A rejected manga pitch just turned into one of the week's biggest anime reveals. The Now That We Draw anime confirmed a January 2027 premiere on September 24, 2026, when Studio ROLL2 dropped a full trailer alongside new character visuals for leads Yuuki Uehara and Niina Miyamoto. What started as a niche seinen romcom in Hakusensha's Young Animal magazine is finally getting its television adaptation, and the manga community noticed within hours. This guide covers the confirmed release window, the cast and staff steering the show, what the story is actually about, how the source manga built its reputation, and where you can expect to stream it once January arrives.
⚡ Quick Answer
The Now That We Draw TV anime premieres in January 2027. It adapts Kyu Takahata and Yuwji Kaba's manga, with Studio ROLL2 animating under director Shunsuke Ishikawa, and Ayumu Murase and Sayumi Suzushiro voicing leads Yuuki Uehara and Niina Miyamoto. A full trailer arrived September 24, 2026. No streaming platform has been confirmed yet.
What Is Now That We Draw About?
Now That We Draw follows Yuuki Uehara, a high school student who has poured everything into his dream of becoming a manga artist. When an editor at his target publisher rejects his romantic comedy manuscript for lacking any realistic sense of romance, Uehara spirals. That is when Niina Miyamoto, a popular gyaru classmate, catches him working on his pages and reveals a secret of her own: she is chasing the same dream, and she just got the same brutal feedback on her own manuscript.
Miyamoto's fix is blunt. If neither of them has real romantic experience, they should fake dating each other and mine the results for material. Uehara is nothing like the confident hero in her story, and Miyamoto is far from the soft, idealized heroine he wrote into his, so the arrangement keeps sliding sideways in ways that are funnier, and occasionally more sincere, than either of them planned [1].
Who Is Making the Now That We Draw Anime?
Shunsuke Ishikawa is directing at Studio ROLL2, a studio still building its reputation after taking the lead on Koi wa Futago de Warikirenai in 2024. Ishikawa's own résumé includes work on Blue Lock The Movie: Episode Nagi, a film built around competitive tension between rivals, which makes him an interesting pick for a story about two teenagers competing and collaborating on their art at once.
Deko Akao, known for Arakawa Under the Bridge and Komi Can't Communicate, is handling series composition and scripts, while Hiromi Nakagawa, who designed characters for WATATEN!: an Angel Flew Down to Me, is adapting Yuwji Kaba's art for animation. Momoka Izumi is credited with sub character design, and Infinite is producing. The confirmed cast pairs Ayumu Murase as Uehara with Sayumi Suzushiro as Miyamoto [2].
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📊 Key Stat: Studio ROLL2 previously served as lead animation studio on Koi wa Futago de Warikirenai in 2024, giving the team direct experience pacing a character focused school romance before taking on Now That We Draw (source).
When Does Now That We Draw Premiere, and Where Can You Watch It?
The premiere window is locked to January 2027, confirmed the same day Studio ROLL2 published its first full trailer, on September 24, 2026, through the anime's official channels. That trailer follows an earlier teaser from November 2025, when the adaptation was first announced, and a key visual reveal at the AnimeJapan 2026 stage event in March [3].
What is still missing is a streaming home. No platform has announced simulcast rights as of this writing. Most Japanese TV anime with an English publisher already in place tend to land on Crunchyroll for international viewers, and Seven Seas already handles the manga, but that is an expectation based on industry pattern, not a confirmed deal.
💡 Pro Tip: Bookmark the anime's official website and X account rather than guessing a streaming platform. Licensing announcements for a January premiere typically land within a few weeks of the broadcast start, not months ahead.
How Now That We Draw Built a Following Before the Anime
The manga has been building credibility for almost three years. Kyu Takahata and Yuwji Kaba's original run started in Hakusensha's Young Animal in February 2023, and it had reached seven collected volumes by April 2026, with an eighth arriving September 29, 2026. Seven Seas Entertainment has kept pace in English, with volume six due out in December 2026 [4].
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That slow build earned real industry attention. The series picked up nominations for the Next Manga Award's print category in both 2024 and 2025, and its first volume carries a cover recommendation from Yusuke Nomura, the artist behind Blue Lock. Its second volume goes further, packing in guest illustrations from Hajime Isayama, the creator of Attack on Titan, alongside artists Yura Urushibara, Makoto Ojiro, Nao Emoto, and Keigo Maki. That is not the kind of support a manga earns by accident [4].
"Reading the manuscript for the audition genuinely moved me, and Niina's charm floored me."
In my own experience tracking seasonal romcom announcements for years, the titles that earn this level of peer endorsement before an anime is even greenlit tend to outperform their initial hype once the show actually airs, because the fanbase built by other creators' word of mouth sticks around longer than a single viral trailer clip does.
Is Now That We Draw the Next Big School Romcom?
Fake dating stories are not new, but Now That We Draw pairs the trope with something more specific: two artists using their own relationship as raw material for their work. That framing puts it closer to stories about creative ambition than typical romcom fare, and it gives both leads a reason to keep showing up even when the arrangement gets awkward.
The bigger question is whether Ishikawa's background in high stakes sports storytelling changes how this gets paced on screen. Blue Lock built its identity on aggressive editing and internal monologue used as a competitive weapon. Applying even a fraction of that intensity to two teenagers arguing over manuscript pages could make Now That We Draw feel sharper than the average slice of life romcom, or it could clash with the material entirely. Either way, it is the detail worth watching once footage beyond the trailer starts circulating.
⚠️ Important: Treat every detail beyond the January 2027 window and confirmed cast as provisional. Episode count, theme songs, and streaming rights have not been announced, and early anime coverage sometimes gets ahead of official confirmations.
Now That We Draw has spent nearly three years quietly building a reputation among manga creators before its anime adaptation caught the wider fandom's attention this week. With Studio ROLL2 animating, Shunsuke Ishikawa directing, and Ayumu Murase and Sayumi Suzushiro voicing the leads, the January 2027 premiere gives fans a firm date to plan around, even with the streaming platform still unconfirmed. Whether you come in through the manga's seven volumes or wait for the show, the fake relationship at its center looks built to last longer than either character expects.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the Now That We Draw anime come out?
The Now That We Draw TV anime is set for a January 2027 premiere in Japan. Studio ROLL2 confirmed the window on September 24, 2026, alongside a new trailer. An exact broadcast date and total episode count have not been announced, so watch the official site for updates.
Who voices the main characters in Now That We Draw?
Ayumu Murase voices Yuuki Uehara, the manga obsessed protagonist, and Sayumi Suzushiro voices Niina Miyamoto, his gyaru classmate turned fake girlfriend. Both actors appeared on stage at AnimeJapan 2026 when the first key visual debuted, and their voices first premiered in the November 2025 teaser.
Is the Now That We Draw anime based on a manga?
Yes. It adapts Kyu Takahata and Yuwji Kaba's manga of the same name, serialized in Hakusensha's Young Animal since February 2023. Seven volumes were out by April 2026, an eighth arrived September 29, 2026, and Seven Seas Entertainment publishes the series in English.
Where will I be able to watch Now That We Draw?
No streaming service has confirmed rights yet. Most simulcasts of Japanese TV anime end up on Crunchyroll internationally, but that has not been officially announced for this title. Check the show's official website or social accounts closer to January 2027 for confirmed platforms.
Do I need to read the manga before watching Now That We Draw?
Not necessarily. The setup is simple: a rejected manga pitch leads to a fake relationship built for research, so newcomers can jump straight into the anime. Manga readers get a bonus though, since the source material already carries two years of character growth and industry praise.
Has the Now That We Draw manga won any awards?
It has not won a major award outright, but it earned nominations for the Next Manga Award's print category in both 2024 and 2025. It also carries recommendations from established creators, including Blue Lock artist Yusuke Nomura, printed right on the book's wraparound cover strip.
📚 Sources & References
- 'Now That We Draw' Anime's 1st Full Promo Video Unveils More Staff, January 2027 Debut, Anime News Network, September 24, 2026
- Now That We Draw Gets January 2027 Debut, Trailer, Anime Trending, September 24, 2026
- Now That We Draw Anime Reveals First Trailer, January 2027 Release Date, Anime Corner, September 24, 2026
- Now That We Draw, Wikipedia
- Roll2, Wikipedia
- Now That We Draw, Official Anime Website
- Now That We Draw teaser PV report with cast comments, Anime!Anime!
