Times when you've prefered the anime version of a character over the manga's, or vicey sersa

[Dylonius Funk]

Pretty straightforwards question. Something i came up with reading all these different threads that have posts saying that the manga is better than the anime. Well i thought i'd see where people prefered the way an anime made a character different from it's manga counterpart, in ways both positive and negative.

I'll start off with one for each side from Fruits Basket. I cannot stand the manga Tohru after the 9th volume whihc pretty much coveres all the anime material. For some reaosns she seems like she becomes really ditzy and more of an airhead in tlater volumes. I can't really put my finger on it but i much prefer her in the anime. I think the chacrter design is nicer to look at, and i love Laura Baileys voice. On the other hand, like many folks i perfer the manga Shigure. In the anime he's pretty much comic relife, but in the mnaga he has a much more interesting side, and is a bit darker. He has some very interesting scenes in the manga that weren't in the anime. So those are my two picks.

[XenoCrisis0153]

The cast of Mai-HiME. The anime version seems more crisp and defined than both the manga and computer game versions.

Other instances of Anime better than Manga characters:
- Comic Party
- Tsukiyomi Moon Phase
- DearS
- He is My Master
- Galaxy Angels
- Kashimashi ~ Girls Meets Girl

Instances where Manga is better than Anime characters:
- Chobits
- Mahou Sensei Negima
- Love Hina

[ohtori_akio]

Not necessarily the character but I think that Revolutionary Girl Utena was better as an anime series than as a manga. This is probably due to the high level of symbolism in the anime that just created a mysterious and enthralling atmosphere that you just couldn't get from a manga series.

The movie manga of Utena though is as good or better than the Utena movie (the manga came out after the movie for this one I believe) as it creates the same creepy atmosphere seen in the movie with a higher degree of symbolism than the regular manga set + they develop the charcater a bit more than the movie does.

Saint Seiya is probably another series I prefer as an anime than as a manga as my favourite arc (the Asgard Series) does not even exist in the manga. There are some inconsistencies in the anime that are not as obvious in the manga so it could be the other way around for a lot of fans.

GANTZ is one that would DEFINITELY be better as a manga as the anime was excreciable. Based on the one volume I read, the pacing issue is not a problem and that allows the series to show its potential.

[Shsway]

I was just thinking today, upon finally finishing the CCS manga, that despite her being a bit more weird and creepy in anime, the show really develops Daidouji Tomoyo more as a person. The manga has her being fairly perfect, fluffy and happy along with her intuitive ability, but she gets better angst in the show. One notable episode, and a couple of other moments in the series where the animators really give us an idea of the fact that she can be hurt.

On the other hand, she looks way cuter in the manga, given CLAMP's amazing ability to style and costume a character. I guess either one appeals depending on the day, but better characterization normally wins out with me.

Sumeragi Subaru, from X, seems much more gentle in the manga from every perspective, when it comes to dealing with his anger/sadness and his relationships with others (<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>particularly the one that he develops with Kamui</span>).

Please Save My Earth's Sakaguchi Alice is less weepy in the manga, though that could be the length of one as opposed to the other. All of the characters are that much more casual in the books, but Alice in particular is quite a melancholic priss in the anime.

Jury gets something better to angst about in the Revolutionary Girl Utena anime. Obviously, everyone is less perfect and idealized in the show, which is good.

Anime Ryoko is MUCH sexier than manga Ryoko (Tenchi).

Manga Kenshin is cheekier and, in some ways, "manlier" than the animated version.

Edit: The Sailor Senshi, barring Rei perhaps, (and Mina, in the later seasons), benefited in some way from being animated. They're all so darn lovable and down to earth.

That's all I can think of, at the moment.

[jecca-neko]

[ QUOTE ]
Shsway said:
Jury gets something better to angst about in the Revolutionary Girl Utena anime. Obviously, everyone is less perfect and idealized in the show, which is good.

[/ QUOTE ]

I still want to read that manga.

Me personally, I like the cast of Sailor Moon a lot more in the anime. Sure, in the manga is a lot less filler since they get straight to the chase with fighting enemies and such. But the cast itself doesn't get as much development IMO. Sure, 18 tankoubons is a decent number, but compare that to 200 episodes, 3 movies, and a handful of specials.

I will say certain portions of the plot, specifically the SuperS plot, I prefer the manga form of, but I still prefer the character development in the anime.

That's all. I tend to read manga of stuff that there isn't an anime for, or if there is, I either started the manga first or just prefer the manga for some other reason. I tend to stick to one medium unless I really, really like the series enough that I want to watch the anime AND read the manga.

[Collectonian]

Hmm...first one that pops into my head is Usagi from Sailor Moon. I much prefer her in the manga because she seems much less whiny and cry-babish, where as in the anime those aspects were kicked up a few notches.

I also tend to like almost everyone from Marmalade Boy better in the manga, but especially Nan-chan who isn't the dick the anime makes him out to be. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[BluWacky]

The entire cast of Fantastic Children is horribly, horribly changed for the manga.

<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>All the female characters develop huge breasts, there's no Chit, Soreto fancies Thoma and can turn her arms into scythes, Mel gets turned into some kind of cyborg thing by Duma with, you guessed it, huge breasts, Enma is (note the singular) an enormous smiling blob, Dumas tries to rape Helga...</span>

It's the most hideous trainwreck of an anime "adaptation" imaginable, sharing virtually nothing of the anime's storyline save some character names and a couple of locations. AVOID.

[DrMM]

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jecca-neko said:
Me personally, I like the cast of Sailor Moon a lot more in the anime. Sure, in the manga is a lot less filler since they get straight to the chase with fighting enemies and such. But the cast itself doesn't get as much development IMO. Sure, 18 tankoubons is a decent number, but compare that to 200 episodes, 3 movies, and a handful of specials.


[/ QUOTE ]

I like many of the anime Sailor Moon characters more than their manga counterpart, except Tuxedo Mask. In the anime, his powers are pretty wimpy and limited to throwing roses, not to mention, we don't see much of his personality. In the manga, he's much more interesting and has more varied powers.

[pianocello]

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BluWacky said:
The entire cast of Fantastic Children is horribly, horribly changed for the manga.

<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>All the female characters develop huge breasts.</span>



[/ QUOTE ]

That's a bad thing?

[SnowfairyX]

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Shsway said:
I was just thinking today, upon finally finishing the CCS manga, that despite her being a bit more weird and creepy in anime, the show really develops Daidouji Tomoyo more as a person. The manga has her being fairly perfect, fluffy and happy along with her intuitive ability, but she gets better angst in the show. One notable episode, and a couple of other moments in the series where the animators really give us an idea of the fact that she can be hurt.

[/ QUOTE ]
I have yet to start reading the manga fully yet, but from from what I've heard about Tomoyo in the manga, I think I prefer her much better in the anime as well, but probably for more "shallow" reasons of which I know of. I hear that <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>there is much more innuendo in the manga than the anime that Tomoyo is a lesbian and I think that if the overall homosexual innuendo hadn't been toned down in the anime, I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. I know that some people would actually have liked Tomoyo to be even more blatantly lesbian, but in the context of the anime, I think that would have been too distracting and the thought just evokes feelings of disgust in me /images/graemlins/depresse.gif.</span>

[BluWacky]

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piano_cello_conducting said:
[ QUOTE ]
BluWacky said:
The entire cast of Fantastic Children is horribly, horribly changed for the manga.

<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>All the female characters develop huge breasts.</span>



[/ QUOTE ]

That's a bad thing?

[/ QUOTE ]

*sigh* Predictable as ever /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

Given that you hate the Fantastic Children anime (it was in your 10 worst anime of the year list, wasn't it?) and I love it, I'm sure you'd LOVE the manga; gratuitously large breasts and shoe-horned in yuri don't do it for me anyway, but I know they float your boat so...

(this is possibly a bit rude, but c'mon, you appear to watch/read anything with huge tits and lesbians in...)

[Captain Impulse]

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BluWacky said:
(this is possibly a bit rude, but c'mon, you appear to watch/read anything with huge tits and lesbians in...)

[/ QUOTE ]

I think that sums piano_cello_conducting up pretty well. Mind you, that's not a bad thing. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

Back on topic...

I thought Rei Ayanami was far more interesting in the Evangelion manga than in the series. While I liked her for the most part in the series (more at certain times than others), the manga I felt conveyed her internal struggles and attempts at adapting to society (making friends with Shinji, etc) in a more interesting way. The scene where she makes tea for Shinji and burns herself in the manga is a good example of that.

[doink-chan]

I think that Izumi Rio (or Lio, whatever...) from FMoS was far more developed in the manga than in the anime. In the anime he just seemed to be a one-dimensional villain <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>but in the manga he isn't like that at all and his past and his character are explored more in depth.</span>

[ayareiko]

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doink-chan said:
I think that Izumi Rio (or Lio, whatever...) from FMoS was far more developed in the manga than in the anime. In the anime he just seemed to be a one-dimensional villain <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>but in the manga he isn't like that at all and his past and his character are explored more in depth.</span>

[/ QUOTE ]
Most the time the original is superior to the derivatives. At least that's how it seems to me.

Anyway...

Love Hina manga &gt; anime
My-Hime anime &gt;&gt; manga

[shukusatsu]

I preferred the more streamlined artwork in the BECK anime compared to that of the manga. The Engrish was slightly annoying though.

I also liked the character designs in the Basilisk anime than in the manga (again, more streamlined).

[pathos]

I'll have to nominate Train Heartnet from Black Cat as one.

In the manga, he comes off as brash, sarcastic, and just generally inexperienced with dealing with others, so he tends to say the wrong thing alot. Sometimes he acts a bit goofy, but more of a purposeful thing. He also seems to be emulating how his friend Sayo acted to a certain extent, possibly because he really respected her. Fairly early in the manga he really stopped being vengeful, and more wanted to take care of unfinished business, if that makes sense.

In the anime, he's more of a, for lack of a better word, dork? Probably mostly on purpose once again. But, still, it hurts to see him acting that stupid really /images/graemlins/anger200.gif

I really dont mind the changes in storyline between the 2. the manga story was better imo, but I kind of like when they veer off storylines when translated from one to another. The changes in actual personality really bothered me though

[Shiroi Hane]

One that comes to mind is Misaki's mum (Shuuko?) in Angelic Layer. The anime version had a much better reason for <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>abandoning her child and messing around with toys for years instead</span>.