Draw This, Then Die Anime Finally Sets a Premiere Date

The upcoming Draw This Then Die! anime unveiled its first full promotional video on May 8, confirming a July 3, 2026, broadcast premiere on NTV's expanded one-hour "Friday Anime Night" programming block. The promotional video also unveiled Tatsuya Kitani’s opening theme song Isho (tr. "Last Will and Testament").

The announcement also confirmed that the Draw This, Then Die anime will air at 11:30 pm JST across NTV's 30 networks; a streaming platform has yet to be announced. The anime is based on Minoru Toyoda's manga of the same name, following the journey of Ai Yasumi, seeking her long-admired creator.

Draw This, Then Die began serialization in Shogakukan’s Monthly Shonen Sunday in November 2021, and by October 2025, the manga had compiled eight published volumes. The anime adaptation arrives on the back of significant critical validation, with credits of 16th Manga Taisho (2023) and the 70th Shogakukan Manga Award (2025), two of the Japanese publishing industry's most respected honors.

Production and Cast of the Draw This, Then Die Anime Adaptation

Director Hiroaki Akagi, whose prior credits include The Dangers in My Heart and Teasing Master Takagi-san, leads the Draw This, Then Die anime project at Shin-Ei Animation. Anime industry veterans Hiroko Fukuda and Takekazu Segawa are handling the series’ scripts and character design, respectively.

The trailer, previewing the opening song Last Will and Testament by Kitani, teased the anime’s central mix of horror and coming-of-age storytelling. His Ao No Sumika served as the opening theme for Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 and in February 2026, he composed and performed the Hell's Paradise season 2 opening song in collaboration with Babymetal.

While discussing the song’s significance to the anime’s plot, Kitai said, creation is “a will that is constantly updated and overwritten as long as you are alive!” and that’s what he depicted through the song.

Draw This, Then Die protagonist Ai Yasumi is voiced by Akira Sekine. Other voice actors include Saori Hayami as Rei Teshima, Saya Hitomi as Kokoro Fujimori, Inori Minase as Hikaru Sekiryū, and Noriko Hidaka as Ai's "bible manga" character Pokota.

The Draw This, Then Die’s July release positions the title within a competitive summer 2026 anime season dominated by high-profile franchises such as Grand Blue Season 3, Mushoku Tensei season 3, and the classic Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War. Whether its introspective, visually exaggerated art style can hold against these titles will test the broadcast success of the award-winning source material.