Watching Drawing Closer 余命一年の僕が、余命半年の君と出会った話。

Japan has something with high school girls dying from incurable diseases.

Drawing Closer (余命一年の僕が、余命半年の君と出会った話。) is about a high school boy Akito, who just found out that he has one year left to live, chancing upon a high school girl Haruna, who has half a year left to live. This sounds so much like I Want to Eat Your Pancreas (anime title) or Let Me Eat Your Pancreas (drama title), Your Lie in April, and Insomniacs After School (although in Insomniacs After School, the girl is sick but not dying soon). We have the same high school girl main character suffering from an incurable disease, but this time, the high school boy main character is also suffering from an incurable disease, so I guess viewers get to cry twice?

As I was watching Drawing Closer, I couldn't help but feel like it was some remake of Let Me Eat Your Pancreas. And you can't blame me. While the two novels are by different authors, the scripts for their live-action movie adaptations were both written by Yoshida Tomoko. You have boy meets girl, and girl then introduces her best friend to boy, and after girl dies, best friend continues to remain in contact with boy. Just that this time, boy eventually dies. This time, though, the movie has the element of art (as in drawings and paintings) instead of a diary. I do like the art style so I guess that makes this worth watching?

Between the two, I would still recommend Let Me Eat Your Pancreas. The story is a lot more touching, has some surprising twists to it, and the diary entries at the end will make you drown in your tears. The only reason I can really think of for watching Drawing Closer would be if you are a fan of Nagase Ren (male lead) or Deguchi Natsuki (female lead). Otherwise, spend your time on Let Me Eat Your Pancreas and Your Lie in April.