Summary
In a retrospective onBatman Arkham Asylum, YouTuber Whitelightarticulates a unique problem with the critique of pacing, in that “good pacing” is hard to define in a teachable way. It demands that some parts be fast, others be slow, both keep one’s attention, and for neither to detract from the other, and two popular anime adaptations have wrestled with pacing in unique ways.
The first isBungo Stray Dogs, a manga by Kafka Asagiri and artist Sango Harukawa, with an anime adaptation by Bones Studio D anddirected by Takuya Igarashi (Ouran High School Host Club). The second isDemon Slayer, from author/artist Koyoharu Gotouge, adapted by Ufotable (Garden of Sinners) and director Haruo Sotozaki (Tales of Zestiria the X).
The Grounds for Comparison
Bungo Stray DogsandDemon Slayeraren’t all that comparable at first glance in terms of genre, demographic, narrative content, or aesthetics - it’s mostly just coincidences. They are both popular and notably successful adaptations that have received multiple seasons from acclaimed and storied animation studios dating back to the start of the 21st Century. Additionally, each adaptation’s respective director has captained the entire series from the first season to now.
These shows have been praised for their likable casts of characters, gorgeous artwork, and slick action sequences. Such qualities have naturally made them popular, althoughDemon Slayeris most certainly the more popularof the two of them. What makes them worth comparing, then, is their command of pacing, why it is executed the way it is, the pacing’s contribution to the art, and how said pacing has drawn criticism despite success.
How Are These Series Structured, and Why?
Demon Slayer, An Instant Sensation
It’s not a mystery whyDemon Slayerhas such a grip on its worldwide audience when reflecting on the first season. Any newcomers to the fanbase - to say nothing of returning viewers - likely stayed with the series on the merits of its initial 26-episode run, which isn’t to suggest the sequels were without flair. Simply put, Season 1 was the blistering opening salvo of what felt like the next great adventure of shōnen anime.
Look at where it started versus where it ended, and it’s no wonder everyone was champing at the bit for more. And audiences had no reason to doubt they’d be waiting that long, seeing as how the manga was nearly finished by the time Season 1 had concluded.Yet even once the manga was finished, the series would never quite be adapted the same way again.
It All Started with the Mugen Train
Mugen Trainmight be one of the most influential anime films of the decade for the sole reason that it demonstrates that a canon continuation of a shōnen story in film form is viable. More than that, it can be hugely successful, and while not everyone has jumped on the bandwagon,adaptations likeChainsaw Mancertainly have. But the impact ofMugen Trainon the industry isn’t nearly as obvious as the impact it had on the series proper.
Demon Slayerno longer has “seasons”; only “arcs.” With the manga already completed by the time theEntertainment District Arcaired, one might wonder why that arc,Swordsmith Village, andHashira Trainingweren’t just one season. As cynical as it may sound, the best explanation is money.Demon Slayerwasn’t just successful - it was a worldwide hit.Mugen Trainshowed the way and so long as Ufotable could deliver, Aniplex would make the most of it.
Bungo Stray Dogs: The Complete Adaptation
UnlikeDemon Slayer, where the most blatant adaptive choices regarding story structure crept in after initial success,Bungo Stray Dogshas always been fascinatingly constructed. Rather than a shōnen, it is far more a seinen series, and one lacking an explicit end goal or destination. It’s a heavily character-centric neo-noir centered around superpowered detectives and mobsters, withthemes about society, belonging, and self-affirmation.
Its first two seasons were released in the same year (2016) and were already playing around with how to make use of the approx. 12 episodes per season. Most fans will immediately point to Season 2, but even as early as Season 1, the anime was adapting way more than just the manga. Many of the series’ novels, of which series author Kafka Asagiri also wrote, were worked into the anime, such as Episodes 6 and 7, or the first four episodes of Season 2.
It became a tradition across several seasons to adapt a novel at the beginning. The fact that this worked at all was likely a luxury ofBungo’s unique narrative structurecompared to an adventure story likeDemon Slayer. The most demonstrable motive for this choice is that it allows the anime to serve as a “complete adaptation” of sorts, combining the main text with supplementary material to marry the best of both worlds. At least, that appears to be the aim.
Do These Approaches Work?
Demon Slayer’s Complicated Relationship with Pacing
The post-Mugen Train structure has had a staggering impact onDemon Slayer’s storytelling, which will likely polarize some viewers. Last year,we wrote about theSwordsmith Village Arcand how adapting the manga one arc at a time can hurt the pacing. Sure, it can mean bigger action climaxes, but also a magnifying lens fixed on the story’s weaker elements, such as stagnant characterization.
It’s become increasingly clear thatDemon Slayeris not a story in which the main characters develop too dramatically from arc to arc, and that doesn’t have to be a problem. Even a flawed story can be incredibly engaging, and part of this story’s charm has been its simplicity, albeit one fueled by heavily theatrical yet beautifully earnest melodrama. But when the characters linger in one place for too long, the cracks start to show.
Bungo Stray Dogs Got Too Comfortable with Tight Pacing
IfDemon Slayer’s key struggle with pacing was taking things slow, thenBungo Stray Dogshas the reverse problem, if more recently than anything. To the anime’s credit, Seasons 2 and 3 were phenomenal because of the tighter pacing.In Season 2, after the Dark Era arc, there were only eight episodes to adapt the Guild War arc, but this resulted in a more tightly-paced story that kept the twists and turns coming.
The same was true of Season 3, but less so of Season 4. Manga readers shared the sentiment that things were moving too quickly and if there were only a few small scenes sacrificed, that would be one thing, but the pacing influenced major characters. Some scenes featuring a fan-favorite, Sigma, were missing, and while these moments seem small, their omission begs questioning how the arc might have been received if it were given more time to breathe.
The Lesson Learned
Between the two,Demon Slayeris arguably more egregious in how it has artificially extended its anime. The manga has long been complete and if Season 1 is proof of anything, it’s that this story thrives on brevity. It’s worth considering, however, whether perception would change ifDemon Slayer’s manga were still ongoing.Bungo Stray Dogs’ manga certainly is, and the anime has caught up to itas of the end of Season 5.
Bungo’s problems with pacing come across as lost bets in a familiar series-long gamble to avoid catching up, with the added ambition of going above and beyond by adapting everything. Its saving grace, then, is that it still has novels left to adapt in the meantime.Demon SlayerandBungo Stray Dogsare both popular and successful in their own ways, but their struggles with pacing, while distinct, speak to the natural difficulties with adaptation.
A balance of faithfulness to the source material with an intuition as to how to make a story work in a new medium. Of course,these stumbles aren’t limited to adaptationsbut to any storytelling medium. When viewed solely as a work of animation, perhaps the pacing is negligible, but in the case of both shows, it can still hinder the story when divorced from the manga.
