Anime versus manga: there has always been an ongoing debate about which one is better and it never seems to cease. As someone who loves both, here are a few differences that I think are relevant to this topic of discussion.
Let's start with manga:
1. There are no fillers.
For the most part, manga follows strictly to the main plot and doesn’t prolong the storyline with random side-stories and flashbacks (*cough "Naruto" *cough). Generally, for shorter anime, this isn’t a problem. But for the longer series, fillers are a common perpetrator.
2. It's ahead of the anime.
There can only be so much patience. Anime is generally adapted from published manga, which means that anime are usually not as far into the story as the manga. Sometimes it’s better off not waiting for that second season (if the anime even gets another season).
3. It's fast.
Let’s be real: not everyone has the time to get through 700+ episodes of "One Piece." Reading manga is definitely the way to go if you just can’t find the time or attention span to watch every episode in a series.
but unfortunately, it has its cons. Such as...
4. There's a lack of color and action.
This is the main downside for me, personally. The lack of color and movement makes it hard for me to fully perceive the scenes. Not to say that the story and art aren't engaging, but sometimes I feel myself skimming through some of the scenes compared to anime where I am immersed into what's going on.
As for anime...
1. There's color.
You don’t have to imagine what your favorite character’s hair color is anymore! Sometimes seeing things in just black and white just doesn’t suffice the eyes, but in anime, the coloring really brings out the life of the environment and its characters.
2. There's a soundtrack.
Music is a strong addition to the overall experience. Having some background melodies playing during particular scenes, whether it be creepy violin strings during a suspenseful moment, epic orchestral music during a fighting scene, or slow piano ballads for those tearjerker moments, heavily impacts the audience’s emotion.
3. There's voice acting.
This is another big factor for the whole experience of anime. In manga, you can only use your imagination for what you think the characters sound like, but in anime, all of that is given to you in a way that rarely disappoints. Japanese voice actors are incredibly animated and will most often give you the best impression of each character.
However, there is a downside.
4. The story is compressed.
Because anime have a set amount of episodes, the story can sometimes be highly compressed, thus leading to less character development, time skips, unsatisfactory endings, and many other annoyances. This is not the case for every anime, but it is a reoccurring issue.
There are many different pros and cons to both anime and manga, and these are just some of the main ones I thought were important. To sum it up, manga will give you the most out of its story but doesn’t give you the color and action that anime does. Watching anime will give you a better overall experience at the cost of story compression. In any case, the best part about all of this is that we can have the best of both worlds. We don’t have to choose one or the other if we don’t want to. I know for me, personally, I prefer anime more, but I read the manga that don’t have anime adaptations. So, anime versus manga: which one do you prefer?
