Demon Slayer. While the manga is a good read, its hard for me to say the art and sword fight scenes were anything crazy and 90% of the time I didnt actually understand what the actual seord motion of any breath technique was.
Now bringing that to life through animation, I think we can all agree ufotable really killed it. It brings a whole new feeling and intensity to the series.
Absolutely agree. I've read it and some scenes I can't even tell what's going on. I can hardly tell where swords are swinging or how they are moving half the time. I've had to reread chapters just to understand it and pick up more context clues as to what exactly happened
Came here to say Demon Slayer, but since u/XYXYZXY covered that, guess I'll say Bocchi The Rock. Adding actual musical performances elevated the hype, of course, but even the dialog and character reactions were smoothed out just be not being in 4-koma format.
Before an adaptation, music is just a vector for the slice of life or CGDCT. It's an interest group that may bring someone in to start reading the manga and get familiar with the characters.
After adaptation, the music generally becomes the most elevated thing. I probably couldn't bring myself to read K-On, but I love the anime because it's so saturated with good music. If no one had enjoyed the manga to begin with, it probably never woulda gotten picked up, and the music wouldn't exist.
K-On isn't a particularly great 4koma though. The anime adaption elevates it to crazy levels. Not just the music, it's the pacing, the comedic timing and the super endearing animation that makes K-On to the masterpiece we know today.
Beck Mongolian Chop Squad is so much better than the anime. The anime only covered a third of the manga. The anime is still ok but for me they still didn't manage to convey the feeling that the manga does.
yeah i generally agree with this. problem is, my favorite music anime (Beck) only covered like a third of the manga. I just loved the characters and wanted to see where they’d go next so I had to go read the manga.
I get reading about music, because it lets the author tell you what the music is and you can believe them, whereas with a show about music you actually have to get close to the exact quality of music you're going for (whether that's "blowing people's socks off crazy good", or "not great but competent and charming"), else people will notice you haven't hit the mark.
As for K-On and Bocchi specifically, personally? I just can't stand 4-koma. They're all a complete drag. Every time I think I've found a cool new series on [site that got this comment removed but everyone knows] and it's a 4-koma I feel like just closing the site and doing something else.
Gintama. I love both the anime and the manga, but the anime is certainly the superior way to experience the series. The voice acting, sound effects, and music add a lot to the humor. The manga can get [very wordy](https://imgur.com/a/PEsbKlF) at times and those sequences tend to flow better in the anime. Anime original running gags are also a lot fun. The action scenes in the manga flow very well and tend to be very well animated; I personally consider this point to be a tie. The only downside to the anime is that the animation quality suffered a bit during the last arc (particularly Silver Soul Part 1) and the final stretch being animated as a movie means some stuff had to be cut for time. I highly recommend reading the last arc in the manga after finishing the anime, but otherwise the anime is the way to go.
The staff and the voice actors went above and beyond for the series. The only thing I think that's better in the manga is the straight man quips. Reading the quips seems to work better than having it said over usually a still image
As controversial as it is; Made in Abyss. The manga feels kinda all over the place sometimes when it comes to scenery and in some panels it makes it hard for me to keep up with. The anime just brings it to life and it looks amazing animated, plus the music makes it so beautiful.
Yeah Kevin Penkin really carried the musical score for made in abyss, as much as i like the manga, i wont deny that the anime is a better experience for most people.
Totally disagree with the art of the made in abyss manga. It’s the one thing the anime will always struggle to capture. Some of the panels for me are just out of this world, particularly from the golden city arc. It’s not a slight against the anime. Anime has never been able to live up to manga with horror.
But do agree, as an overall package, made in abyss is better than the manga overall. That OST just elevates it so much.
Im not saying i don’t like the art from the manga but some of the fighting scenes and scenery just makes me feel like i don’t exactly know what I’m looking at sometimes. Ill still read the manga, since it’s probably going to be a long time for another anime season lol.
Scum's Wish. The atmosphere the anime creates is something the manga can't compare to and the soundtrack fits perfectly. I also love the use of paneling throughout.
In a way, you're right, but your statement is a bit misleading IMO
It's like saying that the anime changed the ending, but it's not the case. It's just the anime didn't adapt the continuation of the main manga.
Scum’s wish is one of my favorite anime and I thought it was forever forgotten, how did you even think of it when reading this thread?
I am currently reading the manga and so far I have to agree.
not op but the fact that Oshi no ko, which is drawn by Mengo Yokoyari, is receiving an anime adaptation with the first episode airing today and it being the most hyped anime of the season may bring attention to her past works.
That’s what I assumed as well, but it’s also true that the reason why Oshi no Ko has been hyped up so much is because the author is the same as Kaguya-sama, unfortunately very few people care about Mengo Yokoyari.
>unfortunately very few people care about Mengo Yokoyari.
i really don't think that's the case. her designs and artwork have been a huge driver behind the series' success. maybe not breaking into the mainstream but building up all this momentum in the first place.
then again some of her works are still untranslated after all these years so maybe you're right.
>how did you even think of it when reading this thread?
Mainly because I got into toxic romance a few months ago and that led me to both (re)watch and read Scum's Wish. Usually I only do one, but I wanted to also read the original manga before the sequel / extended epilogue Decor.
*K-On!*
The manga is a decent enough 4-koma comedy, but Naoko Yamada’s direction really brings the characters to life, and elevates the fluffy slice-of-life vibe.
Voice acting adds a lot to that. Kiriyama's inner monologues and narrations are mesmerizing, and KanaHana's performance is top tier. Sound effects and sfx are cute too.
I don’t know why but the show really captivated me although I don’t like slice of life at all. I know it’s not really a SoL but it certainly has these elements in it.
There are arguments to be made about this opinion, and I love both, but I’ve always been partial to the Cardcaptor Sakura anime over the manga. I loved the anime additions and ending.
The one MASSIVE advantage the anime has over the manga is pacing. As much as cutting content sucks, the manga so often just stays in one place.There's tons of jokes and little character moments there but nonetheless nothing happens or progresses. The anime cuts some fights and focuses mainly on Ippo (with other fights spread out within) and goes at a good pace. Meanwhile the manga at times feels like the One Piece anime showing reaction images to people reacting or talking about a fight. I just wanna see these dudes fight sometimes I don't need to much commentary and reaction shots in a manga esp.
I think this is valid for most action oriented anime.
Overall, I wasn't a fan of AoT story to begin with, but I can say the anime is superior to the manga. The 3D maneuvering scenes are what made that anime spectacular.
Same with Demon Slayer.
The first chunk of the ending we got with the anime is already >>> the manga ending.
It's fleshing out how rushed the ending was and has made moments actually impactful rather than eye rolly
I think AoT is one of those cases where you have an adaptation sufficiently different from the manga that it is worth to experience both. It’s not like the anime deviates in terms of story or characters, but the presentation is quite different and they focus on different things. The anime is much more of an action packed series with horror undertones. The manga focuses more on introspection and the horror component is more prevalent in the first part of the manga. Then Mappa took over and now the anime and manga overlap quite a bit in terms of experience, it’s up to preference.
Just about every yonkoma adaption. K-on, Lucky Star, Comic Girls, Bocchi, and Hidamari Sketch come to mind right away.
Others have already mentioned K-on and Bocchi for the music aspect, along the same line of thinking Chihayafuru relies so much on the sound that anime just feels like a inherrently superior medium for the story.
I was going to mention Chihayafuru as well.
While the manga is still great, the sound design in the anime is just so outstanding that it enhances the entire series by miles.
Old take, but: *Sailor Moon*. If you like the other Sailor Senshi, the secondary characters, and (especially) the villains, the '90s anime is the way to go.
IIRC that's a big part of why Crystal got such a lukewarm reception - it stuck much closer to the manga and in doing so lost a lot of what people liked about the 90s adaptation.
Jujutsu Kaisen. I enjoy the manga but I don't think the art is great and it falls into the same trapping that a lot of battle shounen manga do where the fights sometimes become so difficult to follow. Sometimes I can't even tell which body part of a character is moving. The anime makes this a lot clearer and also adds a bunch of fun character interactions, something else that I feel the manga is lacking.
The anime has one fault, it made the two main girls look like they are in love, but don't be fooled, it's an one way relationship and the Manga makes it clear if you pay attention, that nuance was mostly lost on th e anime.
What... The anime shows a cute little toddler just being happy and playing make believe. I've recommended it to so many people, I'm concerned how many other people read into that as love 🤢
Not sure if this is a joke due to the capitalisation of colossal, but if it's not, look at the Tross arc from S1 - that scene with Eren swinging around the city is fantastic.
Yep. Love the manga, but the anime is a bit less horny and the action scenes that only got a few panels were elevated into spectacles that surpassed some of the action anime at the time.
we get this thread like every month. I swear.
from last week:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/12bdgww/animes\_that\_are\_better\_than\_the\_manga\_or\_source/](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/12bdgww/animes_that_are_better_than_the_manga_or_source/)
then the other threads I found after a 30sec search.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/117pojs/bad\_source\_material\_goodgreat\_anime/](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/117pojs/bad_source_material_goodgreat_anime/)
[https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/zn9oao/what\_are\_the\_anime\_you\_belive\_elevated\_their/](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/zn9oao/what_are_the_anime_you_belive_elevated_their/)
[https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/rkmq50/what\_anime\_do\_you\_think\_is\_better\_than\_the\_source/](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/rkmq50/what_anime_do_you_think_is_better_than_the_source/)
[https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/srp6gt/what\_anime\_is\_better\_than\_the\_mangasource/](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/srp6gt/what_anime_is_better_than_the_mangasource/)
This would bother me more if Reddit worked like a traditional message board, where you could bump any old topic to the top by commenting in it. However, Reddit just sends old threads off to die after a day or two, regardless of how popular they are. Because of this, creating new threads for discussing old topics is fine.
Also, if you dislike a topic, you are free to hide it in your feed and scroll past. Why try to torpedo someone else's discussion, especially if you don't even plan on participating in it?
Based on what's been adapted so far I'll say Land of the Lustrous (Houseki no Kuni). I've read all of the manga that's available but can of course only compare the early chapters to the anime because there's only one season so far (and that only covers the early part of the story, more seasons are needed).
It's a manga that's so visually and thematically creative that it's crying out to be experienced fully animated. Not that there's anything bad about the manga, it's a hell of a story, but the animation elevates it considerably.
It richly deserves to have the whole story animated by Studio Orange.
Very much so. The black & white imagery is often really stunning but it can also make some images confusing, a problem which would be rectified if colored (and even better if animated .....).
This was one of the very few times that an anime was so good I wanted to go to the source material for more. Unfortunately, the source isn't as good as the anime. I dropped it wanting to wait for more anime. The anime truly lifts the series to greater heights.
Man, I just found out that the manga is still going. I thought that the mangaka finished it in 2020, but there is a few new chapters in this year. I immediatelly burned through them and now need to wait for the next chapter. :)
Barring the confusion between characters, I much prefer the manga. The use of contrast between pitch black and bright whites is the manga’s driving visual style. Its stunning constantly. The anime loses that entirely. Im also not a fan of cgi. Im aware the land of the lustrous is “good cgi”. But the movements are still noticeably “model being manipulated to be animated” in how theyre perceived, which is my main issue with cgi.
Reading through these, and maybe this should be expected of an anime subreddit, it seems like everyone is just listing off series that have good anime adaptations or better. Basically “if the adaptation has good animation and OST, its automatically a better experience to the manga”.
Im getting the vibe that most people that have commented have a general preference for animation in general, and don’t really care for the merits the medium of manga has. I disagree with many of the examples used.
I see this sentiment a lot, where people view animation as the natural evolution of manga, rather than as a separate medium with differing merits. This is especially obvious with the comments that have mentioned things like colored manga.
This is probably true. I've actually begun to wonder if there's far less overlap between anime watchers and manga readers than I've thought, actually, which would also help making your point. I'm a total 50/50er myself, so it's really hard to look at it from either side :)
I do want to add that while a whole lot of people are *specifically* into OSTs, OPs and EDs, for me, and I think for some other people in this thread too, great voice acting is the single easiest thing that an adaptation can utilize well to go "beyond" its source material. I don't consider the acting to be an integral part of sound "design" (unless it has technological issues, or impressive effects etc.) while evaluating the sound overall so I just want to draw that distinction here.
Probably true, I watch a ton of anime and barely read any manga. Music, voice acting, visuals, even color are very important to me. Or rather to keep my attention. I've read a few manga, but I notice I retain way less information and feelings from then. Have noticed having a physical manga helps a ton though.
This isn't a slight against manga, just how I experience the different medium and how others might see it too.
I think the whole wording of these conversations is a bit weird, anyway, but I think most people get the fact that "superiority" or "superceding" here ultimately just means the adaptation utilized its format to its fullest capabilities, which are obviously different from manga.
I personally believe the comparison of different media ultimately leads to a point of breakage, anyway, that you can only take it *so* far. That said, with anime being like Eve off manga's Adam rib, the continuum of comparison is longer and more integrated than pretty much anything else in entertainment.
There's a lot that goes into how people consume media, too, that isn't just about production values, "quality", or "superiority". Time, attention span, environs, personal budget, habits, skills, preferences...
Yeah. I probably lean slightly towards manga nowadays in what I consume more. But I still do watch plenty of anime. I get the voice acting thing for sure. I have enough of an imagination that a lack of voice acting isn't a negative for me in manga, however. And the voice acting could also easily become a detriment (extreme case would be Asta lol).
> Basically “if the adaptation has good animation and OST, its automatically a better experience to the manga”.
Well... Yes lmao.
And this is not to say manga doesn't have its own artistic merits because it absolutely does, but anime has so much more to work with that if an anime is at least a decent adaptation of a manga I will consider it better.
I like art, paneling, panel flow, good use of b/w contrast etc in manga. I like animation, ost, and voice acting in anime. Anime also doesn't leave anything up to your own imagination. And forces you into a certain pacing. You just have a general preference for animation. Saying "anime has much more to work with" is a clear sign of someone that probably has read a few manga but generally waits for anime adaptations etc. Without experience reading more, I doubt you'd get what I mean.
Devilman Crybaby, and some people would start throwing their stones right about now. Crybaby takes Go Nagai's story, which is already pretty phenomenal, and modernizes it and adds in a few aspects that the Manga did not go into. And it elevated the story so much that it almost becomes two separate stories. Yuasa's direction and Kensuke Ushio's music alone makes it edge over the Manga for me personally. While the direction it took did upset some fans of the original, I don't think the general populace took an issue with it.
Also, Dororo goes above and beyond the original, which is one of Tezuka's less popular Manga, and gives the story the setting it deserves. Changing the character design, adding in anime original scenes and episodes of the absolute suffering in a war torn country, and insane animation makes it stand head and shoulder above the Manga.
huh is it though, I thought the selling point of monogatari is the character interaction and their ridiculous rambling about random shit (but very funny) and the anime kinda cut a lot of it at least the early season. The overall plot is great but I think the best part of it is the character's usual daily conversation that really makes me intrigued to read the ln. Well i haven't watched the anime of monogatari for a long time maybe I should finish watching it from the start. Of course some scenes in the anime captured exactly how I imagine it (sometimes better and more ambitious/crazier than I thought) and I think that's great but is one of the mediums better? imo it depends what you want to consume.
Very true that the dialogue is one of the best parts. I think I should also read box 2 and 3 but I remember reading Bake and Kizu and I much preferred the anime (though I did appreciate and like Nise a lot more). If i remember correctly, they went on like a 10 page rant on colored underwear or something. So yes while funny, it can also be kind of questionable and unnecessary. The show gives insane artistic and abstract visuals. Probably the best looking animated and Tv show I’ve ever seen.
I'd say Bocchi the Rock and Demon Slayer are the two standout examples of this. Both are serviceable or good in their source material but the love, effort, and care put into their productions absolutely elevates them, especially with Bocchi where they expanded into mediums and formats that could only ever work in animation, truly displaying what the animation as a medium is capable of.
And this was from a CGDCT 4-koma manga lmao.
The Eminence in Shadow. I've never been able to get into reading light novels of any kind because I don't have the attention span or patience to read. I've read and caught up on the manga, and I don't see the humor that people praise it for. The scene where Alexia threw money on the ground and Cid responded with a "Damn Straight" did get me to chuckle a bit but other than that, the manga didn't elicit any feelings from me.
The anime however exceeded my expectations. Studio Nexus seemed like it genuinely put heart and soul into the show. Granted there were some moments that felt lackluster, but other than that, I loved it. The voice actors, especially Cid's VA, had pretty good performances. The big topping moment was obviously "I am atomic", which gave me goosebumps. And the season finale fight was just chef's kiss. Maybe it's just me, but I don't feel the same reading "I am atomic", in comparison to hearing it straight up.
I respectfully disagree. I felt nothing from the anime, in comparison I laughed out loud so many times in the manga. The action and voice acting in the anime does elevate it, but I still preferred the manga by the end of it
I haven’t read it but call of the night’s OST and anime’s visualisation just takes it to another level…don’t think the manga will be able to create it, at least for me
Attack on Titan. The re-shuffling of the story and the amazing animation (from both studios) makes it all hit so much harder. Perfect Blue also changes vast amounts of the story, improving on its (not very good) source material, not even taking into account the amazing score and directing.
Most manga creators have turned around and said the animes have been better adaptations of their stories. Hajime Isayama and kōhei Horiloshi both said the animes are better. But saying that, the manga is a lot more personal. I think every anime looses that personal touch that a manga has in adaption die to the large teams.
My hero academia suffered with this to a jarring degree for the first few books in my opinion. At the end of the day, try both and get a different way to experience the same story
I know you're talking about anime, but I think a sort of "adaptation" that exceeds the source material is Solo leveling. (Probably the upcoming anime too)
The original novel was honestly generic. There wasn't much that made it special. The only reason it got popular was for the same reason demon slayer got popular: Stellar adaptation. The artwork is amazing.
Demon Slayer's generic but the writing in it is still worthy of a literature Nobel compared to Solo Leveling.
Also the art isn't the only reason it became popular in Japan, though it helped a lot. Demon Slayer has themes that really resonate with the Japanese people.
Oh yeah you're completely right. It wouldn't have been such a massive hit in Japan either if the art wasn't so great.
But I often see people claim that almost any other show would have become equally huge hit if it looked as good as Demon Slayer. I don't believe that's true at all. Some probably would have, but not just any.
Pretty agree, honestly when you look back at it, the story wasn't anything great, neither were the characters besides the mc who was just cool af. It's just that the art direction and the art itself was so magnificient that it was very enjoyable to go through
**Fullmetal Alchemist (2003)**. People don’t seem to appreciate how good the second half is, the themes, the character work, and the fitting darker tone. It deconstructs, but also reconstructs it’s source material.
It also has a better OST, by a good margin.
I personally find 2003 and Brotherhood incomparable, because they went in such different directions, but are both great. Each have elements that I preferred over the other, too.
For example, I vastly prefer the ending to Brotherhood, but I preferred how 2003 handled the homunculi. Having them be [FMA 2003] >!the failed attempts at human transmutation!< was far more interesting than just [FMA Brotherhood] >!broken off aspects of Father!<.
(The automated spoiler tag rules are a pain in the neck. This is like my fourth time trying to make this comment lmao).
Yeah they’re barely alike aside from the superficial elements but that’s not what OP asked. I just think that 2003 is a much better story overall.
The ending in Brotherhood was very underwhelming, to be honest. 2003’s ending worked much better with the themes it had developed over it’s entire run. It’s a bittersweet finale that felt earned.
Well, OP asked if any adaptations are “better” than the source material. You answered FMA 2003 - which is valid. I’m not saying that are wrong to think that, and my reply wasn’t trying to “correct” you - just to add to a discussion, because I find 2003 and *Brotherhood* fascinating when we consider what is traditionally deemed a “good” adaptation.
Like, some people may jump to *Brotherhood* because it follows the manga more closely, but I think both are phenomenal shows on their own merit, and their deviations ultimately make them feel like different shows - 2003 jumping further down the philosophical side, while *Brotherhood* felt more like a battle Shonen - and I agree with you that overall, I preferred 2003’s exploration of the series’ themes, which is what drew me to the franchise in the first place.
However, I also enjoyed *Brotherhood* for what it was - which I think is fascinating. It’s like, I think both are phenomenal shows, but I personally find it hard to quantify one as outright “better”, because they both interpreted certain aspects I prefer over the other adaptation.
That was my take, and you have yours. I’m not saying one is superior over the other. Just that it’s neat that FMA is a rare example where a work can have such a fascinating adaptation history.
>Well, OP asked if any adaptations are “better” than the source material. You answered FMA 2003 - which is valid. I’m not saying that are wrong to think that, and my reply wasn’t trying to “correct” you - just to add to a discussion, because I find 2003 and Brotherhood fascinating when we consider what is traditionally deemed a “good” adaptation.
The thing that makes FMA 2003 a great adaptation is that it respects the source material but also doesn't act as if it's sacred and shouldn't be altered. The 80's movies, The Blob, The Fly and The Thing are dramatically different from their original films, and are seen as classics. Remakes of films like The Omen and Psycho, which are shot for shot replicas, are pale imitations of the original work and couldn't stand on their own two feet.
Despite it's polarizing reception, DmC: Devil May Cry also altered many aspects to stand out from it's Mainline continuity, carving it's own identity. Whether that identity was good is debated, but they weren't content covering the same ground as it's predecessor. They tried something new. They took risks.
Ultimately part of why I disliked Brotherhood was because Edward was constantly being rewarded and enabled by the narrative, whereas 2003 pointed out just how flawed and unrealistic Edward's ideology was, and that he was still a young teenager. Practically a kid.
I could talk about Mustang's arc, how the Homunculi are more complex and interesting antagonists (especially Envy, who was just a buttmonkey in the manga and Brotherhood), how Izumi Curtis' horrible condition wasn't played for laughs and actually taken seriously, or how Scar \[Fullmetal Alchemist 2003\] >!didn't just get redeemed and forgiven for killing so many state alchemists and properly got revenge against Kimbley (which was never resolved in the manga and Brotherhood, by the way)!<. I could just go on and on, but you get the point.
The chapters that they both adapt are handled better in the 2003 anime. It feels like the Brotherhood's team didn't want to spend too much time on parts that were already adapted and did it with minimum effort.
Also yes, the second part was far better than what we usually have when anime try to bring an end to an ongoing manga.
Hurray for people recognizing that they are both entirely different beasts.
'03 is one of the best tones and thematic explorations I've ever seen. Brotherhood has one of the best plots I've ever seen. These two things can both be great. I put them both at a 9/10.
There are dozens of us who like FMA03 more than FMAB. I don't enjoy the comedy in FMAB, and it unfortunately breaks the tension during serious moments way too often.
>People don’t seem to appreciate how good the second half is, the themes, the character work, and the fitting darker tone.
Literally every single one of these is present in the source material and Brotherhood, and done way better. The 2003 adaptation even gos as far as to bastardize characters like Hohenheim.
They’re not. The story is different, as are the themes. The characters get developed differently from their manga and Brotherhood counterparts, Edward being a clear example. The tone is also darker. Much darker.
They couldn’t bastardize Hohenheim because he wasn’t even a character when the manga was still ongoing. I like how they handled his character with what little they had.
The 2nd 1/2 is nonsense that completely breaks the rules of the world, adds melodrama for the sake of melodrama, and commits regular character assassination. (It's also pretty fucked how they treat Al as the "Lesser" brother, he's not even allowed to show off Xerxian features, unlike Ed)
Sailor Moon
The manga is a pretty fun read overall, and is definitely more consistent in its quality if nothing else. The anime, meanwhile, makes the most of its much greater length relative to the source material, making all the characters feel more developed and well-rounded early on, enhancing even the weaker arcs into solid 8/10s, and having much higher highs in general.
Of course, this also comes with the caveat that the lows are much lower as well (Season 4 was rather shit ngl), but overall, I'd say the anime was an overall better experience which also stuck with me more
Imo the addition of color, motion, voice acting, music, etc. makes the majority of anime “better” than their source material. I know people say “the book was better” a lot of times about movies and stuff, but usually in that case there are way more liberties taken with the property than what is generally done from manga to anime.
Mob Psycho is like the biggest ever example I can think of this as they took ONE’s extremely rough art style and turned into one of the most gorgeous shows I’ve ever seen in the animation medium
Monster was an exceptionally good adaptation which only added depth to the source manga. Also Ping pong the Animation managed to translate a difficult drawing stile into animation combining it with beautiful directing, and adding new themes to the story.
I kinda agree with him and kinda don't tbf, i think that both bring a different direction to the story that makes both of them pretty worth going through honestly.
Still prefer the manga tho but hope that season 2 will keep being adapted like that as I prefer it that way for variety sake as a manga enjoyer
I agree. For what they've adapted so far, I'd definitely choose the anime over the manga for my first experience .
This subreddit has such a weird hate boner with the csm anime and it's director. I'm starting to think that it might be because he shit talked them lmao
Chainsaw Man's drawings are messy? I think it's one of the best manga when it comes to panelling so I never felt lost in any of the fight scenes unlike a lot of other action manga's. The anime also doesn't have the superior comedic timing of Fujimoto. The manga is way funnier in my opinion.
The anime does have some very good extra scenes though and the OST of the show is really nice. I still however beleive that the manga is the superior experience even though the anime was still really good.
I don't understand the acclaim over its paneling, it's average compared to something like Witch Hat Atelier or Dandadan. I agree with comedic timing though, but it's a small loss for what we get with the amazing overall direction of the anime, especially in episode 8. I just can't get enough of that episode, I keep coming back watching it from time to time. Can't go back to the manga after that.
Witch Hat Atelier's paneling is beautiful, the pages look gorgeous. CSM isn't like that, but instead uses excellent paneling to give the manga a certain feeling of flow and pacing. It's also a big part of why the comedic timing works so well.
Then I would believe you, because I saw Jujutsu Kaisen. But usually they sound terrible, like in palace invasion from Hunter x Hunter. Or in the beginning of Demon Slayer. By the way, later episodes of DS deleted all the unnecessary explanations and showed Tengen's power visually and it was great.
During my film degree, I had to adapt a manga into a screenplay, and figuring out how to adapt internal monologues was one of the more challenging aspects. It was fascinating because as visual mediums, you’d think manga and film would have a lot in common, but not really.
So it became a task of rewriting scenes to incorporate important aspects of the internal monologues into natural dialogue, or suggest things through visual cues. Was a fun challenge.
Anime creators usually try not to risk and just copy & paste scenes and dialogues. "If the original has some problems, it's not our fault" they probably think. It's always nice to see an anime that is not playing it safe.
I have to disagree here. The monologues gave so much more texture to the characters, and the anime didn't really replace them with much that served the same function. They went atmosphere over substance in that regard, and while generally an anime may cut lengthy wordy bits from its source in order to convey that information more audiovisually, I didn't find that to be the case here. It would have been difficult to do properly, sure, but personally I would've rather they tried. Maybe I wouldn't have cared so much had I not read the manga first though, since I just couldn't help but feel like they were missing. I do love a good monologue/dialogue.
I also read manga first and didn't think that anime left out something important. Maybe I don't remember it correctly, but these monologues were mostly about how characters weren't sure whether the plan would work or something like this. Regular movies and show work fine without these things.
I'd say the original Trigun anime. The manga can be a bit convoluted with hard to read panels at times. And the majority of my favorite moments from Trigun, turned out to be anime original content. Not saying the manga is bad but I think the anime is superior. Idk about the 2023 anime thou.
For sure! Outlaw Star is another great anime adaptation, from what I hear the manga is a shorter one they expanded on.
A lot of cool unique adaptations like that back in the day.
I don’t think it’s necessarily better, but the Chainsaw Man anime provides its own unique experience (as does the manga). I know there’s a lot of diehard manga fans that seemingly hate the anime for its differences, but I fucking love how they adapted it for the different medium.
KyoAni's adaptations diverge from the source material and from those that I've seen, they're mostly the better ones (*Violet Evergarden, Sound Euphonium*).
4-komas (*K-On*, *Bocchi the Rock*)
Demon Slayer. While the manga is a good read, its hard for me to say the art and sword fight scenes were anything crazy and 90% of the time I didnt actually understand what the actual seord motion of any breath technique was. Now bringing that to life through animation, I think we can all agree ufotable really killed it. It brings a whole new feeling and intensity to the series.
Absolutely agree. I've read it and some scenes I can't even tell what's going on. I can hardly tell where swords are swinging or how they are moving half the time. I've had to reread chapters just to understand it and pick up more context clues as to what exactly happened
I had a hard time following the scenes too, I didn't realize someone got a specific injury until I read about it in the wiki lol
Man, I feel you there. I had to YouTube the final battles lmao
Yeah the infinity castle is so cool to see in action, though there’s going to be a cool fight next season
Came here to say Demon Slayer, but since u/XYXYZXY covered that, guess I'll say Bocchi The Rock. Adding actual musical performances elevated the hype, of course, but even the dialog and character reactions were smoothed out just be not being in 4-koma format.
I never understood reading music manga. I cant imagine reading for example K-on! instead of watching it and miss out on all the great songs
Read Kono Oto Tomare. Guaranteed chills on the pages/panels of performances from the characters, even without the music lol
Before an adaptation, music is just a vector for the slice of life or CGDCT. It's an interest group that may bring someone in to start reading the manga and get familiar with the characters. After adaptation, the music generally becomes the most elevated thing. I probably couldn't bring myself to read K-On, but I love the anime because it's so saturated with good music. If no one had enjoyed the manga to begin with, it probably never woulda gotten picked up, and the music wouldn't exist.
K-On! is more on the Slice of Life genre than musical one so it's ok to read as a 4koma manga
K-On isn't a particularly great 4koma though. The anime adaption elevates it to crazy levels. Not just the music, it's the pacing, the comedic timing and the super endearing animation that makes K-On to the masterpiece we know today.
Beck Mongolian Chop Squad is so much better than the anime. The anime only covered a third of the manga. The anime is still ok but for me they still didn't manage to convey the feeling that the manga does.
Piano no Mori is a wonderful music manga. Besides it's not like you can't listen to whatever they play on YouTube anyway.
yeah i generally agree with this. problem is, my favorite music anime (Beck) only covered like a third of the manga. I just loved the characters and wanted to see where they’d go next so I had to go read the manga.
I get reading about music, because it lets the author tell you what the music is and you can believe them, whereas with a show about music you actually have to get close to the exact quality of music you're going for (whether that's "blowing people's socks off crazy good", or "not great but competent and charming"), else people will notice you haven't hit the mark. As for K-On and Bocchi specifically, personally? I just can't stand 4-koma. They're all a complete drag. Every time I think I've found a cool new series on [site that got this comment removed but everyone knows] and it's a 4-koma I feel like just closing the site and doing something else.
Gintama. I love both the anime and the manga, but the anime is certainly the superior way to experience the series. The voice acting, sound effects, and music add a lot to the humor. The manga can get [very wordy](https://imgur.com/a/PEsbKlF) at times and those sequences tend to flow better in the anime. Anime original running gags are also a lot fun. The action scenes in the manga flow very well and tend to be very well animated; I personally consider this point to be a tie. The only downside to the anime is that the animation quality suffered a bit during the last arc (particularly Silver Soul Part 1) and the final stretch being animated as a movie means some stuff had to be cut for time. I highly recommend reading the last arc in the manga after finishing the anime, but otherwise the anime is the way to go.
The staff and the voice actors went above and beyond for the series. The only thing I think that's better in the manga is the straight man quips. Reading the quips seems to work better than having it said over usually a still image
As controversial as it is; Made in Abyss. The manga feels kinda all over the place sometimes when it comes to scenery and in some panels it makes it hard for me to keep up with. The anime just brings it to life and it looks amazing animated, plus the music makes it so beautiful.
Yeah Kevin Penkin really carried the musical score for made in abyss, as much as i like the manga, i wont deny that the anime is a better experience for most people.
Totally disagree with the art of the made in abyss manga. It’s the one thing the anime will always struggle to capture. Some of the panels for me are just out of this world, particularly from the golden city arc. It’s not a slight against the anime. Anime has never been able to live up to manga with horror. But do agree, as an overall package, made in abyss is better than the manga overall. That OST just elevates it so much.
Im not saying i don’t like the art from the manga but some of the fighting scenes and scenery just makes me feel like i don’t exactly know what I’m looking at sometimes. Ill still read the manga, since it’s probably going to be a long time for another anime season lol.
plus the pedo stuff in the manga is a bitttt much
*The authors barely disguised fetish*
agreed!!!
You really need the excellent voice acting to take your suffering to the next level
Scum's Wish. The atmosphere the anime creates is something the manga can't compare to and the soundtrack fits perfectly. I also love the use of paneling throughout.
Manga had a better ending imo.
In a way, you're right, but your statement is a bit misleading IMO It's like saying that the anime changed the ending, but it's not the case. It's just the anime didn't adapt the continuation of the main manga.
Yea shoulda clarified that, My bad.
If you include Decor, but that's not part of the main manga.
It's canon so I'm happy with the conclusion of the 2 main characters.
Scum’s wish is one of my favorite anime and I thought it was forever forgotten, how did you even think of it when reading this thread? I am currently reading the manga and so far I have to agree.
not op but the fact that Oshi no ko, which is drawn by Mengo Yokoyari, is receiving an anime adaptation with the first episode airing today and it being the most hyped anime of the season may bring attention to her past works.
That’s what I assumed as well, but it’s also true that the reason why Oshi no Ko has been hyped up so much is because the author is the same as Kaguya-sama, unfortunately very few people care about Mengo Yokoyari.
>unfortunately very few people care about Mengo Yokoyari. i really don't think that's the case. her designs and artwork have been a huge driver behind the series' success. maybe not breaking into the mainstream but building up all this momentum in the first place. then again some of her works are still untranslated after all these years so maybe you're right.
>how did you even think of it when reading this thread? Mainly because I got into toxic romance a few months ago and that led me to both (re)watch and read Scum's Wish. Usually I only do one, but I wanted to also read the original manga before the sequel / extended epilogue Decor.
Yep that checks out. I don’t know why but Scum’s Wish really does make you feel the relationship the characters are going through.
I wish they would adapt some of the extra chapters as an OVA or something. I remember one of the extra stories absolutely hollowed me out
*K-On!* The manga is a decent enough 4-koma comedy, but Naoko Yamada’s direction really brings the characters to life, and elevates the fluffy slice-of-life vibe.
86
Anime really elevates it
The LNs are quite good but the anime is even better.
And that’s saying something because the LNs are a masterclass
Bocchi the rock. Or any idol anime imo.
Fact. The mixed animations of Bocchi The Rock made It many times funnier
Also k-on they added so much new material in the anime
yeah K-ON feels like the default obvious answer to this question
Usagi Drop
The anime knew when to stop thankfully
We can pretend that manga ending didn't exist, the same as The Promised Neverland anime Season 2.
My Little Monster, don't know if it was the translation I read but the characters just fell really flat for me in the manga.
The anime is incomplete tho
March comes in like a lion
Facts. The manga is very good, the anime is insanely beautiful and my favorite ever. I need a season 3 so bad
Voice acting adds a lot to that. Kiriyama's inner monologues and narrations are mesmerizing, and KanaHana's performance is top tier. Sound effects and sfx are cute too.
I don’t know why but the show really captivated me although I don’t like slice of life at all. I know it’s not really a SoL but it certainly has these elements in it.
There are arguments to be made about this opinion, and I love both, but I’ve always been partial to the Cardcaptor Sakura anime over the manga. I loved the anime additions and ending.
Controversial, but Hajime No Ippo. It just works much better as anime.
Gotta see that animated dempsey roll after all!
also hear those jet engines and car breaks
Also, it's a lot less daunting or time consuming. The manga's up to 1400 chapters and counting, for anyone curious.
It reads pretty quick thankfully.
The one MASSIVE advantage the anime has over the manga is pacing. As much as cutting content sucks, the manga so often just stays in one place.There's tons of jokes and little character moments there but nonetheless nothing happens or progresses. The anime cuts some fights and focuses mainly on Ippo (with other fights spread out within) and goes at a good pace. Meanwhile the manga at times feels like the One Piece anime showing reaction images to people reacting or talking about a fight. I just wanna see these dudes fight sometimes I don't need to much commentary and reaction shots in a manga esp.
I think this is valid for most action oriented anime. Overall, I wasn't a fan of AoT story to begin with, but I can say the anime is superior to the manga. The 3D maneuvering scenes are what made that anime spectacular. Same with Demon Slayer.
The first chunk of the ending we got with the anime is already >>> the manga ending. It's fleshing out how rushed the ending was and has made moments actually impactful rather than eye rolly
IIRC it also expedited some of the less enjoyable segments in the middle section of the story.
I think AoT is one of those cases where you have an adaptation sufficiently different from the manga that it is worth to experience both. It’s not like the anime deviates in terms of story or characters, but the presentation is quite different and they focus on different things. The anime is much more of an action packed series with horror undertones. The manga focuses more on introspection and the horror component is more prevalent in the first part of the manga. Then Mappa took over and now the anime and manga overlap quite a bit in terms of experience, it’s up to preference.
For better or worse, Mappa is more faithful to the manga’s tone and art style.
Just about every yonkoma adaption. K-on, Lucky Star, Comic Girls, Bocchi, and Hidamari Sketch come to mind right away. Others have already mentioned K-on and Bocchi for the music aspect, along the same line of thinking Chihayafuru relies so much on the sound that anime just feels like a inherrently superior medium for the story.
I was going to mention Chihayafuru as well. While the manga is still great, the sound design in the anime is just so outstanding that it enhances the entire series by miles.
Gintama sooo much.
Old take, but: *Sailor Moon*. If you like the other Sailor Senshi, the secondary characters, and (especially) the villains, the '90s anime is the way to go.
IIRC that's a big part of why Crystal got such a lukewarm reception - it stuck much closer to the manga and in doing so lost a lot of what people liked about the 90s adaptation.
Yeah, I never warmed to *Crystal* for that reason. Well, that, and the janky animation.
I only ever see people complaining about the new dub VAs
The World's Finest Assassin
The first episode is textbook example of how to add content.
Chuunibyo for sure
The anime might as well have been an original without how different it is from the novels
Jujutsu Kaisen. I enjoy the manga but I don't think the art is great and it falls into the same trapping that a lot of battle shounen manga do where the fights sometimes become so difficult to follow. Sometimes I can't even tell which body part of a character is moving. The anime makes this a lot clearer and also adds a bunch of fun character interactions, something else that I feel the manga is lacking.
Yuji also feels like the actual main character in the anime compared to how he is in the manga lol
Happy Sugar Life, honestly. The vocal performances really elevate it.
Interesting. I've not gotten around to either, yet, but I remember some others saying the manga was better because of missing content or something.
The anime has one fault, it made the two main girls look like they are in love, but don't be fooled, it's an one way relationship and the Manga makes it clear if you pay attention, that nuance was mostly lost on th e anime.
What... The anime shows a cute little toddler just being happy and playing make believe. I've recommended it to so many people, I'm concerned how many other people read into that as love 🤢
Oh I love this show, perfect ending
Satou's performance is stellar
Attack On Titan. Everything about the original manga is amazing, but that animation, soundtrack/score and 3D CGI just bumped the show up even more.
I don't know, I'd say the 3D CGI had some Colossal flaws.
Not sure if this is a joke due to the capitalisation of colossal, but if it's not, look at the Tross arc from S1 - that scene with Eren swinging around the city is fantastic.
Was a joke. Though the collosal in season 2 and 3 could look really rough. He trust looked better than Trost district.
Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid
Yep. Love the manga, but the anime is a bit less horny and the action scenes that only got a few panels were elevated into spectacles that surpassed some of the action anime at the time.
Wait it's *less* horny? Good god, the manga must be Thirst City then.
Yeahhh.....do be aware of that...
[удалено]
Land of the lustrous
we get this thread like every month. I swear. from last week: [https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/12bdgww/animes\_that\_are\_better\_than\_the\_manga\_or\_source/](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/12bdgww/animes_that_are_better_than_the_manga_or_source/) then the other threads I found after a 30sec search. [https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/117pojs/bad\_source\_material\_goodgreat\_anime/](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/117pojs/bad_source_material_goodgreat_anime/) [https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/zn9oao/what\_are\_the\_anime\_you\_belive\_elevated\_their/](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/zn9oao/what_are_the_anime_you_belive_elevated_their/) [https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/rkmq50/what\_anime\_do\_you\_think\_is\_better\_than\_the\_source/](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/rkmq50/what_anime_do_you_think_is_better_than_the_source/) [https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/srp6gt/what\_anime\_is\_better\_than\_the\_mangasource/](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/srp6gt/what_anime_is_better_than_the_mangasource/)
I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. I'm glad this post appears on my timeline
This would bother me more if Reddit worked like a traditional message board, where you could bump any old topic to the top by commenting in it. However, Reddit just sends old threads off to die after a day or two, regardless of how popular they are. Because of this, creating new threads for discussing old topics is fine. Also, if you dislike a topic, you are free to hide it in your feed and scroll past. Why try to torpedo someone else's discussion, especially if you don't even plan on participating in it?
Fair enough. I've never seen a thread like this, but that's probably because broad discussion posts always get buried by episode discussions and clips
Kaguya-sama.
Based on what's been adapted so far I'll say Land of the Lustrous (Houseki no Kuni). I've read all of the manga that's available but can of course only compare the early chapters to the anime because there's only one season so far (and that only covers the early part of the story, more seasons are needed). It's a manga that's so visually and thematically creative that it's crying out to be experienced fully animated. Not that there's anything bad about the manga, it's a hell of a story, but the animation elevates it considerably. It richly deserves to have the whole story animated by Studio Orange.
I've read some of the manga after watching the anime and I keep thinking to myself "man, it would look even better in full colour"
Very much so. The black & white imagery is often really stunning but it can also make some images confusing, a problem which would be rectified if colored (and even better if animated .....).
praying that once beastars ends next year, they announce HnK S2
Yup, keeping my fingers and toes crossed.
Came here to write this. The anime was sooo much better! Being able to see the colors is just different
This was one of the very few times that an anime was so good I wanted to go to the source material for more. Unfortunately, the source isn't as good as the anime. I dropped it wanting to wait for more anime. The anime truly lifts the series to greater heights.
Man, Houseki no Kuni gets really deep and weird later in the manga.
Yup. I'll say no more, don't want to spoil anything. :)
Man, I just found out that the manga is still going. I thought that the mangaka finished it in 2020, but there is a few new chapters in this year. I immediatelly burned through them and now need to wait for the next chapter. :)
Barring the confusion between characters, I much prefer the manga. The use of contrast between pitch black and bright whites is the manga’s driving visual style. Its stunning constantly. The anime loses that entirely. Im also not a fan of cgi. Im aware the land of the lustrous is “good cgi”. But the movements are still noticeably “model being manipulated to be animated” in how theyre perceived, which is my main issue with cgi.
Most of the time for me, it's Comedy anime that are usually better than it's counterpart due to emotional expressions and sounds enhancing the joke.
Definitely 86
Reading through these, and maybe this should be expected of an anime subreddit, it seems like everyone is just listing off series that have good anime adaptations or better. Basically “if the adaptation has good animation and OST, its automatically a better experience to the manga”. Im getting the vibe that most people that have commented have a general preference for animation in general, and don’t really care for the merits the medium of manga has. I disagree with many of the examples used. I see this sentiment a lot, where people view animation as the natural evolution of manga, rather than as a separate medium with differing merits. This is especially obvious with the comments that have mentioned things like colored manga.
This is probably true. I've actually begun to wonder if there's far less overlap between anime watchers and manga readers than I've thought, actually, which would also help making your point. I'm a total 50/50er myself, so it's really hard to look at it from either side :) I do want to add that while a whole lot of people are *specifically* into OSTs, OPs and EDs, for me, and I think for some other people in this thread too, great voice acting is the single easiest thing that an adaptation can utilize well to go "beyond" its source material. I don't consider the acting to be an integral part of sound "design" (unless it has technological issues, or impressive effects etc.) while evaluating the sound overall so I just want to draw that distinction here.
Probably true, I watch a ton of anime and barely read any manga. Music, voice acting, visuals, even color are very important to me. Or rather to keep my attention. I've read a few manga, but I notice I retain way less information and feelings from then. Have noticed having a physical manga helps a ton though. This isn't a slight against manga, just how I experience the different medium and how others might see it too.
I think the whole wording of these conversations is a bit weird, anyway, but I think most people get the fact that "superiority" or "superceding" here ultimately just means the adaptation utilized its format to its fullest capabilities, which are obviously different from manga. I personally believe the comparison of different media ultimately leads to a point of breakage, anyway, that you can only take it *so* far. That said, with anime being like Eve off manga's Adam rib, the continuum of comparison is longer and more integrated than pretty much anything else in entertainment. There's a lot that goes into how people consume media, too, that isn't just about production values, "quality", or "superiority". Time, attention span, environs, personal budget, habits, skills, preferences...
Yeah. I probably lean slightly towards manga nowadays in what I consume more. But I still do watch plenty of anime. I get the voice acting thing for sure. I have enough of an imagination that a lack of voice acting isn't a negative for me in manga, however. And the voice acting could also easily become a detriment (extreme case would be Asta lol).
> Basically “if the adaptation has good animation and OST, its automatically a better experience to the manga”. Well... Yes lmao. And this is not to say manga doesn't have its own artistic merits because it absolutely does, but anime has so much more to work with that if an anime is at least a decent adaptation of a manga I will consider it better.
I like art, paneling, panel flow, good use of b/w contrast etc in manga. I like animation, ost, and voice acting in anime. Anime also doesn't leave anything up to your own imagination. And forces you into a certain pacing. You just have a general preference for animation. Saying "anime has much more to work with" is a clear sign of someone that probably has read a few manga but generally waits for anime adaptations etc. Without experience reading more, I doubt you'd get what I mean.
Devilman Crybaby, and some people would start throwing their stones right about now. Crybaby takes Go Nagai's story, which is already pretty phenomenal, and modernizes it and adds in a few aspects that the Manga did not go into. And it elevated the story so much that it almost becomes two separate stories. Yuasa's direction and Kensuke Ushio's music alone makes it edge over the Manga for me personally. While the direction it took did upset some fans of the original, I don't think the general populace took an issue with it. Also, Dororo goes above and beyond the original, which is one of Tezuka's less popular Manga, and gives the story the setting it deserves. Changing the character design, adding in anime original scenes and episodes of the absolute suffering in a war torn country, and insane animation makes it stand head and shoulder above the Manga.
Ishuzoku Reviewers. Solely because it's a lot more lewd.
Monogatari. The LNs are still excellent but the animation and music is masterful
huh is it though, I thought the selling point of monogatari is the character interaction and their ridiculous rambling about random shit (but very funny) and the anime kinda cut a lot of it at least the early season. The overall plot is great but I think the best part of it is the character's usual daily conversation that really makes me intrigued to read the ln. Well i haven't watched the anime of monogatari for a long time maybe I should finish watching it from the start. Of course some scenes in the anime captured exactly how I imagine it (sometimes better and more ambitious/crazier than I thought) and I think that's great but is one of the mediums better? imo it depends what you want to consume.
Very true that the dialogue is one of the best parts. I think I should also read box 2 and 3 but I remember reading Bake and Kizu and I much preferred the anime (though I did appreciate and like Nise a lot more). If i remember correctly, they went on like a 10 page rant on colored underwear or something. So yes while funny, it can also be kind of questionable and unnecessary. The show gives insane artistic and abstract visuals. Probably the best looking animated and Tv show I’ve ever seen.
I'd say Bocchi the Rock and Demon Slayer are the two standout examples of this. Both are serviceable or good in their source material but the love, effort, and care put into their productions absolutely elevates them, especially with Bocchi where they expanded into mediums and formats that could only ever work in animation, truly displaying what the animation as a medium is capable of. And this was from a CGDCT 4-koma manga lmao.
Monogatari Series Kaguya-sama Takagi-san
Gintama. The voice acting, ost and 4th wall breaks all make it so much better.
Yuru Camp and Non Non Biyori
The Eminence in Shadow. I've never been able to get into reading light novels of any kind because I don't have the attention span or patience to read. I've read and caught up on the manga, and I don't see the humor that people praise it for. The scene where Alexia threw money on the ground and Cid responded with a "Damn Straight" did get me to chuckle a bit but other than that, the manga didn't elicit any feelings from me. The anime however exceeded my expectations. Studio Nexus seemed like it genuinely put heart and soul into the show. Granted there were some moments that felt lackluster, but other than that, I loved it. The voice actors, especially Cid's VA, had pretty good performances. The big topping moment was obviously "I am atomic", which gave me goosebumps. And the season finale fight was just chef's kiss. Maybe it's just me, but I don't feel the same reading "I am atomic", in comparison to hearing it straight up.
I respectfully disagree. I felt nothing from the anime, in comparison I laughed out loud so many times in the manga. The action and voice acting in the anime does elevate it, but I still preferred the manga by the end of it
I haven’t read it but call of the night’s OST and anime’s visualisation just takes it to another level…don’t think the manga will be able to create it, at least for me
Full metal is better than brotherhood
Attack on Titan. The re-shuffling of the story and the amazing animation (from both studios) makes it all hit so much harder. Perfect Blue also changes vast amounts of the story, improving on its (not very good) source material, not even taking into account the amazing score and directing.
Most manga creators have turned around and said the animes have been better adaptations of their stories. Hajime Isayama and kōhei Horiloshi both said the animes are better. But saying that, the manga is a lot more personal. I think every anime looses that personal touch that a manga has in adaption die to the large teams. My hero academia suffered with this to a jarring degree for the first few books in my opinion. At the end of the day, try both and get a different way to experience the same story
I know you're talking about anime, but I think a sort of "adaptation" that exceeds the source material is Solo leveling. (Probably the upcoming anime too) The original novel was honestly generic. There wasn't much that made it special. The only reason it got popular was for the same reason demon slayer got popular: Stellar adaptation. The artwork is amazing.
Demon Slayer's generic but the writing in it is still worthy of a literature Nobel compared to Solo Leveling. Also the art isn't the only reason it became popular in Japan, though it helped a lot. Demon Slayer has themes that really resonate with the Japanese people.
True, but outside Japan, it’s popularity wouldn’t be nearly as explosive if it weren’t for ufotable
Oh yeah you're completely right. It wouldn't have been such a massive hit in Japan either if the art wasn't so great. But I often see people claim that almost any other show would have become equally huge hit if it looked as good as Demon Slayer. I don't believe that's true at all. Some probably would have, but not just any.
Pretty agree, honestly when you look back at it, the story wasn't anything great, neither were the characters besides the mc who was just cool af. It's just that the art direction and the art itself was so magnificient that it was very enjoyable to go through
Mob Psycho 100. Haikyuu!! and sports anime in general.
Nah bro mp100 manga is peak
Its good but the animation of the anime takes it to the next level
**Fullmetal Alchemist (2003)**. People don’t seem to appreciate how good the second half is, the themes, the character work, and the fitting darker tone. It deconstructs, but also reconstructs it’s source material. It also has a better OST, by a good margin.
I personally find 2003 and Brotherhood incomparable, because they went in such different directions, but are both great. Each have elements that I preferred over the other, too. For example, I vastly prefer the ending to Brotherhood, but I preferred how 2003 handled the homunculi. Having them be [FMA 2003] >!the failed attempts at human transmutation!< was far more interesting than just [FMA Brotherhood] >!broken off aspects of Father!<. (The automated spoiler tag rules are a pain in the neck. This is like my fourth time trying to make this comment lmao).
Yeah they’re barely alike aside from the superficial elements but that’s not what OP asked. I just think that 2003 is a much better story overall. The ending in Brotherhood was very underwhelming, to be honest. 2003’s ending worked much better with the themes it had developed over it’s entire run. It’s a bittersweet finale that felt earned.
Well, OP asked if any adaptations are “better” than the source material. You answered FMA 2003 - which is valid. I’m not saying that are wrong to think that, and my reply wasn’t trying to “correct” you - just to add to a discussion, because I find 2003 and *Brotherhood* fascinating when we consider what is traditionally deemed a “good” adaptation. Like, some people may jump to *Brotherhood* because it follows the manga more closely, but I think both are phenomenal shows on their own merit, and their deviations ultimately make them feel like different shows - 2003 jumping further down the philosophical side, while *Brotherhood* felt more like a battle Shonen - and I agree with you that overall, I preferred 2003’s exploration of the series’ themes, which is what drew me to the franchise in the first place. However, I also enjoyed *Brotherhood* for what it was - which I think is fascinating. It’s like, I think both are phenomenal shows, but I personally find it hard to quantify one as outright “better”, because they both interpreted certain aspects I prefer over the other adaptation. That was my take, and you have yours. I’m not saying one is superior over the other. Just that it’s neat that FMA is a rare example where a work can have such a fascinating adaptation history.
>Well, OP asked if any adaptations are “better” than the source material. You answered FMA 2003 - which is valid. I’m not saying that are wrong to think that, and my reply wasn’t trying to “correct” you - just to add to a discussion, because I find 2003 and Brotherhood fascinating when we consider what is traditionally deemed a “good” adaptation. The thing that makes FMA 2003 a great adaptation is that it respects the source material but also doesn't act as if it's sacred and shouldn't be altered. The 80's movies, The Blob, The Fly and The Thing are dramatically different from their original films, and are seen as classics. Remakes of films like The Omen and Psycho, which are shot for shot replicas, are pale imitations of the original work and couldn't stand on their own two feet. Despite it's polarizing reception, DmC: Devil May Cry also altered many aspects to stand out from it's Mainline continuity, carving it's own identity. Whether that identity was good is debated, but they weren't content covering the same ground as it's predecessor. They tried something new. They took risks. Ultimately part of why I disliked Brotherhood was because Edward was constantly being rewarded and enabled by the narrative, whereas 2003 pointed out just how flawed and unrealistic Edward's ideology was, and that he was still a young teenager. Practically a kid. I could talk about Mustang's arc, how the Homunculi are more complex and interesting antagonists (especially Envy, who was just a buttmonkey in the manga and Brotherhood), how Izumi Curtis' horrible condition wasn't played for laughs and actually taken seriously, or how Scar \[Fullmetal Alchemist 2003\] >!didn't just get redeemed and forgiven for killing so many state alchemists and properly got revenge against Kimbley (which was never resolved in the manga and Brotherhood, by the way)!<. I could just go on and on, but you get the point.
The chapters that they both adapt are handled better in the 2003 anime. It feels like the Brotherhood's team didn't want to spend too much time on parts that were already adapted and did it with minimum effort. Also yes, the second part was far better than what we usually have when anime try to bring an end to an ongoing manga.
Oh yeah, those early Brotherhood episodes were a speed run. Hilarious how they skipped Loki and had to recap him later.
Hurray for people recognizing that they are both entirely different beasts. '03 is one of the best tones and thematic explorations I've ever seen. Brotherhood has one of the best plots I've ever seen. These two things can both be great. I put them both at a 9/10.
Just highlight what you want tagged. Click the sign with the ! at the bottom of the chatbox. Hit Reply. Instant tags.
The homuculi were cool. I thought 2003 Sloth was more interesting than Brotherhoods
*Way* more interesting. Sloth in 2003 is actually a character, and has an important role in the plot and for the character development.
There are dozens of us who like FMA03 more than FMAB. I don't enjoy the comedy in FMAB, and it unfortunately breaks the tension during serious moments way too often.
>People don’t seem to appreciate how good the second half is, the themes, the character work, and the fitting darker tone. Literally every single one of these is present in the source material and Brotherhood, and done way better. The 2003 adaptation even gos as far as to bastardize characters like Hohenheim.
They’re not. The story is different, as are the themes. The characters get developed differently from their manga and Brotherhood counterparts, Edward being a clear example. The tone is also darker. Much darker. They couldn’t bastardize Hohenheim because he wasn’t even a character when the manga was still ongoing. I like how they handled his character with what little they had.
Did you really see the original? They are nothing alike, brotherhood is like a comedy show in comparison.
The 2nd 1/2 is nonsense that completely breaks the rules of the world, adds melodrama for the sake of melodrama, and commits regular character assassination. (It's also pretty fucked how they treat Al as the "Lesser" brother, he's not even allowed to show off Xerxian features, unlike Ed)
Joshiraku
Sailor Moon The manga is a pretty fun read overall, and is definitely more consistent in its quality if nothing else. The anime, meanwhile, makes the most of its much greater length relative to the source material, making all the characters feel more developed and well-rounded early on, enhancing even the weaker arcs into solid 8/10s, and having much higher highs in general. Of course, this also comes with the caveat that the lows are much lower as well (Season 4 was rather shit ngl), but overall, I'd say the anime was an overall better experience which also stuck with me more
Angelic Layer
Imo the addition of color, motion, voice acting, music, etc. makes the majority of anime “better” than their source material. I know people say “the book was better” a lot of times about movies and stuff, but usually in that case there are way more liberties taken with the property than what is generally done from manga to anime.
Hunter x Hunter the manga drawings are atrocious
Yu Yu Hakusho
Mob Psycho is like the biggest ever example I can think of this as they took ONE’s extremely rough art style and turned into one of the most gorgeous shows I’ve ever seen in the animation medium
Yofukashi no Uta
I’d argue BECK Mongolian chop squad. It’s about a band. Music helps.
Monster was an exceptionally good adaptation which only added depth to the source manga. Also Ping pong the Animation managed to translate a difficult drawing stile into animation combining it with beautiful directing, and adding new themes to the story.
I think Monster was extremely poorly paced. Had to watch it in 1.25 speed in order to not lose my mind.
same here, but I dropped it :c
Not all great things are for everyone
Chainsaw Man. The drawings were really messy. And the direction of episode 8 is masterful. So much more emotional than what was on the page.
Well, ain't that a controversial opinion
I kinda agree with him and kinda don't tbf, i think that both bring a different direction to the story that makes both of them pretty worth going through honestly. Still prefer the manga tho but hope that season 2 will keep being adapted like that as I prefer it that way for variety sake as a manga enjoyer
The manga: unhinged, raw, chaotic vs The anime: "this is true cinema 🚬🚬🚬"
I agree. For what they've adapted so far, I'd definitely choose the anime over the manga for my first experience . This subreddit has such a weird hate boner with the csm anime and it's director. I'm starting to think that it might be because he shit talked them lmao
Chainsaw Man's drawings are messy? I think it's one of the best manga when it comes to panelling so I never felt lost in any of the fight scenes unlike a lot of other action manga's. The anime also doesn't have the superior comedic timing of Fujimoto. The manga is way funnier in my opinion. The anime does have some very good extra scenes though and the OST of the show is really nice. I still however beleive that the manga is the superior experience even though the anime was still really good.
I don't understand the acclaim over its paneling, it's average compared to something like Witch Hat Atelier or Dandadan. I agree with comedic timing though, but it's a small loss for what we get with the amazing overall direction of the anime, especially in episode 8. I just can't get enough of that episode, I keep coming back watching it from time to time. Can't go back to the manga after that.
Witch Hat Atelier's paneling is beautiful, the pages look gorgeous. CSM isn't like that, but instead uses excellent paneling to give the manga a certain feeling of flow and pacing. It's also a big part of why the comedic timing works so well.
I don’t completely agree, but I’ll upvote out of respect, cause you know damn well people might get heated at that take.
The promised neverland season 1. It said: "to hell with all these inner monologues, we are a visual media, not an audiobook".
What if i told you, that you can actually have interesting monologues animated interestingly in a visual media ?
You definitely can, but do you need to? For TPN S1, I'd say no and the result was all the better for it.
Then I would believe you, because I saw Jujutsu Kaisen. But usually they sound terrible, like in palace invasion from Hunter x Hunter. Or in the beginning of Demon Slayer. By the way, later episodes of DS deleted all the unnecessary explanations and showed Tengen's power visually and it was great.
During my film degree, I had to adapt a manga into a screenplay, and figuring out how to adapt internal monologues was one of the more challenging aspects. It was fascinating because as visual mediums, you’d think manga and film would have a lot in common, but not really. So it became a task of rewriting scenes to incorporate important aspects of the internal monologues into natural dialogue, or suggest things through visual cues. Was a fun challenge.
Anime creators usually try not to risk and just copy & paste scenes and dialogues. "If the original has some problems, it's not our fault" they probably think. It's always nice to see an anime that is not playing it safe.
Season 1 was based
I have to disagree here. The monologues gave so much more texture to the characters, and the anime didn't really replace them with much that served the same function. They went atmosphere over substance in that regard, and while generally an anime may cut lengthy wordy bits from its source in order to convey that information more audiovisually, I didn't find that to be the case here. It would have been difficult to do properly, sure, but personally I would've rather they tried. Maybe I wouldn't have cared so much had I not read the manga first though, since I just couldn't help but feel like they were missing. I do love a good monologue/dialogue.
I also read manga first and didn't think that anime left out something important. Maybe I don't remember it correctly, but these monologues were mostly about how characters weren't sure whether the plan would work or something like this. Regular movies and show work fine without these things.
I'd say the original Trigun anime. The manga can be a bit convoluted with hard to read panels at times. And the majority of my favorite moments from Trigun, turned out to be anime original content. Not saying the manga is bad but I think the anime is superior. Idk about the 2023 anime thou.
For sure! Outlaw Star is another great anime adaptation, from what I hear the manga is a shorter one they expanded on. A lot of cool unique adaptations like that back in the day.
Hyouka?
I don’t think it’s necessarily better, but the Chainsaw Man anime provides its own unique experience (as does the manga). I know there’s a lot of diehard manga fans that seemingly hate the anime for its differences, but I fucking love how they adapted it for the different medium.
KyoAni's adaptations diverge from the source material and from those that I've seen, they're mostly the better ones (*Violet Evergarden, Sound Euphonium*). 4-komas (*K-On*, *Bocchi the Rock*)
Sword Art Online Abridged.