Manga Versus Anime: To Read, Watch, or Both?

One of the greatest questions I have found as a manga reviewer is whether or not reading the manga is going to enhance or destroy the anime? Or vice versa. 

Allow me to illustrate my feelings using a non-manga example. The first time I

Hunger Games made me hungry for answers

watched the Hunger Games I ended up asking a LOT of questions, especially about why they do the three finger salute. I looked it up but found the answers not exactly clear and a bit frustrated at the variety of comments made by fellow watchers. So I read the book and it made not just a little sense, it also enhanced the storyline. In fact I was so into the first book I spent a weekend reading the rest of the series.

Yes to the Book Series. No to seeing another movie!

   Now the downside...I could not bear to watch anymore of the films knowing the future the story takes. Knowing your favorite characters are going to go through some tough shite and then meet their maker in horrid ways does not make for great viewing.Did reading the books ruin the films for me? Yes in the way that I was not going to watch another one. However, I found myself getting so much more enjoyment from the series than the movies could do that in the end...I am glad I read them.

    Now on to the point...I believe if you really find yourself intriqued or even loving an anime then you should definitely read the manga. So many animes I

Lizzy (Kuroshitsuji) looks sweet in anime/early manga but badass sword skills
emerge in the later manga chapters. 

enjoy always seem to end a little abruptly mostly because they never caught up to or had to end before the manga got there. One example being Kuroshitsuji (which I have an on and off again relationship with) the manga only made for a better anime experience also it did clear up a lot of details. Although the whole second season is not in the manga but I got to experience both which was awesome. D. Gray Man is another great example although the manga is on a permanent(?) hiatus right at its peak of awesomeness.

Shiroyasha never fails to impress whether in manga
or in anime Gintama

    When it comes to having read a manga first I do often seek out the anime. Most of the time I find myself thinking the anime falls flat. Why? You cannot get every detail into a twenty four episode show that you could in a seventy chapter manga. No one (well the one person who watches anime with me) probably appreciates when I feel the need to point out how this or that was not in the manga. And sometimes I think the manga writers never met the creators of the anime because the two are so radically different the only common point is the name. Then I find an anime like Gintama and the manga goes hand in hand. The characters, voices, antics, make the manga really come to life in my head. All I can think is....yesssss...f***ing awesome!

   What is the final consensus?

With manga art like this...I ended up never finishing the anime.
FYI check out my manga review on Tokyo Ghoul.

If you find yourself really into an anime or manga then definitely check out both. For your sanity I recommend finishing one before the other. I attempted to watch Tokyo Ghoul and read the manga. Finally I stopped the anime just to focus on the manga. Doing both just got confusing since multiple chapters make up one episode so then you get to wondering...where was that in the manga? O yeah. I have yet to get there. Then reading the manga and wondering if I skipped an episode in the anime because obviously something was missing. Sheesh. Give your brain a break.

    There are always exceptions like La Corda d Oro. It has so much music there you cannot get the same

Manga could not make up for the silence. Anime on classical music needs
some music!

feelings from the manga. I tried. Only Ave Maria just does not flow in my head the way it does when being played on a violin. That anime is one of my few exceptions where I truly did want to read manga but could not find myself enjoying it having seen the show first.

Cheers and a gold badge for you!

  Most of all remember the experience should always be fun. Just because you like an anime does not mean you have to read the whole manga. Same goes for the manga. As a reviewer I do not always have time to do both so I focus on the manga (clearly). If you like the storyline then feel free to watch the anime. I cannot promise you they will be the same or one is the BEST. I merely do my best to spark your interest in something new. So live life. Love Manga. and Enjoy Anime!