The film premieres in Venice competiton.“I was drawn to the image on the cover — the back of a child who’s sitting drawing manga” reflects Kore-eda. It’s an incredible manga which I was very moved by.” The book provided a light in the midst of a pandemic-necessitated slump. Encountering this manga encouraged me to confront why I do what I do.
To convey my gratitude towards the person that wrote it, as an answer of sorts, I decided to make a film — because I am a filmmaker.” The result is a fascinating fusion of Kore-eda’s stylistic trademarks — working naturalistically with child actors — and the heightened panel-to-panel tempo of the original manga.“I don’t think I’d be able to adapt Fujimoto’s action works, but I felt I could attempt this one,” says Kore-eda. I realized that manga doesn’t have sound. I carefully recorded first the sound of a single pen, then two pens, still hesitant — then going from pen to paper to a digital process.
I knew depicting those changes would translate into a rich film.” The filmmaker delved deep into the process of making manga. They’d take home weekly assignments, just as in an actual manga school. Then we’d get together and learn from their instructor how to confidently draw lines.” Kore-eda’s live-action rendition softens the protagonists, though: where Fujino in her manga and anime incarnations is brash and arrogant, Nanase Furi, portraying the character in her school years, is quieter in expressing her competitiveness.
In that sense, her expression becomes relational.” Looking back on his own formative years, Kore-eda remarks: “I grew up reading a lot — at least that’s what I thought, until I got to junior high. I had a classmate who was on another level. I went to his house, and his bookshelf was full of the kinds of novels that grown-ups read.
I was shocked in the same way that Fujino is shocked when she finally encounters someone like Kyomoto, who’s able to draw manga better than her. From that day of seeing his bookshelf, I knew I wanted to be able to talk about novels on the same level as him. So I began reading voraciously.
He and I are still in contact today. When he watches my films, he sends me feedback — and I would say that he is far harsher than the harshest of critics.”
Extract — continue reading at the source.
