Hot on the heels of the movies “NANA” and “A Song to the Sun” comes another music-filled film titled “Pride”. This is based on another Yukari Ichijo’s manga series that depicts the rivalry between Shio Asami – born to a wealthy family blessed with natural talent and beauty, and Moe Midorikawa – a poor girl with an alcoholic mother. The two from different worlds are drawn together by a common dream – to become opera singers – but are caught up in fierce rivalry. The original story “Pride” is by master shojo manga creator Yukari Ichijo, who also wrote “Yukan Club” which was turned into a TV drama. 2008 marked her 40th year as a manga creator and we spoke to her about the inspiration behind “Pride”.

Due to the fact that the saga had to be compacted into just 2 hours she didn't seem to have much attachment to the story.
“I'm aware that when a manga is transferred to the cinema or TV media the original story has to change. The only thing that I was particular about was that I didn't want the characters' personalities to change.
When I first saw the script that they worked so hard on, some of the characters just didn't seem right so I gave my input.
I suppose turning it into a movie or TV is like giving your darling daughter up for marriage – if she is happy, I’m happy. But if she is treated badly by her new husband, I would tell her 'run back home to mummy!'(lol)”.

Ichijo sensei was quite “humbled” by the support she got from professional opera singers who though that it would be a good thing to promote opera. You may think that she was an opera fan, but the truth is that she wasn't.
“At first I wanted to write the story where a poor person enters the domain of the rich and do battle. Ballet is not necessarily the domain of the rich, so I thought about equestrian horse riding or opera.
But if it was horse riding I think it would be a bit far fetched for a poor girl to say “I want that horse” don't you think? I didn't want to write scenes where the horse breaks a leg and had to put down, and the pinnacle of the sport is the Olympics. It is too sporty and gentlemanly.
I wanted a professional in the entertainment world. And when I was thinking about it I came up with the world where 'popularity is everything' (lol) - somewhere where you can make it to the top through hard work. Sometimes it might not be fair play but to get to the top anything goes. It just had to be opera.”

Ichijo sensei celebrates her 40th anniversary in the industry. What is the drive behind her passion for manga?
“I get tired of things quickly. Just doing the same thing is boring. Take fishing – you can't get good at it if you are impatient. If you can't catch anything you have to change the lure or point. It's the same as that. I have found a way to keep going without getting bored. For example, the main character goes overseas, finds a new rival, I am always changing the situation.
When I was writing 'Sina no Shiro (Sand Castle)” I got bored with the “girlie world” and I decided I wanted to do something with 'battles and action like in a shonen manga'. That is how I came to write 'Yukan Club'”.

Shio and Moe come up with the lines “Don't you have any pride?” and “I already got rid of that -it's useless”. You even chose the title “Pride”. Were you influenced by culture? To which sensei immediately replied “Yes!”
“The only influence can be culture don't you think? Japan has Japanese pride, other countries have their own pride. It is their individual pride that makes for a rich culture.
After watching “Pride” myself I realised something – it reminded me of a Korean movie. I think Koreans will enjoy this movie and I hope they go and watch it.”

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