Exclusive interview with Nagabe at Lucca Comics and Games 2022

In an exclusive interview with Nagabe during Lucca Comics and Games 2022, we have further explored some details inherent in his most successful work, Girl From the Other Side: a shonen manga populated as much by monsters and curses, as from affection, tender everyday life and enchantment. Nagabe talked a little bit to Cultura Pop talking about his work on Girl From the Other Side, published in Italy by J-Pop, and a work that has also arrived on screen this year thanks to the anime adaptation of Wit Studio.



Manga

Exclusive interview with Nagabe at Lucca Comics and Games 2022

I didn't want to forcefully insert precise messages within Girl From the Other Side. I've thrown some clues, some hints. I also knew, during the making, that white always has a positive meaning, while black is considered darkness and negativity. But by inserting references that weren't forced, I didn't necessarily want to “subvert roles”. I wanted the reader to draw his own conclusions from reading.



Manga


For the anime I didn't collaborate directly on the realization, I discussed the project with the director and other team members during the initial stages, but I decided to give them carte blanche because I could see their expertise. And in fact when I looked at the final work I found it to be beautiful, I would have absolutely nothing to add. In the future I would like to have a series of mini episodes based on my short stories, perhaps with the same style of the anime Girl From the Other Side.

Regarding the writing of the manga, we wanted to deepen with Nagabe a purely narrative aspect: in Girl From the Other Side, in fact, there is a truly surprising plot twist regarding Shiva, the little protagonist of the manga. So we asked the sensei if it was something he planned from the beginning or if the idea came straight away during the writing.

Yes, from the beginning I had in mind that I wanted to draw everyone the costs that precise moment of the plot. Maybe it wasn't already in its final form, in my initial projects, but I expected to want to write it. My intention was precisely to insert a strong element that was also able to warm the heart.



Shiva, protagonist of Girl From the Other Side, is also flanked by the Master, a dark creature who lives in the External world and who has an aspect halfway between anthropomorphic and demonic, like the other beings that populate these lands. What was your inspiration for the character design of these characters?

I was definitely inspired mainly by animals in giving the appearance to these characters, and I find that animal horns have a great charm, I think they are very beautiful and interesting to draw, so I always try to place them in the context of the creatures I draw.

Finally, we wanted to ask Nagabe if she has any future projects in the pipeline that we can talk to us about:

Let's say I'm still thinking about it!

Girl From the Other Side by Nagabe

Once in a very distant land, there were two kingdoms. In one, "the outside", grotesque-looking creatures resided whose touch carried a curse. In the other, "the inside", there was a safe haven for humans. The fateful meeting between two inhabitants of the warring kingdoms, who could not have met, brings this little story to life. This is the tale of the dark creature and the little girl, who linger as evening falls, on the border between day and night.

Buy Nagabe's Girl From the Other Side on Amazon