I didn't know before I started making art
that there's so much to study.
Still, only studying is not enough.
And also, it requires a lot of stamina.
THE START OF THE SECOND EXAM
My eyes hurt so much. I can't open them.
The hives are terrible too.
Boy, I'm starting to feel cold.
Seriously?
Is this the end of the line for me?
Yaguchi?
Mori?
Huh?
You're also taking the exam?
Crap.
I look pretty lame right now.
Hey, are you all right?
-The school clinic… -No need.
It's not as bad as it looks.
I'm sorry. Can I borrow your shoulder for a…
Huh?
You're Yotasuke.
Are you all right?
Yes, I'm fine.
If you feel sick, let's go to the school clinic.
I can take your luggage.
Can you stand up?
Let's go upstairs for now.
If you can't stand it anymore, just go to the school clinic.
See you.
Why would she help you this much?
So we're in the same room.
I feel so much pressure to be in the same room as you.
Sorry for all the trouble.
I'll have to apologize to Kuwana later.
The room's open now.
She said it's open.
This is…
I'll hand out the assignment sheets.
DRAW ANYTHING IN THE ROOM IN COMBINATION WITH THE MODEL
As expected, the assignment is painting a model.
Calm down.
All right. Please begin.
The first day of TUA's second exam.
The subject…
is a nude model.
Oba Sensei, it's been a while.
We're here to collect our stuff.
Hey, long time no see.
All this stuff is heavy. Can you handle it?
-I'll take a car. -Me too.
I'll just roll up my sleeves.
The second exam is today, right?
I'm so jealous. I wish I could take it too.
What do you think the assignment is this time, Oba Sensei?
Either a plaster figure or a nude model.
Why is that?
The first exam's assignment was a self-portrait. Very straight-forward.
I see.
Alas, Okada is going to Joshibi
while I'll stay in TAI this year.
I hope Yaguchi and the others will work hard for our sake… It hurts!
What's that for?
Take responsibility for your own work.
It's the third time Sakuraba took the exam.
Huh?
She wore uniforms instead of overalls to save money.
What will you do this year?
I'll work part-time for half a year to save up money
and attend TAI only in winter and before the exams.
That was my plan.
I've decided that this will be my last year attempting the exam.
But you're so good.
Are you going to the bookstore that will hire you full-time?
I see. Good luck.
Come visit me whenever you want.
I'll lend you an easel in secret.
The exams are physically draining.
The hardships of the examinees who have to worry about money are immeasurable.
Even if they're not mentally exhausted,
some students collapse physically first.
For these three days…
Just for these three days…
Please hang in there.
A nude model.
But this assignment…
When you think about it,
this is quite a lucky assignment for me.
It's my first time painting a nude model,
but lately, I've been thinking about nudity a lot.
I thought that painting a nude model
would be a really arousing situation.
But when I see her as a subject, I get used to it so easily.
Nudity…
Yes, nudity.
To look at your naked self
and show it to people
is to accept who you really are.
Both the pretty and the ugly parts.
It's true, but…
drawing my naked self and someone else's naked body
is totally different.
Yuck.
The oil is starting to smell.
Calm down.
The self-portrait of the first exam
was asking the examinees to interpret themselves.
Which means this assignment
inquires the examinees
about their aesthetics, values, philosophy, and everything.
Boy, I can't think straight.
Can I just interpret nudity as a person's true colors?
It takes time for the oil to dry,
so I should just start to put on the undercoat.
What time is it now?
Damn.
I can't open my eyes.
Crap.
I fell asleep.
How ridiculous!
But my headache got a little better.
Three hours left including the lunch break.
To start later than everyone else
is something I'm used to.
Two hours left.
One hour left.
Thirty minutes remaining.
Five minutes remaining.
The first day is over.
Please put your luggage in the locker.
TOKYO ART INSTITUTE
Really? I see.
Later then.
I'm exhausted.
Good work, you both.
All right. To start with, can you recreate your works here?
Let's discuss them.
That's fast.
A nude model, huh?
I did it my way as always.
I captured the movement of the model too.
Just incorporate elements only in that moment
and have fun with it.
I took into account the nude poses of art history
to tackle the assignment.
Just don't make the movement too stiff and have fun with it.
That's all for today. See you.
That's fast.
Oba Sensei.
Yaguchi didn't come, did he?
Don't worry. I got his call.
Just focus on yourselves for now.
Crap.
I recovered for a bit,
but when I used my eyes and brain to make art,
I quickly felt sick again.
Yakkun?
Your prep school instructor is on the phone.
Hey, Yaguchi.
How do you feel?
My eyes hurt like hell.
And my head too.
Also, the hives…
Boy, this is hilarious.
Why at this timing?
Because it's this timing.
You probably got eyestrain and stress symptoms.
Still, too much damage on the first day.
Yaguchi is just a new graduate.
He may not make it…
Oba Sensei.
I'm going with nudity as a person's true colors for my theme.
But that's still not enough, right?
-Damn! -Yaguchi.
You're not giving up a bit!
She's too loud.
Indeed, that could be a mediocre theme.
Can you send me what you've painted to the email address I'm about to say?
NEW EMAIL FROM YATORA YAGUCHI
Your composition is good as expected.
But it's true that the theme is mediocre.
That gives me a headache in a different way.
Yaguchi.
You want to try and use an advantage?
An advantage?
IBUPROFEN COOLING SHEETS
So this is the advantage that she meant.
Yakkun.
How do you feel?
I feel a lot better.
I wish I could be sick instead,
but you just have to get over it.
Just don't push yourself too hard.
I'm fine.
See you later.
TOKYO UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS TESTING SITE
Good morning, Yotasuke.
Good morning.
-Are you all right? -I'm totally fine.
I feel refreshed instead.
I see.
I only decided on the composition and put on the undercoat yesterday.
For me, the second exam truly starts today.
There are three major elements in an artwork.
They are theme, composition, and depiction.
I have only finished the composition so far.
The second exam takes place over three days at five hours each day.
I already wasted the first day, so I only have ten hours left.
I have to finalize the theme before I take my seat.
Yaguchi, your arm.
I did it unconsciously.
Just pull through these two days.
After all this,
I'll play Pokémon at home and sleep.
So you should push yourself today.
The room's open now.
To interpret nudity as a person's true colors.
That's a mediocre theme.
To you, Yaguchi,
what do true colors mean?
Oba Sensei.
It might be too plain,
but delving too deep into it will take forever.
I'm already behind everyone else.
Then that's your advantage.
Others have already started painting, right?
That means you can see their answers.
Just calm down before you start painting
and look around.
It shouldn't be too late to think of a theme then.
Huh? Wait.
They didn't make as much progress as I thought.
The sketchbook…
Come to think of it, it's obvious.
On the first day, people mainly developed their themes in the sketchbook
and put on the undercoat for the oil painting to dry.
I can't see any developed ideas.
No, there must be at least one person
who almost finished their work.
It's been a while
but Yotasuke is incredible.
But still,
I made it to the second exam
alongside this genius.
Take your seats.
All right, begin.
It begins.
I wanted to proceed in the order of theme, composition, and depiction,
but then, I'd risk running out of time.
Thus, I have no choice but to finalize the theme while painting.
So far, the theme is "nudity represents true colors."
And the main focus is undoubtedly the nude.
I want the nude to be the place I like the most in this artwork.
So how do I make it attractive then?
In the first exam, I spent the whole time increasing the intensity.
With enough intensity, an artwork becomes attractive.
On the contrary,
without some intensity, it won't have any appeal.
However,
I haven't even started my sketchbook.
Do I have enough time for that?
Now that I look at it closely,
the model has very pretty skin.
When I looked at my naked body,
it looked as pathetic as a thin eraser.
Everyone's skin is…
Adding the paint to create intensity.
But I don't have time to do addition like that.
In that case…
I'll make the nude by subtraction.
This method could save a lot of time.
Moreover,
using this method to show the skin of the canvas,
I can also express that "nudity represents true colors."
If I want the canvas to look like human skin,
I need to create matte and flat walls around the nude.
Then I'll enhance the intensity for the front part of the nude.
Add dammar varnish to make it shine and create depth in the artwork.
Later, I have to develop the parts besides the nude
and delve deeper into the theme.
It's lunch break now.
Finally, a break.
Your lunchbox is ridiculously large.
-It's you. -I hadn't noticed that
we were on the same floor.
Did you see Yaguchi?
I saw him in the morning, but I didn't talk to him.
It's better that way.
I don't feel like talking during the exam either.
Scary.
You're too relaxed, Hashida.
Especially for the second day.
In these three days of the second exam, normally, the progress would be
making the composition on the first day,
painting properly on the second, and adding finishing touches on the third.
You can manage to make up for lost time on the first day,
but if you apply methods that require the paint to dry on the last day,
there's the possibility of making irreparable mistakes.
The second day is important as it is.
Since Yaguchi lost his first day, he has his back against the wall.
You're worrying about Yatora.
In the end,
if he breaks down during the exam, that's on him.
And my success has nothing to do with his failure.
But,
I understand the pain of making art all too well,
so I'd never wish for him to fail.
So awkward.
But I feel like I shouldn't talk to him.
Yotasuke! Drink some tea!
You don't have any?
-Thank you. -Are you all right?
That reminds me…
why did I mistake Yotasuke for Mori at that time?
Is it the eyebrows? The middle-parted hair?
Or do they both have big eyes?
What?
Nothing. I was thinking that the lunch break is almost over.
Right.
I miss Mori.
I haven't seen her since she graduated.
She consistently made art about prayer.
This assignment wouldn't be a struggle for her.
She would connect it with prayer.
If it's blue to you,
then let it be blue, whether it's an apple or a rabbit.
Being naked, the freedom to decorate our naked selves, and ugliness
are all adorable, aren't they?
Perhaps it's different than what Oba Sensei meant,
but I didn't look around enough.
Without seeing the others, I was under the presumption
that my true colors were the same as everyone else's.
I don't love nudity or clothes like Ryuji.
And I can't make art about prayer like Mori.
My naked body is as pathetic as a thin eraser.
I'm pathetic too.
I'm afraid of talking to people if I don't arm myself with reasoning.
The answer was there from the start.
Nudity is pathetic and unreliable to me.
And wearing clothes is a guilty act of trying to hide my nudity.
This painting is my world seen through my eyes.
Why did I just realize that?
Isn't it so obvious?
And it's no different than a self-portrait.
It's such a pathetic answer.
But that's fine.
Is that fine? Seriously?
Such a mediocre piece?
Come on. It's TUA's second exam.
If I can't stand out more than I did in the first exam,
I won't be selected as one of the 55 finalists.
I just know I won't.
Then…
Subtitle translation by: Chih-Chung Yung