Summary
When it comes to eitheranimeor manga, fans end up debating which medium tells the story better. While some people appreciate the raw artistry of hand-drawn panels of a manga, the anime enthusiast likely prefers the kinetic high-motion world brought to life by animation.
Anime adaptations often balance between staying true to the source material and making some additions to it. There have been anime that have ruined great manga, but then there are anime that took inspiration from the source material and brought new layers to them with quality and execution. These adaptations have demonstrated that, occasionally, the screen version can offer something better than the original manga ever could.
10Bunny Drop
Deviates Significantly From The Controversial Manga Ending
Thanks to the anime’s decision to wrap up before the manga’s controversial chapters, Bunny Drop shines as a slice-of-life series that beautifully explores the true meaning of caring for someone.
The series starts with the wholesome dynamics between Daikichi and Rin, his grandfather’s illegitimate daughter, whom he takes in and raises after the death of her parents. While the manga explores an uncomfortable romantic subplot, the anime sticks to the early chapters that portray the father-daughter relationship between the duo. Fans were greatly relieved by this choice and ended up cheering for the anime adaptation’s finale.
9Initial D
Racing Cars’ Animations That Rev Up One’s Adrenaline
The classic street-racing anime from the 90s, Initial D, introduces us to 18-year-old Takumi Fujiwara and his evolution from a laid-back delivery boy to a top-tier street racer. When the anime first aired, everyone was in awe of its animation that featured drag racing on empty streets, and cars drifting on the twisty mountain roads of Japan’s Kanto region.
While its manga relied on still images of racing cars, the anime knew how to put the viewer right there with the characters in the driving seat.
8Nichijou
When You Have An Unlimited Animation Budget And A Slice Of Life Story
Nichijou may easily be one of the most hilarious anime ever presented in the slice-of-life genre. It’s so unforgettable that you may already have seen its funny, out-of-context clips floating around the internet, even if you haven’t watched the show.
Nichijou captures the unusual daily lives of the people of Tokisadame, focusing mainly on three childhood friends, and as their day progresses it somehow manages to get funnier because its absurdity just keeps escalating. While it maintains many similarities to its manga, the anime is a complete package due to its stunning animation and an even sharper comedic edge.
7Attack On Titan
Isayama’s Creation Turned Into Something Legendary
Attack on Titan’s creator, Hajime Isayama, may be the master of plot twists, but his early manga chapters leave much to be desired, with the first few arcs just being basic drawings.
In 2013, when WIT studio took on the project, it turned the source material into a visual spectacle that knocked it right out of the park in terms of scale. The fast-paced movements of the 3-D maneuver gear, the crazy fight sequels, and everything Levi does all come together in a collage of bloody animation that easily surpasses what the manga offers.
6Gintama
A Pure Comedy Fest That Keeps The Laughs Coming
Among the most defining features of a great comedic character is their voice acting, and having such characters makes Gintama a series that fans can’t get enough of.
The animated series could show us a single still image of a character for an entire minute, and the voice actor’s performances would still have us laughing.
The manga also had a lot of great moments and characters, but none of them would have come to life if it wasn’t for the amazing voice acting. The show gave each character much more personality, which made even the mediocre jokes into laugh-out-loud moments.
5Hunter X Hunter
The Pinnacle Of Shōnen Anime
Hunter X Hunter is undoubtedly one of the greatest shōnen series ever, earning numerous accolades, including the 2011 Anime of the Decade award.
Illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi, the manga gave ussome amazing arcs in the form of the exceptionally long Chimera Antand the Green Island arcs, but they wouldn’t be so epic if it wasn’t for the execution of the anime. The lively animation and unique character designs made it stand out from the manga while setting a bar that only a few series have managed to reach to this day.
4Demon Slayer
Ufotable’s Animation Team Consistently Gives Us Bangers
Demon Slayer took off immediately when Ufotable Studios adapted the manga in 2019. The series’ gritty animation was a major draw, which left everyone’s jaws on the floor in a few sequences.
The animated series had brilliantly choreographed fight scenes that turned such asimple narrative of Tanjiro’s revenge story against the classically evil Muzan Kibutsujiinto something truly exceptional. While the manga is just as good in its own right and helped build a lot of tropes and characters, it was truly the anime that brought these elements to life and the manga’s popularity to new heights.
3Mob Psycho 100
Perfects Delivers On Emotions Anda Characters
One’s art style was quite rudimentary when he began working on the Mob Psycho manga series, but his creative concepts were so strong that when the anime studio took over, he turned his manga into a world-class animation.
Undoubtedly, Mob Psycho’s animation is top-notch, with some of the best action sequences ever produced. The anime also manages to execute many of its emotional scenes with perfection, and the whole personality of Mob was improved to make his character more realistic and believable, giving him the best anime glow we’ve seen in a long while.
2JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
Truly Bizarre In Every Regard
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a hugely popular anime that brought us unforgettable characters like Jotaro Kujo and the internet sensation Dio Brando, a villain like no other we’ve seen before.
Originally adapted from a Japanese manga series, the bizarre nature of the animewith a weird animation style and the fresh concept of ‘Stands’contributed to making the anime a unique masterpiece, much better than the manga. There is no denying that the manga is packed with witty comedy and over-bombastic dialogue, but we cannot imagine Jojo’s adventure without all the improvements the anime studio made.
1Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Stunning Aesthetics That Leave The Manga Far Behind
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is a tale of an immortal elf girl, Frieren, who watches her companions age and pass away before she truly gets to know them. Anyone who has seen the anime can agree that it was a near-perfect adaptation, staying honest with the manga.
One area where the anime really shone was how it fleshed out its aesthetic and gave the scenery more attention to detail, unlike the manga, which moves at a lazy pace. The anime also improved the fight scenes with better choreography, making it a prominent visual upgrade from the manga, and one of the best possible adaptations you could get from a manga.
