01x11 - The Start of the Second Exam

[bunniefuu]

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...