'Trese' creator Budjette Tan reveals the biggest thing that Netflix changed from the comics

Warning: Spoilers ahead!

As the Pinoy comic book "Trese" lands on Netflix screens, you might be wondering how much of the original source material has been retained.

In an interview on "The Howie Severino Podcast," Budjette revealed the biggest changes that Netflix made when it adapted his comics, which was co-created with Kajo Baldisimo, into an anime adaptation.

Apparently, the biggest change was the revelation about Alexandra Trese's family — particularly her father Anton's motivations, and the discovery that she had a twin sister.

"So in the book...it's only later on in life that Alexandra found out that she had a twin sister. And that the sister died at childbirth and that the father got the baby and turned the baby’s soul into her weapon, into Sinag, [the blade that she uses]," Budjette told Howie. "So that's in the book, the readers know that. And that's why the Sinag is so important for Trese."

"So they took that detail and they just expanded more on that," he added.

He also revealed that the Talagbusao being the "mastermind of everything bad that's been happening in Trese's life" was not in the book, and was just a twist that the producers added.

However, Budjette said that he understands the intention now that he has watched the whole series.

"How do you stay true to the book and tell a case per episode but at the same time be able to give the viewer in just six episodes a feeling of a story - a beginning, a middle and an end," he said.

"But at the same time, as you might have seen, it ends with a whole lot of cliffhangers leaving you a whole lot of questions. So there. I think that was the biggest change that they did to the story," he added.

READ: 'Trese' aims to conquer the world: supernatural or otherwise

As for what was retained, Budjette said that the producers picked up lines directly from the comics. While watching, he was able to pinpoint scenes that were taken from various cases that Trese took on in the original story.

"It's just to show how much they've probably read and reread the Trese books more than I have," Budjette said.

"Trese" is the Philippines' first anime series picked up by streaming giant Netflix.

Set in Manila where the mythical creatures of Philippine folklore live in hiding amongst humans, the show follows Alexandra Trese as she goes head to head with a criminal underworld comprised of malevolent supernatural beings.

It is currently streaming on Netflix. —JCB, GMA News