Manga and anime have some visual similarities, but they are different. Understanding those differences helps explain why some stories are more successful on print while others gain new life once animated.
Manga’s roots stretch back centuries to Japanese illustrated scrolls and satirical prints. The modern manga industry took shape after World War II, according to Comics Alliance. Osamu Tezuka, known as the “God of Manga,” revolutionized the medium with cinematic paneling and character-driven serials that still define the format. His work on “Astro Boy” set the standard for manga storytelling.
Anime’s rise in popularity followed a similar path. Early experimental animations appeared in the early 20th century, but Tezuka’s “Astro Boy” became the first major TV anime to popularize the form when it premiered in 1963, reaching massive audiences, according to Poggers. And while anime often adapts manga, the two media operate differently.
What are the differences between manga and anime?
Manga is sequential art — comics published in magazines, collected volumes, or digital platforms, according to the New York Public Library. Creators, known as mangaka, draw panels, control pacing through page layout, and tell stories with linework, screen tones, and silent visual beats. A single mangaka, often assisted by a small team, can write and draw a chapter weekly or monthly.
Anime is a moving-image medium — television series, films or streaming shows, according to Adobe. Producing anime requires a studio, directors, storyboard artists, animators, sound designers, and composers. This large-scale collaboration increases production costs and complexity. Because of these constraints, anime adaptations can loosely interpret the source material. Directors and studios may compress, expand or reorder scenes to match episode lengths, budgets and broadcast standards.
Some creators say the differences between manga and anime are obvious.
Creators and performers recognize the contrast in practical terms. Mangaka George Morikawa, creator of the long-running boxing manga “Hajime no Ippo,” has openly criticized adaptations that alter the source material. “There is a big difference in the production method between manga and video, and it is extremely difficult to keep the original work as it is,” Morikawa tweeted, according to Bounding Into Comics. “I think the best way to achieve this is for everyone, including the original creator, to be involved with respect and gratitude.”
Many of the anime that reach global streaming audiences started as manga serials. “One Piece,” written by Eiichiro Oda, debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in July 1997 and became an anime series in 1999. “Dragon Ball” and “Dragon Ball Z” were adapted by Toei Animation from Akira Toriyama’s manga into multiple long-running TV series beginning in the mid-1980s.
“Fullmetal Alchemist” first received an original 2003 anime that diverged from the manga as it continued. Studio Bones later produced “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” in 2009, which followed Hiromu Arakawa’s completed story more faithfully.
Similarly, “Naruto” began serialization in 1999. Studio Pierrot launched the anime in 2002 and later continued the story with “Naruto: Shippuden.” The studio added filler arcs to manage pacing while the manga was still in progress.
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