Manga series that pale to their anime counterparts [Archive]

Alcy

2003-12-06, 16:56

Most would agree that usually, a manga series is better/more developed than the anime based off it. However, some slip through the cracks. Here's where we need to list these!

1. Magic Knight Rayearth (CLAMP):
The manga was horridly condensed (3 volumes per season) and took away the shock and bittersweet beauty of the surprise ending of season 1. (I am very glad I saw the anime first-I actually cried at the ending XD XD)

LBW

2003-12-06, 20:47

Princess Tutu definitely. I prefer manga over anime 99.9% of the time, but the anime is just a masterpiece compared to the extremely boring manga.

Kempis Curious

2003-12-08, 00:55

Princess Tutu definitely. I prefer manga over anime 99.9% of the time, but the anime is just a masterpiece compared to the extremely boring manga.

Wow, I didn't know there was a manga for that.

I thought the Kodocha anime was much more engaging than the manga. I'm glad I saw the anime first, it's one of my favorites! :love:

-k

Alcy

2003-12-08, 01:05

Wow, I didn't know there was a manga for that.

I thought the Kodocha anime was much more engaging than the manga. I'm glad I saw the anime first, it's one of my favorites! :love:

-k

Did you read the Tokyopop version of the manga or the original? That could be why, TP's edition was completely rewritten, though I did find it pretty amusing. (I have yet to find the untrans)

kannakills

2003-12-09, 18:59

I also found the Kodocha anime more funny then the manga. Since many of the characters can be eccentric (Sana's Mom, Sana herself), the anime allows these characters to be expressed perfectly. I think when this manga was converted to anime, the creators decided to up the hyperness of the main characters, and I think this is a good thing. You also miss out on Sana's raps in the manga- you would never be able to convey the same effect in a manga.

That said, I think that the manga is also very funny (I've only read TP's version- I don't know how far that strays from the original intent of the author. I feel that they have done a fairly good job). And I do like the lack of filler episodes and filler sequences in the manga- those can be tedious.

I love both, but I think I love the anime a little bit more ^_^

And as of right now, I like Fullmetal Alchemist anime better than FMA manga. I think that the way they chose to arrange the initial story flows better than in the anime. However, as I have only seen up to FMA 10 and read up to TW's translations of FMA manga, this opinion may change as the story progresses.

Alcy

2003-12-09, 19:25

That said, I think that the manga is also very funny (I've only read TP's version- I don't know how far that strays from the original intent of the author. I feel that they have done a fairly good job). And I do like the lack of filler episodes and filler sequences in the manga- those can be tedious.

I love both, but I think I love the anime a little bit more ^_^

I haven't seen the anime yet myself, but I've read the first volume of the TP version-it says right on the cover the entire story was rewritten by Sarah Dyer. Though I agree it was funny, I'd like to find the original sometime ^_^

AerialDeathFireStyle

2007-01-18, 21:50

yes i agree some anime are better than their manga counter parts just look at the cowboy bebop manga.... snoose.... there was no hook to get you into the manga it just seemed so borign compared to the anime which has become a classic must see for anime fans

Fruitfly

2007-01-18, 23:45

I don't read too much manga but i have to say initial d. I think it was the music. :eyebrow:

amoschid

2007-01-19, 01:22

I would say "Suzumiya Haruhi" manga is not quite as enjoyable as the anime
the anime is just..... perfect :D

Sole

2007-01-19, 06:34

imo these series were better in the anime version, or at least as good as the manga.

Hunter x Hunter - The author slack off a lot with his mangas, sketchy background art, empty boxes, massive dialogues, the anime was pretty good in comparison, if not better.
Evangelion - I think they're equally as good, since they offer something different in each of their own, but the anime was great
FMA - I thought FMA is more organized in the anime, art in the manga isn't that much better either, and felt like it had more fillers.
Orange road - While I think the ending in the manga version was a little bit better, but honestly I think the art was way better in anime >_>, ost was great too in the anime
Maison Ikkoku - I didn't really read all of the manga, so I can't say manga is superior, but music/art was really great in the anime.
Saint Seiya - I enjoy the anime a lot more, because of the art, and not that much difference in terms of story.
Kingyo Chuuihou! - Liked the Anime better

... I just noticed my weird taste in anime.

sl^sh3r

2007-01-19, 07:26

Naruto Anime >> Manga (till the filler arcs started)
Hunter X Hunter Anime >> Manga

Chiibi

2007-01-19, 13:03

Hmm there are few but the ones that are, are to the extreme...o_o

Princess Tutu. The manga was such a waste when it COULD have been gorgeous. T_T I demand a remake!

Saber Marionette J. Manga's terrible, anime is win.

Tenkuu Escaflowne. Same as above although the hard-to-find shoujo one is nice.

Kodomo No Omocha TO AN EXTENT. The first half of the anime is better than the first 6 volumes of the manga BUT the last four volumes of the manga are so good that the last arcs of the anime are crap compared to it. Er no...they're just crap, period. They threw away the manga completely!:mad: I was sorely disappointed. KIL TEH PRODOOSER ZOMG!!! ASDLKFJTUJQO;WTJ*insert random cursing here*:frustrated:

Sorceror Stabber Orphen. The manga art is so.....like not good compared to the anime art...

Kannazuki No Miko. From what I've read of it...it just doesn't wow me like the anime does...and it's a lot more vulgar...
Souma is still hot either way though:D

Vexx

2007-01-19, 13:44

The manga for Suzumiya Haruhi is one of those "after the anime" hacks.... (like those awful "books based on a movie"). The original novels are much better and there's a group translating those.

The only manga I've read that didn't quite measure up to the anime would be the series Tsukuyomi Moon Phase. I actually thought the anime was superior.... don't get me wrong I'm enjoying the manga... but the anime was directed by Shinbo who emphasized some of the zanier aspects while managing to keep the tragedy immediate. The manga is just more dark and the action sequences can be hard to follow at times (especially when several of the characters look very much alike).

EDIT: I just started reading the tokyopop release of Strawberry Marshmallow (Ichigo Masimaru) and I have to say the anime seems to do a better job than the manga so far ... but they've only released two volumes to date and the first volume is more "historical" (earlier versions of the characters).

wontaek

2007-01-19, 17:10

My vote goes to
Koi Kaze: I have praised this series many times already. A study in how to control the pacing and voice acting.
Kimagure Orange Road: Manga form of Ayukawa Madoka was not inspiring. Anime form of Madoka is an icon still recognized by many.

wontaek

2007-01-19, 17:12

I would say "Suzumiya Haruhi" manga is not quite as enjoyable as the anime
the anime is just..... perfect :D
I agree that the manga version isn't good, but the original material, the novel, is as good, if not better than the anime series.

Freeter

2007-01-19, 17:25

Girls Bravo - The anime goes for all out campiness and has fun with it. The manga, though, is actually starting to creep me out...

Rahxephon - The manga was shorter, had uglier designs, and lacked Yoko Kanno's masterful soundtrack.

Inuyasha - Yeah, the anime ended prematurely, but even you have to admit that it made Takahashi's penultimate work look a billion times better.

any Tenchi manga - Doesn't hold a candle to the first/second OVA series, although the same can be said for the TV series, spinoffs, OVA3, etc....

Saber Cherry

2007-01-21, 02:53

Card Captor Sakura. The series was masterful (particularly the voice work). The manga, however, was just 'good'.

Scrapped Princess - I never read it. The cover is just too ugly. What did they do to Pacifica??? Even if it was slightly better in some way (which I doubt), that could never make up for the drastically worse character design and loss of a wonderful soundtrack, let alone well-animated action scenes, full color, and Fumiko Orikasa.

Full Metal Panic - they're both good, but only one has an excellent soundtrack and (again) great voice acting. Furthermore, high-quality animation will always be a winner for an action-oriented series.

@Agree with Escaflowne, Hunter x Hunter, and Saber Marionette J.
As for Koi Kaze, I have not read the manga but I cannot imagine it beating the anime.

MugenIchiban

2007-01-27, 13:15

I'd have to say Hunter x Hunter and FMA. I'd throw in Initial D but I still have to read more to get my final verdict.

wontaek

2007-01-27, 21:30

Scrapped Princess - I never read it. The cover is just too ugly. What did they do to Pacifica??? Even if it was slightly better in some way (which I doubt), that could never make up for the drastically worse character design and loss of a wonderful soundtrack, let alone well-animated action scenes, full color, and Fumiko Orikasa.

The manga was bad. The original material, the novel series itself, might be considered as a masterpiece among scifi+fantasy books. You get much better idea what the trio did as well as how awesome Shannon and Raquell can be by themselves. Christopher Armalite is much stronger in the book as well.

solarknight123

2007-01-28, 03:25

tritoch

2007-01-28, 04:10

Kodomo no Omocha - I have the translated version of the kodocha manga and yes while the manga is superbly written, the anime does a better job at throwing out those tear-fits. Really, seeing the hyperactive Sana all gloomy in the anime was just almost unbearable.. until she started rapping then it made my day. :) Kudos to the music as well. I have teh soundtrack and i am TEH loving it. Gotta love those cliffhangers and then the ED music starts and it just makes you go crazy.

Saber Cherry

2007-01-28, 06:13

re: Scrapped Princess
The manga was bad. The original material, the novel series itself, might be considered as a masterpiece among scifi+fantasy books. You get much better idea what the trio did as well as how awesome Shannon and Raquell can be by themselves. Christopher Armalite is much stronger in the book as well.

My negative comments were about the manga, of course. I've been really hoping to see translations of the novels for Scrapped Princess and Crest/Banner of the Stars, as well as Zero no Tsukaima. I find that anime based on novels tend to be stronger than those based on manga; or at least, I often discover that anime I consider good or deep is based on a novel. The novel format avoids the episodicity that can plague manga, as it is often published by the chapter. Also, manga is often used as free storyboarding, allowing a direct transition to anime without the thinking or imagination required by a book. The current Kenichi is an example of storyboarding that worked in the manga, was ripped straight into the anime, and (IMO) did not work as well.

Rosepetal

2007-01-28, 16:17

I agree about Scrapped Princess, that the anime is so much better than the manga. Others I would mention are Pretear and Angelic Layer. I liked both animes, but gave up on Pretear manga after the first two volumes. Angelic Layer had some changes for the better, in my opinion, from the manga.

rooboy

2007-01-28, 22:25

re: Scrapped Princess

My negative comments were about the manga, of course. I've been really hoping to see translations of the novels for Scrapped Princess and Crest/Banner of the Stars, as well as Zero no Tsukaima. I'm not sure where you're from or what your native language is, but Tokyopop is translating Scrapped Princess into English. The first two volumes have already been released.

I think they might actually be doing Crest/Banner of the Stars as well (Dunno, I'm actually reading Scrapped Princess and Kino no Tabi, but I seem to recall they were doing Crest as well).

LightningZERO

2007-01-29, 04:28

Black Cat. The anime is way better than the manga!

sl^sh3r

2007-01-29, 04:36

Black Cat. The anime is way better than the manga!

I'm sorry, but LOL! that's the funniest thing I've heard all day xD!

Forbin

2007-02-04, 21:00

Read or Die,
The Manga is a comedy, the Anime is mostly action. I liked the Anime before and AFTER reading the Manga.

Darkman.exe213

2007-02-04, 23:19

Infinite Ryvius - The anime is easily one of my favorite anime series, because of its amazing depth, maturity, and overall feel. Howeer, the manga had none of this; instead, it's your basic slice-of-life/romance drama being tacked onto the main plot created by the anime series.(which is a mere plot device for the manga) There are no themes being explored. Human drama is kept to a minimum, and it couldn't catch that high-tension feel like the anime did.

Rahxephon - Generic ecchi/harem slapped onto a butchered Rahxephon anime. The complexity and underlying themes in the anime are not in the manga. Instead, the manga tries to get away with standard harem antics. The plot was far too simple compared to the layered storytelling that was present in the anime, because they couldn't fit all the plot into three volumes.

Code Geass - Suzaku of the Counterattack - Originally, several people saw Code Geass - Lelouch of the Rebellion as a Gundam SEED rip-off, other than the anti-hero point of view. Suzaku of the Counterattack takes that point of view away and puts you in the idealistic hero's place instead.

petran79

2007-02-06, 12:31

I'm not sure where you're from or what your native language is, but Tokyopop is translating Scrapped Princess into English. The first two volumes have already been released.

I think they might actually be doing Crest/Banner of the Stars as well (Dunno, I'm actually reading Scrapped Princess and Kino no Tabi, but I seem to recall they were doing Crest as well).

I bought the first volume of Crest of the Stars. They did a good translation, even if you actually need to know Japanese and have the special Abh-Japanese dictionary published in Japan to understand the Abh language.

As for Kino no Tabi I didnt like the translation of the first novel that much, though some episodes were better than the anime.

They also prepare to publish The Twelve Kingdoms.

As for animes that are better than mangas:

From CLAMP I choose Angelic Layer anime over the manga.

Also the Alien 9 anime enriches the manga's mediocre design and adds some new elements in the intruiging story, like the dream sequences. But since it ends in manga volume 2, the third and last manga volume (excluding Emulators) adds some plot twists that would make the anime a hit, had they decided to adapt it.

Then the GITS SAC series are better than the GITS mangas, even if the mangas are entirely different and much harder to follow.

FCLC manga is mediocre too, even if I didnt like the anime that much

the mangas above are a small exception to the rule though, since I enjoy reading mangas much more than watching their anime adaptations

rooboy

2007-02-06, 12:55

As for Kino no Tabi I didnt like the translation of the first novel that much, though some episodes were better than the anime.I'm confused, do you mean that the translation is bad or that you preferred the anime to some of the story? I'm only curious because I haven't seen anyone do any kind of comparison on the translations of the light novels to the original source.

sl^sh3r

2007-02-07, 01:15

oh yes I forgot to mention,

BLEACH! (without the fillers)

usopsama

2007-02-26, 05:12

The thing to keep in mind, manga is the original work done by the author (Mangaka) and the anime is made by the producer of the tv network (or something). Since that is true, most anime have fillers and alternate storyline and/or endings. Also, nothing beats the original, afterall.

I cannot say I know of any anime that beats its original manga, because anime if it has an original story usually have plenty of plot hole; for example, Full Metal Alchemist.

Kyuusai

2007-02-26, 18:16

Trigun.

The manga isn't finished, of course, but the anime really portrayed the characters with greater depth, depicted the action more comprehensibly, tugged at our emotions harder, and gave the story better structure.

The exception to this is the content of Trigun Maximum #1, which was just outright superior to the anime episodes it mirrors. In this case, the anime gave away all the secrets that made that part of the story enjoyable (a small part of which could have been fixed by moving the preceeding filler episode to after that episode), and gave us a generic villian instead of the mystery that created suspense in the manga.

Other than that and just a bit more backstory, though, I far prefer the anime. I'm eager to see the manga ending, though.

-KarumA-

2007-02-28, 15:39

For me mai-hime the manga. I loved the anime alot, but when it came to the manga,little to no character development, too much fan service(kinda hot at first but got annoying esp with the tentacle orphans) & i esp didn't like the whole love triangle between mai, tate, and natsuki, or tate being the lead character. only good thing about it was how strong the himes were and the action. Now i think otome and its manga counterpart are a different case, with the anime paling in comparison to its manga counterpart.

i so agree on that..

also Vision of Escaflowne i think it is because the characters are quite different in the anime and the music is appealing

Inuyasha, i liked the anime more than the manga.. for like the first couple of arcs.. but then meh for both... and mostly because the anime has ended the manga is 'still' ongoing... :uhoh:

ainsin

2007-03-01, 13:25

I've only read a little bit of the manga, but I did find Hachikuro (Honey And Clover) to be superior to the manga.

The manga does convey the emotions storyline well, but just the whole anime series feels like a classic.

Such a depressing.. yet uplifting series. It is just an epic series!

Shalron

2007-03-03, 16:03

Naruto Anime >> Manga (till the filler arcs started)
Hunter X Hunter Anime >> Manga

Wasnt the entire Zabuza/Haku thing just a huge filler? :confused:

VegaCrescent

2007-03-06, 05:33

Well, there's a bit of a difference here. Anime adapted from manga and the reverse, manga based on (usually popular) anime.

As far as the former goes (since I'd say it's usually harder to make an anime based on a pre-existing manga and fully and accurately represent and one-up it), I'd say Kannazuki no Miko, since as a romance (which is what it primarily is), the anime focuses on Chikane and Himeko's relationship a bit more and has the better ending.

Inujun

2007-03-06, 06:17

I agree with Angelic Layer...and probably X as well since the anime had really nice music

I thought Ouran High School Host Club was more superior anime-wise, it was funnier and the drawings were prettier
Even though Fruit's Basket anime didn't end, I thought that it was much better in anime version as well

2H-Dragon

2007-03-06, 12:12

Well even though it isn't an anime Goong as K-drama was wayyyy better that the manga. The manga was just pointless and frustrating and the it's way to slow. The drama on the other hand isn't maybe fast paced, but it looks beautiful the main girl stays lovable through out the series. You also have more affection towards the characters.

jedinat

2007-03-06, 14:10

I don't know that it pales to its anime counterpart, but I could never get into the xxxHOLiC manga. I tried more than once. And I absolutely loved the anime.

Another one is Full Moon wo Sagashite. Loved the anime. The manga was just "meh" for me.

[DOT].L

2007-03-07, 01:25

Hmm, Eureka 7 for me, I guess. While the manga does contain more action and opportunities for comedic situations, it has yet to display the same degree of sophistication present in the anime.

animefanrk2k

2007-03-08, 23:37

Hmm.... my small contribution of opinion:

Rurouni Kenshin: Legends of Kyoto, especially the first encounter between Kenshin and Saito and the final battle... those were all superbly animated. The one downside is, the anime lost a lot of goofiness throughout, but that was good because it was the serious turning point of RK.

Hmm.... there aren't many series. XD

Morganchan

2007-03-09, 17:21

Discounting what's already been posted here, for me, I'd have to go with Full Moon wo Sagashite.

I saw the entirety of the anime quite a while before I read the manga, so perhaps I'm biased, but overall I found it was handled better and was easier to follow. There was more drama to some parts in the series, and I connected with the characters more. Plus, it deals heavily with music, so I like the fact you can really hear the songs that the main character sings, even if you start to get sick of her endlessly played single-of-the-moment after a while XD (I guess that way you share the main character's joy when she releases a new single!)

Although the manga DOES get a nod over the anime in regards to character development! :p In the anime, everything seems to focus heavily on two of the main characters, where as the manga gives much-deserved attention to more of the cast. It was really frustrating, watching the end of the anime and going "Wait, but we didn't learn anything about (whatserface) and (soandso)!". I can't stand so many loose ends! :heh:

...okay, and even though it's already been said, I have to further enforce Ouran High School Host Club. Yes, the manga's good, but the animation is just so well done and amusing to watch that the manga can't contend with the sheer vivacity of its moving counterpart :D

Madlax26

2007-04-08, 02:32

Is Kodocha Worth buying? and if it is does tokyopop still have the license to print in N.A.

Blackstream

2007-04-08, 15:21

Well, Mai-Hime is the first one that I've read both the manga and the anime and agreed that the anime is better. Usually they are tied or it's the other way around.

I like the Mai-hime manga, but the anime's plot engaged me much more and impacted me quite a bit more. However, I do wish they took 2 elements from the manga and put them in the anime, it'd have been perfect.

I wish they had made Mai's brother in the anime the final boss evil guy whose name I can't remember. The conflict that produced was pretty awesome.

I also wish they had kept the concept of keys. It made a lot more sense in the manga why killing a child would kill the guy, than in the anime.