Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba has been one of the biggest crowd-attractors in recent times, and deservingly so. Studio Ufotable’s unbelievable animation, paired with Koyoharu Gotouge’s gripping tale of struggle, has proved to be the golden combination for blockbusters.
Yuma Takahashi has produced the Demon Slayer anime and worked with it since the first season was produced in 2019. In an interview with Anime News Network, the producer opened up about the anime’s creation process and Koyoharu Gotouge’s role in it.
Was Koyoharu Gotouge Deeply Involved in the Animation Process of Demon Slayer?
According to the interview, Koyoharu Gotouge looked over the scenarios, character designs as well as settings of the Demon Slayer anime. They were intimately involved with the anime creation process. However, the writer also had immense trust in Ufotable, and rather than constantly nitpicking about changes, they just adhered to providing useful advice.
“They actually have a great deal of trust in ufotable, so it was less about requesting changes and more about giving them useful advice to make the best work possible. In my opinion, it was a great working relationship.”
Many mangakas are involved with the anime and movie adaptations of their works. Some examples are My Hero Academia‘s Kohei Horikoshi and One Piece author Eiichiro Oda. Horikoshi creates an original story for movies and oversees the entire project. Eiichiro Oda, on the other hand, is extremely involved with the One Piece anime and makes every little decision regarding it at Toei.
It looks like Koyoharu Gotouge’s trust in Ufotable, led them to leave the anime in their trustworthy hands. And if you are a fan of Demon Slayer anime then you know how great of a job ufotable has done.
The Surprising Lack of 3D CG in the Creation of Demon Slayer Anime
Producer Yuma Takahashi admitted that the studio depended more on the animators’ hand-drawn skills than on 3D CG techniques. The animators have gotten so good at their craft that the end product looks too good to be true.
“They always find a way to go higher and higher…and higher and higher and higher. 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 Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.”
Takahashi then talked in detail about the water breathing technique that required the most hand-drawn elements. He explained that it was very difficult to match the human character’s hand movement with the waves, but Ufotable was able to do it. He strongly believes that:
“Ufotable is actually the best in the business at hand-drawn techniques like these. Nobody could do what they do better.”
Given that Koyoharu Gotouge’s trust in Ufotable paid off handsomely, you best believe it was the right decision the mangaka had taken.
You can watch Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba on Crunchyroll.
