Mayu Oba employs distinctive teaching methods at a preparatory art academy, her vibrant personality mirrored by a short, bobbed black hairstyle with blunt bangs and a towering 185 cm frame often clad in a paint-splattered apron. A booming voice cuts through classroom buzz, ensuring her presence radiates beyond academic spaces. Balancing single motherhood of three sons with nurturing proteges, she marries rigorous critique with compassionate mentorship. Specializing in oil painting, she customizes instruction to target individual vulnerabilities, prioritizing concentrated growth over generic skill-building—a strategy that propelled a novice painter to prestigious university admission within twelve months through relentless, tailored challenges. She lightens tense moments with spontaneous marine life facts, defusing exam-season anxieties through octopus camouflage debates or seahorse mating rituals. This tactic reflects her core belief: creativity thrives between discipline and play. While dissecting brushwork, she probes beyond technique to confront creative blockages rooted in self-doubt or existential crises. Her pedagogy champions artistic integrity over trophy-chasing, epitomized by mantras like "Aim for your best painting, not first place." Alumni achievements spark visible pride, their evolving careers punctuating her current lessons. Though her final narrative arc concludes in later chapters, her legacy persists through retrospective glimpses and students' ongoing transformations. This educator-parent duality cements her dual role as both master instructor and tenacious life architect, navigating classrooms and child-rearing with equal, unyielding passion.