The animated feature film "Peleliu: Guernica of Paradise," based on Kazuyoshi Takeda's manga about the young people who survived on Peleliu Island, a fierce battlefield during the Pacific War, will be released on December 5th, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the war. It depicts the Battle of Peleliu, which began on September 15, 1944, when the war situation in Japan was already deteriorating, and the 34 soldiers who remained in hiding for two years, unaware of the end of the war, and survived until the end. The original manga was serialized in Young Animal (Hakusensha) from 2016 to 2021, and the story, including the spin-off "Peleliu Gaiden," concluded in June of this year, spanning approximately 10 years. The cute yet incredibly realistic portrayal of the madness of war as a daily occurrence drew much attention, winning the Excellence Award at the 46th Japan Cartoonists Association Awards. In anticipation of the film's release, Ryo Takamura, deputy editor-in-chief of Young Animal and Takeda's editor, spoke about the story behind the creation of "Peleliu: Guernica of Paradise."
◇ "This is an amazing manga" in the first episode - the reality of life and death of a young man who lived on the battlefield
Regarding his first impression of Takeda as a manga artist, Takamura recalls, "I thought he was someone who could draw really good manga that stirred the emotions of readers, but what initially exceeded my expectations was how quickly Takeda acted after becoming interested in the Battle of Peleliu. At first, he asked me, 'Would you like to draw a one-off story?' but he actually collected a large amount of material on his own and looked through it."
Regarding the creation of the original work, he revealed a valuable anecdote behind the creation of the original work, saying, "The difficult decision was whether to make it non-fiction or fiction, but the person who encouraged me to go with fiction was Hiratsuka Masao (a military history researcher), who helped me with the original idea. Hiratsuka noticed some slight differences between the book written by Hiratsuka and the materials he had read up until then, and felt that there might be something there. When I met him for the first time, he asked me, 'Isn't there something that isn't written in the book?' and the stories that came up at that time were the basis for many of the stories that became the basis for ' Peleliu: Guernica of Paradise.' I think that was a very important event in expressing the reality of 'war' even more deeply."
When asked how Takamura himself felt the story had potential, he reiterated, "When I received the name of the first serialized chapter, I thought it was an incredible manga. It clearly depicts the reality of life and death of young people who lived on the battlefield in a world I had never seen before, having been born in the modern era. The subject matter of a war manga is commercially difficult in some ways, but I thought that if people would just read it, it would definitely become a one-of-a-kind work."
◇It is precisely because of his cute illustrations that he is able to delve into the subject of life and death. Kazuyoshi Takeda's sincere approach
This work realistically depicts the madness of war as a daily occurrence, despite its cute, quirky style. Takamura says, "The characters are drawn in a cute, deformed style, but I've heard that this style was created out of Takeda-sensei's desire to reach as many people as possible with the unavoidable subject matter of her own battle with illness, which was depicted in her debut serial, "Goodbye Tama-chan." I was amazed to realize that cute character designs were the perfect invention for depicting such a harsh setting. The characters drawn in a cute style are relatable to readers living today, and they also allow for a deeper portrayal of the realities of the battlefield. The reality of the battlefield is not always beautiful or fun. But avoiding that would be a lie. It's precisely because the illustrations are cute that they allow for such depth in depicting the lives and deaths of people. It's truly wonderful that they've thought about how to communicate with their readers."
Speaking about Takeda again, he praised Takeda's sincere attitude, saying, "It is truly remarkable that he has both the ability to conduct interviews, which is based on his own personality, and the stoicism to approach manga without compromise. Whether he went to the site or met his subjects in person, he always asked questions in his own words and listened to their answers. This sincere attitude led to the next interview, and one after another, people came forward to cooperate. Kurata Yoji, who fought on Angaur Island, learned about the manga and contacted Takeda himself, and Tsuchida Kiyoichi, who fought on Peleliu Island, has often shared his experiences with me. Hirano Masato, who was our guide on Peleliu Island, still sends us information about the site. The project started with a small group of people, but now we have been able to expand the circle, as if we have formed a team with the people we met through the project, and I believe this is thanks to Takeda's personality."
"I never compromise on my approach to creating manga that makes use of my research, and sometimes things change significantly from the meetings for each episode to the drafting stage. I also never compromise on my approach to manga, and I redraw it over and over again in the hopes of making it even better, and it only gets better each time. I think the greatest appeal of Peleliu is that I have continued to draw it with the same sincerity as I did from the day I started."
"Peleliu: Guernica of Paradise" was originally serialized as a one-shot story titled "After the Peleliu Suicide Attack" in a magazine planned to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the war.
"We had discussed beforehand that we would wrap up the serialized version in as few as four volumes. From there, the number of readers gradually increased, and we were able to reach the final chapter that Takeda-sensei envisioned. And thanks to that, having it made into an animated feature film is a joy beyond my imagination. It's been 10 years since the original manga began. During that time, Takeda-san's sincere attitude towards his work and his readers hasn't changed. This is the same with the animation adaptation, and I've seen him do his utmost as the original author to make the best possible work, writing the Peleliu: Guernica of Paradise feature film, and with the help of the director, the production team, the cast, and everyone involved, we can help make it even more widely known. I'm very happy.
The animated feature film will be directed by Goro Kuji, who has worked on films such as "Slave of the Demon Capital," and produced by Shin-Ei Animation, which has worked on "Doraemon" and "Crayon Shin-chan," and Fugaku, who has worked on "Dog Signal." The screenplay will be written by original author Takeda and Junji Nishimura. Actor Rihito Itagaki will voice the main character, Hitoshi Tamaru, and Tomoya Nakamura will voice Tamaru's partner, Keisuke Yoshiki.
Takamura, who has been with Takeda on the journey of "Peleliu" for 10 years, also continues to work with passion to deliver the work. Takeda's extraordinary passion and sincere approach to his work have touched the hearts of many people around him, and he has created a new monumental work in war manga. The animated film, which embodies his thoughts and determination, will be released on December 5th, 80 years after the end of the war. It is sure to resonate with people living today.
