Writer Budjette Tan discusses Filipino folklore and the TRESE anime’s international reach
Budjette Tan is primarily known as the co-creator and writer of Trese, the award-winning Filipino komiks series about a young detective named Alexandra Trese who fights to keep balance between the mundane and the supernatural entities in the streets of Manila. The series has been well-received for its dark and captivating storylines, bringing a new twist to the classic horror/crime genre with a dynamic female lead. Trese brings to life the incredible depth of Filipino folklore for fans around the world.
Michele Kirichanskaya recently had the chance to interview Budjette Tan about working as the writer of Trese and the series’ recent anime adaption on Netflix.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
First of all, welcome to Anime Feminist. Can you tell us about how Trese came to be, both as a comic and as an anime?
BUDJETTE TAN: TRESE is mash-up of our love for comic books like Batman, Hellboy, John Constatine, TV shows like CSI, X-Files, anime like Ghost in the Shell: SAC, and, of course, stories from Philippine myth and folklore.
The name “Anton Trese” came from my friend Mark Gatela. We used that name as the narrator for a radio show about ghost stories in Manila. That name stuck with me and I thought it would be great to use for a future story.
In 2002, I tried writing a comic book about “Anton Trese – Paranormal Investigator!” I struggled with that script for year and then put it aside.
In 2005, Kajo Baldisimo sent me a text message, inviting me to co-create a comic book with him. He said, if I could give him a 20-page comic book, he would be able to finish it in 20 days. So, I dug up that old Trese script and sent him one page.
He sent me the drawn-up page—which looked great!—… (but) when I looked at the character (another tough guy wearing a jacket, with a magical weapon, fighting monsters) I felt we’ve seen this guy too many times. So, I texted Kajo, “What if Trese was a woman?” And he replied, “That would make Trese more bad-ass!” And within the day, he emailed me a new sketch of the character that would become Alexandra Trese.
Read it at Anime Feminist!
snowghoul
yousharknotpass
amandla
romaincrisis
jacobvanloon
dailybridgerton
titsay
