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Is the manga version always better than the anime version?

mdauben wrote:

All the manga that are adapted from anime I have ever seen seem to be amazingly bad.

You can't have seen many good anime then, since I think I can safely say that the majority of anime are adaptations of manga, though certain there are exceptions (and also a decent number adapted from other sources).

(although when the two are made in tandem, like Sadamoto's Evangelion manga, the results aren't too bad).

I echo mdauben's statement for the most part on anime to manga adaptions. FLCL, Cowboy Bebop, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Samurai Champloo, RahXephon, etc. are just utterly underwhelming compared to their animated counterparts.

marie, you have it backwards, he said that manga adapted FROM anime are bad, not the other way around. And I hate to agree, but I haven't really seen an example where that ISN'T the case (although when the two are made in tandem, like Sadamoto's Evangelion manga, the results aren't too bad).

Sometimes when I look up a certain anime title, and I would see comments about it, a handful of people would always say "The manga version was better, yada yada yada"

Occasionally you might see a manga to anime adaption that turns out for the better, but generally it's because of great art and animation working together, along with wonderful music. Sprinkle on some good direction and you might have a winner.

I echo mdauben's statement for the most part on anime to manga adaptions. FLCL, Cowboy Bebop, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Samurai Champloo, RahXephon, etc. are just utterly underwhelming compared to their animated counterparts.

I tend to read manga OR watch anime. Going from one version to the other, y'tend to notice similarity and differences as far as content is concerned. That got a bit annoying -- especially when a series turned out to be... not-so-great as the counterpart.

Even though I haven't seen the manga versions of the anime you just mentioned, I don't think they'd be that good either. These series are full of action, and I think that's hard to portray in stills.

jetz wrote:

Even though I haven't seen the manga versions of the anime you just mentioned, I don't think they'd be that good either. These series are full of action, and I think that's hard to portray in stills.

Any artist worth his salt can still illustrate action well, even in a "still" artform like manga. If you don't believe me, run (don't walk!) down to your nearest comic/book shop and buy Blade of the Immortal this instant.

You can't have seen many good anime then,

I wouldn't be so stupid by asking a question when I already know the answer.

Why do teachers exist then ?

marie-antoinette wrote:

You can't have seen many good anime then,

On the contrary, I have seen lots of good anime and I know that a large percentage (if not a majority) of anime has it's sourse in manga.

I don't think I have ever seen an anime that was adapted from a manga, that was better than the source material, however. Some of the best anime I have seen was as good as the manga it came from, but none of it has ever better than the manga.

I don't think this is due to any unconsious bias on my part for manga over anime. Given the choice, I will usually prefer to watch an anime to reading a manga, but the constraints of time and money often require anime adaptations to trim back on the depth of character and plot development that manga artists can routinly indulge in. And I consider character and plot development key elements of a good story.

But what I was really saying was that when the anime comes first, the manga adaptations seem to be universally bad.

Sure, it's more fluid in anime, but in manga, it lets you break it down frame by frame, to see the skills of the characters and the skills of the artist. And sometimes, the stillness adds to the effect, such as in Claymore.

jetz wrote:

I wouldn't be so stupid by asking a question when I already know the answer.

Urd wrote:

Why do teachers exist then ?

Well, I thought it was funny Urd