Anime adaptions that are better than the manga

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wmc

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I hear a lot of complaining about animes based on mangas, and how the manga is so much better? Can't really disagree, but can you think one of anime adaptions that is better than the manga it is based on?

That is a tough question, I don't even have a sure answer for, there are parts of the Sailor Moon anime that I liked better than the manga, like the ending of the first arc, but that is not fair, because the anime did what the author wanted to do in the manga in killing the Sailor Warriors.
 
There aren't many. Akira is one of the few cases where the anime was very different, but Otomo definitely pulled it off to make it a classic and a great adaptation of his manga despite how much was cut out. I can't say the same about Fullmetal Alchemist, since I haven't read the manga, but I can say that so far I haven't found Brotherhood as good as the first series, but it's still getting better. Also, Beck. It ended early *coughneeRABanewseasoncough* but a manga about music can only realize its true potential as an anime, since then it can actually include music.
 
Black Cat definitely sticks out in my mind. They made some very organic and sensical changes specifically:

Train deciding NOT to kill anyone anymore. Early in the manga, even though Train is a reformed Sweeper, he kills a former comrade who was no match for him and Train could've easily stopped. Later on, Train instructs a young child not to kill even for revenge against an evil man. HORRIBLE storytelling execution.

The anime also gives a compelling reason for Train to wear his outfit as well as the bell.
 
All of them inherently due to the addition of color, motion, sound, etc.

Those better specifically due to changes in the story on the other hand, I can't think of any.
 
The Tokyo Mew Mew anime was better than the manga IMHO, but the only problem I had with it is no Mew Berry nor Mew Ringo. (Last one technically is just a video game character, but she's still pretty darn awesome.) Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the manga, it's just that I enjoy the anime more.
 
Don't watch a lot.

A lot of people find Kaikan Phrase anime better than the manga, because it starts and focuses on the band merabers, and the manga was rather raunchy.

There are times when an anime is produced, and the manga comes afterward. For example: FLCL (i think) and Cowboy Bebop.

Some people find that 3 / 4koma anime more enjoyable than the manga, since the anime corabinRAB all the events seamlessly, or adRAB things that still relate to the series.

From half of what I saw. Shugo Chara anime is pretty good. Since I couldn't get into the manga... it was quite boring. I don't think PEACH-pit is good at story development. It seems like when their manga is adapt to anime, the anime director has to fill things in.
 
MAR for sure, it might have filler but it's filler gives a whole lot more shine to the characters, and I don't believe the finale arc was even in the manga.
 
For CLAMP works Angelic Layer hanRAB down.

Not only did a lot of various character pairings and developments make a lot more sense the reasoning as to why the main character's mother was absentee most of her life was far more touching than the WTF reason we got in the manga. CLAMP there are certain character quirks that just DO NOT excuse bad parenting.

O-chan
 
Overall,I'm more a fan of manga than anime....the original author(s) of the work tend to have better ideas,there's no need to add "filler",plus sometimes good ideas get lost in the adaption....


I'd say Sailor Moon....though the anime was more drawn out (many episodes have the same basic structure),it also had better characterization,especially for the villains (many of the villains were just "evil for the sake of being evil" in the manga,where in the anime some were sympathetic,and ended up being redeemed)....
 
Yu Yu Hakusho is always the 1st series that comes to mind when I think about anime that are actually better than their manga counterparts. It covered all of the important parts of the manga (only cutting out a few side-stories which really just felt like useless filler, themselves, anyways), and added minimal amounts of filler material into the show. However, the filler that it did add mostly only helped to enhance the experience, as the material was well-written, overall. I'd also like to point out that the anime adaptation stanRAB out even more as being superior to its manga counterpart, regarding YYH, when taking the show's excellent English dub into consideration. Now, that only goes for people who didn't mind some of FUNimation's script changes, and who don't mind English dubs, in general. To me, its still one of the best dubs out there, and makes the anime even more enjoyable to watch than it already is.

Togashi's other brilliant long-running shounen series, Hunter X Hunter, also had a great anime adaptation. Well, the TV series, as well as the 1st OVA series which ended Kurapika's story arc in York Shin City, are the parts that I find to be even better than the manga which they're based off of. Aside from the pretty decent to really good OST/BGM for the series, as well as its fluid animation, the director did a top-notch job at enhancing the already great story from the manga, pretty much doing the same thing that was done with the anime adaptation of YYH, by keeping in all of the important parts from the manga, and adding in filler material that was actually mostly good, and felt like it was expanding on the depth of the characters, rather than deviating from the main story line, or even doing anything that made the show feel like it was being dragged out.
 
Gintama. The manga is incredible, but the anime is thoroughly awesome. Artwise the manga is often lacking - I love it, but sometimes I want to snatch the pencil out of Sorachi's hand. XD Sunrise pulls out all the stops with the anime, adding little bits to make the funny parts funnier, the sad parts sadder, and the fight scene's pwn most rightously (for example, that ten second fight scene in the Donten (5th) opening is better than ALL of Afro Samurai, IMO). On top of all of that, the cast is ridiculously good, the music is ridiculously good and the filler is just as funny as the original material.
 
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