The 8 Best Tips For Writing An Anime Script

If you are an avid anime fan, chances are you’ve thought to yourself “I could write my own anime and make it better than this one.”

Maybe you have even gone as far as planning and drawing out your characters.

Then, you realise that you have no idea how to even start your script. That’s where this article steps in.

Here are 8 of the best tips to help you write the perfect anime script.

1. Analyse your characters

When you first plan out your characters, usually it’s a brief idea of what they are like and their physical description.

This is a great starting point, but when it comes down to script writing, you really need to know your characters very well.

Creating character profiles is an essential part of script writing.

Think about how your character would act in as many different situations as you can imagine, with as wide of a range of emotions to help you really hone in on what your character is like.

This will make them as believable as possible in your anime. Do this for all of your characters.

Relevant: 11+ Anime Author Characters Who Love Writing Like #JKRowling

2. Bulk out your plot

After you figure out all of your characters in detail, then it’s time to figure out the details of the plot. You might already have a rough plot sketched out with some of the major plot points already figured out.

A good plot should have a starting point, where you introduce the characters and go through a typical day with them.

Then some conflict should arise, either by introducing the villain, a circumstantial issue, or even an act of God.

As your story continues on a rise, the conflict should escalate and the characters should wrestle with this conflict until the climax, where the showdown happens with the antagonist.

This is also where the hero solves the conflict. Then the resolution happens, and things settle back down for the characters.

Make sure all your loose ends are tied up neatly.

3. Begin to write

You have your character profiles and sketches. You now have your plot all planned out from beginning to end.

Now you need to sit down, and actually write it all down. It’s written similarly to any theatre or screen play.

Name of the character, with any of their actions in parentheses, colon, and write out the words the character says.

4. Keep on track with your writing

When you are writing your script, it’s important to refer back to your character profiles and your plotline.

Every action a character makes, ask yourself is this something that this character would do?

Everything a character says, ask if this is how this character would speak and is this statement something they would say?

This will make sure your characters aren’t changing unnecessarily.

5. Have fun and enjoy the process

Remember this is for fun and don’t hold yourself to impossible standards.

Your plot might need to change to fit the story you are currently writing, or a character might need rethinking and that’s ok.

Enjoy where the process takes you.

6. Finished writing, now edit your script ruthlessly

So, you have worked tirelessly on your script, and you now have finished it. Or have you? Writing the script is great but just like any novel or short story, you need to now edit it.

Plot holes are not your friend, so you must make sure you left none while you wrote. Your grammar also needs to be correct.

Have a trusted friend look it over too.