Interview with Takako Shimura, Creator of the Scenes of AWAJIMA Manga

The craft and artistry of theater mean many different things to the many people who intersect with that world. Students, performers, writers, directors, and audience members each bring a different set of expectations and take away a different set of impressions. And like all art, theater can hurt as easily as it can heal. This past spring, the anime adaptation of Scenes From Awajima explored a kaleidoscope of perspectives as they filtered through the hallowed and haunted halls of its titular school. Here, we asked Scenes From Awajima‘s manga author Takako Shimura (Sweet Blue Flowers, Wandering Son) about the series’ origins, influences, and how it relates to her other works.

Congratulations on the anime adaptation of Scenes From Awajima (the anime is known as A Hundred Scenes of AWAJIMA). What was the pre-production phase like? Did you have any specific requests regarding the adaptation, or did you provide any feedback that influenced the staff’s approach?

Takako Shimura:
I didn’t have any specific requests for the adaptation. It was clear from the materials I received and from our meetings with the animation production team that they were working very meticulously and carefully.

Many students are exposed to the glamour and appeal of theater at an early age and aspire to become actors, and Awajima is portrayed as one such place. Do you have any personal connection to theater yourself? Also, was there a particular “spark” or moment in your childhood that inspired you to become a manga artist?

Shimura:
I’m a theatergoer rather than a performer. As a child, I saw plays that appeared in the story (much like Wakana Tabata, who narrates the anime), and I was influenced and wanted to pursue that path myself, but I never acted on it. Manga was something much more familiar to me, and as I read the manga my family owned, I gradually began wanting to become a manga artist myself. Unlike theater, all I needed to make manga was paper and a pencil, so I could start drawing in secret without making any noise, hiding it from my family.

The Takarazuka Revue holds a very important place in Japanese theater. To what extent was Awajima influenced by Takarazuka? And when creating the manga, did you have any specific stories or accounts related to Takarazuka in mind?

Shimura:
Takarazuka is such an iconic all-female music school that it’s often considered synonymous with the very idea. Rather than wanting to draw a story based on the Takarazuka Revue, I wanted to create a manga set in a specialized all-female school focused on a particular field. However, the Takarazuka Revue and Takarazuka Music School are such influential institutions that I may have been unconsciously drawn to them. Since the manga is set in a music school, I did turn to them as a reference in many cases, but because it’s so easy to make associations, I often racked my brain to try and avoid copying things wholesale.

Scenes From Awajima unfolds in an omnibus format, bringing together stories about students from different generations, which makes it quite different from a linear narrative. Could you tell us why you chose this structure and what you find appealing about it?

Shimura:
First and foremost, I wanted to write a story about people who aren’t geniuses or “chosen ones.” I wanted to write about what happens behind the scenes, or the families that support our heroines—things that would typically be subplots. So I started with that in mind.

You worked on Scenes From Awajima intermittently from 2011 to 2024, making it a project that spanned a significant part of your career. Did your intentions or approach to the work change over that time? And were there any aspects that you found particularly difficult to depict?

Shimura:
As my workload increased, I could no longer work at my previous pace, and as I got older, I became more prone to illness, which made it increasingly difficult to draw. At the same time, both society and I, in terms of our lifestyles and values, slowly began to change. In the early part of the story, I introduced characters like Okabe Emi, who left school in despair and suffered greatly, and Ibuki Keiko, who was the cause of that. I felt I couldn’t leave their story unresolved, so I decided to start working on the final chapter. I was reminded once again that each story I begin writing comes with responsibility, though looking back, I realize that delving into their relationship and bringing it to its conclusion was a difficult task for me.

In addition to writing and illustrating manga, you have also provided character designs or assisted with character design for works such as Aldnoah.Zero, Battery, and Overtake!. How does the character design process for these works differ from creating characters for your own manga?

Shimura:
When I work alone, the details of each character gradually come together as I draw, developing bit by bit alongside the story itself. However, when creating character designs for a client, I’m not starting from scratch; the client has already considered many of the details. What kind of personality do the characters have? What do they look like? In a way, working on those character designs is similar to a game of telephone or trying to find the correct answer on a quiz.

In the English-speaking manga community, your works are particularly highly regarded for their yuri and LGBTQ themes. What first inspired you to start creating these kinds of characters and stories?

Shimura:
It all started because my own gender identity was ambiguous. For a long time, I couldn’t accept my own femininity. Then, one day, I thought, “What if I created some characters based on my own thoughts at that time and drew a manga with them as the focus?”

Since the beginning of the 21st century, social awareness of LGBTQ people has changed significantly. Along with this, the market for manga with LGBTQ themes has also grown, particularly in the United States. Have these changes influenced what you depict in your works or the way you think about these themes?

Shimura:
I think they have. I’ve started to think about responsibility more deeply and seriously than I used to, and I’ve come to fear that my insistence on my own way of thinking could become a one-sided imposition and crush someone’s spirit. In my twenties, even though I was already an adult, I was still on the receiving end of what was given to me by “adult society,” and I could refuse or rebel against it. But as I’ve gotten older and become an adult myself, I worry that I could always
become a source of pressure and burden for the younger generation.

I recently came out as a transgender woman, and when I was struggling with my identity, Wandering Son was one of the works that gave me emotional support. (Shuichi) Nitori’s story in particular helped me sort through my own thoughts and experiences, and I’d like to thank you for that. More generally, do you ever think about how queer readers engage with your works?

Shimura:
This overlaps with my previous answer, but I keenly feel that the weight of words has changed significantly compared to 20 years ago. Wandering Son is a work I drew in my 20s and 30s, and it was something I could only have drawn at that time; it was a story for myself rather than for anyone else. If it did end up helping more than a few readers, I would be very honored; it helped me too. If I were to draw the same subject matter now that I’m in my 50s, I think my approach would be
completely different, and the perspective of an older generation would come into play. Social conditions and individual values ​​have changed dramatically in 20 years. For example, Wandering Son deals with the issue of school uniforms, but in Japanese schools today, there are more options, if not all of them. There are even female students who wear slacks. That
alone changes the degree of freedom one has when drawing manga and creates new possibilities for what to draw. Though I think that male students who choose to wear skirts are still largely viewed critically. Today, we need stories that are relevant to the current times.

What kinds of stories would you like to tell in the future? Are there any genres you’d like to try or any new areas you’d like to experiment with?

Shimura:
I want to create universal stories that can be enjoyed by a wide range of people, from adults to children. I want to create comics that are a source of relaxation, something you unconsciously reach for even during hard times when it’s difficult to find enjoyment in life. Because I myself have been saved by works like that.