So does this count as a Love Roma adaptation at long last?

It wasn’t until Casey W. mentioned it in the comments last week that I remembered Teshima-sensei was a minor character in Love Roma (in my defense, it was a very long time ago that I read it). We saw a glimpse of that world last week, though Hajime – that series’ protagonist and her younger brother – was blocked from sight. Well, we saw him this time and even got a little mumble, so I guess that’s as close as we’ll ever get to that masterpiece getting an anime.

On the one hand it’s very cool to come even that close after all these years. But on the other it’s a reminder that Love Roma was, to be honest, a much better series. But it didn’t have CGDCT, and we all know that’s the magic button for a production committee. It’s also very stark after this episode – though it was never in doubt – that Kore Kaite Shine is way better when it focuses on Rei-chan than on Ai and her friends. To be blunt, the kids’ story is totally formulaic and predictable. And to varying degrees all three club members are annoying, though Sachi is definitely the worst in anime form.

Seriously – is there a single development in that thread that’s in any way unexpected? That, as I noted last week, is Draw This and Die’s weakness and its strength. It doesn’t have an ounce of pretense about it, which is great. But the whole business with the girls and the club is extremely limited in narrative potential. OTOH when we dial in on Rei and her journey, things get way more engaging. She’s not what I would call a likable person (weirdness runs in her family, clearly) but so relatable. And her raw anger is the most powerful element in this series, not even close. It’s like a force of nature.

It’s Teshima-sensei who solves one problem for Ai. She gets Nana-chan to let the girls use the second floor above the bookshop for their clubroom. It’s a dump and the aircon is barely Shouwa, but in a pinch it gets the job done and it’s certainly suited for a manga-bu. The other problem gets solved by dumb luck – Kokoro is a huge manga fan and her art club is on the verge of disbanding anyway. After Ai gives her a copy of her manga when scouting for clubroom locations, she gets pulled into the possibility of drawing manga.

One of Rei’s conditions for being the faculty advisor is “no trying to go pro, treat this as a hobby only”. No “draw this and die” – a concept which sounds silly to the zygotes, but how little they know. Rei paid her dues in serious fashion to find even limited success as a mangaka, though it must be said her own rage issues and unwillingness to listen to her editor threw up a lot of her roadblocks. Her journey of frustration carries her through the likes of UshoTora, Kiseijuu, and JJBA. The low point is when her parents – always supportive to her face – are overheard bemoaning the state of her life.

From her low ebb, Rei embraces Kore Kaite Shine and draws one last revenge manga – murdering through happiness, as it were (and it looks a lot like Love Roma, unsurprisingly). And it actually gets her somewhere – a Shogakukan newcomer “Honorable Mention“. That, and praise from her editor – which clearly meant a lot more. This presumably leads to “Robota and Pokota”, but as we now this was not a happy ending as that only lasted one volume and seemed to break Rei in the process. We’re getting close to the point where I stopped with the manga, but obviously the more focus spent on how Rei got to where she is now – and where she goes from there – the better.