The Appeal of Manga (vs Anime)

[4RM3D]

Just wondering...

If you compare a movie to a book, you can say that a book has something a movie can never replace: imagination. With manga that's not so much the case. I reckon you can completely replace a manga with an anime adaption and lose nothing in the process. Well, unless you like to imagine the voices... imaginary voices in my head... wait, that doesn't sound quite right. Oh well, you know what I mean. XD

I know manga serve as the foundation for most anime (excluding visual novels and games). Also basing an anime on a manga is good for the existing fan base. So manga is still needed, but I can't really understand why it remains ever so popular.

So, for all you manga fans out there: what is the appeal of manga; especially compared to anime?

Before you answer that, I do have thought of a few points.

- Manga stories are usually longer and expand further than their anime counter part. Okay, if you read the manga besides the anime because you want more and more, that I could understand.

- Manga are better in terms of quality. No, lets assume we talk about faithful anime adaptions here for the sake of this discussion.

- Manga are 'portable' and can be read everywhere. In the old days, yes. Now; smart phones, tablets, etc. No longer a reason.

- Some manga do not have anime versions (yet). True, but that means you are already into manga while there are still many unwatched anime out there. Which leads to my original question

 

[thesilentman]

In manga, I get to go at my own pace, which is godsend for fast readers like me. If the anime wants to impress me, they better pace themselves really well. Few anime have engrossed me for this reason.

Also, the internal voices I think up feel better than the VAs 60% of the time. The other 40% have awesome voices. Really, really awesome voices.

 

[Dr. Cakey]

The short answer would be that, like a book, the manga is the author's original creative intent. An anime adaptation is just that, an adaptation of the original, and filtered through the minds of dozens of other people.

- Manga are better in terms of quality. No, lets assume we talk about faithful anime adaptions here for the sake of this discussion.

Some would argue a faithful adaptation doesn't exist. Generally, an anime only runs for 1-2 seasons (11-26 episodes), whereas a manga is usually serialized continuously until it becomes unpopular. So the anime will only adapt part of the story. If the anime becomes serialized (in the case of Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, etc.) then the anime will eventually catch up to wherever the manga is. As they approach this point, the content of each episode drops as they try to stretch things out and the pacing goes to hell. Then they pause for a filler arc. Therefore, the only faithful anime adaptations inevitably must be completed manga, like in the case of Death Note. Even then, the pacing in the manga and anime are different.

- Manga are 'portable' and can be read everywhere. In the old days, yes. Now; smart phones, tablets, etc. No longer a reason.

I don't know why you would want to watch anime on your phone, but yes, you can...if you have a high-capacity data plan.

- Some manga do not have anime versions (yet). True, but that means you are already into manga while there are still many unwatched anime out there. Which leads to my original question

How about this: a lot of people who prefer manga like it because it takes less time. You can polish off dozens of chapters in an hour. Or you could watch three episodes of an anime.

In Japan, there's also the problem that most anime airs late at night (noitaminA, for instance, is an alternative/SF-focused anime TV block that runs at midnight - Psycho-Pass runs on it, and C - Control in 2011). People, even in Japan, require sleep. This presents a contradiction, which can be resolved by DVD recording reading manga instead.

I know manga serve as the foundation for most anime (excluding visual novels and games). Also basing an anime on a manga is good for the existing fan base. So manga is still needed, but I can't really understand why it remains ever so popular.

There are a lot of people in Japan who think like you, actually. Gen Urobuchi - the writer for Puella Magi Madoka Magica, the Fate/zero light novels, the currently-airing Psycho-Pass, and several visual novels - said in an interview that writers essentially treat light novels as pitches for anime rather than their own work.

 

[Nouw]

As thesilentman said, pacing is a very important feature of books. I learnt this from reading a book Alan Moore wrote on comic books but it still applies here. Personally it's not that big of a deal for me, but I can understand that for some people it is.

 

[4RM3D]

In manga, I get to go at my own pace, which is godsend for fast readers like me. If the anime wants to impress me, they better pace themselves really well. Few anime have engrossed me for this reason.

That's one thing I didn't think of.

Some would argue a faithful adaptation doesn't exist. *snip*

There is an interesting and unique example with Fullmetal Alchemist vs FMA: Brotherhood.

I don't know why you would want to watch anime on your phone, but yes, you can...if you have a high-capacity data plan.

I've watched many series on my iPhone. Also, streaming is generally a bad idea. I just copy the series onto my phone before I leave.

In Japan, there's also the problem that most anime airs late at night (noitaminA, for instance, is an alternative/SF-focused anime TV block that runs at midnight - Psycho-Pass runs on it, and C - Control in 2011). People, even in Japan, require sleep. This presents a contradiction, which can be resolved by DVD recording reading manga instead.

---

There are a lot of people in Japan who think like you, actually. Gen Urobuchi - the writer for Puella Magi Madoka Magica, the Fate/zero light novels, the currently-airing Psycho-Pass, and several visual novels - said in an interview that writers essentially treat light novels as pitches for anime rather than their own work.

Interesting...

 

[Scarim Coral]

Well for one thing, if the anime version of that manga was made a year or so after the manga, the anime will have fillers or filler ish material to expand an episode (pan shot or trivial things happen in it).

Beside one of the cons for the manga is no music/ soundtracks. Some of my favourite soundtrack are from animes based from the manga.

 

[sageoftruth]

I think it's the fact that Manga is panel-by-panel while anime is one continuous animation. When it's panel by panel, you only see the images that the artist considered most significant in that moment. One thing I can say is, brace yourself if you're reading a gory manga. That gruesome moment that takes up half of a second in anime takes up an entire panel in a manga.

 

[ZehMadScientist]

What makes me enjoy manga is the art style, which is (to some extent) lost when it's animated.

With comedies, usually the comedic timing is the catch. Beelzebub, for example, is the most hilarious manga I know of. Excellent timing of punchlines, with very fitting art. Now shift to the anime. I wouldn't believe it was possible to fuck up an adaptation to such levels of terribad if I hadn't seen it for myself.

On the other hand, there are cases of like Gintama. A comedy that very much relies on dialogue, and situational comedy. Funny enough in manga format, but all the crammed words into small panels and less than stellar artwork can be tiring at times. Now switch to Sunrise's adaptation. Excellent voice acting, masterful timing and some neat soundtracks.

Anime adaptations also have a nasty habit of cutting stuff out due to time constraints, or at the other end of the spectrum, use fillers. But the animation of big fights with epic soundtracks is just something manga doesn't have. However, manga lets the reader decide the pacing (sort of anyway).

Both media have their virtues, and their respective cons. Therefore I can't really say which I prefer, though I'm leaning towards anime because I'm a huge audiophile, and I love me some inspired animation (Shaft is my favorite studio.)

And then there are rare beasts like Monster, of which the manga and anime are practically one and the same.

 

[SckizoBoy]

What makes me enjoy manga is the art style, which is (to some extent) lost when it's animated.

Boom...(!)

Unfortunately, and it can be veeeeeeeeeeeery obvious with the shit adaptations, but sometimes the animation can be very lazy. Lack of expressiveness in the eyes, only mouth moving and even then with two positions (slightly open and more open) counting for speaking animation? Yeah... sometimes can be a real killer, that.

Whereas with manga, you can very easily imagine the characters speaking and the artist has already given you the template of how they look, with various expressions etc.

That said, I still tend to watch more than I read... *shrug*

 

[LobsterFeng]

I'm a huge fan of the One Piece manga but when I tried watching the anime I couldn't stand it. (And yes I watched the original, not the 4kids dub.)

When an anime is based on manga (or should I say because it is based on manga?) I always felt that it was like watching a clip show of the manga with slight movements of the arms and lips. And the occasional fight happens every once in a while too, which usually comes at the price of a gigantic dump in the animation department. A lot of anime is incredibly slow paced for me and the animation just doesn't impress me, it just reminds me of how I could be reading the much better manga at my own pace.

There's obviously exceptions to the rule, like I thoroughly enjoyed Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, but I feel like anime should spend more time trying to be an anime instead of just being an animated manga. Hopefully that doesn't only make sense in my ridiculous mind.

As thesilentman said, pacing is a very important feature of books. I learnt this from reading a book Alan Moore wrote on comic books but it still applies here. Personally it's not that big of a deal for me, but I can understand that for some people it is.

Your avatar is frozen on the girl's butt for some reason. I think I'm the only one experiencing this.

 

[Smertnik]

It depends, really. If the adaptation stays true to the original material and doesn't leave out too much like, say, Monster (and has decent animation quality), I'd probably prefer watching the adaptation, rather than reading the manga in question. Otherwise the original remains the superior options.
And of course only a fraction of manga gets adapted and often you can't listen to sound on the way and sometimes you don't like the animation style/quality and sometimes the adaptation plain sucks, etc etc etc.

 

[LobsterFeng]

How about this: a lot of people who prefer manga like it because it takes less time. You can polish off dozens of chapters in an hour. Or you could watch three episodes of an anime.

I'll agree with this point too. I was able to read through about 50 volumes of One Piece in less than a month. Imagine how long it would have taken if I tried catching up that far by watching the anime? *shivers* I mean there's enough material in a single volume for about 3-5 episodes of an anime. (Probably about 5-7 episodes if you're dealing with a Shonen like Naruto.)

 

[Nouw]

As thesilentman said, pacing is a very important feature of books. I learnt this from reading a book Alan Moore wrote on comic books but it still applies here. Personally it's not that big of a deal for me, but I can understand that for some people it is.

Your avatar is frozen on the girl's butt for some reason. I think I'm the only one experiencing this.

Well in that case, I will say it myself. Merry Christmas .

 

[Beautiful End]

How about this: a lot of people who prefer manga like it because it takes less time. You can polish off dozens of chapters in an hour. Or you could watch three episodes of an anime.

I'll agree with this point too. I was able to read through about 50 volumes of One Piece in less than a month. Imagine how long it would have taken if I tried catching up that far by watching the anime? *shivers* I mean there's enough material in a single volume for about 3-5 episodes of an anime. (Probably about 5-7 episodes if you're dealing with a Shonen like Naruto.)

In my case, it's the opposite. I've tried getting into manga and I just can't. The main reason is that I feel like I can easily finish a manga in no time at all, whereas anime lasts a bit longer. The episodes force me to wait and pace myself. But if it's up to me, then I'll continue reading the manga until I'm done. It's the same problem I have with videogames; I can finish a $60 game in no time at all but then I'll feel empty or sad or something. If it lasts longer, I'll feel slightly more satisfied.

I don't care much about style or anything. It's just that. *shrugs*

 

[DoPo]

Well, consider the issue of pacing from another angle - episodes. It's pretty rare you'll have something like The Garden of Sinners, which is basically 7 movies of vastly different length (first one was ~40 minutes, I think, some of the others run for about 2 hours, the rest are between an hour and hour and a half, IIRC) - mostly you have ~20 minute episodes. How do you split something into 20 minute content chunks? You can probably do an episode and put a "to be continued..." at the end if it runs for more, but the total content would still not be exactly divisible by 20. You'll end up filling the episodes with random stuff, or pieces of the next content, probably losing the sence of fluidity you can have with manga. Compare this to reading a self contained arc piece by its own.

Of course not all manga actually is like that, but I imagine there is enough of it that people prefer.

 

[Siege_TF]

The anime is usually toned down in terms of language, violence, nudity, etc, compared to the manga. Early Pokemon would be the prime example.

 

[gigastar]

Manga are typically ahead of anime, plus in order to stay relevant manga get to be much more violent on a regular basis than anime usually can.

The anime is usually toned down in terms of language, violence, nudity, etc, compared to the manga. Early Pokemon would be the prime example.

Another good example is Bleach where most of the large, bloody injuries were replaced by crosshatching in the anime.

On that note, assuming the anime adaptation makes it that far, how will they handle animating Slingeneyer's antics in To Aru Majutsu no Index...

 

[Vault101]

you can read manga on a bus? during your lunchbreak? as a medium it does not require electronics or anythign expensive?