After becoming renowned in the manga world, Mangaka Koyoharu Gotouge sensei’s Demon Slayer went on to conquer the anime world as well through its anime adaptation of the same name. And while the fan-favorite masterpiece story still holds an edge in both industries among other superhit and widely acclaimed projects, One Piece remains one of its strongest competitors in both.
That being said, there is one thing that gives a further edge to Kimetsu no Yaiba over Eiichiro Oda sensei’s storyline. But this one thing isn’t related to the stories of the sagas, but rather, the animated versions of them, in which Gotouge sensei’s story seems to have effortlessly passed its opponent, thanks to all the new techniques used to efficiently transform the anime into its best version.
Demon Slayer is Ahead of One Piece Anime in This One Aspect
While Eiichiro Oda‘s One Piece anime is indeed a fine piece of artwork by Toei Animation, many fans still complain about it because of the poor animation and lengthiness of the 1000+ episode animated series. Compare this to Gotouge sensei’s anime and fans will get wildly different results.
Why? Well, according to producer Yūma Takahashi, the “established relationships” and “sense of trust already present” between the staff at ufotable animation studios seem to have contributed greatly to the anime becoming the masterpiece that it is.
In an interview with Anime News Network, Takahashi talked about the same as he shared how the staff at the animation studios pretty much comprises people who have “worked there together for so long,” which has led to them developing “established relationships and a sense of trust.”
This, in turn, has led to their production efficiency as well. As Takahashi explained:
“Moreso than developing new technology, I see it as the team evolving and advancing their techniques, getting better and better at the methods they had already developed.”
And that seems to be exactly what has gotten them so much better over the years while working on this masterwork of anime, instead of the new and evolved technology used in their respective field, as other animation studios usually focus on.
As Takahashi said:
“It’s not so much that we bring in new 3D technology, it’s more that they’ve gotten better at their craft throughout the years, and even the CG elements in Demon Slayer are all derived from work that is drawn by hand.”
While that is truly impressive, it is also a feat that perhaps Oda sensei’s anime could only dream of, considering how most other animation studios’ primary focus is the getting the work done with the technology available instead of opting for a healthier approach like this one.
Yūma Takahashi Believes This is Exactly What Makes Demon Slayer So Much Better
Continuing during the same interview, Yūma Takahashi further highlighted how Koyoharu Gotouge sensei’s anime staff constantly seeks to improvise themselves first, as he said:
“They always find a way to go higher and higher…and higher and higher and higher.”
But that isn’t all: Takahashi also believes that this very factor of focusing more on making this specific anime the best version of its source material rather than making it the best anime from the animation studios is what makes it all the more better.
As he said:
“In terms of ufotable‘s goals for this series specifically, it’s not their aim necessarily to make the best anime ever, but to make the best Kimetsu no Yaiba. So what you’re seeing now is their best version of that source material.”
Needless to say, Yūma Takahashi isn’t wrong either, considering how Kimetsu no Yaiba is indeed considered one of the best manga adaptations into anime created to date!
You can stream Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba on Crunchyroll.
