Anime vs Manga

[KandouErik]

I have a question - which do you prefer - Manga or Anime. I don't mean either or - but when a series is translated from a Manga and made into an Anime - which one do you usually like best?

Here's an example for me - I use to watch and enjoy Dragon Ball. But I only found out how truly incredible and awesome it was once I read the original Manga - which simply blows the Anime right out of the water. Not only is it because there's no filler in the Manga (some Anime is forced to have filler plot-lines, to extend the series as the Manga is still being written) Also - the incredible sense of pacing impressed me to no end in Dragon Ball.

I suppose my main problem with Anime vs Manga is the filler stuff. Some shows are fighting back against this - like the Filler-Removed Dragon Ball re-release.


Still, some other shows simply work better in Animation. Atmosphere can be pumped up with music, voice acting can elevate the script.


So - what do you all think about it?

[Alex L]

I almost always prefer whichever the original was.

Usually the manga comes first, but in the case of Evangelion the toon came before the comic.

Reading is always a more involved process than watching, as you have to actively put in the brainpower to make the pictures come alive whereas you can be passive with animation. You invest more of yourself into making this thing happen.

Or, put another way...

http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/7365/understandingcomics066yi0.th.jpg (http://img115.imageshack.us/i/understandingcomics066yi0.jpg/) http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/9507/understandingcomics068mus1.th.jpg (http://img115.imageshack.us/i/understandingcomics068mus1.jpg/)

I must say that I preferred the Azumanga Daioh anime to the manga, and probably Angelic Layer (haven't read the entire manga).

[Ghost]

Normally manga, because it will usually be what I go for first. I'm not the kind of guy who can read a manga and then easily switch to anime, because it really bothers me when anime adaptions change the storylines of the manga sources and it's my experience that they only rarely improve on their them. (Likewise, the same applies to manga that is adapted from an anime rather then the other way around.)

It'll somewhat depend on which one I decide to look into first, though. If I start watching and anime I tend to avoid the manga and vice versa.

A major exception to this rule is Bleach: I started reading the manga until the introduction of Renji and Byakuya, and then switched to the anime, which I followed all through the Soul Society arc. Then I kinda got fed up on the filler and returned to the manga and now only return to the anime to check out how the fights were translated.

I still think the anime is usually high-class, though, and I follow the current filler arc simply because it's actually really good as a stand-alone storyline.

I almost always prefer whichever the original was.

Usually the manga comes first, but in the case of Evangelion the toon came before the comic.

This is generally what I go with. However, I must say I liked the NGE manga better then the anime.

[spiderman_rj]

Actually the evangelion manga came at the same time of the series.
For me Original TV series Neon Genesis Evangelion < Manga
Ghost in the Shell Movie > Manga
Ghost in the Shell SAC & 2nd GIG 100³ x >>>> Manga
The Melancholy of Haruhi >~ Manga (this means it's mixed, becouse reading the manga gives more detail, but watching the anime makes the scenes so much more fun, and the liberties taken were very good)

[Nik Hasta]

Manga hands down.

I... yeah, I think I can say this without fear of contradiction, don't really watch anime that much at all. If there's an adaptation of a manga I like I'll check out key scenes or fights or whatever, like One Piece or Hellsing Ultimate.

But... yeah, I haven't watched an anime series since Gurren Lagann.

I think it's because I love black and white art and find that static images are more often imbued with far more beauty than moving ones.

[Zero Hunter]

I like both. I will say the only series that I have seen that has had constantly good filler that really doesn't feel like filler is One Piece.

Filler killed my interest in the animes of Naruto and Bleach.

[penguin-in-leather-jacket]

whichever is the original. usually that's the manga, for the series I read. there have been series where I liked both the manga and the anime, but not many of those.

I don't like filler stories and I don't like deliberate changes which contradict the original. to me, that's overstepping the boundaries and working against original creator's intent. I really hate that.

[spiderman_rj]

i disagree, saint seiya was better in anime, and the filler story gave us the excelent asgard saga, also haruhi is better on anime.

[Len Ikari145]

Depends on the series. I don't think anyone will sit and tell me that the Scryed manga was exemplary of awesome shounen literature--whether in regards to the storyline, the gross misrepresenation of characters, amongst other controverstial elements---when compared to the anime, which universally agreed to be the far superior of the two (mostly due to it being the original material). Marchen Heaven is a fine example that the original manga author is not always superfluous and that his work can be succeeded and surpassed by the anime. Inuyasha, once its latest series is finished adapting the rest of the remaining chapters from the manga, will also more than likely take a spot. Personally, I like how the anime gave additional depth to the characters' backgrounds like Miroku meeting the Snow Princess as a child, or the creation of Ayame(whom even the author heaped praise upon and even gave her a short mention in the manga).

And the less I get into the Band of Seven (specifically Anime Bankotsu's death vs Manga Bankotsu), the better.

[agentgraves]

Manga.

Better pacing, consistent quality, no fillers, etc etc

There´s always exceptions to the rule, like Gintama, but usually the anime adaptation isn´t made well enough for me.

[Kusanagi]

Manga most of the time. The exception is generally fight scenes, sometimes it's difficult to capture all the action on just a page. Also the rare shows where filler is actually pretty good (one piece) then it's more of 50-50 thing.

Edit: In cases of plot divergence when the Anime gets of the Manga, or the Manga gets ahead of the Anime it's a case by case thing. Trigun, and Full Metal Alchemist for example I thought were well done. The original Hellsing not so much. On the opposite end the Tenchi Muyo manga came out after the first couple OVA's, but IMO was far and away better than the Third OVA.

[Hitokiri]

Usually manga as anime of the longer series (Shaman King, Black Cat, One Piece) has filler. Though OP's filler works due to the unknown factors of much of the plot still. Black Lagoon the anime is just as good as the manga. Same as Hellsing Ultimate.

[C. Earl]

My manga collection outnumbers my anime collection by at least a five to one margin, so it's not even a contest.

What I really find interesting is manga based on anime (rather than the other way around). The manga of Eureka 7, for example, is very much a totally new re-telling of the series in which the fates of certain characters are totally different as well as the how it ended. Likewise, the manga adaptation of Blood+ is also an alternate take on the series in which some major plot twists and characters in the anime are dropped altogether while introducing entirely new ones. It also differs from the anime by having more humor.

[RubberLotus]

Wow... is it just me, or does literally every anime have a manga counterpart?

[HectorP]

I can enjoy both but I prefer manga. It often takes longer to finish an anime (especially with filler-filled series) while I'm just fond of reading and the original vision of the author, for series that started as mangas, is often more satisfying (some mangakas share this view about their work).

[Darth Joker]

Wow... is it just me, or does literally every anime have a manga counterpart?

No, it's not just you. I know of a few cases where the anime came first... but I can't think of any case where there's an anime but not a manga counterpart.

Well, I've never personally heard of a Mobile Suit Gundam manga, so there might be a possibility there...

[Bakasama]

Wow... is it just me, or does literally every anime have a manga counterpart?

Pretty much really. That's an aspect of anime that sets it apart from virtually every animation industries around that world. It's uncommon for a Japanese animation company to put out a production that not based on a manga or licensed property like a toyline. At times, it's almost like the anime companies are servants to the manga publishers.

[Ghost]

No, it's not just you. I know of a few cases where the anime came first... but I can't think of any case where there's an anime but not a manga counterpart.

I'm pretty sure there are. You'll probably want to look at lesser known stuff, like OAVs that never took off, etc.

[ChrisIII]

Darth Joker, there are two adaptations of Mobile Suit Gundam out there. Both have been adapted into English by Viz.

One, Gundam 0079 is by Kashuyuki Kondo (Not sure if I got the name right). It centers a lot on the military hardware. Unfortunately the characters are somewhat crudely drawn, even by the standards of the old animation.

On the other hand, Gundam:The Origin features better characters but the mecha action is not quite as good.


And there are TONs of other Gundam manga out there as well, but that's all I can think of that adapts the original series....

[cosmic eagle]

Wow... is it just me, or does literally every anime have a manga counterpart?

Not quite......

For one, I have not heard of a Guilty Gear anime....Or a Touhou one.

[OverMaster]

No, it's not just you. I know of a few cases where the anime came first... but I can't think of any case where there's an anime but not a manga counterpart.


Gun X Sword has no manga. I should know, since I have searched up and down for it and got nothing.

[Vidocq]

Depends on how good the different direction The Anime takes is. For Example, I personally preffer The FMA Anime than the Manga. I just like the ideas, characters and concepts that came out of it. It was different without being bad, But I much preffer Hellsing Manga than the First anime, mostly because it was different without being good.

No, it's not just you. I know of a few cases where the anime came first... but I can't think of any case where there's an anime but not a manga counterpart.

Well, I've never personally heard of a Mobile Suit Gundam manga, so there might be a possibility there...

Cowboy Bebop dosen't have a manga adaptation, Just three mini series that serve as a companion. But it has never been adapted.

[Yun Lao]

Actually, I have read some Gundam manga, granted they tend to be side-stories rather than a manga adaption.

[RubberLotus]

Gun X Sword has no manga. I should know, since I have searched up and down for it and got nothing.

It's only a matter of time. Some aspiring manga writer with little or no creativity whatsoever will probably find a publisher.

[Len Ikari145]

Not quite......

For one, I have not heard of a Guilty Gear anime....Or a Touhou one.

Which is an injustice in my eyes, moreso for the former since it's one of the top-ranked fighting games in Japan AND America and lesser titles like Samurai Showdown and Battle Arena Toshiden have their own anime.

[Sound Silence]

Wow... is it just me, or does literally every anime have a manga counterpart?

Only the popular ones. There's tons of manga that isn't in the regular pop culture circuit.

[RubberLotus]

Only the popular ones. There's tons of manga that isn't in the regular pop culture circuit.

I know that there's a lot of manga without anime counterparts. I was talking about the reverse: every anime seems to have a manga, whether it came first or not.

[cosmic eagle]

Which is an injustice in my eyes, moreso for the former since it's one of the top-ranked fighting games in Japan AND America and lesser titles like Samurai Showdown and Battle Arena Toshiden have their own anime.

Yeah...pretty surprised at how if SF has so many anime spin offs, but then GG does not.

Touhou though, should remain games and manga only cause that's the way ZUN likes it.

[ChrisIII]

One thing I noticed with the Ranma anime, especially the movies, is that it sort of lost the manga's design influence over time, becoming more generic-looking anime. Plus from what I've read the manga actually has an ending, whereas the anime kind of just stops. There were rumors about some kind of continuation OAV or movie, but nothing seems to have come of that.


BTW I don't think the 80's anime Bubblegum Crisis ever had an official Japanese Manga. There is however Adam Warren's "Amerimanga", Grand Mal published by Dark Horse about a decade ago or so.



Interesting thing about some of the Gundam manga is that some of the less sucessful Gundam series/movies, such as X and F91 have found new life with manga sequels. Crossbone Gundam, F91's sequel in particular is very popular, and even spawned it's own model kits/figures.

[Darth Joker]

I'm pretty sure there are. You'll probably want to look at lesser known stuff, like OAVs that never took off, etc.

Darth Joker, there are two adaptations of Mobile Suit Gundam out there. Both have been adapted into English by Viz.

One, Gundam 0079 is by Kashuyuki Kondo (Not sure if I got the name right). It centers a lot on the military hardware. Unfortunately the characters are somewhat crudely drawn, even by the standards of the old animation.

On the other hand, Gundam:The Origin features better characters but the mecha action is not quite as good.


And there are TONs of other Gundam manga out there as well, but that's all I can think of that adapts the original series....

Not quite......

For one, I have not heard of a Guilty Gear anime....Or a Touhou one.

Gun X Sword has no manga. I should know, since I have searched up and down for it and got nothing.

Depends on how good the different direction The Anime takes is. For Example, I personally preffer The FMA Anime than the Manga. I just like the ideas, characters and concepts that came out of it. It was different without being bad, But I much preffer Hellsing Manga than the First anime, mostly because it was different without being good.



Cowboy Bebop dosen't have a manga adaptation, Just three mini series that serve as a companion. But it has never been adapted.

Actually, I have read some Gundam manga, granted they tend to be side-stories rather than a manga adaption.

Thanks for all the excellent feedback, everyone. Nice to learn a few things. :smile:

Glad to know that there's Mobile Suit Gundam mangas.



Yeah...pretty surprised at how if SF has so many anime spin offs, but then GG does not.

Touhou though, should remain games and manga only cause that's the way ZUN likes it.

Hhhmmm... I don't know. Touhou has huge potential as an anime, in my view. I mean, Touhou actually has a fan-made anime, I believe. You know that fans are just desperate for such stuff when they actually go so far as to make it and promote it themselves.

I personally would love to see a professionally-made Touhou anime.

[Hazard]

One thing I noticed with the Ranma anime, especially the movies, is that it sort of lost the manga's design influence over time, becoming more generic-looking anime. Plus from what I've read the manga actually has an ending, whereas the anime kind of just stops. There were rumors about some kind of continuation OAV or movie, but nothing seems to have come of that.

It is an ending, but you can't really call it that. The girls are still after Ranma. His rivals still want to kill him, and the cure for the curse is still beyond their reach.

The OVA introduce some characters from the manga that weren't introduced in the anime, but not the two final arcs.

[cosmic eagle]

Hhhmmm... I don't know. Touhou has huge potential as an anime, in my view. I mean, Touhou actually has a fan-made anime, I believe. You know that fans are just desperate for such stuff when they actually go so far as to make it and promote it themselves.

I personally would love to see a professionally-made Touhou anime.

See that's the thing....Touhou is always meant to remain in solely in the doujin community.

Not suddenly turned into the next Street Fighter which is possible given how big it already is.

Those corporations would never let ZUN have free run of the whole thing since they won't profit that way. Disappoint some fans or let the whole thing go down the gutter? I'd rather see the former.

[Darth Joker]

See that's the thing....Touhou is always meant to remain in solely in the doujin community.

Why? No offense, but that take seems pretty short-sighted to me.

Before the Haruhi anime came out, people could have said that Haurhi is meant only for novels and merchandise.

Doujins will never have the slickness and potential entertainment value of something professionally made, imo.



Not suddenly turned into the next Street Fighter which is possible given how big it already is.

Those corporations would never let ZUN have free run of the whole thing since they won't profit that way. Disappoint some fans or let the whole thing go down the gutter? I'd rather see the former.

Geez, dude, there are plenty of good animation companies out there. You act like all animation companies are on par with Uwe Boll...

Also, you can't tell me that Kyoto Animation (for example) isn't incredibly faithful to source material creator's original visions. If anything, they're too faithful.

I think that KyoAni could do an outstanding Touhou anime. I'd love to see one.

[cosmic eagle]

Why? No offense, but that take seems pretty short-sighted to me.

Before the Haruhi anime came out, people could have said that Haurhi is meant only for novels and merchandise.




Geez, dude, there are plenty of good animation companies out there. You act like all animation companies are on par with Uwe Boll...

Also, you can't tell me that Kyoto Animation (for example) isn't incredibly faithful to source material creator's original visions. If anything, they're too faithful.

I think that KyoAni could do an outstanding Touhou anime. I'd love to see one.

I'm not doubting their ability (I love K-On! dammit), but would they say, put ZUN in charge of the whole operation? Or something similar? Because the guy himself has stated that he never wants Touhou to go mainstream. Really the bigger issue here is respecting his wishes. He never made Touhou for money, only because he wanted a good game for himself and because he enjoys it. You know how an unhappy guy would badly affect the quality of his work.

Also, ask yourself what would happen if Touhou, a game so greatly contributed to by the fandom went mainstream. All the fan works, remixes, products, events at Comiket, Flowering Night etc, gone. Every single Touhou stuff you see not by ZUN is fan-made. Imagine all those shut down and their owners sued.

What is Touhou then?

[G. Wayne]

I still think that motion pictures (TV, movies, etc) are the ideal end goal for any property.

However, in regards to Anime vs Manga. Back when Tri-Gun was first released (legitly) on DVD, it seemed like 90% of the anime out there had a voice talent pool of about 10 actors for every show. And the actors rarely bothered trying to use a different voice, whether it was the undead gunslinger on one show or a politician on another show, and it got annoying fast. Haven't really looked into anime much since then, but I have been picking up more manga. So! For now, manga wins!

[Ghost]

Hhhmmm... I don't know. Touhou has huge potential as an anime, in my view. I mean, Touhou actually has a fan-made anime, I believe. You know that fans are just desperate for such stuff when they actually go so far as to make it and promote it themselves.

I personally would love to see a professionally-made Touhou anime.

I kinda agree with Cosmic Eagle here. Not only is it too mainstream for ZUN, but at least to me the whole point of Touhou Project seems to be the doujinshi culture built around it. It's almost like an open source pop-culture phenomenon, and that's a rare thing in this day and age. Best not to mess with that.

But that aside, the main problem isn't making a Touhou anime, but making a Touhou anime the community can agree on. The doujin anime wasn't bad -you know, for a doujin anime- but apparently a lot of people still had issues with it which is why it didn't get past the pilot. Heck, I had issues with it.* And this is stuff made by fans, just imagine how the professionals would mess it up.

Fact is, because Touhou is so strongly rooted in the doujin community, there are just too many different interpretations. Is Reimu a heroic do-gooder struggling to live off donations or a huge, greedy jerkass? Is Yuka a crazed sadist or a misunderstood tsundere? Is Sanae a religious extremist, a happy-go-lucky youkai hunter or an otaku fangirl? Who is actually in love with who, and are there actually straight people in Gensokyo? How seriously are we supposed to take all this? Not to mention, there are so many different characters that you simply can't help neglecting some of them, which upsets the fans of those characters. Heck, there are still people who want the pre-Windows series characters reintroduced. And so on, etc.

*They made Marisa the straight man (er, girl) to Aya for some reason, and Marisa is probably one of the least serious people in the whole series.