Is it worth the watch?

By Gabrielle Fernandez

Staff Writer

Kaiu Shirai (The Promised Neverland)

Most likely if you’ve ever watched an anime, there is a manga that came before it to guide the animated series through all the plots, characters, and arcs it had. I dare you to think of a single anime that doesn’t have a manga and if you think it doesn’t then look it up, I’m sure you’ll find it. A lot of anime have had amazing adaptations from manga like JoJo part 2, Hunter x Hunter, One Punch man (season 1), and quite a few more. Though it has always been a regular belief that manga is just better than anime, why is that?

Anime is a style of japanese film and television that has become very, very popular throughout the years with kids, teens, and adults alike. Mangas are a style of japanese comic books that have also become very popular and are a catalyst for all anime being aired. When it comes down to it, anime are more popularized by the public however  manga is the one that most anime fans can agree on of it’s quality and plot. The main reason why people believe this is true is because it’s the original story and quite a few anime drive away from it.

Animes like Fruits Basket, Tokyo Ghoul, and The Promised Neverland (season 2) are big anime that didn’t follow the plot of the original manga. To an outside viewer’s standpoint, unaware of the manga, it seems great to watch and sit down to enjoy. While these anime are fun to watch, it’s bothersome how the plot was constructed. An obvious reason is the budget for production of the anime and companies taking creative freedom of the anime. Only a certain amount of money can go into each project and some companies don’t take full advantage of it. Not only that but it’s easier just to cut out major arcs and scenes from anime because of time, money, and animation. 

Animating a full fledged series is no easy task, which is why a lot of companies take shortcuts when constructing a series and a great example is The Promised Neverland (season 2). Fans of the series, including myself, noticed the complete plot change in season two where they reconstructed the series to cover up a major arc in the story. Whether this was to shorten the season, save money, or decrease the amount of animating, it was a horrible decision made on the company’s part. 

Though quite a few anime have failed from remaining close to the manga, many are still amazing to watch and will give the viewer a great experience. At the end of the day, people will have different opinions of anime and manga, as long as they’re happy then it doesn’t really matter. With that being said, here are some anime recommendations I have like Demon Slayer, Toilet-bound Hanako-kun, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, and Kaguya-sama : Love is War. As for manga there is a huge variety but Hell’s Paradise, Mieruko-chan, Kyokou Suiri, and The Water Dragon’s bride really take the cake for me in terms of plot and art style. Anime Vs. Manga will always be an ongoing discussion nonetheless just watch and read whatever you please because as long as it makes you happy, then that’s all that matters.