Do you prefer an anime series to follow the manga exactly or veer a little off course?
I've had this discussion with several people lately. Mostly, we were talking about the differences in reading a book and then seeing the Hollywood movie. Some people get very passionate about this so please keep your passion in check when reading others' comments and when writing your own. (I should know. I'm one of them. ) Thanks!
My personal opinion? I prefer them to be slightly different. I don't like it when series/movies stay identical to the book they are based on. I mean there's no point for me. Total yawner no matter how much I liked the book.
I selected, It depends on the series. Simply because I don't read much manga.
However, I can't think of any anime the follow the manga precisely. Most anime (at least) vary by removing some things to concentrate on the main story line.
That isn't even considering the manga that is written after the anime. The 2 that I have read, have been very different from the anime.
miz ducky wrote:I selected, It depends on the series. Simply because I don't read much manga.
However, I can't think of any anime the follow the manga precisely. Most anime (at least) vary by removing some things to concentrate on the main story line.
This pretty much echoes my opinion and standings on the matter as well. Sometimes there is just too much content to follow in a film or TV series and some sacrifices are inevitable. Lord of the Rings certainly springs up to mind on this account. Fans got really annoyed that Tom Bombadil was not included in the films, but I totally understand why he wasn't. Although he was a good character, he was a supporting one and as you can see from the success and quality of the films, he wasn't necessary to further the plot. But yeah, it does depend on the anime, but I do understand that some changes have to made from time to time.
I understand omissions for the sake of making a story fit in the time alloted, I do not understand why people seem to feel like they have to invent stupid stuff when the original story works well and everything fits together.
Dave
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Depends On what new material is added, For example when Naruto veered from it's book form I found the episodes kinda pointless, there wasn't any actual story development. On the other hand I like D Gray Man's big chunk of fillers because it gave information that the manga didn't (They went into one character who in the manga died pretty much the moment he entered.) And of course on the flip side of the coin I've stopped watching Vampire Knight because I felt it clung too closely to the manga (this isn't bad necessarily but I'm not as interested when I know EXACTLY what's coming). Not that I won't pick that series back up again in the future but with it's manga counterpart still fresh in mind I don't see the point.
For me it really depends. If the original source was very good or a masterpiece I wouldn't want them to change much.
It seems like when anime producers add something that wasn't in the manga it's at least a couple steps below the manga's quality of storyline (and I don't mean anime-only filler material).
I understand how straight manga adaptions can get a little boring though.
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1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
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I really don't care as long as it's done well. If it didn't follow the manga but expanded the story more then great. If it followed the manga, provided the story was good (after all why would they make an anime out of a poor story?) then that's good too.
The Three Laws of Robotics:
1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
-I, Robot (Asimov)
sometimes if the anime is too similar to the manga storyline, i find myself getting bored with the manga. this happened to me when i first began watching inuyasha- but when the anime ended, i picked the manga right back up. so i don't think the similarities really hurt my enjoyment of the series. i believe it should depend on the series though.
) Thanks! 
On what new material is added, For example when Naruto veered from it's book form I found the episodes kinda pointless, there wasn't any actual story development. On the other hand I like D Gray Man's big chunk of fillers because it gave information that the manga didn't (They went into one character who in the manga died pretty much the moment he entered.) And of course on the flip side of the coin I've stopped watching Vampire Knight because I felt it clung too closely to the manga (this isn't bad necessarily but I'm not as interested when I know EXACTLY what's coming). Not that I won't pick that series back up again in the future but with it's manga counterpart still fresh in mind I don't see the point.
