Anime that is better than its Original Source

Apr 3, 2017 4:10 PM

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Jul 2016

A few that haven't been named yet: Baccano!, Gungrave, Katanagatari, GitS: Stand Alone Complex (especially Second Gig)

I don't know if Durarara!! and x2 are necessarily *better* than the LNs but they are about as perfect of an adaptation as is possible and I'll give them that

I'm also gonna go ahead and say that as much as I enjoy reading JoJo, the Studio David anime is an incredible adaptation and the action flows supremely well.

Also, if you treat them as adaptations of original shorts, Summer Wars (from the Bokura no War Game Digimon film), and Eve no Jikan (from Mizu no Kotoba)

Apr 3, 2017 4:46 PM

#102

15poundfish

Offline

Jun 2015

1949

Almost every anime adaptation is better than its source material if its adapted from manga. 4-koma manga that have no stories and are completely random in its source material become coherent stories with voice acting, better timed jokes and improved art quality. Anime creators also cut the fluff from the manga and filler making it more appealing than reading 15-20 straight chapters of filler in a manga. If you like Kyo ani anime try reading the mangas, they are so bad in comparison its like why bother reading the manga after watching the anime. The only medium where anime adaptations might not be better than their source material are novel adaptations. Novels that use first person POV story telling are difficult to translate into anime and descriptions of character interactions often are not animated in the anime adaptation because of laziness or budget reasons.

Apr 3, 2017 5:01 PM

#103

Freshie

Offline

Aug 2010

Excel Saga, where the flip side anime that pulled it off worse would be anime triple AAA shounen show bar AoT or Death Note. Bleach with billion of filler arcs, naruto has ton of filler episodes, and one piece with intentionally god awful pacing and filler so it doesn't go past the manga.

Signatures Suck

Apr 3, 2017 5:45 PM

#104

Kiwa1412

Offline

Nov 2012

Claymore. Even the anime came out before manga was finished.

(Well, I wish they would make more of anime, but nah in this ages.)

Apr 3, 2017 6:00 PM

#105

Phrixos1

Offline

Aug 2015

I fought the Naruto vs. Pein fight episodes was a lot better than the manga version. I found the Jiraiya and Tsunade farewell better than the manga version.

Apr 3, 2017 6:21 PM

#106

ashfrliebert

Offline

May 2015

2360

Louise_Francoise said:
Anime that is better than its Original Source

Nope.

Attack on Titan maybe. Hunter x Hunter for sure is a better adaptation, but it's unfinished so that's a disadvantage going forward. And I don't think anyone seriously considers K-On's 4koma to be better than the series, though I haven't actually completed that one in full. JoJo is also very faithful, and the manga's art doesn't really kick off into amazeballs land until Steel Ball Run. I've watched the first three seasons, eh, maybe it's better, but if it ever gets to Steel Ball Run it won't hold up at this rate.

YYH...maybe? If I had to recommend either, I wouldn't really prioritize one over the other. Fooly Cooly and Gurren Lagann are OBVIOUSLY far superior to the manga, but including anime-to manga adaptations is cheating.

I haven't actually finished OPM...buut it holds up pretty well to the manga.

Edit: Oh yeah, I'll say this. The Beserk Anime is disadvantaged by the fact that it cuts material out, but the original anime would be better than the manga otherwise, the Golden's Age art is great, but not amazing. Not until Volume 12 anyway.

Vindikas said:
One Piece

Yeah.......*flies away*

If the animation in 2006 was a liiiitle bit better, I might agree. Everything after that though, well..probably the best example of this *not* being the case. Besides Dragon Ball Z.

ashfrliebertApr 3, 2017 6:43 PM

ゴロゴロゴロゴロゴロゴロゴロゴロゴロゴロゴロゴロゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴ

Apr 3, 2017 6:40 PM

#107

Adeiheid

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Jul 2015

130

The One Punch manga is amazing but seeing all those detailed action scenes from the manga animated is a real treat.

Apr 3, 2017 6:44 PM

#108

Mei-o_Scarlett

Offline

Oct 2015

16319

baccano
hunter x hunter and aot
shitgatsu

Hottest Take Ever, fite me: Fairy Tail is better than Seiya, Bungou Stray and Hitman Reborn

Apr 3, 2017 6:47 PM

#109

ashfrliebert

Offline

May 2015

2360

OPM animation *had* to be as good as it was, or it stood no chance whatsoever. Miura's art made *panel by panel* animations look good. Nothing less would've been worth it.

edit: Murata.

ashfrliebertApr 4, 2017 10:42 AM

ゴロゴロゴロゴロゴロゴロゴロゴロゴロゴロゴロゴロゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴ

Apr 3, 2017 7:25 PM

#110

GamerUnglued

Offline

Dec 2015

600

SeibaaHomu said:
KyoAni's K-On! anime is sooooooo much better than the manga that it's not funny.

Way more focus on the core themes, all those great anime original side stories, much more emotional depth, the fluid animation that in itself adds a ton of personality to the characters, the voice acting, THE MUSIC. THE MUSIC.

I remember saying something dumb on this very forum years ago about how time would prove the 'haters' (I was 15 at the time so I still used words like that) wrong. The people crying about it being mindless fluff have pretty much entirely shut up, and now you've got everyone from industry people like the director of Shirobako to wannabe elitists like DigiBro (And his equally pretentious followers) praising it to the high heavens.

First off, the guy who responded 'We'll see' can get fucked. But the point I'm trying to make is that none of this praise would exist if it wasn't something special. You don't hear shows like KinMoza or A-Channel get that praise because they completely lack what made K-On! truly amazing. Even Azumanga Daioh doesn't have what K-On! does. And where does all the credit go for making it so great? Yep, KyoAni.

Honestly, I'm far more interested in meeting Naoko Yamada than I am to meet Kakifly, the mangaka of K-On!

I completely agree (minus the Digibro part, since he openly says that there is no objectivity and his taste is not superior. He actually just put out a video on the subject of K-On's adaptation being better than the manga.), and I'd die to meet Yamada some day. The anime has so much more personality, and it becomes one of the most relatable and emotional experiences out there thanks to the addition of relatable themes, overarching narrative, and detail put into the characters and setting to make them feel real.

Apr 3, 2017 7:31 PM

#111

GamerUnglued

Offline

Dec 2015

600

Zelkiiro said:
I wasn't the biggest fan of K-On!, but when one of Digibro's videos spurred my curiosity in the original manga, I realized just how much I took for granted because the manga is shiiiiiiiiiiiit. I think I just might finish Season 2 now.

Do it. Season 2 is unequivocally better than season 1 in every category, especially when the themes and emotional crux start to become more clear in the second half. Season 2 is truly an entirely different beast, and season 1 is better after having seen season 2 as well.

Apr 3, 2017 7:34 PM

#112

AxBattler

Offline

Dec 2014

1171

Lythelus said:
Parasyte

That got me a little curious. Parasyte (alongside Blade of the Immortal) being one of the first seinen manga I ever read back in the mid 90s, held a pretty special part in my memory just because it had a distinctively different vibe from anything else I'd read until then. Since it was a rarely talked about, I never expected an anime adaptation let alone a live-action film two decades after the manga originally finished. I kinda wondered whether they made a good job with the adaptation, but never got to watch it.

Apr 3, 2017 7:55 PM

#113

ImNotHere

Offline

Aug 2016

886

Ooh! Some say Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199 is better than the original.

Step up and represent.

Apr 3, 2017 7:56 PM

#114

Reshalem

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Mar 2013

Hunter X Hunter is definitely the case. Credit to Mad House.

Apr 3, 2017 9:34 PM

#115

xre

Offline

Aug 2016

I'd say none cuz if the original is bad, then the anime will be bad.... and I don't think even best directors can help with it cuz story actually matters to anime (unless you dramatically change the plot)

And even if the original is good, with a terrible studios.. it turns bad.

But anime is much better medium for comedy IMO... so I'd say comedies are one of the only exceptions

Apr 3, 2017 9:37 PM

#116

WhyZigle

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Jul 2015

447

All music anime and some of josei genre.

Apr 3, 2017 9:38 PM

#117

Treima

Offline

Jun 2016

No Game No Life took what is a fairly juvenile and generic isekai light novel and elevated it to be as good as it could possibly be by virtue of stellar voice acting, imaginative background art, stellar use of coloring, and Madhouse polish.

Apr 3, 2017 9:47 PM

#118

jeikobu11

Offline

May 2015

692

That is usually rare for me to say that the anime is better. Anime adaptions ALWAYS changes the original work by the author. Fillers, events switched and left out content. Even the little things like in Gabriel DropOut, I can't help but think that the anime is ruining it. Only Natsume Yuujinchou and Naruto comes to my mind.

Apr 3, 2017 11:26 PM

#119

hoopla123

Offline

Apr 2013

7288

Mell8 said:
Kingdom
I didn't like that manga, I've caught up to the latest chapter, and I just don't enjoy it. 511 chapters of ass! But when I watched the first season of the anime I fell in love. The anime far outranks the manga in everything

Please tell me this is a fucking troll lol.

Apr 4, 2017 2:44 AM

#120

localmoonman

Offline

Sep 2015

The recent kobayashi's maid dragon. KyoAni really steps it up from the manga source

Apr 4, 2017 3:22 AM

#121

IzKir

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Jan 2013

152

Hunter x Hunter 2011. Togashi gives the story and MADHOUSE gives us that amazing animation.

Apr 4, 2017 4:19 AM

#122

fushisan92

Offline

Jan 2013

Parasyte, Hunter x Hunter 2011, Gintama, Saint Seiya,Showa Genroku Rakugo shinjuu, Initial D, Boku No hero Academia, Hellsing Ultimate, Black Jack OVA,Death Note, Mob Psycho 100, Saiki kusuo no sainan(TV), Mushishi & Ushio To tora(TV) are really better than manga.

Apr 4, 2017 4:38 AM

#123

HaruhiZ

Offline

Apr 2013

403

Another, the anime is so much better than the manga. Dun know about the novel, tho.

Apr 4, 2017 7:13 AM

#124

Akerakaaaai

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Jan 2017

1561

k on for sure the manga is just awful..

Apr 4, 2017 7:17 AM

#125

archaai

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Aug 2015

2011

Elegade said:
Also Fate, but only Ufotable's Unlimited Budget Work cause of the fight scenes, Deen is trash.

By fight scenes you mean episode long talks about ideals that barely make any sense?

Apr 4, 2017 8:24 AM

#126

DoctorWasabi

Offline

Jan 2014

3666

I prefer the anime of One Piece over the manga. It was my first show to get me into anime so it holds a special place in my heart

Apr 4, 2017 5:26 PM

#127

OtakuDaikun

Offline

Mar 2016

590

Elegade said:
Stein;s Gate was imo better than the visual novel. Also Fate, but only Ufotable's Unlimited Budget Work cause of the fight scenes, Deen is trash.

Steins Gate for sure. Its last episode is original and there's even a movie. The anime only lacks the other endings which are obscure in the first place. I love all Fate but prefer the VNs for the sex scenes.

Click the banner for anime lists, discussions, reviews, and let's plays!

Apr 4, 2017 8:35 PM

#128

xisue

Offline

Jun 2016

Natsume Yuujinchou's anime is one that I consider to be definitely superior compared to its manga. I think mostly because the atmosphere due to the animation and music is expressed so much more.

Apr 5, 2017 5:25 AM

#129

Nunnally03

Offline

Dec 2015

2319

Full Metal Alchemist (2003)
Hunter x Hunter

Apr 5, 2017 5:29 AM

#130

Rinar

Offline

Nov 2016

1007

Fullmetal Alchemist. For example, the Nina plot is like 15 pages long or something, it just seem like that random sicko fucking with his family and it's forgettable.

Apr 5, 2017 8:57 AM

#131

PantsuAndButts

Offline

May 2013

136

Haven't read much but the panty shost in Masamune-kun are waybetter in the anime

Manga (Seriously, look at that weird ass tiny butt)

Anime

Apr 5, 2017 10:52 AM

#132

Rei_III

Offline

Dec 2015

6449

Rinar said:
the Nina plot is like 15 pages long or something, it just seem like that random sicko fucking with his family and it's forgettable.

Are you sure? Each chapter covered over at least 40pages.

About Gundam

Apr 5, 2017 11:12 AM

#133

RedRoseFring

Offline

Jan 2014

17169

Most anime I've perused tend to be better than their source because they offer much more.

"Let Justice Be Done!"

My Theme
Fight again, fight again for justice!

Apr 5, 2017 11:15 AM

#134

Rinar

Offline

Nov 2016

1007

Rei366 said:

Rinar said:
the Nina plot is like 15 pages long or something, it just seem like that random sicko fucking with his family and it's forgettable.

Are you sure? Each chapter covered over at least 40pages.

Did it? I just said it on top of my head but it just fell incredibly short to me. Then again, 20+ minutes in a manga is a lot more than a few dozens of pages.

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