An Interview With ‘Unico: Awakening’ Writer Samuel Sattin

Unico’s only crime was incurring Venus’ jealousy. As a result, he’s had to constantly have his memories wiped for his own protection. Can Zephyrus the West Wind find a way to break the cycle before Venus tracks the young unicorn down?

Based on the manga created by Osamu Tezuka, Unico: The Awakening sees writer Samuel Sattin and the art team of Gurihiru, rebooting the series for a new generation. With letters by DC Hopkins, Sattin answered some questions about the first manga below:

Rachel Bellwoar: Unico is a character who has a lot of things happen to him. He doesn’t fully understand how his powers work and, whenever he does start to piece things together, his memory gets wiped. Is it difficult writing for a character whose sense of identity is constantly in flux?

Samuel Sattin: In the original manga, Unico’s powers awaken and he pieces aspects of his life and past together, only to go back to square one. It makes Unico a triumphant but tragic character, and one who does good things only and truly because they are the right things to do. This is because at the core of Unico is a story about the nature of love, and the power of memory.

In this series, we will explore the possibility of breaking Unico’s curse. But to do so, he and his friends will have to cross over into various realms. Even piecing together Unico’s fractured past becomes complicated and sometimes painful. The question at the heart of Unico’s journey then is whether or not his memories will help or harm him. As he gets closer to discovering who he is, will he be able to embrace what he finds?

Bellwoar: In an interview you did with our senior editor, Olly MacNamee, to promote Unico’s Kickstarter campaign two years ago, you talked about first encountering the character through the ’80s animated movies. Is Unico of the movies very different from Unico of Osamu Tezuka’s manga?

Sattin: A little bit, yes. But the differences are minimal. In the film versions, Unico takes on monsters that are more intense than in the manga. In Unico and the Island of Magic, for instance, he takes on an evil wizard who is turning people and animals into puppets. With them, he builds a nightmare castle that’s patrolled by a frightening mechanical beast. Unico has to rise up to defeat both the wizard and his beast, and restore order to the world.

Though the film arcs might feel more epic in scale, Unico’s character is basically unchanged. He gives his all for his friends, and will protect them however he needs to. The original manga may be less grandiose, but they are just as magical and thematically poignant, all due to the steadfastness of their hero.

Bellwoar: Why do you feel “The Cat and the Broomstick” was the right story to reintroduce the world to Unico with?

Sattin: “The Cat and the Broomstick” is a memorable and moving story–which is why it took center stage in the first Unico film. It’s themes are timeless. “The Cat and the Broomstick” is about a cat who wishes to become human. When Unico allows her to do so for a limited time each day, she realizes that attempting to do away with your identity can have dire consequences.

I think of it as Tezuka’s take on a classic Disney tale. It sets up a dilemma we can all relate to, since we all face moments when we decide whether or not to believe in ourselves. I think that will resonate with readers, just as it resonates with me.

Bellwoar: Unico isn’t the only character in Awakening to suffer from a bad memory. Did you always want to show the lack of sympathy people with dementia or Alzheimer’s are sometimes shown through the character of Granny?

Sattin: Unico: Awakening very much explores the concept of memory, both how it is perceived, and in terms of the value we put on it. Granny’s character in particular is suffering from Alzheimers, so her memories are patchwork. But then again, so are Unico’s. At the heart of the matter is how we show empathy to those who have a harder time piecing together the past. Unico understands just how much help Granny needs. This runs in direct opposition to the thoughts of many people in our society. Memory isn’t linear by nature. Unico understands this. We could all do well to understand as well.

Bellwoar: While Unico is befriending Chloe the watch cat, Zephryus the West Wind is on her own hero’s journey. What was it like getting to write a separate quest for her?

Sattin: Amazing. And it’s just the start of what’s to come. Zerphyrus is a character that many including myself find so mysterious and interesting. She’s one of Unico’s allies, but we don’t see much of her in the original manga and film adaptations. Making her and others like her more central characters in the new Unico has been both a joy and privilege. It also allows us to expand the story in exciting directions. The West Wind gets to have her own arc, and examine her identity, alongside the Night Wind, as the first and second stars–something that went unexplained in the original manga, but which we have permission to explore.

Bellwoar: I love how we get to see how some of the character designs were updated by Gurihiru in the backmatter. Did you always want Venus (the main antagonist in Awakening) to appear less human?

Sattin: I know, aren’t Gurihiru’s updated designs incredible? They’re simply genius. And trust me when I say there’s a lot more of that to come.

Yes, I wanted Venus to appear less human in the new Unico stories.

I wanted all of the celestial beings to be depicted as less mortal, and more otherworldly. Though I completely understand and appreciate why Venus and the other gods in the original manga were designed to look more human, I think this was more due to the time period in which Tezuka was creating the series. But if you look at a lot of other aspects of Unico, he’s a mythological being who both forms friendships and does battle with all kinds of spirits and creatures, many of which are designed to look like otherworldly beings. That sense of the fantastical is what we wish to bring to this new Unico series.

Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Samuel!

Unico: Awakening goes on sale August 6th from Scholastic Graphix.