Manga Author Keiko Takemiya Talks Toward the Terra and Its Deeper Meanings

To celebrate Toward the Terra's manga author, Keiko Takemiya, winning the Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award, three episodes of the 2007 anime were screened at the festival. Afterward, the now 76-year-old Takemiya herself took to the stage to talk about both her original manga and its two anime adaptations.

Before getting the green light to write Toward the Terra for the male-targeted magazine Gekkan Manga Shōnen, Takemiya was already well established—but as a shōjo manga artist rather than a shōnen one. However, that didn't pose a problem for her—quite the opposite, actually. “Around that time, there was a prevailing idea in the manga world that it didn't matter whether the readers were male or female,” Takemiya told the audience. “I grew up reading shōnen manga and didn't read much shōjo manga, so I felt there was potential in being able to draw for a shōnen magazine. I didn't want to miss my chance; I felt like I should write something I wouldn't normally be able to—it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

As with many of Takemiya's works over the years, Toward the Terra focuses on a pair of male protagonists. As it turns out, this is for both practical and thematic reasons. "For me, boys are the easiest characters to draw. They are also characters I can most easily project myself into," Takemiya explained. "If I were to replace the word 'boy' with another word, it would be 'potential.' I wanted to depict characters with that kind of potential as my theme."

"Many readers will likely read Toward the Terra with the feeling that we're heading towards a similarly controlled society. But that's not my intent. This is a story about how these hope-filled 'boys with potential' live their lives.” Takemiya continued, “How do they live freely while rebelling against the established path? It's a restrictive world, but even so, it's good if they can offer hope. I hope you'll read Toward the Terra with that in mind."

"I never thought my manga would be made into an anime," Takemiya confessed to the audience. Yet, in 1980, it got its first adaptation: an animated feature film. Takemiya spoke a bit about the changes made to her original story for that movie. "Since movies have limited runtime, some changes were necessary for explanation," she noted. "If I had prioritized my own interpretations and the flow of the original manga, the film wouldn't have come together. I'm not an expert on making anime, so I didn't plan on interfering."

Then in 2007, the story was adapted once more, this time as a TV anime. "I was surprised that it was being made into an anime again, and was grateful for the unexpected opportunity," Takemiya said. "I had a sense of excitement, wondering what my 'children' would do next. The character's backgrounds were adjusted to explain things in more depth—and I felt that things were crafted so that the characters interacted well.”

In closing, Takemiya had a message to those making their own creative works: “Creating something is the process of taking materials and, from nothing, shaping them into something tangible. I believe this applies not only to those who are pursuing a career in [manga/anime], but also to those who enjoy doing a little embroidery at home. I hope you'll enjoy the process as much as possible, let your imagination run wild, and expand the possibilities for your future.”