Should You Read the Kodansha x Sunrise "Sayonara Peter Pan" Manga or Novel First? Interview with the Producer & Author

The novel "Sayonara Peter Pan," serialized on the website "Yarate Bunko" ( # ), which has been operated by the animation production company Sunrise since the end of September 2016, is a science fiction mystery novel set in the fully controlled dome city of Superior.

⇒Sunrise Yarate Bunko started a new serial novel "Sayonara Peter Pan"!　Manga serialization also started in Young Magazine Third!

The comic version of this work is currently being serialized in Kodansha's "Young Magazine Third" ( # )," which gives the impression that the novel and comic version are being serialized at the same time (or conversely, the comic version and novelization of the novel). In fact, the novel version and the comic version have completely different stories, characters, and so on.

What exactly is "Sayonara Peter Pan"? Akiba Research Institute interviewed the key persons behind the story, Sunrise's Kojiro Taniguchi and the author of the novel version, Bisu Takahashi. The interview also touches on the relationship between the novel and comic versions, so if you are wondering which to read first, the novel or the comic, please take a look at this article.

Kodansha and Sunrise Team Up?
What kind of content is "Sayonara Peter Pan"?

───First of all, please tell us about the "Good-bye Peter Pan" project.

Taniguchi Kojiro (Taniguchi): "Good-bye Peter Pan" was originally an anime project that I was working on together with a writer who worked on "Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion," in which I also participated.
However, because it was an original work, it was very difficult to animate. Since the content was original, we decided to serialize the novel in Yarate Bunko as an original work before making it into an anime.

───Editor-in-Chief Kawaguchi mentioned in a previous interview that it is becoming more and more difficult to create original works. That is why Sunrise launched Yattate Bunko as a place to make proposals.
⇒Why does Sunrise operate the website "Yattate Bunko"?　Interview with Yoshitaka Kawaguchi, Editor-in-Chief of "Yarate Bunko" [Part 1

Taniguchi: Actually, "Sayonara Peter Pan" was one of the projects that led to the start of Yattate Bunko. It took a long time before the serialization started due to various reasons (laughs).

─ By various things, you mean including the comic version serialized in "Young Magazine Third", right? By the way, please tell us how the comic version started at the same time.

Taniguchi: I had been looking for an author for the novelization, and Kodansha introduced me to the author, Bisu Takahashi. At that time, I also suggested, "I have this kind of proposal, so how about a comic book version? I proposed to them, "I have this kind of proposal. That's how the comic book version of "Sayonara Peter Pan" serialized in "Young Magazine Third" got started.

─ When I hear that, it sounds like a media mix project with a very close relationship with Kodansha.

Taniguchi: It ended up being a Kodansha x Sunrise project, but it wasn't something we set out to do. (laughs) The comic version was also serialized here because the person who helped me with the comic version of "Sacred Seven" was in the editorial department of "Young Magazine Third".
So, rather than a media mix (......), you can think of it as a way to present "this is the world view" first, and then to connect it to the anime adaptation, by starting a novel and a comic at the same time.

─ I see. By the way, how did you feel when you heard about the project?

Bisui Takahashi (Takahashi): "Oh, it's science fiction! That was my first impression (laughs). And when I heard about the project, the distinctive worldview and dystopian feel were great. I was told, "If you're busy, we can find someone else. But I asked him , "Please add me to the list! I asked him to add me to the project.

─ Do you like dystopian worldviews?

Takahashi: I like science fiction in general rather than ....... I think there are two types of science fiction: those that have a science fiction look and feel, and those that have a science fiction feel in their settings. Star Wars" is a good example of the former. I like both, but the world of "Good-bye Peter Pan" is the latter, and it really stimulated my creativity on that side.

─ Incidentally, the world of the comic and the novel are the same, but the characters and the story are completely different. Why did you decide to develop them in this way?

Taniguchi: As those of you who have already read the comic version may know, I realized during discussions with Mr. Takahashi that there are two major perspectives in the world of "Farewell Peter Pan," one from the perspective of a child and the other from an adult. I also realized that it would be interesting to see the world from either perspective.
Incidentally, the story in the original proposal was from the children's point of view.

───Do you mean that the comic book version is the closest to the original proposal?

Taniguchi: That's right. On the other hand, the novel version is a science fiction mystery set in the world of "Sayonara Peter Pan," and the world is being revealed more and more. However, we only presented the basic worldview and the bare minimum of what we wanted the story to be like.

Takahashi: The basic worldview of this work is very solid, so I was free to write what I wanted to write within that worldview. Then, I ask him to point out the expressions that fit the worldview and those that do not.

─ ─ Expressions that fit your worldview: ......?

Takahashi: For example, the expressions "blade" and "machine" that appeared in the fourth episode "Shittai wa shinda karada" (Part 2), which was updated today. Actually, in the first draft of these stories, I used the terms "knife" and "robot," but Taniguchi-san pointed this out to me and I corrected it.

Taniguchi: "Is there such a concept in this world?" I think, "I don't think so. If you don't know, there is no way to put it into words. My role is to set the borderline for such areas.
Also, in the 4th episode, Kurumi arrests a pervert, but even in that episode, it's a sense of "Why is this person touching me? This is an area that is closely related to our worldview, but the adults in Superior have little awareness of such things.

Takahashi: I would say they are emotionless and indifferent. As I mentioned in the third episode, the meaning of the word "dating" is also different. The way they hold favors and their view of love is on the level of elementary school students.

Taniguchi: What I asked you to pay special attention to in this context is that the concept of "death" is unknown to the residents of Superior. So they don't know the Chinese character for "death" itself, and when they see a dead body, they don't feel anything ......, they just wonder, "What happened to that person?" I think.
There are people who have already been killed, but they probably didn't even know if they were attacked. They didn't know what they were being attacked for, and maybe it was the first time they had ever felt pain. By the time they thought, "Oh, shit," they were already dead.

─ ─ Indeed, the scene in episode 3 where Ryoga explains "death" to Kurumi and the others is very impressive. It is as if he feels somewhat cold toward Kurumi and his friends' "common sense.

Takahashi: I was very careful to write that scene because it is the part where the story takes a big turn and the characters' discomfort with this world comes out.

Taniguchi: It's not that Kurumi and the others are strange, but that is a common reaction in that world. I hope you can get the sense that Kurumi and his friends are living in a place different from our common sense.

─ ─ However, it is difficult to describe characters who live in a world with different common sense.

Takahashi: Yes, it is. Kurumi and her friends are adults in body and knowledge, but they have almost no knowledge of crime or sex. That part of the story, the feeling of being buried in the completely different thoughts of people living in a completely different world, was difficult to write, but I really felt like I was writing science fiction, so it was fun. It almost interferes with my daily life, though (laughs).

Taniguchi: Well, I thought that must have been difficult. All I had to do was ask (laughs).
I also asked Mr. Takahashi not to make too much fun of Kurumi. If you have already read the manga, you would know that she is an adult in Superior, which means she is a very talented person.

Takahashi: I forgot about that setting and portrayed her in a very flowery way, and Taniguchi-san pointed this out to me. Then he said, "Oh, by the way, she is very smart, isn't she! (laughs).

Taniguchi: (laughs) And Ryoga gets frustrated with Kurumi, and I think that's probably the same for the readers. I'm sure the readers are the same way, saying, "Why can't you understand this? But it's just that just as there are things we don't know, the walnuts don't know what they don't know either. So I also asked Mr. Takahashi not to make Ryoga too angry (laughs).

Takahashi: In the first draft, Ryoga was very angry (laughs). (laughs) It was difficult to adjust the right amount of salt in that area.

Taniguchi: If you have read the comic, you probably have some idea of Ryoga's true identity, but if you read the novel after that, I think it will be easier to grasp Ryoga's psychology.

─ ─ The novel is written from Kurumi's first-person point of view, but it may be easier for readers to become emotionally involved with Ryoga. On top of that, it is deeply moving to see Kurumi becoming more and more solid as the story progresses.

Taniguchi: The novel is also a story of Kurumi's growth, so if you feel that way, I think our attempt was successful (laughs).

One world, two stories.
Which should I enjoy first, the comic or the novel?

─ By the way, you mentioned the comic book version earlier, but isn't it quite unusual to have a comic book in progress at the same time as you are writing a novel?

Takahashi: Actually, when I was writing the novel, I had shut out information about the comic version. On the contrary, I think the comic side didn't know about the novel either. I think Taniguchi-san was the only one who understood both.

Taniguchi That's right. Of course, I had both sides look at the finished product. Incidentally, in the comic book version, a very important setting that does not appear in the novel until much later is already revealed in the first episode.

─ ─ I was very surprised when I read the first episode of the comic. To be honest, I was surprised to read the first episode of the comic and thought, "Is it safe to read this first? I thought it was a spoiler.

Taniguchi: This may seem like a spoiler, but in fact, the setting revealed in the first episode of the comic is not the main idea of the work "Sayonara Peter Pan. I think the heart of the story is how Kurumi thinks and grows up in this world. Also, even if you read the first episode of the comic, I don't think you can tell how the novel will develop from here on.

Takahashi: The novel is billed as a science fiction mystery, but if you look at it as a stand-alone mystery novel, the important settings have not yet been revealed, which is actually not fair at all (laughs). Rather, by reading the comic version, the more you know about the setting, the more fair the mystery becomes.

Taniguchi That's right. If you read only the novel, it is certainly unfair as a mystery. It's not so different from saying, "Actually, the culprit is an alien!　It's not so different from saying, "Actually, the culprit is an alien!

─ By the way, do you expect people to enjoy either of them first?

Takahashi: I think it's perfectly fine if you enjoy both at the same time. If you read the novel after reading the manga, it may be a little difficult to understand why the story is the way it is at first, but I think you will enjoy the way the two works gradually come closer together. On the other hand, if you read the comic first, I think you will enjoy the mystery-like experience of deciphering the story based on the various clues scattered throughout the novel.

Taniguchi: Yes, I hope you will enjoy both the comic and novel versions together.

───It seems that the order in which you read them may change depending on how you want to enjoy them.

Taniguchi: I can say this because I have confidence in both the novel and the comic. As expected, the setting revealed in the first episode of the comic is the basis of the novel! If it were a big story like that, I think we would have shifted the timing of the serialization (laughs).

─ ─ Finally, do you have a message for our readers?

Takahashi: At any rate, everyone is a suspect! (laughs). (Laughs) I would like readers to pay attention to the motives of why these crimes were committed in the society of Superior. In terms of the worldview, there is absolutely no ordinary reason. The question of why the murder took place in such a world is a kind of thought experiment, and I think it is a highlight of both science fiction and mystery, so please look forward to it.

Taniguchi: "Good-bye Peter Pan" is the type of work that has a solid mystery or theme and asks the audience to think about it. It may be different from the mainstream these days, but in that sense, I think it is a work that is typical of Sunrise, and I hope you will enjoy this work as well. And in the end, I would definitely like to aim for an anime adaptation.
Well, if that happens, I think the anime will be a completely different story using this world (laughs).

─ ─ (laughs) Thank you very much for your time today.

(Interview and text by editorial department)

Good-bye Peter Pan.

Author: Bisui Takahashi
Illustration: Kurogin
・Part 1: #peterpan/bbpp-main.html
・Part 1: #peterpan/bbpp-01.html

Synopsis.
Superior is a fully controlled dome city. Kurumi and Ryoga, who are in charge of security there, are involved in an unprecedented incident.

(C) SUNRISE