Creating Anime In A Fantasy World - Chapter 49: Actors in Place

Since the DVD version of the magical crystal wasn’t designed yet, the “Goblin Slayer” film that Edward was shooting this time was still a live-action movie.

Consequently, he had to make extensive cinematic modifications to the script, removing scenes that didn’t contribute to the plot and condensing the story into about two hours.

Although this made it longer than “KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!”, it also meant more extensive adaptations from the original work, compressing all twelve episodes into this single movie.

To ensure the storyline could fit within the confines of a movie and maintain continuity and tight pacing, Edward cut out a significant amount of flashbacks and daily life scenes.

Additionally, since this world didn’t have a well-developed sewer system like the Water Town, he made some localized adjustments to the Water Town plot.

After all, he couldn’t just build a complete underground facility in this world just for a movie.

In short, the final version of the script was something Edward had spent a long time revising, and now he was distributing this finalized script to all the extras present.

As expected, as soon as everyone laid their eyes on the uniformly printed script, they were immediately captivated by the story.

The reality depicted on the very first page, written in what seemed like bl00d on paper, sent chills down their spines.

And that wasn’t even considering the relentless, breathless tension Edward had infused into the plot through his adaptations.

Most of the people present had read those adventure novels that came from the Imperial Capital, the kind that chronicled heroic adventurers going on grand quests to slay dragons and demons.

They were almost tired of reading about such powerful, righteous protagonists.

So, when they encountered a protagonist as decisively ruthless as this one, they became spellbound, flipping through the pages as if under a spell.

When they got to the final battle scene, where a large group of goblins surrounded the protagonist’s home, the adventurers clenched their fists.

Despite goblins being quite weak in reality, the story filled them with a deep sense of fear towards these creatures.

Because no matter how strong you are, what about your family?

Even if you become a dragon-slaying hero, what kind of emotions would you feel if you returned to the village where you were born and raised, only to find it slaughtered by a band of treacherous little monsters?

The story of “Goblin Slayer” was rooted in this kind of viewing experience, instantly dousing the adventurous spirits who had dreams of great achievements with a cold bucket of water.

Yet, at the same time, they were grateful for this sobering splash.

“Can I keep this script as a family heirloom? I want my son to read this story, too.”

As the first adventurer to finish reading the script made this joking comment, the rest gradually pulled themselves out of the gripping, unconventional story.

The adventurer who had spoken up earlier was quickly reminded by those around him that they were shooting a movie, and they would be able to see the story on the big screen later.

Realizing this, his face flushed with embarrassment.

Even the adventurers from the Northern Territory, who didn’t know what a movie was, began to get a sense of it now.

At this moment, even those from the North, who had no prior understanding of movies, felt their bl00d boiling and eagerly anticipated seeing this story turned into whatever a “movie” was.

…

After everyone finished reading the script, Edward began actor training, or rather, enhancing their abilities.

The results were quite satisfactory.

Although these adventurers were rough and not very skilled in subtle expressions, the support of suggestion magic helped them quickly slip into their roles—or rather, they were able to quickly showcase their usual selves.

Once they completely forgot they were acting, these adventurers’ performances were even better than the actors Edward remembered from his past experiences.

After casting the roles, Edward found that nearly all the characters in the movie had actors assigned to them, including the elf, dwarf, and lizardman who would join the main team later.

Due to the North having the largest number of adventurers and the highest quality, even non-human adventurers could be found with the help of Guild Master Eliza.

Of course, Edward learned after some conversation that the adventurer playing the elf was actually a half-elf with human bl00d, and the one playing the lizardman wasn’t a real lizardman but rather a mutated beastkin. Due to increasingly tense relations between the Empire and the Orc Kingdom in recent years, relationships with all non-human races had also soured, making it nearly impossible to find other non-humans within the Empire, except for beastkin with some human bl00d.

These beastkin were not faring well either; outside of the strength-valuing North, they could hardly survive anywhere else. This was the main reason why Lawrence had previously insisted that the orc girl he had adopted stay home and not wander around.

At the same time, when Edward announced to Guild Master Eliza, who thought she didn’t have to act, the role she would be playing, she immediately showed a panicked expression and loudly protested, “Director Edward, you want me to play the Sword Maiden? But I’m not suited for that; I can’t act…”

To her words, Edward simply smiled and replied, “Do you see anyone here who looks like they can act? Just don’t overthink it. In my mind, you are the perfect choice for the Sword Maiden. No one else fits the appearance or aura better than you do!”

“But…”

Perhaps not knowing how to express her reluctance to play the Sword Maiden, Eliza stood there stunned for a while, unable to say anything.

Edward, however, directly concluded, “Has Guild Master Eliza forgotten you said you’d do anything to make this movie happen? If you can’t even personally perform a role, then I’d be really disappointed in you…”

“No, it’s just… fine… fine, I’ll do it. I’ll do it, okay…”

Though he felt a bit bad about pressuring her like this, seeing the beautiful Guild Master with such a pitiful expression made Edward feel a strange, almost sadistic pleasure.

Quickly shaking off this awful thought, he turned around and said, “Alright, everyone, please remember the roles you’re going to play and the lines you need to say. I’m looking forward to your fantastic performances.”

With Edward’s words, all the actors patiently flipped through their scripts and gradually got into character.

While Edward was preparing to shoot “Goblin Slayer,” the film “KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!” had already been released in the Southern Territories, creating a new wave of impact.