I keep coming across this issue in my head night after night. Too many times have I come across someone who has 'read the manga', yet haven't seen the eps. While I've only watched the eps... On bad occation that person will act superior to me, like they know Everything so much better about that anime than me.

Which puzzled me.

Does reading manga make you far better in knowledge than those who watch anime episodes?

Or perhaps anime and manga are two different roads. Two different universes of the same anime. Can you watch anime and read manga at the same time without getting facts screwed up? ^^` or would it be safer to watch/read one and watch/read the other. I couldn't do it. Watch and read the same anime at the same time period. Fact I felt like I was loosing out when reading the manga first, cause it sorta trashes any suspense I might have for an anime ep later on.

If you watch/read both the anime and the manga. What would you do first and why? read or watch? ^^`

Back to the main part. I prefer to stick to episodes. Not only cause (sides for subs) you have to *gasp* READ the manga. But also the fact that manga isn't animated, the characters aren't given voices, and there's no music. Heh. And still... Does that make me dumber towards the anime than those that read some manga about it?

Thanks for reading and replying to this thread. Please discuss.

I'd read the manga, simply because I prefer reading over watching. But then, the manga and the anime tend to differ in many places, sometimes making them two similar, but different series. For example, in Love Hina, the Manga, the main character had a knack for achaeology, was a photo club otaku, and certain girls made their appearances before he arrived, while in the anime, the main character had a talent for art, and certain girls made appearances after he arrived. In both series, they haev slightly different adventures, but bgenerally turn out the same. There is also a difference in characters and chronology, which is shared by all manga with anime counterparts.

Another example is Yu Gi Oh. In the anime, it only really focuses on the card aspect, never shows how Yugi met all of his friends, or when he got his puzzle. In the Manga, it goes into much more depth, revealing more of Yami's nature, how Yugi got the puzzle, how he met each of his friends, and even different games. It introduced the various game and toy fads that was popular in Japan, some real, some made up, while the anime series only really focused on the cards and, in one arch, dice. Both eventually follow the same paths, but the manga series tends to be longer and more informative, while the anime series tends to be more visually stimulating and gives voices to the characters on paper.

So really, it's all a matter of preference. Voice and action is given by anime, while indepth stories and more information tends to be given by the manga. Which is better? You decide, I'll stick with my manga and saturday morning/evening cartoons.

Just an echo here...

It really depends on personal preferances and the series as far as which one is better.

I like watching Tenchi, but I find that I enjoy reading the Tenchi mangas better... especially No Need for Tenchi. Same goes for Ah My Goddess!... Then some mangas aren't as in depth as the anime. Like for Naruto, you learn a lot more in the anime than you do in the manga. Some mangas are never made into anime form like some You're Under Arrest!, and I like reading those as well. As much as i love watching Love Hina, the manga is, IMO, a better story.

Just like movies and books, sometimes one is better than the other.

And one more thing... if I know my history (and i think i do...) Anime actually existed BEFORE manga did... so maybe anime is the original form. If that counts for anything...

Well, for me it depends on the series. For instance, I love teh kenshin Manga, but I can't watch the anime. I love both the Anime and Manga for Inuyasha. I like the Eva andime but actually find myself enjoying he manga more. I like fullmetal panic better in its anime form.

Heh, so yeah, depends on the series.

Agreed preference and series plays a major part in things.

Sometimes the manga and anime differ, sometimes more than others. Take the R.O.D OAVs which while awesome don't really fit into the manga's storyline entirely. There was no Miss Deep and Nenene Sumiregawa was around pretty often (I think) instead (and Yomiko had a boyfriend I think in the manga). Sometimes, one leaves out or changes story and elements from the other. Sometimes the anime is more rewarding for viewers than the manga for it's audience, but not always. I don't know they each have their pluses and minuses. With manga, what I really like is, generally, you get to decide in your head what a character sounds like and for ones totally b&w what they look like in terms of colour scheme.
Although translations can effect both mediums, like how "Osaka" is portrayed in the translated manga of Azumanga Daioh as compared to the anime. And I think in some ways I prefer the anime of that series so far..
So it really depends on which you prefer and the differences, whether they be enough to be more likely to have someone favor one over the other.

Reading a manga can sometimes kill the suspense in the anime episodes, but then again not always, especially when they go differently. X (aka X/1999) is an example of this. I think both the TV and movie started and finished while the manga was still running, so each version is sure to differ (and on R.O.D again, I think some novels are still coming out maybe). So it doesn't always hurt to do both I think.
I watch anime subbed, so I'd be reading either way. Just the pacing and such may be effected.

What I do find though is manga tends to be considered, by some at least, as closest to what the creator intended for the series and characters.

As to which to partake of first? Again personal preferance. For me it would depend on my mood and if I found I enjoyed one over the other.

Music in anime can totally rock and add to the mood but sometimes I feel if done bad it can take away, whereas the manga more or less has to rely on how well it's put together it gets no aid (well.. save for perhaps fanservice, which I'll address in a bit)..there's the art, the story and characters.. Also a point sometimes there's more or less fanservice in one versus the other (unfortunately (or fortunately depending on what's important to the readers/views) both mediums can sometimes rely far too heavily on this when other things aren't quite up to snuff)...
And depending on the person this can be an influence (one way or another, either attracting or putting off).

Oh and point, look at the different version of Shoujo Kakumei Utena, and Escaflowne. With Utena you have somewhat different art styles with the movie and TV series and then there's the manga too. And each of which kind of reflects the characters and story differently.. And Escaflowne.. I think there's two manga and the TV series and then movie..Each presenting slight to big differences (one manga being a bit more shounen like, kind of like how I think of the movie as more shounen-ish I guess, the other manga I thought I heard was more shoujo-ish, but not sure...I hope I'm remembering right).

Sometimes to get the full experiance you have to partake of it all...Well at least for something you really like.

> And one more thing... if I know my history (and i think i do...) Anime actually existed BEFORE manga did... so maybe anime is the original form. If that counts for anything... <

Hah? I think the big eyes style was started with I think...Osama Tezuka and Astro Boy/Tetsuwon Atom influenced by early Disney cartoons of the day, so there is that to consider..Provided I remember right. But... As far as I know, it generally seems to follow or has in the past quite often that the manga came first and if popular/well made or was thought to have serious potential would then be turned into an anime, be it a TV series, OAV series or even a movie (the latter two tending to have bigger budgets).

Anyway.... back to the main bit... It neither makes you any smarter or less intelligent for choosing one or the other.
Although, for any series you (you in the general sense of the word) are really serious about, it can be a good idea if nothing else to know the differences between the different ways it was presented to give even more ideas as to characters and story and so on.

Me, I'll be doing both fairly often. I love to read as much as I like to watch. n_n

Furthening this thread. If you had to choose between anime or manga first, what would you choose? What if that was the only version of the anime you had to watch. XD Like, what if you only had so much cash and could either get the series on dvd, or the series of manga.

And why.

If it is gonna be one or the other then I choose anime. I read enough at work... when I come home and watch some anime I want to sit back on the couch and take in all the color and full motion action. Also, anime has music that makes it awesome... especially in series like Gunslinger Girls and Samurai Champloo.

I feel you get more information out of reading manga. Such as the case with Initial D. In the manga Shuichi describes how the phsyics of the cars are working what the players are thinking in their minds, their techniques. But in the anime, and this is one reason why i despise watching the anime they say nothing...its just like a race scene and thats it. If you were to watch the anime without reading thew manga you would have no idea what is happening.

Also they may feel superior as in the manga usually come before the anime. That means they probably know everything you do not. They are getting the information ahead of you. Manga is also a more still life of the art so you can look back on it and try to develop you art style more as you maybe copy pictures or cehk out what you liked that was done in this paticular scene.

Although with Anime there is some short of action and music to go along with it. There is no music in Manga so i find myslef sometimes turning on the radio for some mood music.

On a final note. Neither of them are better than each other. Its just what you want to do. Woudl you like to watch it and not get the information you may from reading it. Or would you like to read it and possibly not get the same mood or feeling as you would watching it.

Me. I like reading it.

XD thought I'd put in an extremely lazy point of view that I've altered from talking to 2 other friends (who regretfully don't go to AR) on this issue.

See, Watching anime is much better than reading manga for so many reasons. A crapload of people in the world are forced to multitask and just have no good time to sit back and read a good manga - no matter how much better it MIGHT be. By Watching anime, one can also go chores around the house, do paperwork, draw (for me), or type on the computer talking to people at the same time... I find that Manga is very hard to read And otherwise multitask without giving one a sevier headache.

So that's why anime is also better than manga. XD

Adding onto this. Through anime you don't just get what you read in a manga up on a television screen - moving with a whole cast of voices to the characters we've all gotten to love. But also you get a music track to it. By making anime, you also get CD's for it on the side to listen to off the anime - itself.. AND radio dramas as well. ^^ Adding onto that. Most manga doesn't come in color. =P cept hte covers..

^^

I find manga easier to multitask with, since I like to watch anime with subtitles. So either way, I'm reading.

I usually find that the manga explains things better and has less filler. However, I do like hearing the voices and the music. Anime is usually funnier and more dramatic. I don't mind the fact that manga isn't in color, it makes up for it by being more detailed in picture (shading, little details on things, etc). Then for the covers, those are usually really nice, since they have the same detail as the manga and are in color. I love artbooks for this reason.

Is there a genre of manga out there with HORRIBLE detail in it? Like, you know how some anime just has bad animation or slapstick animation (like ShinTenchi). Can manga have the same problems in your eyes?

If not, is this one more step that says manga is better than anime?

i love reading Manga and watching Anime... but with my time consuming with work and school (and trying to have some wut of a social life) it's easier for me to pick up a GN then sit down and watched subtitled anime...
either way i don't have much time to read/watch either one anymore -_-;;;;;; ::pouts pouts::

i actually enjoy the little love hina anime than manga(which i didnt read past the first GN/first ep DVD(like i think 4ish episodes)

i think i've come to the conclusion at the moment i like marmalade boy's manga AND anime about the same... like i some stuff they added into the anime(i've read all 8 GNs and watched only the first season of anime) but didn't like how they portray miki... yes she's fickle to begin with but anime make her more of a fickled indecisive girl... however i like how they portray miki's and yuu's voice... the order of events sorta is mixed up but in a good way (they introduce a character early on...)

If it's more on the humorous side... i tend to like anime... b/c u can truly hear the reaction of the voice...

Once again, both have their advantages, though sometimes these same advantages come back to bite them.

I'll now elaborate.

In anime, the characters are giving voices which can be fantastic if the voice-actors (or at least most of them) are of good quality, or, as with the R.O.D. dub (I prefer subs normally, but I usually check out the dubs to see how they measure up) when I first heard their voice-actors I felt like someone had taken one of my favorite series and stomped all over it. And with manga, you must use your imagination for the voices. Which can be a good deal better than any voiceactor if you get a good feel for the character, but terrible if you are tired and don't really feel like thinking about it.

The soundtracks(yes, manga basically have them, keep going) also offer very different things. Anime have music tracks and opening/closing themes that are sometimes good, sometimes forgetable, and othertimes downright butchered. This can either had to or take away from your enjoyment of the series. The manga on the other hand, you may or may not think about music in your head; but the real "soundtrack" in manga comes from the sound effects and the inventive words people come up with to explain them (splork!) this can make a comedic scene suddenly golden while the authors usually don't put the soundeffects in the more solemn moments. If the author uses words that are too outlandish in say, a battle sequence, then you might find it awkward to read and follow the action in the scenes.

And for multitasking, for both I like to turn everything off and just enjoy them by myself. If its a manga I'll just lay on my bed with the window open, or if it's anime I'll usually wait until it's late, turn off the lights, and generally enjoy myself. So that's reall a non-issue for me for that reason on top of which; it's pretty hard to multitask if you have to read the subs (and I almost always do) making it only slightly easier to multitask, because your hands are free, than if you're reading a manga.

For story, character, etc. elements of the anime/manga and the differences between the versions when they jump a new medium; it's really a mixed bag. Sometimes one or the other has a lot more filler, sometimes the anime and manga have different plot points (maybe the characters have different love interests in the manga) and some have completely different endings even while keeping these plot points up until then. In the end, I enjoy both. I like to watch/read both because I get additional insight into the story and sometimes you get to see something change that you like, other times you're left disappointed. However, I do have more anime than manga and overall I'd recommend both; I'd just most likely watch the anime first. This is mainly because it's easier for me to check out before I buy it. There are exceptions of course (I just don't like the GTO animation style on screen, I much prefer it on pape with action lines, but that's just personal preference).