WATATABE: This Monster Wants to Eat Me-World premiere and insights from the creative team

Summer has been packed with stories about girls, but fans hoping for more drama than comedy ought to be looking forward to this fall, which will see the premiere of supernatural human drama series This Monster Wants to Eat Me (or Watatabe) starting from October 2^nd on Crunchyroll. Its heroine, Hinako, is plagued with survivor’s guilt after the death of her family—it makes it a relief when the mysterious Shiori appears and promises to devour her…when she’s ready.

The series is the first serialized work from manga artist Sai Naekawa and is still ongoing, with 10 volumes out so far. Naekawa attended Otakon this summer to promote the worldwide premiere of the anime’s first episode, alongside manga editor Takumi Kamemaru and anime producer Ena Hamabe (who also produced Yuri is My Job!). The three guests spoke through an interpreter, though they also gave an initial greeting to the crowd in English. It was Naekawa’s second international experience with the series, following on a fan event in Taipei.

The first episode premiered to an enthusiastic crowd, several of whom had come with copies of the manga, and it put an excellent foot forward. The first episode is slow and moody, underscoring Hinako’s sense of isolation, and it holds back on bloodletting until the final minutes. The short panel that accompanied the episode was mainly an overview of the show’s three main characters—Shiori, Hinako, and Hinako’s friend Miko. It also touched on the importance of the monsters; friendships; and the setting, which is Naekawa’s home prefecture of Ehime.

“It’s a very nice, calm, countryside place,” Naekawa said. “It’s a little out of the way, but I hope you come visit.”

Asked which girl they’d like as a friend, each member of the team had a different answer. Kamemaru chose Miko for her gentle personality; Naekawa noted that Shiori was the easiest to draw, and that she’s fond of the mermaid’s double-sided personality.

And for Hamabe? “Hinako! You saw how she has darkness in her heart but tries to go to school and be normal. I want to be her friend and make her happy.”

Miko and Hinako talking at school; the edges of the image are burned

They also shared a bit about the casting process: Naekawa spoke with the production crew about what each character should generally sound like, and actors submitted tapes of their auditions. Later on, Naekawa was also able to attend recording sessions with the voice cast. “It’s almost like the actors taught me what the characters should sound like.”

But the highlight of the panel was, by far, the replica of Shiori’s monster arm. Full-sized and carried in a special case, it was a glove designed to fit producer Hamabe’s arm—which she happily demonstrated for the assembled crowd. It was a charming touch that highlighted the team’s enthusiasm for the material.

We also had a chance to speak briefly with the Watatabe team while at Otakon. The transcript below has been edited for grammar and clarity, and translations were done by our own Chiaki using an audio transcript. A Japanese-language version follows the English.

Kamemaru holding a Watatabe fan, Naekawa holding the manga in front of her face, and Hamabe holding the Shiori arm replica

Anime Feminist: Stories about consuming someone you love have this enduring popularity. What did you want to explore through that theme?

Naekawa: I’ve always liked the concept of love or obsession. I wanted to draw that sense of conflict about not wanting to consume, but needing to consume, and then that wish to consume nevertheless — I wanted to show that conflict where various people are fighting whether they wish to eat or not in Watatabe’s anime as well.

How did you approach some of the very sensitive topics that the story is about, like Hinako struggling with suicidal thoughts?

Naekawa: Rather than having someone openly wanting to die, I wanted to depict a girl who is putting up a normal front, but is putting forth her wish to die to the forefront in her heart. So rather than someone visibly suicidal, I wanted to depict a sense of suicidality that gradually seeps out.

Do you have any sort of stories you’d like to share about the process of writing it or working on it, or being approached to adapt the story?

For Naekawa-sensei, what was it like being asked to see your work as an anime?

Naekawa: There was talk of making the anime some time ago before it was officially green lit, so there was a lot of time in between. So for me, there was a period I even thought the deal had fallen through. So when I got the call that it was officially confirmed, I was so surprised I remember yelling the loudest I had all year.

AF: I would too.

[Laughter]

For Hamabe-san–as a producer, do you have any stories that stick out to you about bringing the story from manga to anime?

Hamabe: As Ms. Naekawa said, we first engage with her, asking if we can make an anime, an adaptation. And from there, there’s around a year of preparation before we can formally say “we’re really adapting this into an anime.” We’re only able to get started thanks to the work of the many people in the production studio and the production committee.

So it’s taken a long time to produce this, but I think we’ve developed a really good team here.

Were there challenges, or is it just that you have to talk to a lot of people?

Hamabe: Well, how should I put it? The series had only just started its serialization.

Since the story had only gotten started, we didn’t know where the story would go either as readers, so I really was thinking about how we would put this series into an anime series as I read each new installment each month.

Have you been very involved with the anime staff [Naekawa-sensei]?

Naekawa: I think I visited too often. I was personally interested in how anime is made, and I really wanted to see where they were making my work as well.

I don’t know about other authors, but I probably had a lot of involvement.

[Laughter]

Anime Feminist: Stories about consuming someone you adore have this enduring popularity. What did you want to explore by writing a series in a such theme?

大切な人を“喰べる”というテーマを扱った物語には根強い人気があります。そうしたテーマでシリーズを書くことで、何を探求したかったのでしょうか？

もともと好きなテーマ、っというか自分の中で好きなのが愛と執着みたいなのがすごく好きで。喰べたくないけど喰べなきゃいけないみたいな、それでも喰べたいみたいな、すごい葛藤みたいな物が描きたかったので、アニメ「わたたべ」でもいろんな人たちが喰べる、喰べないで葛藤しているっていうのを感じていただけたらなと思っています。

AF: How did you approach some of the very sensitive topics that the story is about, like Hinako struggling with suicidal thoughts?

作中で扱われている非常にデリケートなテーマ、たとえば比名子が自殺念慮に苦しむ描写などには、どのように向き合ったのですか？

あまり表立って「死にたい、死にたい」っていうよりかは、上辺は取り繕って普通に生活をしているけど、ずっと心の中では死にたいなって言うのを最優先にして生きてる子っていうのを描きたかったので、目に見えて死にたいっていうよりかは、じわっとにじんでくるような死にたいっていう感情を描けたらいいなとおもいます。

For Naekawa-sensei, what was it like being asked to see your work as an anime?

苗川先生にとって、ご自身の作品がアニメ化されると聞いたときは、どのようなお気持ちでしたか？

かなり前に一回アニメ化のお話が合ったうえでちょっと本決定までしばらく間が空いてたので、私の中では「もしかしたらお話なくなっちゃってるかも知れないな」って思いながら過ごしてきたので、ちゃんと決定しますっていうお電話いただいた時にはほんとに一年で一番おっきい声が出るぐらい驚いたことが記憶にあります。

AF: For Hamabe-san–as a producer, do you have any stories that stick out to you about bringing the story from manga to anime?

浜辺さんにお伺いします。プロデューサーとして、この物語を漫画からアニメにしていく中で、特に印象に残っているエピソードはありますか？

まずアニメ化をできますか、メディア化を決まってますかっていう問い合わせをしました。そこから実際にいろいろ動き出して、正式にアニメ化となるまでの間に、苗川先生がおっしゃるようにおそらく一年ほどかかっていて、その期間に本当に制作スタジオや製作委員会スタッフ一同の協力を得てスタートをきることができました。

制作にはすごく時間はかかりましたが、良いチームが作れたなと思います。

AF: Were there challenges?

浜辺さん、その過程で大変なこともあったのでしょうか？

そうですね、（アニメ化の話を始めた時は）まだ原作の連載が始まって間もなかったんですよね。

漫画を読んでる身としても、これから先どういうお話になるのかがまだ序盤で、私たちもまだ分からなかったのでアニメシリーズをどう構成していけばいいのだろうかとは本当に毎月の連載を見ながら考えていました。

AF: For Naekawa-sensei, have you been very involved with the anime staff?

苗川先生はアニメのスタッフとも深く関わっていらっしゃったのでしょうか？

行き過ぎなぐらいアニメの制作現場の方に見学させてもらっています。私自身もアニメってどうやって作るんだろうっていう興味もありますし、自分の作品を作ってもらってる現場もすごく見たかったです。

ほかの作家さんのことは分からないんですけど、かなり多く関わっているんじゃないかなって思います。

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