Anime and Manga Reviews
As I get more time and start reading new manga, I'll put up a paragraph (or five depending on how much I like the series) about my opinions on the series. The main type of reviews I'll be doing are comparisons between the anime and manga versions.
I suggest you read the reviews when you've already read or seen the anime or manga and want to know if the other is worth reading/watching. Beware the spoilers...but it's still SO worth it to know the differences...Especially with some of Arina Tanemura's works...ANYWAY! Enjoy the reviews! (Not all are up, just a few).
Full Moon wo Sagashite
Author: Arina Tanemura
Comparison: Between the two, my personal favorite is the manga. Reasons? I actually have two GOOD reasons. The first being the major change they made in the anime. In the MANGA, Mitsuki KNEW that Eichi is already dead. This hidden side of her adds a lot of personality to the main character such as the inner darkness she has, and the strong desire to believe he isn't gone yet. This in turn effects her work, meaning that none of the songs come as strongly from her heart as you'd think.
However, in the anime, Mitsuki has to go to America to discover this and it takes away EXTREMELY from her depth of personality.
The second reasoning is the ending. The anime's ending isn't BAD, but the manga is BETTER. It goes into the future and shows Mitsuki at her concert NOT as Full Moon. Just before he last song, Takuto appears...Now this is after Takuto fades away because he'd recovered all his memories and had spent his life to help Mitsuki. So the fact that Takuto is there, is the biggest shock ever. And Mitsuki just completely jumps over the railings (to seperate the crowd from the stage) and runs to him. Then she yells at him for not calling and stuff and he yells back....ANYWAY! The point is they have a passionate embrace and a kiss. After shocking the yell outta the crowd, they start cheering and she pulls him to the stage and sings the final song. Then Eichi's ghost finally passes on.
In the anime, Takuto is just walking around after losing his memory and Mitsuki happens to see him. She yells his name and runs after him, and just then he turns around. End. Like, if I remember right, it suggests that he remembers her or that everything between them works out, but it's just not as good as the manga.
Another, but lesser, reason is that in the anime they actually have episodes where they, the Shinigami, do things following a guide book that has things appear that might cause Mitsuki to continue to live. Now this isn't right since in the manga, Mitsuki's name slowly started disappearing from the list when the two Shinigami went to see her. This adds a hell've a lot to the plot. Not to mention, without the little book and the things they have to do to prevent Mitsuki from wanting to keep living, the story can focus more on Mitsuki and all the emotional and REAL problems.
Conclusion: The manga is better. BUT! If you want to see both, watch the ANIME FIRST. Then the manga; that way you won't be as disappointed, but instead, you'll be much more excited.My Rating:
Anime: 6/10
Manga: 9/10
Detective Conan [Case Closed]
Author: Aoyama Gosho
Comparison: The two, the manga and anime, don't vary about too many things nor too often. They follow each other pretty closely with the exception that the anime has more fillers than anyone could normally imagine. The anime is forever longer than the manga. However, the manga isn't straight sticker to the plot. The manga too has its fillers...except all its fillers are also in the anime and so the anime is maybe twice as long. Not to mention the anime has movies that goes with it. However, the manga [obviously] doesn't have movies with it. When trying to think of plot differences there isn't much. However, I've heard people say the manga makes the bad guys look more evil and a bigger role while in the anime, it loses some of that. This can be true depending on the individual. However, nothing is really changed.
Conclusion: If you're wondering which to start with, I'd suggest the manga and then watch the anime. Reason being because the anime has more fillers and it might be nice to see in action what was kind of crammed together in the manga. However, between the two, there isn't a "better". The art is basically the same with the exception that ones colored and has less lines maybe. In the end, it's all up to the individual. I suggest go both ways. Watch and Read. [Note: the MANGA is farther along then the anime.]
My Rating:
Anime: 9/10
Manga: 9/10
Gundam SEED
Authors: Hajime Yatate / Yoshiyuki Tomino
Comparison: There isn't really that much to compare. The anime has WAY more than the manga. The art is better...but then again some might like the manga art better. Though neither are from the author. The manga art was done by Masatsugu Iwase. The work isn't bad, it just comes down to each individual and what style they prefer.
They follow basically the same story line. Though, things in the manga DO seem to go faster and might seem crammed together. As far as events...they follow the same storyline so you shouldn't miss too much either way.
Conclusion: I suggest you read the manga first, simply because it's easier to get confused with the fast pace of the manga. Then follow up with the anime, which would help explain everything and go at a slower pace. However! If you read the manga first, you might find the anime too slow...so watching the anime first might be better anyway. Either way, they're both worth giving a chance.My Rating:
Anime: 10/10
Manga: 7/10
One Piece
Author: Eiichiro OdaComparison:
Surprisingly, the anime follows the manga pretty closely. Sure, like all animes, the anime adds more than the manga. A scene here, a scene there. But amazingly, it doesn't stray from the manga. It basically follows the manga to a T EXCEPT...it does add its own little mini-side-stories. Such as finding a girl who ate the fruit of talking to animals and helping her and the dragon she has hidden. Although this wasn't in the manga, after this little "side-story" is delt with, the anime finds its way back to the manga's plot line. The anime tends to do this alot, making the series WAY longer. This isn't a bad thing, simply because it still fits in the story and it doesn't vary far from the manga's intentions. Not only does the anime follow closely enough, it also has all the important things it must have. The anime doesn't forget to bring out a character that might have an important roll later on. The manga is more straight forward compared to the anime, but that's only because the anime has so much more!
However, one MAJOR noticable difference is how the series starts off. The manga starts off in Luffy's past, instantly explaining how he got the devil-fruit-powers, who "Shanks" is, and what his straw-hat means to him and why. In the anime, on the otherhand, the series starts off with Coby and the introduction to Luffy when Luffy is brought aboard the ship via barrel. We then LATER learn about Luffy's past. So, the anime doesn't follow AS closely as I remembered, BUT it does eventually show everything the manga did. Just sometimes, the little stories are out of order in a fashion that doesn't mess up the plot in anyway.
The art many be simple, but the story's plot is strong and complicated. You may not notice just HOW complicated it is until Robin joins the crew, but there is more to the series then meets the eye.
Conclusion: So to wrap this up, the anime and manga are BOTH worth seeing. However, it might be better to watch the anime first. I learned the hard way, but once you've read the fight scenes, you're more likely to want to rush through the anime fight scenes which, of course, will take longer than the manga. So I do suggest watching the anime first, and maybe following behind with the manga...or putting some time between the two and using the manga as a "re-read/re-watch" kind of thing. Either way, it's a series worth watching.My Rating:
Anime: 9/10
Manga: 10/10
Prince of Tennis
Author: Takeshi KonomiComparison:
"The anime is quite different from the manga version. For example, in the anime Niou and Yagyuu did not cosplay each other in the regionals, whereas they did in the manga. However, all the radios, mini dramas, CDs and games make references to this and act as if it had always took place. Thus, someone who only watched the anime might be confused by the different portrayals.
Notable differences include the addition of table tennis scenes and billiard scenes in the anime. Episodes in the anime also deal with Kevin Smith and the U.S. West Coast Team, whereas the American team does not exist within the manga. Events in the anime also take place at a different time than when they take place in the manga; in the tournament where Seigaku is supposed to face off with Midoriyama, they switch the tournament draw in the anime, and put Jyousei Shounan to face Seigaku instead.
Also, while the manga makes an attempt to try and explain how some of the seemingly impossible moves are performed, such as the Tezuka Zone and Kikumaru's Seal Steps, the anime does less and sometimes even exaggerate them to a point where it becomes almost magical. This is possibly also due to the fact that the anime uses animation and naturally some effects are enhanced, but at times the anime seems to deliberately exaggerate the effects in order to parody itself. In the animated movie, Tezuka's skill and power has been compared to that of the meteorite which led to the extinction of dinosaurs in a lengthy clip; even the author found it so exaggerated that it was funny.[citation needed] Another instance is Ryoma's anime-only Cyclone Smash, which blows Sanada away completely, unlike many powerful smashes in the manga series which only blow away the opponent's racket." [Quoted from Wikipedia]
My own input isn't as specific, but more of a generalization. Both the anime and manga are good. They obviously will have things that differ compared to eachother. The manga is much, and I mean WAY faster then the anime. Simply because the anime you actually WATCH each shot hit back and forth and because the anime tends to drawout the tennis sceens. The manga, on the otherhand, doesn't shorten the sceens, but focus more on the cooler and better shots rather then the valleying back and forth; at times, it even skips the useless stuff and cuts to the shots that matter.
The anime also has those little mini-chibi-side-shows. Which aren't bad, but some might not like them. And although the manga doesn't have nearly as many, it does have its own cute little side stories. For example, the team plays volleyball and goes bowling together. So each, the anime and manga, have their own little breathers.
Conclusion: I personal have a stronger liking for the manga, but I also enjoyed watching the anime. The cute mini-chibi-side-shows were also hillarious and amusing to watch. I originally watched the series in Japanese, thus I'm not sure if the English dub is worth it, but I do believe both are worth checking out. At the least, the manga, which seems to be the original of the two.My Rating:
Anime: 8/10
Manga: 9.5/10
YuGiOh! GX
Author: Naoyuki KageyamaComparison:
The anime and manga are so different, you're almost following two different stories. How Juudai gets his "spirit" card varies so much, it's not even funny. In the manga, his "big brother" gives it to him and by time Juudai is in the academy, he knows that the card has a spirit and is calling it his "partner". Where as, in the anime, Yugi gives him the card just before Juudai takes the enterance dual exam to get into the academy. This sucks major because it takes away some of the MAJOR, and I do mean MAJOR feelings that Juudai has for the card. By it being given to him from Yugi, he doesn't know or understand the "spirit" of the card yet. He doesn't even KNOW about it for a while!
However, the anime is good about showing ya how Juudai got into the academy in the first place, which you don't know about in the manga. [I've only read the first manga and what has come out in Shonen Jump, so I don't know everything] Also, in the manga, Juudai and Shou are both already friends with Asuka. This makes it funny when Daichi finds out about, since he's a secret admirer of Asuka. It's also the event that makes Daichi join the friendship wagon. The anime, they all aren't really friends till later...and a SLOW later at that.
The biggest, and most annoying difference to me, is they changed the monsters. Juudai's main Elemental Heros changed so drastically that I was majorly disappointed in the anime. The anime finished first, but I believe the real treasure will be in the manga.
The anime focuses a LOT on the dualing, which isn't bad but just...well...there has to be some life outside of it, just like in the original Yu-Gi-Oh!. The manga balances both pretty well.
Conclusion: In the end, I suggest the manga. If you don't want to be disappointed, watch the anime first and then read the manga...but the anime doesn't compare to the manga in my opinion. Sadly, in BOTH the names were changed to more "English" kind of names...so either way, you're gonna be seein' them like that. BUT! It's still worth it.My Rating:
Anime: 5/10
Manga: 9.5/10
Copyrights & Credits
- Manga Connections © Brandi Wilkinson
- Vampire Knight © Matsuri Hino
bravenet.com