The world of anime and manga is bigger and more robust than ever. Dozens of new anime and manga series are launched every year for fans of every literary genre, from action and adventure to romance, horror, sci-fi, and far more. An anime series will often be based on an original manga series, light novel (LN) series, or even a video game.
There are many perks to adapting these stories into anime form, and it's often seen as a sign of success and recognition when a manga series or LN gets its own anime. Of course, fans love watching anime, but the transition from page to screen is not always perfect. There are also some costs and downsides to the anime, which is especially true for consumers who only watch anime and generally skip manga and light novels.
10 Harsh Reality: The Manga Tells The Whole Story
When a manga series is adapted into an anime, the anime series might adapt the entire story and run its full course, but then again, it might not. Plenty of long-running manga series or even medium-length ones get an incomplete anime, meaning anime-only fans are missing a lot.
In fact, the anime-only fans might be missing half or more of the story, and that's going to be an issue. In extreme cases, a long manga gets just one 12-episode season, and the anime acts more like an extended commercial for the original manga or light novel series.
9 Perk: There Are No Unfair Comparisons To The Manga/LN
If an anime-only fan doesn't mind missing out on some material, or if they are serious about being anime-only, they can find some distinct advantages to sticking exclusively to anime. If the tradeoffs are worth it, then the anime fan can ignore manga and light novel series and not worry about it.
For example, an anime-only fan doesn't have to compare the anime to the original manga if they made up their mind that they're not going to read any manga. Therefore, they'll be spared making unfavorable comparisons between the manga and anime. These fans are grateful for what the anime offers, and they don't dwell on what it lacks.
8 Harsh Reality: The Animation Might Be Cheap Or Strange
When a manga series becomes an anime, the anime's visual style might closely mirror that of the source manga. However, depending on the anime studio in question, it might not. In some famous or infamous examples, the anime's visual style is quite different from the manga's, and for all the wrong reasons.
Berserk's 2016 anime is widely criticized for its awkward 3-D animation, which feels especially sour compared to Kentaro Miura's breathtaking original art. The Flowers of Evil, meanwhile, attempted a 3-D visual style that many fans agree did not pay off.
7 Perk: Anime Has Incredible Music
No matter how stunning a manga series may look, the reader will never hear anything that is happening on the page: no voice acting, no sound effects, and most of all, no music. Manga is silent, and for anime fans, that's unacceptable. They need music to complete the story.
After all, an excellent OST can push any anime, movie, or TV show to the next level, and some franchises are famed for their OST. A Silent Voice has a stellar OST, and of course, the musical drama anime Your Lie in April has to be heard to be believed. Anime fans have it right where music is concerned.
6 Harsh Reality: The Anime Almost Always Comes Later
Rarely, if ever, will a franchise launch its anime and manga at the same time. Once in a while, an anime will get a manga adaptation later, but the norm is the reverse. In addition, the anime might take its sweet time being made, if it's made at all. Anime fans might get a little impatient.
Manga fans can enjoy the freshest material in a franchise while anime fans must wait for the next season to be made and released. Sometimes, there may be a year or more between the manga and anime, or several years. In extreme cases, the manga's and anime's debuts are a few decades apart.
5 Perk: No Spoilers From The Manga
If an anime fan made up their mind that they are anime-only and won't read manga, then they can enjoy another particular advantage — the original manga's developments won't spoil them. Even if it takes time for the anime to show up, at least the anime fan isn't spoiled ahead of time.
Some fans like to read the manga and then experience the story again in anime form, which is perfectly fine. Other fans would rather pick and choose, and anime-only fans ignore the manga in favor of the anime, so all the material is fresh and new when the anime arrives.
4 Harsh Reality: Seasons Might Be Years Apart
When a manga or light novel series is launched, it may take a year or more for the anime to show up, which is a particular downside to being anime-only. And even when the anime does launch, the individual seasons might be spaced a few years apart for a variety of reasons.
In some cases, the manga's volumes are releasing slowly, so the anime's second or third season will be delayed even more. Likewise, the anime may be difficult and time-consuming to make, or there was a studio switch. Attack on Titan, for example, had a significant gap between its anime's first and second season, a real drag for any anime fan.
3 Perk: Collecting Manga Can Be Expensive Or Difficult
Some anime and manga fans collect many manga volumes either in print or digital format and build up a personal library in which they can take pride. This is a worthwhile hobby for some fans, but for other fans, this is either too expensive, impractical, or simply not worth doing. Not everyone likes to collect stacks of books.
Anime-only fans can save a lot of room and money by watching their favorite stories rather than collecting dozens or hundreds of manga volumes, and it's easy to see the appeal in that. This also dodges any potential issues with volumes going out of print or trouble with shipping and delivery.
2 Harsh Reality: Watching Anime Is Slower Than Reading Manga/Light Novels
Some consumers are pressed for time, and they simply cannot relax on the couch and binge hours' worth of anime or TV on Netflix, Crunchyroll, or other streaming platforms. Instead, they can read the original manga, which is quicker overall.
Anime fans are out of luck if they don't have enough time to watch a few episodes. By contrast, manga fans can quickly read a whole volume in half an hour or so, considering it's much faster to read dialogue than have a character speak it aloud in anime. The same is true of reading an action sequence versus watching it in anime.
1 Perk: Anime Makes Obscure Manga More Accessible
Some Western fans would rather read the original manga for many reasons, but in some cases, they don't have this option. This was especially true in the 1990s and early 2000s, when many of today's manga and anime fans were growing up. Today, and especially back then, anime is simply more accessible.
Pokemon is a fine example of this. In the late '90s and 2000s, young Western fans were watching the anime on TV and playing the games rather than reading the original manga, which would have been difficult to find at all. Networks such as Toonami and Cartoon Network (CN) made anime as accessible as any Western animation. Even today, it's easier to find a new anime than hunt down a manga series and find its physical volumes.