Pros and cons of watching anime and reading manga

Jul 21, 2019 5:06 PM

Offline

Jan 2018

1265

Just curious to see what are some things people feel about doing both. My personal pros and cons for anime are:

Anime Pros- It's easier for me to ingest information watching anime, especially when it's heavily steeped in foreign culture or a complex subject matter.

Seeing certain series animated actually enhances the hype of them, mostly with shonen and sports series, but there are other genres that can be applicable.

Cons- Certain series don't work as well when they leave paper format, i.e Junji Ito's works.

It can be harder to pace yourself when it comes to anime. I find it much harder nowadays to sit down and watch several episodes in one sitting unless I'm absolutely hooked. Probably a tad bit of a burnout at this point, to be honest.

Manga pros- As the adverse of anime, I find it much easier to take a manga at my own pace and can easily blow through several chapters in one sitting.

There's far more parity and untapped potential with manga, as it is the source material for a good portion of anime.

Cons- Waiting for new material is quite honestly far more excruciating than waiting for new seasons of an anime. Don't get me started on series that go on an infamous amount of hiatuses. (I'm not shaming the creators any way, this part of being a manga reader just really sucks.)

Collecting manga itself adds up incredibly quick, if you're into owning it. The price is one thing, but the space is phew, especially when it comes to an omnibus.

What a beautiful Duwang

Jul 21, 2019 5:11 PM

removed-user

Offline

Jul 2018

564616

I prefer manga in every way, but the costs are pretty extreme.
While 12 euros will buy me access to hundreds of anime (via streaming services), those same 12 euros will get me a single manga volume, which I'll consume in a day.

There needs to be a subscription service for manga.

Jul 21, 2019 5:20 PM

GlennMagusHarvey

Offline

May 2009

8124

Anime:
+ is animated. brings stories to life.
+ has music
+ has color
+ storytelling pacing automatically managed for you
- requires electronic device to watch
- if acquiring it digitally, takes lots of bandwidth and/or disk space
- enjoyment can be disrupted by high volume of background noise
+ can be enjoyed in the dark
- might not adapt all of the story

Manga:
- stills for action shots
- often B&W
- sometimes results in a weird feeling of rushing through a story
+ does not require an electronic device to enjoy
+ if reading digitally, takes far less bandwidth and/or disk space
+ can enjoy even in noisy places
- cannot be enjoyed in the dark, unless in digital form
+ low-tech physical form available
+ usually the source story, including the parts that haven't been adapted
- may be a rougher version in some cases
+ wider variety of stories, as they include unadapted stories

Jus1294 said:
As the adverse of anime

I think you mean "inverse".

Avatar character is Gabriel from Gabriel DropOut.

Jul 21, 2019 5:27 PM

Jus1294

Offline

Jan 2018

1265

Hey_Taka-tin_Hey said:
I prefer manga in every way, but the costs are pretty extreme.
While 12 euros will buy me access to hundreds of anime (via streaming services), those same 12 euros will get me a single manga volume, which I'll consume in a day.

There needs to be a subscription service for manga.

Absolutely agreed. Not only would it benefit the authors, it'd create more legal means for people to access manga.

GlennMagusHarvey said:
Anime:
+ is animated. brings stories to life.
+ has music
+ has color
+ storytelling pacing automatically managed for you
- requires electronic device to watch
- if acquiring it digitally, takes lots of bandwidth and/or disk space
- enjoyment can be disrupted by high volume of background noise
+ can be enjoyed in the dark
- might not adapt all of the story

Manga:
- stills for action shots
- often B&W
- sometimes results in a weird feeling of rushing through a story
+ does not require an electronic device to enjoy
+ if reading digitally, takes far less bandwidth and/or disk space
+ can enjoy even in noisy places
- cannot be enjoyed in the dark, unless in digital form
+ low-tech physical form available
+ usually the source story, including the parts that haven't been adapted
- may be a rougher version in some cases
+ wider variety of stories, as they include unadapted stories

Jus1294 said:
As the adverse of anime

I think you mean "inverse".

Oops ya, my autocorrect strikes again.

What a beautiful Duwang

Jul 21, 2019 6:24 PM

shadowblaster5

Offline

Mar 2016

497

^what they said up there
waiting for manga is by far the worst part especially when they update monthly
takes years to finish one arc
also, in manga, it's far harder to recall all of the information. I gave up TG manga because they introduced way too much sht in one chapter

Jul 21, 2019 6:33 PM

baylily

Offline

May 2019

159

Anime pros: You can see specific scenes in animation form which in all honesty, are better seeing them animated than just simply seeing a few blocks of it in a manga. Also I really just like the idea of listening to stuff as it happens as compared to reading it (I still love reading the manga though).
Anime cons: Sometimes the animators leave out some scenes from the manga which can be disappointing at times. Also sometimes the animation version is a gamble on whether or not it'll be good or not (example; Tokyo Ghoul's manga is amazing, but the same can't be said for the anime).

Manga pros: You can enjoy it really anywhere, and usually doesn't take a long time to finish. You can finish a lot of manga in a short period of time, which means you can catch up quickly.
Manga cons: The price. Volumes can range from 10$ to almost 20$ depending on the series. There's definitely a big price to pay, especially if you're looking to buy some of the bigger series that have over 20+ volumes. Also, this is more of a personal con, but some people might be able to relate. My phone despite being pretty average size, reading manga on my phone can be a pain in the ass sometimes because of the words being so tiny, but like I said that might just be more of a personal con than a con for online manga.

Jul 21, 2019 10:37 PM

removed-user

Offline

Jul 2018

564616

reading manga takes too much effort tbh

Jul 21, 2019 11:08 PM

tison98

Offline

Jul 2016

Anime
Pros:
- Animation > still images/pictures
- It has music, color, character voice, etc.
- The pacing (if it's good)
- The animation quality can be better than the original material (ex. Your Lie in April)
Cons:
- It's much more time consuming
- You can't really enjoy it anywhere and anytime
- Most of the time, won't adapt all of the original material
- The pacing (if it's too rushed/too slow)

Manga
Pros:
- Has extra contents that the anime don't have
- It's more time efficient
- You can enjoy anywhere and anytime as long as you have your phone with you
- No internet connection required if you bought the book
Cons:
- If it's ongoing, waiting for the next chapter/volume sucks
- The pacing can be a bit rushed/dragged out at times

Jul 22, 2019 1:13 AM

removed-user

Offline

Jul 2018

564616

I wouldnt mind cheaper manga prices like in Japan at the expense of paper quality.
80-100 euro for a 12 volume manga is insane.
Digital manga should have been even cheaper.

anime can have more money for research. Eg for sports manga, they'd have to watch recordings of real matches or even use motion capture.

anime can have controversial or deemed redundant dialogue removed to make it more appropriate for TV viewing.

Watching still pictures can have a bigger emotional impact at scenes that in anime last only few seconds

Good anime screenplay can often correct bad manga story telling

tablet is perfect for reading digital, bad for watching anime. For anime a 23" screen and above should be the minimum for HD anime.

Jul 22, 2019 3:13 AM

#10

removed-user

Offline

Jul 2018

564616

Anime
+ Color
+ Music (ops, eds, osts)
+ Voice actors
+ Animation, especially brings life to battle scenes
- Some details, which are important to fans and could change how you see the story and characters, aren't adapted.
- It depends on popularity. If the anime wasn't popular enough or anything, you could wait for years or an eternity for a full adaptation.
- Although anime are in color, the colored artworks of the manga are more beautiful, since they have more color depth and details. In an animation you couldn't use the same amount of colors, since it's too time consuming and also becomes way more difficult to animate, I heard. Anime artwork often looks flat, like the typical character artworks you could see in the character pictures here.

Manga
+ The black-white art is absolutely stunning and could look beautiful with depth in the picture, if done right.
+ The colored artworks look better, since the mangaka only has to color a few pictures and not thousands of them.
+ There are all the story details in the source material.
+ It's easier to decide when you want to turn the page or if you want to stay on the page to appreciate the art or something.
+ Especially horror (and everytime I'm excited) works better and is more effective to me in a manga.
+ You can read in the train and don't need earphones. Either on your phone or book.
+/- Many great manga don't have an adaptation, so you could enjoy them in manga form. Or they aren't fully adapted.
+/- You need patience to wait a month for the next chapter, but you always have something you are waiting for in anticipation.
- Even battle scenes with a good flow are more lively in an anime.
- I don't see a reason to read manga about music. I have to watch and listen to it.
- ??? I don't know... nothing? The anime-only stuff is just a very good addition to me.

removed-userJul 22, 2019 3:27 AM

Jul 22, 2019 3:28 AM

#11

NickRedMachine

Offline

Jun 2019

1134

I guess everyone is going to have similar answers by briefly looking over the answers, so I'll say the pros that come to mind for me personally (no need to list cons as the pros for one are obviously cons for the other):

Anime:

+ Color, which A. looks pretty and B. makes it easier to understand what's going on
+ Music to get you into the moment more
+ You always know exactly how long you're in for it, where with manga it depends on your reading speed and how easy/convoluted it is to read

Manga
+ Never any need to skip filler
+ Much easier to go back and find a moment you want to see again
+ Often times it looks better than anime, especially if the anime was a weekly tie-in alongside the manga releases
+ Often a set schedule straight from the author, where with anime you might not know when and if the next season comes out

Jul 22, 2019 3:31 AM

#12

Xstasy

Offline

May 2019

3567

Anime
Pros:
Voice Acting. Putting a voice to a character is pretty satisfying when the lines are read with emotion.

Music - Openings, endings, and sound tracks that bring a series to life are well done.

Animated Fight Scenes. That action scene that was a couple pages, now it is animated with advance details and coloring.

Color - Color brings to life the various characters and such. Unless the source comes with a color page, you tend to guess hair colors and details.

Original Anime tends to be pretty high profile when done well. Original Anime series are designed for the medium with all the advantages in mind and aren't weighed down by the conversion needed for adaptions. This allows for full development of popular series like Code Geass and Psycho-Pass. (There are plenty more examples and many of them are highly regarded.)

Able to do multiple chapters in a single episode. A month's worth of content goes into ever episode when it comes to manga.

Cons

Time Consuming. While multiple chapters are wrapped into a single episode, reading may usually still be faster and full 24 minute segments can deter marathons when you aren't already in love with a series.

Adaptions lose details and story elements. You know all that foreshadowing or well connected details that really tied the manga/light novel with a bow, well they are probably gone. Studios have to come up with the most critical of what needs to be conveyed in their adaptions as to sell the overall story and series.

Bad Adaptions tend to not do as so well. There is a very special line when it comes to how successful an anime is. If the adaption fails to either sell itself or the source material, there won't be additional seasons and the fans of the source material will recommend against these adaptions.

Extreme Niche Audience. It is almost proportionately funny how anime is the smallest medium out of the 3 listed in Japan yet gets the most attention in the foreign market. It however is a niche audience and for the general public, it is reliant on the Japanese market more than anything.

Depending on the source, the anime may end up too fast paced. Pacing has a different feeling when it comes to each medium and anime is the fastest paced of all the mediums. If a story arc is long and extensive in the source material, they will have to shrink it to fit a 12-24 episode series.

There are very few full adaptions as Anime for the most part is designed to advertise the source material. Anime series are built around Calendar Seasons so they run from 12 - 24 episodes usually and their source material are all pretty much ongoing. Very few anime adapt the end of the series and most will end after the first couple arcs.

Manga
Pros

Many Details. Most manga are original stories with plenty of details and development by the authors.

Visually Formatted with full stories. The visuals of anime and the details of light novels. Manga contains very good compromises of the two other mediums and execute grand stories.

Time Efficient - Manga is the most easily digestible of the mediums in reading can be quick. There is no forced pacing where you can read the series week by week, or arc by arc. You can zip through a chapter in a couple minutes or admire each panel and all the details.

More of it for every single taste. (Anime is actually a smaller market than manga.) - There is simply more manga than anime. Plenty of it for everyone. You can have been reading for years and still find vast amounts of series to read.

Series can run for many years due to weekly or monthly releases. You can and will read a single manga series for multiple years as it is still published.

Cons

Black and White Medium (Color is expensive and time consuming to production.)

Voices don't exist. Unless an anime adaption, you tend to just lump voices as words. It is kind of weird how it works but voices just seriously don't exist without actually thinking about it.

Pacing relies heavily on the Author and a story that can take a reasonable amount of time can still feel extremely slow. The pacing is around to a single scene a week or a full episode a month. (When comparing to anime.)

Lots of Dead Projects (Some scanlators pick up and drop projects at the drop of a hat.)

A lot of cancelled series out there. Magazines will drop projects pretty fast too leaving authors to wrap it up. Though some stories do really well with the time they have and shouldn't just be judged based solely on the ending.

Manga Adaptions of Light Novels and Anime (They do exist surprisingly.) tend to not be worth the effort reading. Light Novels usually translate poorly into manga due to monthly release schedules and significant amount of dropped details. Adaptions of Anime are literally just the anime story boards pretty much so there really isn't much to add if it is a direct adaption. Spin-offs tend to be good though. (Steins;Gate has many manga spin-offs that are entertaining to read.)

Light Novels
Pros

Heavily Detailed. (Plenty of details in each story are present that help immerse the reader in the worlds they are reading about.)

Description Heavy. There is a lot of description to help identify how things look and those with a good imagination can easily construct the scenes with glorious execution in their head.

Some Illustrations. (There are a number of illustrations that really help things as well. They usually have a lot of detail when the project is serious with a good artist.)

Cons

Time Consuming. It feels more time consuming to read a light novel than it does to watch an anime but the immersion is worth it.

Slow Releases. There are usually maybe 2 volumes released a year and some authors also haven't released any volumes in years. (Hyouka still only have 5 volumes with the 5th untranslated.)

Very Small Translation Community. If you thought dropped manga projects were bad, the majority of Light Novels aren't even translated and the majority of what is, tends to be dropped.

Hardest Medium to translate to other mediums. The majority of stories are more evenly paced in Arcs which don't always translate to another medium without serious dedicated attention. Manga Adaptions of Light Novels tend to be lower quality because they serve the purpose to advertise the Light Novels. Anime Adaptions tend to be very easily paced but the amount of dropped details is very obvious when it happens to the mindful viewer.

Very Memory Based. Some series have a massive cast of characters and each character refers to another based on their relationship (family/given name) which can be extremely confusing sometimes. I read Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei with a list of the characters with pictures open so I would know everyone.

XstasyJul 22, 2019 3:35 AM

Jul 22, 2019 3:32 AM

#13

NickRedMachine

Offline

Jun 2019

1134

^ Oh yeah, I forgot about voice acting. That's one reason for me doing it the other way around from a lot of people, watching anime before reading the manga. At least I know what voices (and colors) to give the characters in my head.

See All Discussions

» Blackmail netorare hentais are really dumb Kingdom-ya - Yesterday	13	by Catalano »» 45 seconds ago
» What percentage of anime that you've seen did you pirate? ( 1 2 3 ) Ejrodiew - Apr 13	135	by 25robF »» 4 minutes ago
» What is your most re-watched anime? ( 1 2 ) Alpha_1_Zero - Yesterday	63	by LoveYourEyes »» 4 minutes ago
» Anime Time Capsule eli_shmeli - 5 hours ago	11	by Horizon248 »» 10 minutes ago
» What anime do you refuse to watch since you have already read the source material? Kushna - 10 hours ago	18	by Zayvex »» 12 minutes ago

Pros and cons of watching anime and reading manga

More topics from this board

» Blackmail netorare hentais are really dumb

» What percentage of anime that you've seen did you pirate? ( 1 2 3 )

» What is your most re-watched anime? ( 1 2 )

» Anime Time Capsule

» What anime do you refuse to watch since you have already read the source material?

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters