Netflix 'Trese:' Things You Should Know About PH Folklore Anime

Netflix Philippines released a video reel of titles appearing on the streaming site in June on Thursday, May 20. One of them is "Trese," which will premiere on June 11.

The streaming site also teased the anime series with a poem on their Twitter account based on the Philippine graphic novel "Trese.”

"When the cops are stumped, Alexandra Trese is there to protect Manila from threats of the supernatural kind," the official Netflix description for the series reads.

NME said "Trese" is set in Manila, where creatures from Philippine folklore live alongside humans, and is based on a graphic novel by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo. Alexandra Trese is a private investigator forced to go deep into a criminal underworld teeming with dark supernatural forces.

Liza Soberano and Shay Mitchell will play Alexandra Trese in the Netflix series adaptation, which will premiere in March 2021. The show's Filipino language version will be voiced by Liza, while the English language version will be voiced by Shay.

Trese's producers revealed in an interview with SYFY Wire that the protagonist was intended to be a man called Anton Trese. Tan, on the other hand, decided to do something different. There hasn't been a hard-boiled, female lead in Filipino noir comics. Hence, Anton's daughter Alexandra was born.

Baldisimo said in the same SYFY Wire interview that Alexandra has a badass yet graceful character. Alexandra, according to Baldisimo, must be both a 'ballerina' and a 'hunter' at the same time. As a result, Baldisimo must always physically portray herself with those attributes, whether she is in action, battling an adversary, or seated, interrogating suspects.

"It's an honor to be the voice of an iconic character such as Alexandra Trese. I'm a huge fan of Budjette and Kajo's award-winning Trese comics," Soberano said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, Mitchell said that she's ecstatic to be a part of Trese and to have the opportunity to play Alexandra Trese.

"Philippine folklore is rich and fascinating, and I am thrilled to be a part of the team bringing this story to life," she said in a Netflix press release.

Movie producers first revealed "Trese" as a film adaptation in 2018 at a media event in Singapore. The series is directed by Jay Oliva and produced by BASE Entertainment, which is based in Jakarta and Singapore.