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Danmachi Author Discusses Continuity Differences Between Film and Novels

In an interview with Comic Natalie, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (henceforth DanMachi) light novel author Fujino Ōmori discussed the anime-original film Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?: Arrow of the Orion and how it fits into the Damachi timeline. Ōmori wrote the screenplay for the film and clarified that it would be set between seasons 1 and 2 of the anime (or volumes 5 and 6 of the light novel). However, novel readers may note that there are continuity differences between the anime and novels.

"Around the same time I was writing the film script, I was also starting work on the script for the one-year-anniversary event for the Memoria Freese smartphone game. I wanted to ensure that neither the film nor the game held anything back. The scripts I wrote made both the game and film staff ask me, 'Shouldn't this belong in the main story?' Although they are both set between season 1 and 2 ... neither of them really fit into that time frame when you look at the content. The enemies are too strong, and Bell should still be too weak to handle them."

Ōmori went on to say that there is a difference in how he writes stories for the novels. "If the film were a story in the novels, then pre-volume 11 Bell shouldn't be a match for the enemy. That's how epic the story [of the film] is. So if you're familiar with how the light novels go after volume 6, then you might be a bit taken aback by the film. That's the difference between novels and TV, so please pretend you didn't see anything."

Ōmori clarified that when writing for television, he strives to make the story "interesting" instead of prioritizing consistency with the source material.

The film features an anime-original character named Artemis. Although the character has always existed within the setting as one of the three virgin goddesses, Ōmori said that he had never made any concrete plans to make her appear in the novels. He thus wrote the film script with the explicit intent of making Artemis stand out. He was initially asked by the director to make the story focus on Bell and Hestia, but he decided to focus more on Artemis instead in order to bring out the unique flavor of an anime-original film. "Since we were doing an anime-original film, we decided to bring out some original characters. And since we were going out of our way to make new characters, I wanted the original new heroine to be the main focus."

Hestia fans should not despair, however, because Ōmori also mentioned that he revised his initial draft to give equal focus to Hestia and Artemis. Hestia is friends with Artemis, and the story is structured around Bell saving Artemis, so there is an interesting dynamic between all three characters. "In the world of DanMachi, even including the spinoffs, there's never been a story like this, so it's been a fresh experience for me, like venturing into uncharted territory," he stated.

The film opened in at least 43 theaters in Japan on February 15. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the film and will release it in U.S. theaters. The film will also screen in United Kingdom, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand.

Source: Comic Natalie