Eren the Southpaw - Season 1

Half of high school is over, and everyone is starting to seriously think about their future. Asakura Koichi, who aims to go to art school to become a designer, is shocked one day by graffiti scribbled on the wall of a museum. Feeling anxious about the graffiti artist who is more talented than him, Koichi starts drawing on the wall of a warehouse in an attempt to find the person who drew it . Meanwhile, Yamagishi Ellen, who attends the same high school, is talented, but has distanced herself from drawing after a certain incident.

At Sayuri Kato's suggestion, Koichi and his friends go to visit an art studio to prepare for their art school entrance exams, where they unexpectedly reunite with Ellen. Ellen has known the studio's director, Kaido, since childhood and still visits the studio occasionally. Koichi, fueled by a rivalry with Ellen, attends the studio regularly, but his drawing skills don't improve at all, and he receives harsh instruction from Kaido. Then, one morning, Ellen spots Koichi as he goes out to take photographs for an assignment—

Having overcome fierce competition, Koichi finally landed his dream job at Meguro Advertising, a major advertising agency. He's eager to be an immediate asset, but he's increasingly frustrated by the gap between himself and his busy colleague, Yuko. Several years later, Meguro Advertising takes on a large-scale campaign with a 300 million yen budget from Sunny Try, and appoints the charismatic young creative director, Yusuke Kamiya. Koichi is tasked with designing the logo under his idol, Kamiya— but ...

In 2007, the "Kamiya Team" was formed, with Kamiya as the youngest creative director. Koichi and Mitsuhashi, who had transferred from the marketing department, worked on projects as members of the Kamiya Team, but they were stuck, unable to come up with the ideas they wanted. Meanwhile, Meguro Advertising Agency received an offer to participate in a competition from Sunny Try, a major beverage manufacturer, with Kamiya specifically requested to be in charge. In order to win the competition, the department heads told Kamiya that they would temporarily disband the Kamiya Team and set up a special task force—

The sales team, led by Kamiya, receives a request to plan a TV commercial for Company P's new product, "Gigakara Chips." Although the product is aimed at teenagers, Company P's advertising manager insists on using a sophisticated enka singer. Koichi and his team have to create two proposals—one that will please upper management and another that will satisfy the production staff—in just 10 days. Koichi consults with Ryukawa, the sales representative, about this, but Ryukawa can't hide his frustration with the creative process. There's a certain pride for him as an agency salesperson—

Ellen was accepted into the Japanese Painting Department of Tokyo University of the Arts on her first try and enrolled on a scholarship. As Ellen became a fourth-year student and began working on her graduation project, Akari Kishi, a first-year student at the same university, heard about Ellen from Professor Mashiro of the Japanese Painting Department and forcefully invited Ellen to a fashion show in which she would be modeling. When Ellen learned that the representative of the organizing group for the fashion show was Koichi, she went to the venue, where she saw Akari walking the runway for the first time—

To request an interview for a free paper she's planning for art students, Sayuri visits Ellen for the first time in three years. Sayuri immediately begins presenting her plan, but Ellen refuses the interview, saying it's too idealistic and not like her . Seeing through Sayuri's true feelings, she begins to speak of the thoughts she's kept hidden inside until now. Sayuri's words prompt the two childhood friends to confront each other honestly for the first time, deepening their understanding of one another—

A month has passed since Kamiya left the company. Koichi, who has been transferred to Yanagi's team, is bewildered by the way his new boss, Yanagi, does things, which is different from how Kamiya's team did things, and is constantly under pressure from a massive workload and tight deadlines. Yanagi's words push Koichi's mind and body to their limits. Meanwhile, Kamiya, who has returned from Shanghai to see the Young Art Director Symposium where Koichi will be speaking, at the invitation of Mitsuhashi, reunites with Koichi after two years .

An audition for the fashion brand "ANNA KISHI," where world-renowned designer and Akari's mother, Anna Kishi, serves as creative director, was held in New York. Anna was undecided whether to choose Akari as the main model for this collection, so she invited supermodel Natalie to audition as well, pitting the two against each other. Akari, who strongly believed that she would reach her peak at the age of 27 and then disappear at the same time, decided to take on the audition after meeting Koichi and Ellen.

Despite realizing he lacks the talent of Ellen and Akari, Koichi refuses to give up. Around this time, Chiaki, the advertising manager of Sonomiya Pharmaceuticals, brings a project to Ryukawa in the sales department: a rebranding of their cosmetics business. Koichi is put in charge of the project and heads to Sonomiya Pharmaceuticals, but Chiaki's father, President Sonomiya, suddenly appears at the meeting . Meanwhile, in New York, the street visions of the mysterious artist "Ellen the Southpaw" are captivating people's attention.

Ellen, based in New York, devotes herself to her work every day, but contrary to the public's attention, she still hasn't been able to paint the kind of pictures she wants. Seeing this, producer Sayuri has been plotting how to promote Ellen, but suddenly she receives a summons from Anna Kishi and heads to ANNA KISHI's office. After seeing a video of "Ellen the Southpaw," Anna becomes interested in Ellen and approaches Sayuri with the idea of making her the muse for her new brand—

Sonomiya Pharmaceutical's cosmetics rebranding project is progressing, and the model is being changed from Akari to a model who can more easily resonate with the target audience. Auditions begin, and Chiaki witnesses the professional work of Koichi and the others for the first time. Finding an unknown model with experience and talent proves difficult, but as the auditions progress, one model catches the eye of Koichi and Chiaki. But then, Akari suddenly appears as an additional audition participant—

Ellen, having left Sayuri, had returned to Japan and was back in Yokohama. Meanwhile, Koichi had decided that this would be his last job. As the studio was ready and the advertising shoot was about to begin, the photographer, Sakuma, ignored the plan and started shooting on his own, causing panic on set. As the director, Koichi was helpless and heartbroken, so he ran out of the studio alone. A total lunar eclipse was starting in the sky above, and Koichi stopped in his tracks when he saw "something" on top of a building in Yokohama.