Anime Fans Know: Anime Vs. Manga, Which One Is Better?
Anime vs Manga
Anime is a Japanese word used for all cartoons. It is a short form of the word "animation." Manga, on the other hand, is the Japanese word used for comics. For most mangas, anime companies provide the fans with an anime adaptation that they may watch.
However, in some cases, the story in the anime is not the same as that in the manga. Sometimes the anime companies change parts of the story, especially the ending when the anime is due to be released and the manga is yet to be done.
So the question now is, which is better? The anime or the manga?
Anime
Anime are moving cartoons. The drawings are colored, you can hear the characters speak, and there are great sound effects too. Clearly the anime will dominate where the fans want action scenes. The anime will easily display how fast punches were thrown, the "BOOM" of the powerful explosions, and the intensity of the power moves of their favorite characters.
Often the Japanese voices depict the emotions of the characters well, especially when humor is employed. (The dubbed versions are nice too, but when you got used to one voice, the other versions might sound unusual or weird to you.)
Anime Pros:
- colorful
- you get to see moving action
- there's great voice/sound effects
- For those who focus on action scenes
Manga
The manga does display action scenes too, but there would be no sounds. The lack of color might be a minor thing for the reader, as the drawings are often well-made. The advantage with manga is for those whose focus is on the story. In anime series, you see moving pictures with dialogues. In the manga series, you read the plot and the dialogues with pictures.
It will be faster to read a manga than to watch the anime. Therefore, you will definitely read more series with manga than you will with watching anime. You get more stories with your fingertips.
The manga is also the original story that its creators wanted it to be.
Manga Pros:
- they are fast to read
- the drawings are beautifully made
- some pages are colored
- you can get to read more series
- For those who focus on the plot/story and who want to know more series.
If you just like talking about them with your friends
If you want to discuss the anime with your friends, it is best to watch/read them in the format that your friends prefer. It is better to ask them which they prefer and then adapt. So that when they talk about what this and that character did, you would know what they were laughing/angry about. Alternatively, you may just watch/read the specific episodes that got altered and stick to your own preference.
Personally...
I personally prefer the manga. There are just so many series that have already been made and I'd like to see them all. Although the pictures are not moving, they never fail to show what has happened. Sometimes I watch one episode of the anime first to see how each character acts and then read the manga afterwards.
But in fight scenes like in Bleach and Naruto, I would have to say that I enjoyed watching them in the anime series. The movements are simply breath-taking. But in some anime, the fighting goes on for too long with repeating events. That's when I want to know just who won in the end.
Category
| Manga
| Anime
|
---|---|---|
drawings
| like skilled pencil sketches, with occasional colored pages
| colored pictures
|
scene movement
| still images with captions
| moving pictures
|
sounds
| left to the readers' imagination
| there are sound effects
|
progression
| you can read it fast and turn to other volumes
| often each episode is about 20 minutes long
|
For those who...
| For those who focus on the story and want to read more series.
| For those who focus on the action/fight scenes.
|