Manga > Anime ?

[Avari Craven]

Alright so i believe that there are certain Mangas that are waaaaaaay better then their Anime counterparts.

For Example: Higurashi

Ive seen 4-5 episodes of the Higarashi Anime after reading the Manga. I absolutely love the manga in comparison due to its harshness. The artist truely makes you feel that there is something going on beyond what you can see. like paranormal activities, that the anime couldn't get across to me. They characters eyes in particular were able to convey much more then words that the Anime gave me. Something else about the Anime that turned me off was its "fan service." Now i wait patiently, even though i have all the Higurashi Anime, for the next book to be translated!

Anyways i realize this all personal opinion and i would love to hear what others have to say about certain Mangas being better then their counterpart Animes or vise-versa.

[TopazRaven]

I thought the Fruit's Basket manga was better then the anime, though I adore both. Mostly because the manga continues where the anime left off and there is a lot more character depth. I also thought the Wolf's Rain manga had a far better ending then the anime.

[Psycho Molos]

From Far Away manga better than the anime for obvious reasons ;-)

Sarcastic Al is sarcastic

[Atria35]

xD I'm about to read From Far Away- Super excited!

Anycase, I'm gonna second Fruits Basket.

Higurashi anime= manga IMO because some arcs of the manga were filled with fanservice.

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle manga > anime. Seriously. The anime drags out storylines unnecessarily, and doesn't have the entire story anyway. Just to emphasize how bad it is, CLAMP officially disowned the anime because they hated the adaptation so much- they want nothing to do with it.

[mysngoeshere56]

I thought the Fruit's Basket manga was better then the anime, though I adore both. Mostly because the manga continues where the anime left off and there is a lot more character depth.

Too true. The anime left way too many unresolved plot strings hanging.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

An interesting one is Osamu Tezuk'as most well-known work, Astro Boy. Astro Boy is a case in which the answer to the question "Which is better?" really depends on the arc. When I speak of the animated Astro Boy, I am referring to the 80s adaptation directed by Tezuka and Noburo Ishiguro, which got the best English release and is generally regarded as the best version.

But yeah, some stories work better in the manga because the anime had to add stuff in order to pad out the 22-23 minutes of airtime. The White Planet and Plant People (the latter is called something different in the manga but I can't recall atm) stories come to mind here. However, the Birth of Astro Boy story is MUCH better in the animated version. In the manga, events feel rushed and even forced, while the anime episodes are strong enough to evoke an emotional response from me. Conclusion: get both!

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Fullmetal Alchemist is the patron saint of this, but I wonder what other things this falls upon. Monster is a good manga but the anime has pretty atrocious pacing issues, so it's definitely better as a read. Death Note is the polar opposite of this; much better pacing in the anime, though the writing is still average. Tegami Bachi is also a pretty clear example of this, as is Azumanga Daioh, though for different reasons. Library War is an interesting case in that any material in the anime is done better than it is in the manga, but the manga covers more material, though I prefer the anime still. The anime for Mushishi is actually really fantastic and well-paced, so the version you'll like better depends on personal preference.

That about covers it for stuff I've seen of both.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Really, Mr. Hat'n'Clogs? Death Note is better as an anime than a manga? I've only read a bit of the manga but I thought the story didn't work so well as an anime because it really was just a long line of talking heads. Personally they really didn't explore the premise enough for my liking.

I've seen the first 30 or so episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist and read the first 10 volumes in the manga series. This one is a bit of a mixed bag. There's no doubt that the manga is better written but some of the horror of alchemy is better portrayed in the anime and some of the character development is great.

NGE is another mixed bag. The anime is raw but confusing and the first 12 or so episodes are silly. The manga cuts out the crap, develops the characters and streamlines the story BUT the fights can get a bit confusing and it's still not finished. Still, I prefer the manga to the anime.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind as a manga is brilliant. The manga has a depth, in story, character and world-building that far surpasses anything in the anime. That's not to say the anime is bad, it's very good - just more simple. One thing I did prefer about the anime was that it had a bittersweet ending, rather than a nihilistic ending like the manga.

[MangaRocks!]

Actually, in my personal experience, the source material is nearly always better-- and, usually, by quite a large amount.

Case in point: The Vampire Knight anime (...well, technically just its last 14 episodes...) is the worst adaptation I've seen (which I vented on in full and complete detail here). Super-short version of said rant: The VK manga, I actually like. But, aside from some admittedly good music, the anime adaptation of it was terrible.

And as for Death Note, I actually don't understand Hat's opinion about that, either. (Though, to be clear, I mean no offense to Hat at all-- his opinion is certainly just as valid as mine, of course! I just sincerely don't understand it. ) I mean, the first 24 ep.'s of the series were about as perfect an adaptation as possible-- but from ep. 25 on, it was definitely not as good as the manga (more of my thoughts on that here).

I didn't even bother to watch Fruits Basket, because FB was then, and is still, my top-favorite manga series-- and I knew from various reviews and discussions that the anime was so different from the manga that I would just be annoyed at the changes/deletions/non-ending/etc.

So now on the anime side I pretty much just watch original productions, and avoid adaptations of manga/novels in favor of going straight to the source... UNLESS at least one or more of the following conditions apply: The source is not available to read in English, even via scans; there was something in the source that I didn't like that was toned down in the anime; or it is WIDELY considered to be better (or at the very least quite equal) to the original by a large majority of people (Trigun, for example).

[Nate]

The source material is usually better? I suppose. There are cases where something was an anime first and then got turned into a manga (like Those Who Hunt Elves) and I think the anime is vastly superior. But then, I love Mahoromatic which was an anime first that got turned into a manga and I kind of like the manga better for that.

And I think the NGE manga is vastly superior to the anime even though the anime came first. I dunno. It's too hot to think.

[mysngoeshere56]

The source material is usually better? I suppose. There are cases where something was an anime first and then got turned into a manga

This is very true. I think this was also the case with Princess Tutu. I've heard the manga's really bad in comparison to the anime... Granted, I thought the anime was pretty weird to begin with, but cute and also very deep and creative. I heard the manga's really just blah, and if memory serves me right, I've heard she dances with fish and giant teddy bears? I haven't read it, but after reading so many unfavorable reviews, I have no desire to do so.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

And as for Death Note, I actually don't understand Hat's opinion about that, either. (Though, to be clear, I mean no offense to Hat at all-- his opinion is certainly just as valid as mine, of course! I just sincerely don't understand it. ) I mean, the first 24 ep.'s of the series were about as perfect an adaptation as possible-- but from ep. 25 on, it was definitely not as good as the manga (more of my thoughts on that here).

Having seen both, the anime of Death Note streamlines the plot and cuts out most of the padding that's in the manga, and it also does kind of a stylish adaptation of what I found to be boring artwork. The main thing is that the latter parts had much better pacing than the manga.

Really, Mr. Hat'n'Clogs? Death Note is better as an anime than a manga? I've only read a bit of the manga but I thought the story didn't work so well as an anime because it really was just a long line of talking heads. Personally they really didn't explore the premise enough for my liking.

My real reason for why I like the Death Note anime better than the manga(yet dislike both) is because I found the second half to be much better paced, so that would explain why you probably don't get what I'm talking about. That, or I don't know what I'm talking about. Either way.

[mechana2015]

This is very true. I think this was also the case with Princess Tutu. I've heard the manga's really bad in comparison to the anime... Granted, I thought the anime was pretty weird to begin with, but cute and also very deep and creative. I heard the manga's really just blah, and if memory serves me right, I've heard she dances with fish and giant teddy bears? I haven't read it, but after reading so many unfavorable reviews, I have no desire to do so.

I really couldn't imagine a Tutu manga. The music and the movement of the dancing is almost too important to the plot and the way the whole story works to pull it back to a B&W static image, especially not one that's haphazardly done.

[MangaRocks!]

The source material is usually better? I suppose. There are cases where something was an anime first and then got turned into a manga ... and I think the anime is vastly superior.

Yep! Precisely why I chose the wording I did.

Having seen both, the anime of Death Note streamlines the plot and cuts out most of the padding that's in the manga, and it also does kind of a stylish adaptation of what I found to be boring artwork. The main thing is that the latter parts had much better pacing than the manga.

Ah! Thanks for clarifying that.

In my case, I actually didn't think that stuff in the latter half of the manga was filler; in fact, I thought that the anime had cut out way too much of the detail there. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

[Nate]

I think the Death Note anime AND manga should have cut out everything in the latter half.

[Avari Craven]

the one thing about the Higurashi anime that messed with me above all else was:

MIONS HAIR

-_-

Why is it green?

[blkmage]

Because that's how it was in the source material.



yep

[Avari Craven]

I see but... still... its just so wierd... you know when you get a image in your head its hard to change the way you think? anyways i read the manga. ill probably watch the anime after.

[Yamamaya]

The Higurashi manga definitely expands on a lot of things that the anime doesn't cover.

Speaking of which, I need to get the Eye Opening Arc volumes.

One thing that needs to be considered when comparing an anime series to a manga series is if the manga has already finished or if the anime is long enough to adapt the entire manga series. For example, when FMA and Hellsing were made, the manga was far from done, so they could either end the series at the point where the manga was at the time, or they could go with an original ending.

The problem is, a lot of times those original endings are terrible.

[the_wolfs_howl]

Full Metal Alchemist is a weird one for me (and the only one that I've completed both manga and anime for, though I have a feeling that I'll continue to prefer the Monster manga to the anime once I finish the latter). As most people probably know, the first FMA anime followed the manga up to the point it was published at the time, then veered off in its own direction out of necessity.

The thing is, I think the anime does a better job with the part that overlaps with the manga, for the most part. I think it's just a matter of personal preference, really; for example, I like how it integrated side stories into the main story, and how Ed and Al's journey to Central coincided with the battle on the train. (There are other things I really don't like, such as the Majhal episode or the two mostly-pointless Ishbal boys.) But once the series went on to its original ending, things just got weird and stupid and plothole-ridden. And depressing.

Brotherhood follows the manga much more closely, but in this case the manga is still better. The animation starts out kind of wonky, the first twenty or so episodes are way too rushed, and there are other little fiddly things that a nitpicky fan like me prefers in the manga. It's still a pretty good series and well worth a watch, but the manga is amazing.

[AnimeGirl]

I have to say I like the Black Cat manga a little better than the anime. Though I still love and adore the anime, the story is pretty condensed compared to the manga. I'm reading it out of order, but MAN! They cut out a lot, and some pretty epic stuff, too, like Warp World in volume 18. That would of made an EXCELLENT episode!

Tsubasa, I am sort of 50/50. Yes, the anime was slow...but it's so hard for me to compare it to the manga. This anime got me into CLAMP, and had me check out the manga. Well, I think it depends on my mood. The manga is no doubt superior than the anime, but the anime still has it's charm. I admit that the last 10 episodes weren't great, though. If only they had KEPT ON TRACK we wouldn't have to suffer having an incomplete animated series of this BRILLIANT masterpiece. I just hope someday they'll animate the Clow Arc. At least the OVAs were awesome.

With xxxHOLiC, I'm going manga with this. Even though the anime was pretty close to the original, I was mad how they CUT all Tsubasa references and contact. The crossover is what made it so awesome. Thankfully, the Shunmuki OVA kept these references and contact IN.

Now Fullmetal Alchemist. The manga, the anime, and the remake anime are all equally AWESOME! Each piece is a masterpiece and each should be enjoyed. The first anime expanded on what was in the manga beautifully, and despite diverging, still had excellent storytelling and developement in-tact (too bad Tsubasa Chronicle didn't have THESE writers). The second anime sadly was rushed with the rehash, but once you get passed that it is truly EPIC! And of course, you can't beat the original storytelling the manga! Hiromu Arakawa is amazing. Great art style and storytelling. All aspects of FMA is truly amazing.

[Vii]

From what I've seen, shoujo anime that are originally a manga are usually different somehow. Either they stop the anime part of the way through, or they change it.
For example, Fruits Basket and Ouran High School Host Club stopped after the first arc, which made me want to read the rest of the manga (and I did ^_^ and they were awesome), whereas Princess Tutu and Full Moon O Sagashite changed their stories (I've never read the manga for Princess Tutu, but I heard it's really, really different, so I don't really want to. I read Full Moon because I wanted to see how they tweaked the anime from the manga. They did quite a bit)

As for shonen, it's usually pretty similar to the manga. I remember reading ahead in Naruto, then watching the anime counterpart and feeling like it was deja vu. Same thing when I read ahead a teensy bit in FMA (Brotherhood) then watched the episodes, it felt like I'd seen it before.
I haven't seen all of Death Note, nor have I read the manga; but from what I've heard, it's pretty close.

Honestly, it's all a matter of personal preference for me. I generally watch the anime first, and if I find interest in the manga (i.e. If the anime only covers one arc, or if the manga is different in a better way, or if I just like the series enough to see it again in paper form.)

It all depends on how much I like the series really...

^_^

[Atria35]

For example, Fruits Basket and Ouran High School Host Club stopped after the first arc, which made me want to read the rest of the manga (and I did ^_^ and they were awesome),

That's because the manga hadn't finished publishing when they made the anime. They only had the first 7 volumes of FB to work off of, and about 10 for Ouran, I think.

whereas Princess Tutu and Full Moon O Sagashite changed their stories (I've never read the manga for Princess Tutu, but I heard it's really, really different, so I don't really want to. I read Full Moon because I wanted to see how they tweaked the anime from the manga. They did quite a bit)

For Princess Tutu, the manga came after. They attempted to fit 30+ episodes of content in 2 volumes. It is one of the most terrible things I've ever read. I applaud you for not reading it.

[Rocketshipper]

for series that I've read the manga and watched the anime, it actually tends to be rather up in the air on wether I think the manga is better or the anime is better. And a lot of times, even if the manga does some things better, part of what makes me enjoy an anime is the music and voice acting and stuff that you don't get in the manga, and that can make up for a lot. But here's my opinion on some series

Series where Manga is better than the Anime:
-Peach Girl (oh so much! I think this may be my least favorite manga to anime adaption EVER! Anime just seemed so lifeless and dull; plus had poor casting and music)
-Tsubasa Resevoir Chronicle
-Chobits
-X
-NGE
-Bokurano
-Pokemon (of course referring to Pokemon Special; and yeah I know Special is really based on the games, and not related to the anime, but still...hard to apreciate the episodic repetivie nature of the anime as much after the totally awesome arc and character driven special manga)
-Dragon Ball
-Post time skip Naruto
-Death Note

Anime better than the manga:
-Cardcaptor Sakura
-Magic Knight Rayearth
-Sailor Moon
-Angelic Layer
-Yugioh
-Fushigi Yugi (didn;t actually read all the manga, but from what I did, I liked the anime better)
-pre-time skip Naruto
-Revolutionary Girl Utena
-Kobato (of course the manga isn;t done yet, so my opinion might change...)
-Digimon

there are a couple of others I wouldn't count really in either list, because of qunique circumstances. The Tenchi manga > the anime, but its not really an adaption, but a bunch of completely original stories set in the OVA continuity. RG Veda and Tokyo Babylon manga >>> the anime, but the animes in question were just a couple of OVA episodes that didn't even make an attempt to fully adapt the story or anything, so I don;t think they really count. Also a couple of others...

-Love Hina: only seen the anime, but have no desire whatsoever to read the manga.
-Kare Kano: Same as above. I know the manga continues the story much farther than the anime did, which would be interesting to see, but for me part of what made Kare Kano so appealing was the crazy experiemental animation and stuff that was constantly being used in the show, and it just wouldn;t be the same as just a *normal* manga.
-Yu Yu Hakusho: Heard the manga is better, but quite honestly I think the original artwork in the manga series is extremely ugly and unnappealing. I've flipped through many of the volumes and never felt the desire to read the series.
-FMA: Honestly...I am completely torn on wether I like the manga or brotherhood better, or wether I like the first anime better than the manga/2nd.

[Nate]

Anime better than the manga:
-Cardcaptor Sakura
-Magic Knight Rayearth
-Sailor Moon

I have no idea how you got those three series in the wrong category.
[quote]-Fushigi Yugi (didn]
Yeah, I haven't read the manga either, and it's probably okay but I dunno, I just really really love the anime.

[Atria35]

[quote="Rocketshipper (post: 1497932)"]Kare Kano: Same as above. I know the manga continues the story much farther than the anime did, which would be interesting to see, but for me part of what made Kare Kano so appealing was the crazy experiemental animation and stuff that was constantly being used in the show, and it just wouldn]

Kare Kano is like FMA- the manga doesn't just for further into the story, they're completely different stories in and of themselves after the first few episodes.

[Rocketshipper]

I have no idea how you got those three series in the wrong category.

well like I said, part of what I like about the series are the voice acting and music that were in the various animes. There are definitly parts of the mangas that were done better than the anime, (most prominetly all of Super S for the SM manga) but in the end its those aspects that the manga can;t have that contribute to me liking those series so much. might also help that in all three cases I saw the anime *first* and read the manga much later.

[Nate]

The music and voice acting are obviously very good, but to me they're just "bonuses." I much prefer a more interesting plot, which the Sailor Moon manga completely destroys the anime without effort. Plot points were completely ignored or dropped in the anime (Beryl destroying the Moon Kingdom out of jealousy of Endymion's love for Serenity, the Dark Kingdom generals being Endymion's servants, Hotaru being a cyborg, Mamoru's connection to Helios and Elysion, the cats becoming human, not to mention all the extra senshi that were nowhere to be seen in the anime such as Sailor Phobos and Deimos, Sailor Phi, Sailor Chi, Sailor Lethe, Sailor Mnemosyne, the Asteroid Senshi, Sailor Heavy Metal Papillion, etc.).

MKR actually was fine either way, though I prefer the manga 'cuz less filler. And CCS I just don't care for the girl that was added for no reason in the anime (Li's cousin, whatever her name was) and the artwork in the manga is just so much more beautiful.

[mysngoeshere56]

The music and voice acting are obviously very good, but to me they're just "bonuses." I much prefer a more interesting plot, which the Sailor Moon manga completely destroys the anime without effort. Plot points were completely ignored or dropped in the anime (Beryl destroying the Moon Kingdom out of jealousy of Endymion's love for Serenity, the Dark Kingdom generals being Endymion's servants, Hotaru being a cyborg, Mamoru's connection to Helios and Elysion, the cats becoming human, not to mention all the extra senshi that were nowhere to be seen in the anime such as Sailor Phobos and Deimos, Sailor Phi, Sailor Chi, Sailor Lethe, Sailor Mnemosyne, the Asteroid Senshi, Sailor Heavy Metal Papillion, etc.).

MKR actually was fine either way, though I prefer the manga 'cuz less filler. And CCS I just don't care for the girl that was added for no reason in the anime (Li's cousin, whatever her name was) and the artwork in the manga is just so much more beautiful.

I actually prefer the first two story arcs in anime form, just because I felt the villains were more "developed" per se, but I do agree that all those plot points were better off left in the story.

[spoiler]I do wish the generals were still Endymion's guards, but didn't they keep Beryl's love for Endymion? And weren't Phobos and Deimos beings with sailor crystals, but not actual sailor senshi? As for the cats becoming humanoids, Luna does become human in one of the movies, but that's the only time that happens. Artemis and Diana never do, either. :-/ So, can't argue with you there.[/spoiler]

I also missed the Doom Tree Arc. Yes - surprisingly, I liked that arc. Odd for a Sailor Moon fan, I know, but I liked how the villain characters progressed throughout the series. I also liked that it was just a short blurb of action before the main Sailor Moon R story began, so I felt that there wasn't quite as much "filler" in the main story (kind of like how they did the same thing in the Stars anime).

I thought SuperS in manga form was awesome, but SuperS in anime form was pretty boring. I also didn't like that the outer senshi were completely absent in the SuperS anime (save Uranus and Neptune in one special episode and the two of them with Pluto in the movie, which hardly made sense). They did have a vital role in the SuperS manga, after all.

Overall, I'd say Sailor Moon is a bit of a mixed bag with which is better, but the manga story does have more of the "stronger" plot devices.

I like the Magic Knight Rayearth manga quite a bit, but I couldn't get into the anime for some reason. Probably because I felt the manga was great how it was without all the filler.

I've only read a volume or two of the CCS manga, but I love the anime, so I can't really speak for that. I don't like Meilin(g)'s character and I didn't know that she doesn't appear in the manga... That's great! But at the same time, her character did have somewhat of an influence in everybody else's character development, and I've heard that a lot of cards in the anime weren't in the manga.

[Rocketshipper]

I guess another thing for me with all three of those series is that the longer lenght of the animes made for, I felt, much stronger character development and attachments with the audience. My first reaction upon reading the Sailor Moon manga, after having seen the anime, was actually "man this is REALLY rushed!" the manga just zooms from one plot point to the next, introducing characters left and right, and I felt barely even gives you time to breath or get to know them well. The anime takes its time, and has more episodes devoted to the characters in their normal lives, and stuff (although it did ocasionally take its time a little *too* much lol). I also honestly found some of the fight scenes in the SM manga to be hard to follow.

Rayearth has the same problem I think; a good example is the relationship between Ferio and Fuu. In the manga, Ferio intereacts with the Knights all of ONE time in the entire first part of the series, and then as soon as the second half comes around, suddenly he and Fuu are obviously an official couple. The anime, in contrast, has Ferio meeting the Knights several times over the course of the season, and his relationship with Fuu grows gradually and more realisticly than the almost "love at first sight" thing from the manga. The relationship between the three girls is the same way; its easier to buy that these three girls who have never met eachother before have become such close friends when you get to see them together over the whole anime season, as apposed to the manga, which covered the whole first arc in only 3 volumes.

CCS's manga feels the least rushed out of the three I'd say (despite being shorter than SM) but I still like the expansion of the cards to 52 for the anime. Some of my favorite episodes in the series revolved around cards that were never in the manga (like episode 40! best episode ever!). I also like Meilin *hides*. yeah she was pretty obnoxious at first, but she got better over the seasons with character development. The episodes where she had to leave, and where she revisted the group in season 3, where two of my favorites.