INTRODUCTION

"Kakukaku Shikajika" (aka Kakushika) follows the story of Akiko Hayashi (Mei Nagano), a lazy high schooler whose dream of becoming a manga artist leads her to attend an art class in her hometown of Miyazaki, Japan. There, she is met with the rigorous and authoritarian teachings of Kenzo Hidaka (Yo Oizumi), her mentor, who repeats one command: “Just draw.”

Pushed out of her comfort zone, Akiko develops from a reluctant and unmotivated student into a passionate creator. However, when she attends university to continue her art studies, she begins to lie to Hidaka-sensei, telling him she is still drawing consistently. In reality, she has become a lazy student, and she does not want to be a regular artist, as Hidaka-sensei wants for her; she still aspires to be a manga artist.

When the truth threatens to surface and potentially shatter her relationship with Hidaka-sensei, she must face her past, reconcile with her cherished mentor, and discover what it means to “just draw.”

"Whiplash" meets "Look Back" in this blend of comedy and gut-wrenching adaptation of critically acclaimed manga artist Akiko Higashimura’s real-life experiences. This film celebrates the messy, transformative power of education, dreams, and the teachers who believe in us before we even believe in ourselves.