Thread: Manga Vs Anime

As the title states, I would like everyone to discuss how some Manga are adapted into Anime, their differences and how the Anime can sometimes give a good or bad rep. to the series.

For me, I prefer Manga. Not just because it cheaper but also because the Anime tends to screw up the story. Like Magical Girl series like Sailor Moon or Wedding Peach where the Anime tried to mix Manga material with Anime exclusive material while making changes that weren't really good. I'd get into detail but maybe some other time.

So, go wild.

Well I know that while Japan's censorship on TV is more relaxed than US censorship standards, however similar to the majority of the current American comic books (ex. X-Men, Spider-Man, Batman) there is a number of things from the manga that has to be redone or cut out because of those censorship standards which makes Manga more enjoyable. Some examples are the scenes of the severed limbs from Naruto being cut or redone for the anime, or how in the One Piece anime how it omitted the details of why Sanji when he was younger started smoking since the original reason of him wanting to be treated as a mature adult was cut since it set a bad example to how a kid started smoking.

Originally Posted by Tyler53841

how in the One Piece anime how it omitted the details of why Sanji when he was younger started smoking since the original reason of him wanting to be treated as a mature adult was cut since it set a bad example to how a kid started smoking.

Which is why they still show him smoking. What are the odds that kids who like him as a character start smoking because of it?

The vast majority of anime is adapted from manga, and I'm a purist in the sense that I will always prefer to have the original version of a story.

Too many things are altered or cut in the process of adapting a work from print to screen, which distorts the creator's original vision of it.

Originally Posted by matt0044

Which is why they still show him smoking. What are the odds that kids who like him as a character start smoking because of it?

Well the message in the manga is that smoking equals maturity since younger Sanji wanted to be treated like an adult, something that needed to be censored. Besides they only showed the older version of Sanji smoking anyway.

It depends on the actual series for me. There are some cases where I did prefer the manga couterpart to the anime and other times (probably rare, though) where I preferred the anime to the manga.

Seems that most action-based series I would rather watch it than read it. With most everything else, seems I do lean towards manga more.

For example, I love Pretear's manga, but hate the anime because of the drastic changes it made. I prefer Cowboy Bebop's anime to the manga. I prefer Marmalade Boy's manga 1000x to the anime. Sailor Moon too because it had more of a balance and even though it is Usagi's series, they did focus on the other characters too. The anime didn't balance that all that well, imo, as the show went on.

I find that Manga can sometimes be much better than the Anime that is made afterward. An example of this would be Rurouni Kenshin. The OVA movie that ended that Anime was bad enough that the creator really didn't like it.

I do find that Anime is easier to find buying wise, than Manga is...at least in the US, or maybe just in Oklahoma.

I prefer anime. I'm not really into reading manga now (especially since I'm sick of reading now)
Everything just seems boring without color, animation, and voice acting.

I used to prefer anime, but when I started to figure out that anime is adapted from the manga, I started to prefer the latter.

I prefer Manga. Anime adds pointless fullers and shortens the main story of the manga. But it depends on what anime/manga it is. I prefer most stories on the manga than anime. Like Midori Days & Pokemon.

Originally Posted by SSJ_Jup81

For example, I love Pretear's manga, but hate the anime because of the drastic changes it made. I prefer Cowboy Bebop's anime to the manga. I prefer Marmalade Boy's manga 1000x to the anime. Sailor Moon too because it had more of a balance and even though it is Usagi's series, they did focus on the other characters too. The anime didn't balance that all that well, imo, as the show went on.

the thing about Cowboy Bebop is that the anime came first. Some manga actually aren't original stories that go on to span entire franchises of their own, but are in-fact adaptations themselves merely meant to tie in with an already-existing anime (or game, or light novel, even Hollywood movies). Arguably, such manga are rarely anywhere near as good as the anime they're based upon.

That said, I'd say it all depends on the adaptation. Some anime will follow the manga they were based off of almost word-for-word, which is hardly a bad thing when the source material was good to begin with. Sadly, the majority of anime are made with a limited run (one season composed of 12 or 13 episodes) already panned out, and as a result, they tend to go off to make up their own conclusion, which almost seems like watching a badly-written official fanfic. It wouldn't be as bad if the first few episodes of a lot of shows didn't already follow the manga very closely in order to establish the world. Because the beginning follows the manga well, that opens up a lot of questions that, ideally, should only be resolved by the manga author itself, and NOT something that could be easily dealt with in a 12-episode timespan (though I think the first FMA series was decent, if only because they actually used the entire second half of a 51-episode series, plus some foreshadowing in the first half, to form their own conclusion, which was even approved by the manga author herself).

Though more rarely, they actually do adapt the manga properly, and once the anime's run is up, they leave it off at the end of an arc or something and fans are left hoping for a continuation down the line (which may or may not come). Longer-running series have to resort to filler, but it should be noted that this isn't inherently a bad thing, it just depends on how it's used (Naruto stretching things out the pre-time skip portion for a hundred episodes? Bad... shows like Inuyasha and Rurouni Kenshin even ended up killing themselves with their own filler hells; Bleach, on the other hand, has filler arcs that are arguably better than some of the manga arcs, and a couple were even based off of Kubo's own concepts that ended up not being used in the manga). Ultimately, anime are great as a way to view the characters in full motion, voiced, and accompanied by soundtracks, but it may be best to read the original manga for the full story.

Sometimes, both the anime and the manga are following a source (a light novel or a game)... I'm not really familiar with most light novels, but from what I hear, a lot of anime adaptions of them are pretty crappy compared to how the manga versions go about them (I heard TVTropes mention that in the original novels, Zero no Tsukaima's Louise is actually CALLED OUT on the fact that she took a god damn whip out on Saito... that alone tells me how badly JC Staff fucked up that series). As for game adaptions, since they're often-times adapting something with branching storylines (eroge, usually), both adaptions could be worth looking into as they could each follow a different path (or go an entirely new path loosely based on the game's elements).

But i saw an Episode from "ore no imouto ga konnani kawaii wake ga nai" saying that translating most manga and light novel, they need to change up some of the elements of the story to add some spice up, is that true?
Any ways, i like them both
manga - you can use your immagination to create your own voice actor group
anime - you can use you immagination how it was made in a manga..

When we're talking straight up manga to anime or anime to manga adaptations, I think the original usually fares better. There are obvious exceptions though and I think Shounen gets the worst of it. Other demographics (well still not perfect) tend to fare better IMO.

I find videogame adaptations often work better as anime than manga, if just because having full animation and a soundtrack lends itself better to most games than anything a manga can really offer. But again there's always exceptions, Dragon Quest is one I can immediately think of that's had far more success through it's manga adaptations than it did anime.

Light novels are kind of an exception to the usual rule as there's been a number of successful adaptations in both anime and manga form (especially recently) and they can often end up totally dwarfing the original in popularity.

I'm not really in to visual novels at all, but it seems like adaptations get a mixed reaction at best. Either people love them, or completely and utterly loathe them and try to pretend they never existed.

Originally Posted by double trouble!

I prefer anime. I'm not really into reading manga now (especially since I'm sick of reading now)
Everything just seems boring without color, animation, and voice acting.

Colored manga does exist. But they tend to be non-existent in America, I find.

Me, I much prefer manga. Not only is it closer to the creator's intentions, but also because I just don't really watch anime anymore. Manga also means that I can read it anytime I want easily.

Hmm... I like that manga tends to be much faster-paced. For example, I can read most of DBZ in a day. Not so with the manga.

However, I tend to feel more for the characters in anime. Believe it(!) or not, sometimes filler can be a good thing, like in the Saiyan Saga of DBZ, in which you really get a much better sense of Gohan's development from the can't-do-anything-brat he started out as to the competent (if sometimes cowardly) fighter he became during his training with Piccolo.

But honestly, I'd probably buy an anime before the manga, if only because I don't have to give effort to enjoy it. :P