We’ll be forever thankful to Japan for giving us the gift of Anime and Manga. Anime is Japanese animation while Manga is Japanese comic book. Manga’s predecessors were Kibyoshi picture books which were popular in the eighteenth century. The form of manga that we see today came to be in the post world war II era. Artists like Tezuka were influenced by American cartoons and created Mangas like Astro Boy which gained popularity in the West. Anime, which is Japanese for Animation did not originate till the 20th Century.
Anime and Manga are different forms of storytelling with certain similarities. Both have mature plots which deal with complicated issues. The characters are drawn in a similar manner- they eyes are big, the lips and noses are small. There are more differences than similarities.
The Manga is the work of the mangaka, the author. They are the only ones who have a control over the content of the Manga. When it comes to Anime, there are so many people involved. Director, producer, writer, voice actors, musicians- there are so many individuals working on one Anime show. While the work is better when done by so many professionals, there are consequences. An anime studio cannot take the same creative risks a mangaka can take for their anime. There are just so many opinions to consider.
Another difference is the duration of the work. Production of an Anime show requires a lot of time, money and effort. A mangaka’s work is comparatively cheaper and less time consuming. This is why most Anime shows consist of 13-26 episodes while Mangas can go on for years.
The comparison comes in when the same story is told by both Manga and Anime. Most Anime shows are adaptations of popular Mangas. While some Anime shows to make sure that the content is exactly similar to the Manga, others have to change some parts to make the series compact.
One cannot tell which one is better. It varies from one story to another. Some stories are better expressed in the Manga, some in the Anime. Background music is a big advantage that Anime has while Manga consists of more facts.
Last Updated on by Himani Rawat
