Japanese Animation has been around since at least early 1917. Japanese comics have been around quite possibly longer. Both are synonymous with, and have come to define Japan over the last 50 or more so years. They are both vibrant, imaginative, creative, and influential, having inspired several fandoms and imitations over their long history. Both of them span multiple years and genres, and can cover virtually any topic humanly possible. They are both accessible, but the question is which is more helpful in the long run?  


Which do you prefer between Anime & Manga? Why are you inclined towards it? Humbly share your thoughts. Your responses are appreciated.

I much rather prefer anime because its right there on your computer screen, instead of having to get the actual books, and anime is free to watch depending on where you go whereas for manga you need to somehow get them and store them somewhere.

Personally I prefer anime. Mainly due to it's ease of getting it legally. I have subscriptions for both Crunchyroll and Funimation and able to watch to plenty of free anime. Manga on the other hand....Besides Crunchyroll(which doesn't have a whole lot) there isn't much streaming sites for manga(that are legal). Only way to really read manga is by buying individual books....which I only do for anime series I like.

Plus. I'm a sucker for animation. I love watching the pretty visuals and the sounds really make a series for me. You can really get a lot out of a scene with nice music or voice acting.

Nexorla : I would have tried those sites like Crunchyroll because i want to see what its like but I can't because it's waaaay too expensive for me and I don't have enough internet most of the time.

In terms of what usually does a better job of telling a story I'd have to say manga. It typically does a better job of conveying the authors vision. But I prefer Anime simply because of the ease of accessibility. I don't really feel like reading manga when I'm tired since it requires me to work my brain more so watching anime feels a lot more relaxing. It's also a lot cheaper, as in it's both easier to find online and cheaper to get legally. With many mangas you'd have to pay for the actual books which usually ends up costing a ton to the point where I don't feel it's worth it. It leaves little money for me to spend on other things like video games. It's also just fun to see things actually play out on a screen. I know in 6th grade when I had less things going on though I used to enjoy reading manga like Naruto between lessons on my smartphone.

Now the only manga I really read anymore if at all are those with no anime adaptations. Like Pokemon Adventures. Even then I haven't really been following them or anything just picking it up a few times during the year. I really have been caught up in other things and trying to pursue other interests so I'm not as much into anime and manga as I used to even though I keep meaning to catch up on some. I'm still very much trying to learn about the country though. A few years ago I went through a phase of being obsessed with Anime/Manga and just Japan in general. Basically what you would call a "weeaboo". Minus the part about being 30 years old and living in my mom's basement Might start to take Japanese next year so if that ends up happening I'll probably try to get into it again.

zanderlex : Thats not actually true there are many manga sites, odds are you know about kissanime, where there is actually a kissmanga.

Cheers

I would say I love both, but I think anime just edges it a little.

They both have their ups and downs, but anime is still animated and I love animation more than I do comics or manga, so yeah.

Lol no, reading manga online is so hard, zooming im and whatever, plus for most of the places I have seen, you need really good internet because of all the ads and stuff that are usually on sites like that.

I prefer anime, to be honest. Manga is good, but an anime would be more likely to keep my attention. The only time I think I'd stick with a manga is if it doesn't have an anime adaptation.

Ultrajeff :   I like them both honestly.  I love that you can watch anime, but I like most subbed over dubbed, so I still have to read either way.  Most of the anime I like, just kind of ends, so I end up having to read the manga anyway, and sometimes the anime doesn't show everything that the manga does.  The anime finishes it's series and leaves you wondering " is there going to be a third season?  Are they going to finish this some how? "  For instance...I am re watching Sekirei and they just stop the series at the end and don't even have a conclusion after two 12 set series.  They are supposed to battle to the death and the last one standing wins their greatest wish.  NOPE!!!  They end it with most of them still alive, so you have to read the manga to find out what happens.  Then you do have anime series that DO have an ending, which I prefer to watch rather than read.  Jormugand was a great one, as was Record of Lodoss War

Well if I have to pick I think I pick manga because there more context in a manga then a anime a manga tell more story then a anime and also you don't have to wait for a week for the next episode just to get more story in a manga you just read it and then wait for the second volume to come out so that is what i think on manga vs anime.

I definitely prefer manga over the anime.
The stories always seem a lot more complete, whereas the anime based on manga always seem kinda limited by budget, time constraints, or include a lot of filler to churn out weekly episodes while they wait for new manga issues.

Its not to say I don't like anime though. I always watch the anime of a manga I really like, despite the deviation from the story or the filler. :3

I'd go with Manga. The lack of filler puts it over the top. Plus every anime episode is like 20 minutes where you can read a chapter much faster than that.

I think that word "weaboo" is quite rotten. People who like certain things should get privacy and respect, and not be mocked. Can you tell me more about your "phase"? I would really like to know.

I prefer anime. I would much rather see a story play out than reading something frame by frame. The character's having actual voices and motion add more to their personalities as well. Plus there's so much more you can do with video over paper, another example being music. Anime > manga for me.

I like manga more, but only because I like reading more than watching things. However, Strawberry Panic! is my one exception to the rule as the anime is so so good, but the manga is iffy at best.

That's an interesting one. Each has its own benefits and drawbacks.
 Anime is more interesting aesthetically, but can lack in atmosphere if visuals and audio are not just so. It can end up feeling strange.
Manga, on the other hand, is very enjoyable to read and hold in your hand and prevails above american comics in accessibility (in reference to reading experience) and tends to flow excellently regardless of genre. However, it lacks the sheer entertainment and involvement anime has.

I'd have to say manga is my favorite, but as a student transitioning into college, my money and preference for collecting physical copies of manga do not exactly align, so I find myself watching anime a majority of the time. That just makes the books I own that much more enjoyable.

I had to really think about when I saw this. With anime, you get lots of pretty visuals and amazing animation, but it can also be filled with unnecessary filler or poorly adapt a manga or novel. Manga has amazing art that helps tell a story, but it can be a bore to read if the story is not interesting. I will go with manga since it can really tell a story from start to finish without unwanted filler.

Most of the time I watch the anime first since it can get me hooked on the series faster and if I like it then I'll finish it. Most of the anime I've watched are adapted from a manga series and since the anime usually only covers a couple of volumes I then continue reading the manga from where the anime ended.

Sometimes I just read the manga because there is ALWAYS that one character I hate (like the annoying girl that eats away from the other characters' screentime and should honestly just become a side character because they ruin every moment with their inner dialogue and are only popular because the sweaty Japanese readers love the "short haired childhood friend who would make a perfect housewife" cliché ) , and I can more easily skip any chapters dedicated to them.

Also I put that part in brackets there because while typing the sentence before it I noticed how 9 times out of 10 the characters I despise are the annoying childhood friends.

Well, I really prefer anime to manga, but manga also has it's benefits over anime.

Anime is much more streamlined, and requires much less effort physically and mentally to enjoy. As they say, your brain is at it's lowest levels of activity when watching TV, so anime doesn't require as much from you. It also depicts the characters much more clearly, as well as what's going on as well. This can be a downside for some, not leaving as much room for personal interpretation, but I much prefer that every thing be as clean cut and dry with the presentation as possible. The fact it's in color ( most of the time ) is a huge bonus as well. Something being in black and white just feels like it belongs in the 50's to me for some reason lol. I really enjoy the art style of anime more than manga as well, since the shading and motion styles and effects used in manga are just not to my liking for the most part. I always think every thing looks so much better in an anime over a manga. Even if it's subbed, I don't like reading any more than I have to as well

Manga is much more easily accessible, be it on-line or other wise. There are a lot more manga sites than there are ones to stream anime, on top of the fact that it's easier to navigate these sites since manga doesn't require any where near as much band width to host the content, as well as to deliver it to you over the Internet connection ( meaning there is a lot less ads involved with the manga sites ). The fact it's more open to interpretation is a big plus to many, since they would prefer how their imagination depicts the characters and the actions that take place over the studio who directs the direction of the anime. Plus it's much easier to build a character how you want them in a manga than it is in an anime, where everything is presented exactly how it should be second for second. 

It all comes down to personal preference. I've noticed that most people tend to prefer which ever they really got into first, and the other one just doesn't live up to what joy the original brought them.

Depends on how well it's adapted. If it's done good or even relatively well I wont bother with the manga. FMAB would be an example where it was done extremely well. A more recent anime would be Orange. I read the manga prior to knowing about the upcoming anime but from what I've seen so far it is done very well. That would be a case where I wouldn't have bothered with the manga if the anime was out. There are also some anime that diverge from the manga like Black Butler and Soul Eater. Soul Eater's ending was garbage and Black Butler had a good ending to season 1. However I would have read the manga for BB because the stories were different if not for the fact that they are remaking it. Its doing something similar to FMA and FMAB except they are only remaking it starting halfway through the first season where it diverged and they are doing it in different arcs and ova's. I am reading Soul Eater though because it's not getting remade.

I digress. However if an anime has a popular VN I will most.likely play the VN first. Except for Clannad and Steins Gate because.that was before I played VN's and both were done extremely well so I want picky about what I played first. However a lot of vn adaptations are trash. I played rewrite and its ongoing anime is just horrible. The VN was fantastic though. No matter how great an anime is the.VN will always be better because it doesnt have a volume or episode deadline and there's more story.

(Sorry if this is filled with errors. Had to type this on my phone.)