get to her in a second, because there is actually a lot to unpack with that first half. The idea of creating manga is incredibly difficult, even when various parts of the creative process are broken down amongst various people. When Miss Teshima was working on manga, she had to write the story and do the artwork. But in this case, Yasumi only needs to worry about writing the story while Fujimori handles the artwork without really any complaint. I do appreciate the fact that this episode focuses on what seems to be a growing insecurity in Yasumi as a creator.

She has a lot of imagination and a lot of passion, but she doesn't know how to properly structure it. As far as I can tell, Yasumi doesn't have any true writing experience. I like the fact that the episode really breaks down that structuring a story, especially in a very specific medium like manga, is really not easy. I also appreciate the fact that Miss Teshima seems to be trying to get Yasumi used to criticism so that she doesn't burn out at the slightest negative opinion. I could see Yasumi having an arc throughout the show about learning how to properly direct that imaginative spark into something fun. I also like the fact that the episode straight up showed me the manga story that they finally felt somewhat satisfied with after multiple failed attempts. It was cute, but as a critic, I can also see other avenues where it needs to be improved and worked on.

I do have a little bit of criticism with regards to Teshima as both a critic and as a teacher in this episode. I understand that she is very strict, and I understand that she is treading a very careful line between supporting the girls while also making sure that they don't let their ambitions get too big. I gave her attitude a pass because it was understandable that she was in a state of self-loathing. I actually really appreciate the fact that the show highlights that she is actively reining in her even more overly negative thoughts while also praising the girls for the progress that they have made. I'm not a big fan of her teaching method, though, since it just seems to be letting the girls struggle until they finally get somewhere and THEN highlighting an actual teachable moment.

When Teshima brings up Osama Tezuka's breakdown of manga story structure, I was just wondering why she didn't tell the girls any of this information before she just told them to start writing a story out of nowhere. I'm glad that she's providing the physical materials for them to work on things, and I appreciate the technical breakdown about things like inking and screen tones, but it feels like Yasumi was thrown under the bus this episode. I wonder if that was narratively on purpose, highlighting the fact that Teshima feels more comfortable discussing or teaching about artwork than she does about story structure. After all, Teshima struggles taking criticism about her own stories as she can't even articulate what her stories were about. I'm curious to see if that will get brought up again later.

None of this is even getting into the second half of the episode, which shifts focus to this new transfer student named Hikaru. I like the idea that Yasumi and Hikaru seem to be kindred spirits, seeing the world through a creative lens and getting the most out of what they see in their day-to-day lives. I could do without Hikaru just straight up assaulting her teacher at the end of the episode. The show leans a little bit too much into Hikaru being overly weird. But maybe there's supposed to be a point to that as well? Hikaru might represent unbridled creativity, completely unhinged. She seems to have gotten some success, considering that she not only published some of her own manga, but also seems to have a pretty solid social media following. It also seems like the show is hinting that she looks down on Yasumi's manga in some way, considering that she wouldn't even comment on the story after reading it.

I like the idea of these two potentially forming a rivalry because Hikaru seems like a fun character that could fit into this dynamic well. There was a lot to chew on with this episode, but there is a part of me that wishes that it was stretched out a little bit more with more breathing room. Both halves of these episodes could've been full episodes in and of themselves, leaving me actually shocked at how much was being crammed in every minute. The manga breakdown was very informative, and the new character dynamics seem fun, but hopefully the show doesn't try to keep up this pace all the way until the end because it is noticeably jarring.

Rating:

Draw This, Then Die! is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.