Can a writer create a story better than they originally imagined? Aya Satsuki recalls the moment at age 14 that made her discover the thrill of collaborative storytelling, then shares her journey in the world of anime. She also reveals what it's like to collaborate with manga authors and where a writer's vision ends and production constraints begin.
**🎙️ Do you remember the moment you decided you wanted to become a screenwriter?**
Aya Satsuki: Initially, I wanted to be a writer and write novels. When I was 14, I heard about a contest held by a Japanese radio show, looking for stories for radio plays. That was my first attempt at screenwriting.
At the time, I had no idea how to write a screenplay. Using the internet, I tried to figure out how to do it through trial and error. The story I wrote this way won an award and was eventually broadcast.
It was then that I saw that my story could be enriched with even better direction and setting than I had imagined, and that the world I had created could continue to expand. I thought that a world created collaboratively with other people could be more interesting than one I could create alone. That was the moment I decided to become a screenwriter.
**🎙️ What was your first contact with the anime industry like?**
Aya Satsuki: While I was working on the script for "Ultraman" a music producer who was also involved in the production asked me if I would be interested in making an anime .
Then he introduced me to a project that was going to be adapted into a film. It was "Mou Ippon!"
Since I knew this manga before, when I was given the opportunity to work on its film adaptation, I immediately said that I would love to do it.
**🎙️ What was the most difficult moment in your career so far?**
Aya Satsuki: The hardest thing for me was working on multiple series as an additional writer.
Unlike my current anime work, where I direct the writing process, I had to guess what the head writer wanted to write based on conversations during meetings and then create the script based on that. I remember this being very difficult for me.
Perhaps because of my personality, I decided the anime industry suited me better than the live-action industry. When I left, I consciously began to live by the principle: "If I were in their shoes, it would be easier for me to understand everything if I were told it directly." As a result, my work is much better now.
**🎙️ What are the biggest challenges in working as an anime scriptwriter?**
Aya Satsuki: Even if we work with a great team and create a production we're really proud of, I often find it hard to accept that viewers don't watch it.
Sometimes I even wonder if the reason isn't that I'm a little-known author and that's why such great productions don't reach the audience.
Despite everything, it is thanks to the fans who, even if there are only one or two of them at first, love our production and tell others about it, that I still have the strength to continue working.
**🎙️ What does the first stage of working on an anime script look like?**
Aya Satsuki: In many cases, it all starts with various production teams interested in creating an anime based on a given work presenting their proposals to its author.
They then show, for example, test footage to illustrate what the anime could look like, and the producer presents information about which creators will be involved in the production.
If our team is selected, only then do the production team— the director and screenwriters—meet with the original creator. We reiterate our vision and explain the type of anime we'd like to create.
Based on this presentation, the production team's ideas, and the business requirements, the writer compiles all these assumptions and designs a story to be told within one course, or season. They also determine how the plot will unfold in each subsequent episode. This stage is called the episode structure or series structure.
Only after this process is completed do we begin writing the scripts for individual episodes.
**🎙️ What is it like working on the structure of the entire series as the main writer?**
Aya Satsuki: The way I work varies greatly depending on whether the anime is based on an existing work or is an original story. Since most of my career has been in adaptations, I'll talk about working on these types of productions.
First, I examine how people who already know the original work perceive it and what they value most about it.
For example, if in a serious episode, viewers particularly love a moment where a character acts comedically, I know we absolutely must not remove it. Even if creating such a scene in animated form is very expensive, it must be preserved.
Only after conducting such an analysis do I determine what path of development the main character should take in the story told within the planned number of episodes.
Once I know this goal, I consider what change the character should undergo in each individual episode. I establish a theme for each episode and then analyze whether the events actually align with it. Based on this, I decide what will happen in subsequent episodes.
We present the resulting outlines of all episodes during meetings. We listen to the opinions of all participants, make further adjustments, and in this way, the final structure of the series is gradually created, which is then forwarded to the writers responsible for individual episodes.
However, even during scripting, a topic may arise that a particular episode needs an additional element. In such a situation, we revisit the structure of the entire series and discuss how to change it.
**🎙️ What manga elements are the hardest to translate to the screen?**
Aya Satsuki: When there's a scene in the manga that's difficult to properly adapt due to budget constraints, we talk to the directing team about what we can do within the available space.
Sometimes such conversations even lead to disputes, because as those responsible for creating history, we are not always able to immediately perceive all the constraints related to its implementation.
If our ideas about the direction history should take differ from the other side's, meetings often drag on, and reaching an agreement may require many changes and compromises.
**🎙️ What does the collaboration between a scriptwriter and the creator of the original manga look like?**
Aya Satsuki: If the original author wishes, she attends all production meetings.
During these meetings, we listen to his comments, such as, "This character would never do something like that," or "This is the theme of the story, so I'd like it to be presented this way." Then, we make adjustments to the script based on those comments.
Ultimately, when all meeting participants, i.e. the original author, the director, and members of the production committee, agree on the final version, we consider the script to be complete.
**🎙️ The anime Mou Ippon! depicts judo in a very realistic way. How do you think the script can convey the authenticity of the sport?**
Aya Satsuki: When I was a teenager, I practiced kendo for a long time. The training was really tough, and I thought about quitting many times. To this day, I wonder why I didn't…
I think that these sports- related memories that naturally arise in me could have helped me work on this production.
Reproducing the true dynamics of sports in anime is incredibly difficult. However, we can share the emotions the characters face, their inner struggles, and the sense of fulfillment they feel after achieving their goals. I believe this is an exceptionally important and emotional message.
**🎙️ Do you ever plan to stand on the other side of the camera as a director?**
Aya Satsuki: No, I have absolutely no such plans.
In several productions I've worked on, I've been most drawn to how to convey the subtleties of the characters' emotions . What kind of world does a character grow up in? Who do they love? What kind of person will they become in the future? I believe these are crucial elements if we want to truly engage the viewer with the story.
That's why I want to focus on the work of a screenwriter who can devote her attention to such issues.
**🎙️ Would you like to visit Poland someday?**
Aya Satsuki: Yes, very much!
For us, people who grew up after the war, Poland is a country that still protects and preserves important testimonies of those times .
I believe that facing sad history, even history that may be uncomfortable from a country's perspective, and passing it on to future generations is extremely important for building the future.
That is why I would like to come to Poland and face its history and see how people lived here throughout history.
**🎙️ Is there anything you would like to say to anime fans in Poland?**
Aya Satsuki: I am very pleased that despite the border that divides us, you are interested in the works we create.
I myself grew up in Egypt . When I arrived in Japan, I was surprised by the cultural differences and repeatedly encountered values that were sometimes difficult for me to accept.
It was in these circumstances that I started thinking about how I wanted to create stories that conveyed the message: “Even if we were born in different places, we can create a world full of kindness if we respect each other and truly try to understand each other.”
Perhaps this is a somewhat selfish wish, but I would be very pleased if you in Poland would also join me in this little idea of mine and help me expand the circle of mutual care and kindness.