Anime VS Manga – Anime QandA

Anime VS Manga – Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

Anime VS Manga – A comparison review between the anime and manga of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

This is a blog series comparing a manga and its relevant anime adaptation, discerning which version is ‘better’. These posts will be spoiler-free comparisons helping to inform people on which version is better—in my opinion of course.

What’s the important information? Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid is an ongoing manga series by Coolkyoushinja that has been running since May 2013 as of September 2018 it has spanned 7 volumes and 2 spin-off manga series’. In Winter 2017 it received an anime adaptation of 13 episodes + 1 OVA.

What’s it about? Kobayashi, a hard working office worker one day finds herself with an unlikely companion, Tohru a giant dragon who at will can transform herself into a human maid. With no other place to stay and indebted to Kobayashi, Tohru becomes her live-in maid—despite having little-to-no knowledge on how to be one. As time passes more and more dragons and mythical beings find themselves wrapped up in Kobayashi’s life, turning her once ordinary life into something decidedly more hectic!

Which has the better art? Never before has the term ‘art’ felt more subjective than when dealing with Coolkyoushinja’s manga artwork—he has a very particular style that’s immediately recognisable and polarising to say the least. Personally I find is art style to be singular and alluring, to the point where I would gladly buy anything he produces. The anime adaptation is not by any means a faithful recreation of his art style, it is however very pleasing to the eye and captures the spirit of the original at least in terms of character designs. At the end of the day, it’s the manga’s art I’ll always find myself drawn to (pun intended).

Which has the better comedy? The comedy feels like it was the anime’s priority, which is probably an indicator as to why the show was more successful abroad than in Japan. That’s not to say the manga isn’t funny it just feels a lot more integrated into the narrative and characters. The anime wins this round but only for consistency rather than content.

There’s some things a manga just can’t do….

Which has the better characterisation? Ordinarily the manga would win hands down, as it has often in these comparisons as the written form allows more time for character development but there’s something more readily appealing about the character interactions in the anime that puts it ahead of the manga—some online commenters have said it’s because the anime is more direct with the characters intentions (read: more gay) that the anime comes out on top and that’s kind of a hard thing to dispute!

I think she loves Miss Kobayashi, and so do I!

Which has the better pacing? One of the biggest changes between the anime and the manga is the order in which the chapters are presented, a small change but one that speaks volume of each finished product. The anime positions scenes it thinks are more important toward the end to give the (currently) one season anime a sense of escalation and conclusion. Kobayashi’s confrontation with Tohru’s dragon Emperor father comes at the end of the season in the anime whereas it occurs roughly half way through the second volume of the manga (equivalently episode 7 or 8 if it were a 1:1 adaptation). Personally the manga way of doing things feels more natural as it seems like Tohru’s father would get involved sooner than later, plus on the whole the manga just seems to flow a lot better than the anime.

P.S. That’s not Tohru’s father on the right, that’s Elma.

Which is more perverted? I know what you’re thinking, “why is this even a question?” and “what’s this got to do with the quality of which one is better?” And you’re absolutely right this qualifies as a preference question as opposed to being one that has a winner or a loser at the end of the paragraph. As mentioned above the anime is slightly more ‘gay’ and while there’s nothing perverse about homosexuality (don’t @ me if you think otherwise) if your preference is for something on the ‘yuri’ end of the spectrum then the anime is the better choice, whereas if regular ol’ big-boobed fan service with nothing but hints of something ~else~ is more your thing than the manga delivers that with clear intent.

What is specifically better about the anime? It’s kind of cheating to even mention things that make an adaption inherently better because of the medium but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the voice actress Maria Naganawa who voices fan favourite Kanna Kamui—she steals absolutely every scene she’s in and more-or-less makes the series worth watching for her alone. Also another thing that’s weird to say is that the show is as colourful as the manga seems, that is to say Coolkyoushinja’s artwork infers a lot of vibrancy and the colour palette of the anime matches it.

What is specifically better about the manga? Its repetitive of me to say but the artwork is such a huge selling point of the manga that it informs almost all my opinions regarding the series. Plus the fact that such an engaging cast of characters is ongoing in the manga whereas the anime is more or less finished means the manga has plenty more to offer while the anime feels unfortunately over.

There’s no denying the detail, also that focus blur, so cool!

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, Anime VS Manga—which version is better? I’ve never been closer to considering a draw then I was with this series. I came to the manga after watching the excellent anime which ranks among my Top 20 Anime of All Time and was nevertheless surprised to feel myself enraptured all over again with this series, just in a different way. My personal preferences leans in favour of the manga, it just pushes all my buttons—that said the anime is the populist choice for a reason as it is remarkably well made and more approachable. You know what, screw it, it’s a tie—watch the anime then read the manga, or vice versa, either way I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

More Anime VS Manga Comparisons:

Shomin Sample
Watamote: No Matter How I Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular!
Monster Musume

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Anime VS Manga – Monster Musume

Anime VS Manga – A comparison review between the anime and manga of Monster Musume

What’s the important information? Monster Musume is an ongoing manga series that has been running since March 2012 and as of August 2018 is currently in its 14^th volume. In Summer 2015 it received an anime adaptation of 12 episodes + 2 OVAs.

What’s it about? The series is a harem/comedy about Kimihito Kurusu, a man whose life is thrown into utter disarray as he unwittingly becomes involved in the “Interspecies Cultural Exchange” program which basically means a bunch of sexy monster girls start living with him and he has to deal with all their various quirks and proclivities—while offering a safe and happy home life for them all. I reviewed the anime series in full here if you want a more detailed review.

Which has the better art? Author Okayado’s artwork is something of a contentious point with me. While he sure as heck knows how to draw the female body (and all the monstrous permutations of) there’s always been something lacking about the way he draws action, added to that the fact that Lerche is responsible for the anime it’s no wonder that the adaptation looks as good as it does. While the girls always look good, the same can’t often be said of the surrounds. The anime wins here, if only because it’s more wholly consistent between the characters and the world they inhabit.

Which has the better comedy? This is a tough one to pick because the comedy always seems secondary to the ‘harem shenanigans’—which are plentiful. Since this is such a faithful adaptation, I’m going to call this one a draw, as neither one strikes me as funnier than the other.

Which has the better characterisation? Time makes fools of us all, but sometimes the best characterisation comes from biding one’s time—to see how a person would react against different stimuli in the grand scheme of things. With this in mind there’s far more room for characterisation and development against an unending backdrops of manga’s past, present and future than there is in a limited run of 12 episodes. The manga wins this battle.

Which has the better pacing? There’s something about a ‘one episode equals one new character in the harem’ approach to constructing a series that seems so inherently appealing on a fundamental level than anything the manga could have concocted. Indeed, giving each new character a definitive beginning in the form of an introductory episode serves to have you focus—and thusly connect with them on a more intimate level than simply dividing a chapter or two across however many books would do. The anime wins, but only out of the virtue of episodic hindsight.

Which has the better fan service? Oh gosh, don’t make me choose! One of the fundamental cornerstones this series was built upon was fan service, monster girl fan service—as if that really makes a difference. While the manga is impeccably drawn with specific attention to detail, there’s no denying how far—above and beyond the call of duty—did the anime animators go to make such a wholly satisfying and far more motion-filled adaptation of the bountiful ‘service that the manga first represented—the anime wins but only because I live to see ‘dat bounce.

What specifically is better about the anime? With the exception of a few scenes the anime feels more alive than the manga ever did and that’s hard for me to say because I love the manga this is based on but ultimately the adaptive process has done all the favours to this series. And, while it may seem unfair to mention there’s no denying the seductive quality of having what was once mere words on a page be voice acted in such flawless fashion.

What specifically is better about the manga? Monster Musume can feel busy at times, what with all the monster girls living under the one roof—the manga affords the reader the time to take in everything that’s happening on a given page and thus never feels as frantic as the series does which is both a good and bad thing depending on your inclinations. Also, while the anime has the benefit of seductive voice acting the manga too benefits from allowing your imagination to run wild—indeed the eroticism feels greater in the manga, undoubtedly elevated by the attention to detail in the mangaka’s artwork.

Monster Musume, Anime VS Manga—which version is better? It should be overwhelmingly obvious that the anime is the superior version—at least as far as the adapted volumes are concerned, the adaptation just does everything right and stays faithful to the source material while adding all the necessary flair to make it more kinetic on-screen. Don’t think this means that the manga isn’t worth your time however as without the manga this anime would be nothing and the manga has such worth on its own. If you’ve never watched or read the series the anime is my version of choice, however it’s worth noting that the sheer wealth of material that comes in the volumes not yet adapted makes the manga especially worthwhile for those wanting more out of this series.

More Anime VS Manga Comparisons:

Shomin Sample
Watamote: No Matter How I Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular!

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Anime VS Manga – Watamote: No Matter How I Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular!

Anime VS Manga – A comparison review between the anime and manga of No Matter How I Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! a.ka. Watamote

What’s the important information? No Matter How I Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! or ‘Watamote’ for short is an ongoing manga series that has been running since August 2011 and as of August 2018 has 13 published volumes. A 12 episode anime series adapting the first four volumes aired during the Summer 2013 anime season.

What’s it about? Tomoko Kuroki is a high-school girl who’s pretty much as socially awkward as they come, this slice of life cringe comedy series explores her high-school experience as she finds herself increasingly isolated due to her social anxieties and finding out that life isn’t at all like it is in the otome games she’s so fond of. Her awkward interactions with other students, teachers, family and the general public are always a source of cringe-inducing comedy throughout the series.

Well I think so but I’ve got odd taste so…

Which has the better art? The manga’s artwork is simplistic but conveys the various shades of embarrassment on Tomoko’s face perfectly, which is a large part of the success of this type of story. The anime captures this same visual style but feels like it has a greater attention to detail—in this respect the anime does it better, but it’s a close call.

A convenience store clerk, but sure, baby steps and all that.

Which has the better comedy? One of the most important things in comedy is timing, something that is often difficult to come across accurately with text and images alone—sometimes a joke is only as good as the person delivering it or the pacing provided with what’s not said being just as important as what’s said. And for a series that thrives off awkward pauses and odd line-deliveries the anime excels where the manga can only do so much. Don’t get me wrong the manga is still very funny but the comedy in the anime is pretty much perfect.

Which has the better characterisation? While oftentimes the manga version is far and away the better at characterisation as there’s less of a need to keep up the pacing and more time to allow character moments to breath the very nature of this series means nearly everything our protagonist does is character-building. However the manga just edges out the anime in this instance simply due to the fact that there’s more surrounding content.

Which has the better pacing? The structure of the manga is more traditional, with even some 4-panel segments interspersed between the larger chapters. Whereas the anime almost feels like a Western sitcom in similar vein to shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm. However I think the pacing works ~slightly~ better and feels more naturalistic in the manga—only just though.

Thank goodness I didn’t have the internet on my phone when I was at school…

Which has the better ‘cringe’-factor? If we’re going strictly off what both original and adaptations provides and we’re judging on it accordingly not only do we have to talk about the ‘comedy’ we have to talk about the ‘cringe’. Some people love it, some people hate it—personally I think it can go either-way depending on the character and Tomoko delivers just the right amount of cringe to make it enjoyably tense and comedically uncomfortable but never distasteful or annoying. The anime strikes the balance a lot better simply due to the more deliberate and apparent comedic timing, making the ‘cringe-factor’ superior in the anime.

What specifically is better about the anime? Aside from the obvious and already mentioned positives of anime adaptations in general the anime feels simultaneously more and less hopeless. While the anime is arguably more comedic and therefore lighter in tone just by the addition of musical cues it also relies more heavily on the aforementioned sitcom structure which makes it feel like forward character progression ~sometimes~ gets stymied in favour of having “everything back the way it was at the start of the episode” and that makes for a more rounded and enjoyable surface-level experience.

What specifically is better about the manga? The aforementioned “surface level enjoyment” of the anime makes it a more shallow experience compared to the manga. Whether it’s true or not it at least feels like the manga is a lot more intimate with the character. For example, Tomoko’s thoughts as she interacts with people are present alongside the dialogue rather than being something that’s cut to for comedic effect. This is simply a virtue of manga since text bubbles for both speech and thought are present at the same time but where it might feel overloaded or even confusing in an anime (especially if it’s the sub) in the manga it feels almost like a diary. Being able to read this deeply troubled and sometimes deeply sad individuals more private thoughts as she tries to navigate social encounters makes for a richer and more rewarding experience. Also, while the anime still has plenty of references to otaku culture, the sheer density, complexity and specificity of the references are so much more satisfying (and explained at the back of each volume) in the manga that there’s an added layer of joy to almost every scene.

These are the just the ‘translator notes’ from *just* the first 47 pages of Volume 1 (which has 180 pages)! References to Gantz and Parasyte alongside AKB48 and Hatoful Boyfriend! So much!

No Matter How I Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! Anime VS Manga—which version is better? From a purely entertainment level (assuming you’re a fan of cringe comedy) the anime nails that genre from the get-go and doesn’t let up for the whole season. But that said the manga feels like a more rounded experience, even if it’s lacking in some respects such as aesthetics and comedic pacing. I personally prefer the more consistent and prominent comedic edge of the anime and so will ultimately recommend that but only by the slightest of margins—the manga definitely has a lot of unique selling factors and is well worth reading alongside or after watching the series in order to get a more complete experience.

More Anime VS Manga Comparisons:

Shomin Sample

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Anime VS Manga – Shomin Sample

Anime VS Manga – A comparison review between the anime and manga of Shomin Sample

This is a new series for this blog comparing a manga and its relevant anime adaptation, discerning which version is ‘better’. These posts will be spoiler-free comparisons helping to inform people on which version is better—in my opinion of course. Also, this post contains some NSFW imagery.

What’s the important information? Shomin Sample (full title: Shomin Sample: I Was Abducted by an Elite All-Girls School as a Sample Commoner) is a series originally based of a Light Novel series that ran 11 volumes from November 2011 to July 2016 however we’re strictly talking about the adaptation from manga to anime here. The manga is ongoing, starting in July 2012 and as of August 2018 has 14 volumes. The anime adaptation aired in the Fall 2015 anime season and ran 12 episodes.

What’s it about? Shomin Sample is a harem/romantic-comedy series about a high-school boy Kimito Kagurakaza who is abducted by the faculty of an elite and secretive private girl’s boarding school in order to be their ‘sample commoner’. This school is filled privileged girls who’ve spent their life isolated from the outside world in order to preserve their “innocence”, however this isolation often leads the girls to become inundated and over-stimulated by the ‘real world’ once they graduate. Kimito’s influence is intended to prepare the girls for the ‘real world’ as a “common man” but seen of no actual threat to the girls as the faculty is under the false impression that he has a ‘muscle man fetish’—hence why he was chosen.

Not sure if that qualifies as “unique” but whatever.

Which has the better art? The character designs of the anime feels a bit looser than the manga, obviously the vibrant colours help to offset any deficit in the line-work but overall I feel the manga has the edge strictly from a detail perspective however it’s very close. My vote however will go to the manga in this instance.

He’s a thigh man. P.S. the ‘translator’ notes in this manga are just great.

Which has the better comedy? Some of the best jokes in this series almost completely miss their mark in the manga, whether it’s because of difficulties translating a very specific reference or running gags going under the radar the anime has the advantage as the blatant ‘jokes’ have more attention pulled to them in the anime. Something like “gets” a very Japanese reference that feels almost lost in the manga is brought to the forefront in the anime and becomes one of the funniest and most quotable parts of the later half of the season. The anime wins this category.

Which has the better characterisation? With regard to characters neither show nor manga feels short-changed, with the exception of some minor adaptation changes the characters more or less feel the same in the anime as they did in the manga. I’m calling this one a draw.

Which has the better pacing? In any adaptation pacing can significantly change the overall ~feeling~ of a piece of work. While the manga has a certain charm about it’s deliberately slow pacing the anime accelerates what could be seen as ‘plodding’ and transforms it into ‘energetic’. The manga is never boring but often longwinded whereas the anime is occasionally repetitive but never dull. The anime edges out the manga in this instance.

For some reason this scene was gorgeously animated, more so than the rest of the series.

Which has the better fan service? If fan service is what you’re here for—and let’s face it, it’s a harem series so it’s going to be a part of many people’s reasons for reading/watching then you’re best to stick with the manga. While it’s nice to see these girls in action, there is zero full-frontal nudity in the anime with the majority of the fan service relying on underwear shots and suggestive outlines. The manga on the other hand contains frequent (in context) nipple sightings as well as detailed artwork, the manga is therefore superior in this category.

I mean he’s the only boy at the school it was bound to happen eventually! (It happens in Vol. 1)

What specifically is better about the anime? In a word, performances, as much as the manga tries it’s best to give unique personalities to all the female characters in Kimito’s new world—there’s nothing quite like perfectly picked voice actors to bridge the gap from paper to screen. Among the best are main girl Aika—whose vulnerable performance is among the best tsundere’s I’ve seen in an anime and Hakua, whose cute, minimalist line deliveries are almost the rival to Kanna from Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. These two performances alone are worthy of watching the series through.

What specifically is better about the manga? The manga isn’t beholden to run-time or budgetary restraints and thus paints a world far grander and can spend more time with things that might be considered superfluous in an adaptation. Likewise the attention to detail is increased in the manga as are the references to other manga, which for an otaku such as myself is a real plus. The protagonist is a fan of Yuriyuri and seeing pages dedicated to talking about that series in this one was a real joyous experience whereas in the anime its relegated to a brief passing mention.

It goes on for a few more pages, I was loving every minute of it.

Shomin Sample, Anime vs Manga—which is better? The anime captures the spirit of this manga very well which is something not to be ignored it is absolutely a worthwhile adaptation of the core things that made the manga so enjoyable. However it is by no means a perfect adaptation, several clever jokes and references are dumbed down for the anime to make for more broadly “enjoyable” sequences (changing the interesting all-female Street Fighter arcade game into a simple DDR game is a particularly goading example). Also, while it’s an entirely subjective alteration—the lack of any real nudity in the anime robs the series of a certain ~salacious~ quality that the manga had throughout. You can watch the anime and not miss too much of importance and that’s definitely a selling feature in favour of the adaptation but personally I prefer the manga as it feels just a bit more authentic to the general aesthetic of the series.

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