I Wrote A Rewrite For Demon Slayer
Hi there! This post is part of a documentation project on how I wrote, scripted, narrated, scored, audio/video edited, and uploaded a rewrite video for the anime Demon Slayer. I detail my production process, and how my skills and principles can be applied elsewhere. Visit my landing page to see the rest of my process!
What Is My Project?
My project is a rewrite video of Demon Slayer. I wrote my version, presenting it with narration, music, and re-edited footage from the show, spending 3–4 minutes summarizing each episode.
Why This Video?
I’m an analyzer. I reverse-engineer what I see. I love finding what works and why it does, and how I can improve it if it doesn’t. I love the mechanics in different forms of art like tv shows/music, but I catch myself doing it with websites, videos, dialogue, and plenty of other everyday things. It’s instinctual, and luckily, one that can help me make a name for myself.
Demon Slayer was hyped as the next big thing due to its stellar animation. Sadly, the writing isn’t nearly as outstanding. I watched it and immediately found numerous major flaws in its narrative. Content creation has been on my mind for a while, so I decided to give it a go by rewriting the show to fix its problems. I’d never created anything like this, and I welcomed the challenge.
Ensuring Quality
I began crafting my rewrite episode-by-episode. I wanted to create the best work I could, so I re-watched Demon Slayer’s anime. Trouble is, the anime only covers the first part of the story. For the full thing, I read Demon Slayer’s entire manga (Japanese comic that the anime is currently adapting). Throughout my writing, I continued double and triple-checking anything I wasn’t sure of.
My Intention behind My Rewrite
Even though I was creating a rewrite, I wanted to keep the established story intact, just with fixes to its flaws. If I were completely rewriting Demon Slayer, I would’ve made far more drastic story changes.
I created my rewrite with a few key improvements in mind: give the characters meaningful arcs, improve the show’s pacing, and fix plot holes.
The Characters
Demon Slayer’s characters don’t grow, leading to boring protagonists. The single rule of storytelling is to engage your audience. Stagnant characters won’t do that. The worst part is that the characters aren’t, by nature, bad. They’re BRIMMING with potential. It just needed to be tapped into.
Fulfilling The Characters’ Potential
I recognized that Demon Slayer’s characters didn’t need drastic core changes. Rather than changing the nature of any of the cast, I simply highlighted existing traits, fleshing them out with rich and layered character arcs.
The Pacing
Too many anime, including Demon Slayer, suffer from being thinly-stretched for the sake of runtime. I condensed Demon Slayer’s 26-episode first season and 2-hour follow-up movie down to only 21 episodes. That’s also after adding several original scenes. Making a piece of media longer than it needs to be for the sake of runtime only degrades its’ quality.
The Plot Holes
Demon Slayer has glaring plot holes, which can rip an audience out of the immersion you’re attempting to build. I patched up a number of plot holes and inconsistencies, ensuring a more cohesive narrative.
You’ll almost always have some kind of plot hole or inconsistency, but you shouldn’t leave glaring ones. It shows your integrity as a writer and raises more questions about your narrative.
Structuring My Rewrite
I wanted my rewrite to be succinct and to take my viewers on a journey they could enjoy. I chose an episode-by-episode summary format that only touched on essential points of the story. I crafted the rewrite for those who’d already watched Demon Slayer, which allowed me to avoid having to include every small detail.
Writing For A Different Project
My rewrite only addresses the larger narrative. In a more thorough project, I’d address more technical things like dialogue and screenplay. That being said, this summary-level video was already an incredible amount of work. Going any deeper than that would be an entirely different beast and would most likely require different structuring.
The Rewrite In Hindsight
I’d picked up a lot of know-how already from watching shows and plenty of analysis videos, but this was the first time I got to test my mettle on my own project. There’s no way to learn like an interactive experience, and writing this was an absolute blast.
Skills I Demonstrated
Analytical abilities
- Storytelling knowledge
- Identifying a product’s mechanics and reverse-engineering it
- Thorough researching
- Keeping audience invested
- Finding the optimal format for a product and its audience
Applying My Skills
The skills I’ve showcased here can apply across the board. I chose my video format because it worked best for my project, but every piece of content is different. I recognize different needs for different content, and can refine it to its finest form. Storytelling is in everything, and it’s something I have a knack for.
Once I’d written my rewrite, it was time to turn it into a script.
