Guest Post: Kai (Fiction State of Mind) on Manga VS Anime

Hey guys! It is my pleasure to have Kai of Fiction State of Mind dropping by the blog to talk about manga and anime and which is better.

I hope ya'll will give her a warm welcome to the blog.

MANGA VS ANIME SMACKDOWN (SORTA)

Hi everyone I’m happy to be here at Orchid’s blog discussing one of my favorite genres:  Manga. It’s been amazing watching the growth of the Manga industry in the United States, especially with the female population. My very first manga was Naruto. I immediately fell in love with the genre and snapped up a ton of volumes. I also started watching the Anime. Anime offers a unique option for Manga fans: to see live action representations of their favorite characters, and books.

With the rising cost of Manga, Anime offers an opportunity to enjoy your favorite series at a fraction of the cost. I’ve found many Anime are very similar to the books so for budgetary reasons I’ve switched to renting series over buying manga. I really recommend Netflix for anyone interested in seeing the wide range of Anime available. Here are how some of the most popular Manga match up vs. their Anime.

HIGH SCHOOL OF THE DEAD

MANGA

Take a High School full of students, add zombies and watch the ensuing panic and vicious horror action. I’ve been wanting to get this series since I heard about it. I found the first two issues of the manga at Barnes & Noble. It was shrink wrapped and cost $12.95 and issue YIPES! A few weeks later I was at the store and the first issue was open. I sat a while and read the first few chapters to get a feel for the story and put it on my wish list. The book is great but the price really has me waiting to find issue s on a book swap site

ANIME

I found the HSTH Anime on Netflix streaming the other day and have really been enjoying it! The music, animation style and characters transfer really well to Anime. One warning for potential viewers : there is a lot  female “fan service”, meaning the girls have huge breast with little support, 90% of them are in school girl uniforms that seem to ride up at opportune moments so you see lots of panties. Strangely though I didn’t feel the female characters were being sexualized, maybe it’s because they are all kick butt chicks who take down a lot of the zombies themselves.

WINNER:

ANIME

BLEACH

MANGA

Bleach by Viz is consistently in the top ten bestselling Manga and Anime. The story of young Ichigo who is given soul reaper power to save his family from blood thirsty Hollows, hungry ghost spirits. I love everything about this series. It has a great paranormal twist with tons of sword battles. With a wide range of characters that appeal to men and women.

ANIME

The Bleach anime is extremely well done and is almost a perfect match chapter per chapter from the manga. A wonderful soundtrack and stellar voice cast make this a series very new reader/ viewer friendly.

WINNER:

TIE

DEATH NOTE

MANGA

One of the best thing about Death note is that is a complete series with around 12 or 13 volumes including specials. The story revolves around Light a High School student who comes across a Death Note a book from a shinigami or death god. Any person written in the book dies of a heart attack unless another specific form of death is written. As the police hunt the mysterious “Kira” a tangled web of cat and mouse games and murder unfolds. This Manga? Anime also has my favorite character of all time: “L” an eccentric sugar obsessed investigative genus who doesn’t realize how close prey is really is.

ANIME

Death Note is also my favorite Anime. Wonderful production values and gorgeous animation and a top notch voice cast. I highly recommend this series both in print and Anime format. A shining example of popular fiction as art.

WINNER

ANIME

Hope I’ve intrigued you to check this great series out. Happy Reading

Thanks, Kai, for the great post. I definitely agree that Death Note was better as an anime (although the manga was also really good as well).