In most instances, anime easily excels the source material with its captivating world loaded with vibrant visuals, immersive soundtracks, and dynamic action sequences. However, there are times when the animators fail to lay out the gist of the story and the manga outshines its anime counterpart.
These examples demonstrate that sometimes, the ink and paper of the manga world can shine even brighter than the animated screen. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the top-tier manga that are widely considered to be superior to their anime adaptations. So, without further ado, let’s get started.
10. Blue Period
Blue Period is a coming-of-age seinen manga that tracks the artistic journey of Yatora Yaguchi who wishes to join the prestigious Tokyo University of the Arts while learning the patience and discipline required to create art. The manga spoke a lot of depth and had plenty of fans excited about its anime debut.
But the anime doesn’t quite pack the same punch as its source material. The bigger aspects of the series – art-making and characterization – are downplayed in the anime, eventually removing a level of depth for an incredibly important part of Yatora’s journey as an artist.
9. One-Punch Man
One-Punch Man is a story of a bald superhero named Saitama who has a knack for defeating his enemies with a single punch. Out of boredom, he joins a hero association and tags along with his first apprentice, Genos who helps his master in finding a worthy contender to test his overwhelming strength.
The perfect balance of serious action and side-splitting comedy is something One-Punch Man delivers in both anime and manga. However, the manga storyline goes beyond the anime’s material, and to top of off, Yusuke Murata’s stunning artwork provides a more complete experience.
8. Elfen Lied
Elfen Lied is rather infamous for its original manga which offers far more source material than the 2000s-era anime does. The manga’s gore art surpasses that of anime and gives the complete story of a lost Diclonius girl and her futile attempt to find happiness in a world run by humanity.
Based on the interaction between human beings and mutant species, the manga sees the inhumane scientific experimentation and a torrent of bloodshed as Lucy escapes her captors! Elfen Lied candidly is a manga that can haunt the unprepared for many moons to come.
7. Junji Ito Collection
Junji Ito is regarded as a prolific manga artist for his unconventional tales of horror depicting spine-chilling and disturbing themes. Ito’s work is known for its extreme attention to detail which is why he has developed a substantial cult following among the fans of the genre.
However, the anthology horror anime series developed by Studio Deen doesn’t live up to the expectations. The anime’s horror elements are way off the mark and the animation also looks stilted and flat. The anime never reaches the level of visceral horror that the manga does, which is kind of the point of Ito’s work.
6. Flowers Of Evil
Flowers of Evil follows a high school student Takao Kasuga who’s forced into a “contract” by a fellow student Sawa Nakamura, after being caught stealing the gym clothes of his crush Nanako Saeki. Blackmailed by Sawa, Takao is now forced to partake in her disturbing fantasies to hide his deeds from everyone.
With striking art and a story that’s darkly human and insidiously gripping, Flowers of Evil makes up for a compelling mature manga, unlike its anime counterpart which ruins the viewer’s experience by using a controversial animation style that’s too unsettling to look at.
5. Samurai Deeper Kyo
Samurai Deeper Kyo is one of the best samurai manga of its generation and the fans of the series really appreciated the dynamic between two powerful swordsmen featured in the story. As the producers adapted the series prior to the manga’s completion, the anime failed to do it justice.
Due to a lack of source material to work with, Studio Deen fumbled up the anime. Even though the anime has only 26 episodes to start with, the show has a startling amount of aimless filler with very little of it making sense. The artwork also doesn’t hold up when compared to the original manga.
4. Deadman Wonderland
There aren’t many series offering a unique premise like Deadman Wonderland where vicious criminals are locked in a prison to compete in life-threatening games for their spectators’ pleasure. While the manga actually capitalizes on its intriguing plot, the anime fails to do so.
Instead of focusing on the horrifying setting of the Deadman Prison, the anime trails away into nothingness and indulges in showing the action sequences in the majority which isn’t according to the original manga. In contrast to the manga, the anime seems to be a half-baked show with no extra effort put into it.
3. The Promised Neverland
Anti-shonen is basically synonymous with the world of The Promised Neverland. While the first season of the anime does manga justice, the highly anticipated second season misses the target by a big margin ruining the entire story in a matter of episodes.
Even though anime by CloverWorks are good, they rushed this one by skipping major story arcs from the manga. One should stick with The Promised Neverland manga as it is full of thrilling moments, plot twists, and rich character exploration that makes it up for the intense storyline waiting ahead for the readers.
2. Tokyo Ghoul
Tokyo Ghoul fosters one of the top-tier seinen protagonists in anime, Ken Kaneki who’s subjected to an experiment that changes his life forever making him a half-ghoul! Although the premise sounds dark and gritty, the anime adaptation of Tokyo Ghoul is easily among the worst of all time.
The anime rearranged and cut some story material, completely changing the tone of the series and making it awkward watch. The manga is vastly superior and authentic to the anime and Sui Ishida’s genius in narrating the story is one of the significant reasons to pick up the manga version.
1. Berserk
Kentaro Miura’s Berserk is renowned for being one of the darkest and most despair-inducing stories ever told. Having some of the finest manga panels and impeccable art style, the story takes fans through Guts’ entire life, diving deep into his mind to look out for real-world sufferings.
Sadly, the essence of Berserk looks missing in both the 1997 and 2016 anime adaptations. While the former limits in scope, its sequel counterpart utilizes a clumsy 3D animation style that falls short by most standards. Hence, it’s recommended to always go for Berserk’s unforgettable classic manga.
Which one of the following manga is way better than their anime adaptation? Feel free to comment down your thoughts and make sure to recommend some other manga like the ones listed above, also don’t forget to share this article with your fellow otaku friends.
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