Anime Fans Discuss Which Anime Did Not Do the Manga Justice in Online Venting Session

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Ely Bulnes • Writer and Editor
Oct 25, 2024 11:30 AM EDT

Welcome, anime and manga fans. It's no secret that most of the time, the book is better than the movie. Even the best of film adaptations, such as The Lord of the Rings movies, have their flaws and are generally regarded as lesser than their book counterparts. It can be really difficult to translate the written form to a visual medium like film. Most well-regarded book adaptations are not scene-for-scene copies of their book counterpart - instead, they are movies that managed to capture the themes, vibes, plot, and characters of the books. 

So, what about manga and anime? Both are visual mediums, and in a way, mangas are kind of like a published storyboard. Surely, every anime should be a faithful adaptation of its source material, given that one could just animate scenes frame-for-frame. Well, unfortunately, some animes end up deviating greatly from their source; sometimes for no particular reason, and often because the anime ends up catching up to an unfinished manga and is pressured into coming up with their own ending. Whatever the reason, some anime don't hold a candle to their original source material, and in the thread below, anime fans discuss which ones and why. Scroll down for an insightful discussion!

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  • 01
    r/animequestions u/Watchdog_the_God ⚫ 52d Name that series
    via u/Watchdog_the_God
  • 02
    THE MANGA THE ANIME
    via u/Watchdog_the_God
  • 03
    Breakfeast-Bo_23.52d Deadman Wonderland. Especially considering the anime got cancelled after the first season where they removed a charecter that ended up having plot significance in a later arc. Reply 1155
    via u/Breakfeast-Bo_23
  • 04
    Dumig. 52d They could reintroduce the character if we ever get a season 2, but the overall anime was quite faithful to the manga and had great animation. Getting cancelled was what done the anime in, not anime itself. 43
    via u/Dumig
  • 05
    faminente. 52d i lowkey liked the anime i was shaking and sobbing by episode 6 в
    via u/Faminente
  • 06
    Ozaaaru 51d • The anime was goated just needed more seasons. Manga was definitely better but the anime wasn't a flop. ... Ŵ 2 3
    via u/Ozaaaru
  • 07
    Dash_Ryzo 52d The Promised Neverland. Reply 252
    via u/Dash_Ryzo
  • 08
    The enemy. 52d Worst downgrade between season 1 to 2 I've ever seen. ... 103
    via u/the__enemy
  • 09
    PyroArca • 52d I still haven't watched season 2 because I heard how atrocious it was honestly. I don't think ive seen a single person who said it was even decent ← B 3 3 33
    via u/PyroArca
  • 10
    Redacted_G1iTCH • 52d Berserk ... ← Reply 305
    via u/Redacted_G1iTCH
  • 11
    VinSh4dy • 52d I still like the 1997 anime, even though it cuts out some of my favourite moments of the golden age, I think they were still able to capture what Berserk is really all about 71
    via u/VinSh4dy
  • 12
    MarcLovell ⚫ 52d I can't die until I see a good berserk adaptation ← & ↑ 3 ♡
    via u/MarcLovell
  • 13
    GoldenTrash91 • 51d Likewise. Even if the anime was properly adapted, Miura's art is hard to animate. Maybe not as difficult as animating Takehiko Inoue's art. ← & Ŷ 2♡ 23
    via u/GoldenTrash91
  • 14
    MidAnim3Wxtcher • 52d God first, then Goku Please give my Tokyo Ghoul a real adaptation please ... Reply 229 ↓
    via u/MidAnim3Wxtcher
  • 15
    Helix_Zer02.52d I love how the animes being referenced were those who decided to deviate from the manga for some strange reason ... ← 48
    via u/Helix_Zer02
  • 16
    0-0 identifyed 52d This is like the 5 times I've seen someone say this as I'm 2 episodes into session 2, and I'm starting to think maybe I should stop watching it ... 12
    via u/identifyed
  • 17
    glue--eater. 52d Yeah, you should. Season 2 is where it really starts going downhill. I recommend reading the manga from the start though, it's an easy 10/10 imo.
    via u/glue—eater
  • 18
    sonicmalley • 52d Season 1 is actually decently faithful if not a little rushed it's season 2 onwards that really deviate. Season 2 does a specific moment at the end wrong and that moment holds so much more weight in the manga.
    via u/sonicmalley
  • 19
    SadLaser 52d A LITTLE rushed?! They adapt 66 chapters in 12 episodes. A good pace for episode to chapter ratio is usually around 2 chapters, up to 3 depending on the action on the pages. Tokyo Ghoul is sitting at a cool 5.5 chapters an episode with some awkward fluctuations where it's even more rushed at a few points. Being faithful isn't the only thing that matters. ... 843
    via u/SadLaser
  • 20
    Watch-behide-you37 • 52d Roseria vampire i didn't read the manga but i heard that's better then the anime Reply 52 ♡
    via u/Wath-behide-you37
  • 21
    Aggravating-Click460 • 52d The Rosario+Vampire manga is leagues better than the anime (and don't get me started on its sequel). ← ধी ট25
    via u/Aggravating-Click460
  • 22
    Dumig. 52d Not only leagues better, but entire dimensions better, cause the anime is almost nothing like the manga at a certain point. ... ← 13
    via u/Dumig
  • 23
    Ethan1chosen • 52d Record of Ragnarok. The manga is top tier and I'm I the studio that animated anime poorly. I don't blame Netflix since they are distributing the series. I like to see ROR Godhood by Mappa or Madhouse. ← Reply +74
    via u/Ethan1Chosen
  • 24
    52d Took way longer than it should've to find this comment 18
    via Reddit
  • 25
    dragon_bacon • 52d It had pretty good animation for a PowerPoint presentation.
    via u/dragon_bacon
  • 26
    Ethan1chosen • 52d Actually, I liked the art style of the anime, it's really good and I wish they do the same thing to animation. Imagine Toei Animations animates ROR just like Wano Arc animation 433 зд
    via u/Ethan1chosen
  • 27
    Creative-Crazy-6489.52d Man a lot of my friends used to tell me it was so good then I watch it & the fights & it's basically screenshot of fights, I was highly upset lol the manga is fiya flame tho. ... ← Ŷ 3 ♡
    via u/Creative-Crazy-6489
  • 28
    DEADSKULLZ31. 52d Soul Eater, but only the ending. The anime caught up to the manga and just decided to go a different route and made a bad ending. Reply 63
    via u/DEADSKULLZ31
  • 29
    Dumig. 52d with The anime only ending arc was not bad, just that compared to the actual manga ending arc, the reveals and awesome character transformations, it pales in comparison. ... 26
    via u/Dumig
  • 30
    Dangerous_raddish • 52d The works of Junji Ito ... Reply 21
    via u/Dangerous_raddish
  • 31
    AllKnowingFloridaMan • 52d Yeah, Horror in anime is just sooooooo hard to pull off 10
    via u/AllKnowingFloridaMan
  • 32
    AlwaysTired97.51d I've heard that his particular art and writing style doesn't really translate well into anime. ← a ☆ 1♡
    via u/AlwaysTired97
  • 33
    DarkBrother24 • 52d One Piece Reply 24
    via u/DarkBrother24
  • 34
    Anonymous_Guinea Pig • 52d Absolutely. To give some context, me and a couple friends worked out the maths, and if the OP anime had the same chapter: episode ratio as other popular animes like AoT and JJBA it would currently be roughly 364 episodes long with no filler. I like One Piece, but the manga is definitely better than the anime. ... 24
    via u/Anonymous_GuineaPig
  • 35
    PrestigiousError7150.51d They spend like half the eps on unnecessary flash backs, opening and recap on previous eps and they try to make it up for hype moments like big fights. I don't remember King vs Zoro ep having a single recap
    via u/PrestigiousError7150
  • 36
    Brook420 52d Well there are absolutely points where the anime is way better than the manga (like episode 1015), but it's just horrible inconsistent and riddled with filler moments. ↑ 3 ♡
    via u/Brook420
  • 37
    Zeverish 52d The One Piece anime is still "good" because it's One Piece and One Piece just rocks. But my God the anime has so many flaws I really can't blame people not being able to get into One Piece if that's their only exposure. It has a lot of good elements, One Pace proves that. I frankly can't imagine One Piece with out the music from the anime, the voice actor, and the coloring. Oda's work in the manga clears everything. The anime is kind of a victim of its own success and longevity. It'
    via u/Zeverish
  • 38
    MarineMelonArt. 51d I love reading it, but I didn't grow up with it, so the early stuff is just so rough for me. I maintain that a remade one piece with proper pacing and good animation all the way through would be my favorite show ever ← 1 2 3
    via u/MarineMelonArt
  • 39
    new_interest_here • 52d Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun I'm just annoyed by the skipped arcs. They're gonna do Clock Keepers next season because duh, but Young Exorcist was kind of helpful for Kou's development, and without it he's just sort of suddenly fine with Hanako Also I just think the manga is paced better (I dropped the anime first time honestly, which is wild in retrospect with how much I love the manga) Reply Ŵ 11 ♡
    via u/new_interest_here
  • 40
    Cheezburger Image 10410266368
    via u/Gedaru
  • 41
    Cheezburger Image 10410266880
    via u/Dumig
  • 42
    chainer1216 • 52d Almost all of them. There's a reason why manga readers are insufferable, they're right, but reading the manga is a level of investment and effort beyond what most people are comfortable with. Reply 24
    via u/Chainer1216
  • 43
    mackattacktheyak • 52d Demon slayer has barebones art and writing, the anime improves on it on every possible way. Like just the addition of music elevates the story beyond what's in the manga. ... 19
    via u/mackattacktheyack
  • 44
    TeeMR 52d This is now a counter example thread. Frieren's anime massively improve on the manga which is already insanely good. The writing is phenomenal in the original material but the backgrounds are generic, so are most character designs. Don't get me started on the fights scenography, character placement is static as A true journey D 8 5 ♡
    via u/TeeMR
  • 45
    diccboy90 48d I dont know if this is an unpopular opinion or not but the Attack on Titan anime is leagues beyond the manga, even if I do think the manga shines a bit brighter in some parts ... 13
    via u/diccboy90

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