Anime or Manga

[CylieDanny]

Do you prefer to binge read a series, or watch it instead?

Me personally, I prefer to read the manga, I can plow through a whole series, or half one in a day lol. Sometimes the manga is a bit better then the anime, like for me, I read the manga No.6 before the anime, and it was such a let down for me from the manga.

How about you?

 

[nyx~]

I guess I would go with watching the anime as I haven't read as much as I have watched series. I usually watch the anime and then read the manga if I enjoyed it enough and want to know what happens next without waiting for the next season to get animated. I definitely do usually prefer the manga over the anime though for the ones I've read (for example Toilet Bound Hanako-kun, I'm obsessed with that manga lol).

 

[Alienfish]

Generally manga since I'm more of a reader than watcher when it comes to series. Though there are definitely animes I've enjoyed a lot.

 

[bestfriendsally]

i like both :3 depends what it is, though :>

 

[-Blue-]

They're both great. Anime and animation in general tends to usually add more to the scene. Like I never watched the new Amazon series Invincible, but in the series the villain and 'dead' superhero clash one last time. The comic ends it abruptly in like five panels, but in the animation the team gave it a lot more justice to their grudge match.

 

[Midoriya]

I prefer anime strongly as I don't read manga.

 

[Croconaw]

I prefer anime. I’m not much of a reader in general, so I’m not a fan of manga.

 

[tessa grace]

I prefer anime but I've read multiple manga. I follow the MHA manga each week, and I own a few of the hanako-kun books from the series (#9 is impossible to find and it's frustrating) I've also read the entirety of the Ouran High School Host Club manga. I watch more anime but each manga I've read was really good. Still, I prefer animation and voice actors, plus manga is really expensive to legally obtain.

 

[Corrie]

I prefer anime most of the time as I like animation, sound, music, and voice acting but I do read manga too, especially if the anime doesn't cover the entire series.

 

[TheSillyPuppy]

I prefer the full immersive experience of anime. I also struggle with paying attention to all the visual details in manga (can't scan every x number of words like with books).

 

[Xeleron]

Anime is usually my go-to, however, I have become more interested in manga as of late. I remember a while ago when Beastars came out, the first episode grabbed my full attention, and I immediately went to go read the manga and I caught up with the English release in 1 to 2 days lol Pretty much the same thing happened after I watched the first episode of In/Spectre and I can say that the manga is far superior.

 

[LadyDestani]

I prefer anime because I think it's more accessible than manga. I believe everyone who says that the manga is better in most cases. Anime has filler episodes and oftentimes doesn't get a very good ending, if it gets an ending at all, because it gets too far ahead of the manga. And I actually love reading, so that part wouldn't bother me.

But I never got into manga because I expected it to wind up similar to my comic collecting phase in the late 90's/early 2000's. I always get into things late, usually well after they've finished putting out new material. By then, it can be very difficult and expensive to track down older issues or volumes. I have multiple partially completed comic book story arcs because I either couldn't find all the issues, or when I did find a missing issue it cost way more than I was willing to pay for it. And I won't read a story arc until I have all of the parts to complete it.

So it was a very frustrating experience and I figured it would be the same or even more difficult with manga.

 

[CrankyCupcake]

Um, I do both sometimes.

Most of the time, I get to see the anime first and, if I fell in love with it, I'll look for the manga to read as well. This happened with, for instance, Rurouni Kenshin, Mushishi, Slam Dunk, Monster, Berserk, Blue Exorcist, Jujutsu Kaisen, One Piece.

I have come across a lot of good stories with the manga first but, for me, that's mostly the BL stuff, most of which doesn't get to be made into anime. My manga reading habit took not just time but space. I used to own hundreds of manga. Three years ago, I gave most of my collection away. I no longer buy physical manga but read them on official sites. Chainsaw Man is a manga series I started reading on viz.com last year. I finished it in a little over a week. And then I learned that MAPPA is making the anime. Can't wait. I wonder how closely they'll follow the original material because it's super violent. Currently I'm reading PPPPPP which is a fairly new title. Love the theme of music, quirky art style and cast of eccentric characters.

Because the manga is the story creator's original vision, I'm always intrigued and want to read it. Twenty-plus years ago, Rurouni Kenshin was a huge hit. But the anime series stopped short of the final arc when it was cancelled after a lackluster anime-only filler arc failed to draw the fans back. This drove me to hunt down, buy and read the manga. Ten years ago, the first Rurouni Kenshin live action film was released. Last year, the last of the five movies tracing the entirety of Kenshin's story was released. (I watched on Netflix.) As a longtime fan, I'll say I'm finally sated and satisfied. The films surpassed my expectations. So my recommendation is, for Rurouni Kenshin, read the manga. Then watch the films. Kenshin is one of the most interesting and memorable story characters I've ever come across.

Over the years, I believe I see a growing reluctance to rely on filler material as an anime series waits for the mangaka to continue his work. Because nobody likes that. I'm happy to see more faithful adaptations. This is true in some cases even when the original material is not manga but light novels, for example, in the case of Eighty Six.

I'm sorry for the wall of text.

 

[DaisyFan]

I like both of them, but I would say anime the most. Although, the ones that I read the manga before watching the anime were Fruits Basket and K-ON.

 

[.: Meri :.]

I like both! Typically I wind up preferring the manga, but sometimes I'll start with the anime to see if I'll like it before buying any volumes. I think in theory, I like anime better, because of course I'd love to see my favorite scenes gorgeously animated in full-color and sound... but that's not always how it works out. ^^; Animation can be choppy or off-model, scenes can be stretched out (sometimes to a ridiculous extent) or changed/cut altogether, etc.* But when things are adapted really well, it's incredible.
*I've also seen a couple "reverse" cases in manga where the creator had to rush through a part they wanted to focus more on, or cut part of their original plans, and I love when the anime version can create something closer to the story the author wanted to show.

 

[Dunquixote]

I like both though I have not been doing either lately. When it comes to specific series, I do have preferences like Fruits Basket, I love the manga. Idk why, but I couldn’t get into even the new anime version of it; may make a point to try it again though. One Piece - I like both. Manga makes scenes significantly shorter so some scenes like Nico Robin’s background seemed more tear jerking animated than while reading it. I love how the manga sometimes have side stories at certain chapters (some chapters have a full illustration rather just instantly going to the story). But the bad thing about the anime, they repeat flashbacks more than needed which take up 90% of an episode sometimes, and drag on some fights or scenes too long. Also, most of the filler episodes sucked (I avoid those completely now that I know the author has nothing to do with them aside from saying yes they can do something or no).

 

[-Blue-]

@Dunquixote I feel like some of the filler in One Piece is a lot better than most Anime filler I have seen. Then again I mostly base this off of Naruto filler, which is just dreadful to watch lol. I'm not saying it is amazing. I think the filler arc where they get stuck in Navarone was my favorite and really good. Kind of on par with the canon material. I'm not as far as most people with One Piece, but I did take up reading the books to and where I am in the Anime they never once referenced how Luffy got the scar on his cheek, but do it right away in the first chapter. So sometimes you can learn a bit more by reading the magna.

But at the same time, they also give more time to establish scenes like you said and it makes it more impactful since it's not like it just speeds by.

 

[Dunquixote]

@Dunquixote I feel like some of the filler in One Piece is a lot better than most Anime filler I have seen. Then again I mostly base this off of Naruto filler, which is just dreadful to watch lol. I'm not saying it is amazing. I think the filler arc where they get stuck in Navarone was my favorite and really good. Kind of on par with the canon material. I'm not as far as most people with One Piece, but I did take up reading the books to and where I am in the Anime they never once referenced how Luffy got the scar on his cheek, but do it right away in the first chapter. So sometimes you can learn a bit more by reading the magna.

But at the same time, they also give more time to establish scenes like you said and it makes it more impactful since it's not like it just speeds by.

I do agree the filler is not as bad as naruto, from what I’ve seen. Ah I almost forgot about that episode; that one is pretty good! I liked I think two in addition to the one you linked . I haven’t watched too much of Naruto’s anime since I honestly prefer the manga (fan translated since some of the funnier scenes in the physical books aren’t fully translated like pages of makeout paradise). I noticed even in the uncut version some scenes were kinda censored, not to mention the sexy no jutsu didn’t seem as funny as in the manga and other things.

 

[-Blue-]

I do agree the filler is not as bad as naruto, from what I’ve seen. Ah I almost forgot about that episode; that one is pretty good! I liked I think two in addition to the one you linked . I haven’t watched too much of Naruto’s anime since I honestly prefer the manga (fan translated since some of the funnier scenes in the physical books aren’t fully translated like pages of makeout paradise). I noticed even in the uncut version some scenes were kinda censored, not to mention the sexy no jutsu didn’t seem as funny as in the manga and other things.

I'll be honest, I mostly watched Naruto for Gai and Lee haha...they were just such a weird addition, but so awesome at the same time. When I look back on the anime the scenes with those two stand out the most. Gai and Kakashi racing, Lee's fight with Gaara, drunken Lee (the filler drunk has some of the silliest and hilarious movements)

 

[savanniebananie]

I prefer manga over anime. I'm a huge fan of reading, so it's more attention-grabbing for me. When I'm watching an anime, I tend to lose interest for some reason. Though when I'm reading a manga, I'll read all of it in one sitting. My local library has about 2 walls full of mangas, so I love going and getting some!