The story of Ai Yasumi and her friends at the Manga Research Club is about to reach its conclusion. Draw This, Then Die! (also known as Kore Kaite Shine) is set to air its twelfth and final episode on Friday, September 25, 2026. The episode, titled “The World to Come ~ Draw What You Love. From Now On, Forever…”, will bring the Summer 2026 anime season’s most quietly affecting coming-of-age story to a close. For viewers around the world, this finale is the last chance to see how Ai’s journey into the world of manga creation will end.
Episode 12 Worldwide Release Date and Time
The final episode will stream internationally on Crunchyroll on Friday, September 25, 2026. New episodes of Draw This, Then Die! are released every Friday at 8:35 a.m. Pacific Time / 11:35 a.m. Eastern Time. Crunchyroll releases each episode with English subtitles at the same time worldwide.
Here are the exact streaming times for the finale across major locations and time zones:
- United States (Pacific Daylight Time): 8:35 a.m. PDT
- United States (Mountain Daylight Time): 9:35 a.m. MDT
- United States (Central Daylight Time): 10:35 a.m. CDT
- United States (Eastern Daylight Time): 11:35 a.m. EDT
- Canada (Pacific Daylight Time): 8:35 a.m. PDT
- Canada (Eastern Daylight Time): 11:35 a.m. EDT
- United Kingdom (Greenwich Mean Time): 3:35 p.m. GMT
- Portugal (Western European Summer Time): 4:35 p.m. WEST
- Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland (Central European Summer Time): 5:35 p.m. CEST
- Ghana (Greenwich Mean Time): 3:35 p.m. GMT
- UAE (Gulf Standard Time): 7:35 p.m. GST
- India (India Standard Time): 9:05 p.m. IST
- Japan (Japan Standard Time): 12:35 a.m. JST (Saturday, September 26)
- South Korea (Korea Standard Time): 12:35 a.m. KST (Saturday, September 26)
- Australia (Australian Eastern Standard Time): 1:35 a.m. AEST (Saturday, September 26)
For viewers in Japan, the anime also airs on Nippon TV’s “Furaani” block at 11:30 p.m. JST on Fridays.
What Happens in the Finale
The last episode picks up with Ai and Fujimori bringing their collaborative manga, “Star Song,” to the editors’ review area at Comitia. There, they show their work to Kongoji, who was once Rei Teshima’s editor. Kongoji’s response is far harsher than either of them expected. The criticism shakes Ai, who begins to feel like she is losing her sense of self as a creator. But just when it seems like they might fall apart, the usually quiet Fujimori stands up. Pushed forward by Pokota’s words, Ai and Fujimori take an action that no one saw coming.
Meanwhile, Teshima finds out that Ai and the others went to see Kongoji. Teshima has spent the entire series insisting that manga should stay a hobby. On the tense walk home, she asks Ai a direct question: “Do you want to become a pro?” The finale is framed as the culmination of Ai’s growth, not just as an artist but as a person learning what she truly wants from the act of creating.
Recap of Episode 11: The Two of Us
Episode 11, titled “The Two of Us: Partners Who Complement Each Other Are Precious!”, set the stage for the finale by focusing on the partnership between Ai and Fujimori. The episode explored how the two work better as a duo than solo. Fujimori is the methodical, technically skilled artist, while Ai is spontaneous and emotionally driven. The show had them attempt to write manga separately, but the resolution was that they make up for each other’s weaknesses.
Episode 11 also showed the girls selling all their manga thanks to Hikaru giving them free promotion. The episode ended with a quiet moment at a shrine where Pokota, the imaginary mascot character who has accompanied Ai since the first episode, appeared to see them off. For a moment, it felt like Ai was outgrowing her need for Pokota, since she now had real friends and a genuine creative identity. But then Pokota showed up again at the end, leaving his role in Ai’s life ambiguous. The finale is expected to resolve what Pokota truly means to Ai as she moves forward.
Related:
Unknown Facts About Draw This, Then Die!
1. The story is deeply personal to its creator.
Manga artist Minoru Toyoda drew on his own experiences of being a mangaka for over 25 years and his childhood on Izu Oshima, the same island where Ai lives, when creating the series. The depiction of the manga industry’s joys and frustrations comes from lived experience, not research alone.
2. It has won some of Japan’s most prestigious manga awards.
Draw This, Then Die! won the 16th Manga Taisho Award in 2023 and the 70th Shogakukan Manga Award in 2025. It also ranked at #6 on the 2023 Kono Manga ga Sugoi! list for male readers. These are among the highest honors a manga can receive in Japan.
3. The anime brought together an experienced team.
Director Hiroaki Akagi, known for The Dangers in My Heart and Teasing Master Takagi-san, leads the adaptation at Shin-Ei Animation. Series composition is handled by Hiroko Fukuda, with character designs by Kenji Sagawa. The opening theme, “Isho,” is performed by Tatsuya Kitani, while the ending theme, “Conifer,” is by Regal Lily.
4. The anime is a co-production for global distribution.
Muse Asia licensed the series for distribution across Asia, while Crunchyroll handles streaming for North America, Europe, and other international regions. The show airs on Nippon TV’s “Friday Anime Night” block in Japan, a slot dedicated to bringing high-quality anime to a primetime audience.
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