Manga vs Anime

[Kuririn Fan]

What do you prefer?
I just finished reading the manga, i read it for the first time in order and without making long breaks and i read it slowly, paying attention to even the smallest of details. I love it so much, the art, the pacing, the flow of the story, everything. But, then, on the other hand, there is anime and that is basically our childhood and introduction to this franchise. It 's also nice seeing things animated and seeing differences between the two and there is also music and voice acting, only the filler can get annoying if you 're not in the mood for it,lol.
So, what is better, what do you guys prefer?

[sintzu]

There's no right or wrong answer cause they're both great and should be experienced so it depends on what you want.

If you want the author's original vision for the story then you should go with the manga cause it's 100% Toriyama and you'll get to see the story the way he wanted you to without any outside additions.

I personally prefer the anime cause voice acting, music and movement bring life to the story in a way a comic can't do plus there are additions to the anime that make things better like the longer fights in the Buu arc or everyone trying to help Gohan defeat Cell.

[Saikyo no Senshi]

I love both. I slightly prefer the anime to the manga for the same reasons as sintzu with music(Kikuchi) being the biggest key factor for my preference.As for what is better i would say the manga no nonsense filler and Toriyama's fabulous artwork.

- Travis

[Hyena_Yamcha]

both are great, i think MOST OF the fights from the original dragon ball are better in the manga , also the manga has better art and pace WHILE THE ANIME HAS VA , MUSIC , SOUND EFFECTS , ANIMATION , FILLER (WHICH I LIKE FOR MOST TIME) ..... IN THE END I THINK THEY,RE BOTH EQUALL

[Luso Saiyan]

Source material > Adaptation.

[ABED]

I find the pacing to be too quick in the manga. I much prefer the anime. Plus, the music and the voices add so much to the feel of Dragon Ball.

[rereboy]

Manga by a mile. The pacing of the anime is ridiculous.

[Kamiccolo9]

I'm with ABED on this one.

The music alone makes it more enjoyable for me, and I can always just skip the parts that don't interest me. Plus, it's easier to multitask while watching the show than it is while reading the manga.

[Hellspawn28]

Manga because I feel like the story was told better and the fights didn't drag as much compare to the original DBZ anime.

[Tyro]

I prefer the manga over the anime. "Canon" and all that jazz.

[Vijay]

To be general, Manga > Anime

Toriyama's soul can be felt on every panel. Consistent on-model artwork, snappier execution & natural storyline progression unhindered by fillers

If I'm being specific, I LOVE Anime. No drawings gonna substitute sheer awesomeness of Kikuchi's musical score, voices I've grown to love over the years, elaborate fight sequences choreographed amazingly with fluid animation (esp in Cell & Boo Arcs) & genuinely heart-to-heart "connection" which can only be experienced when you watch (visual) & hear (auditory)

My 2 cents

[Kuririn Fan]

I find the pacing to be too quick in the manga. I much prefer the anime. Plus, the music and the voices add so much to the feel of Dragon Ball.

Why is the pacing too quick? I think it's perfect.

[Vijay]

I find the pacing to be too quick in the manga. I much prefer the anime. Plus, the music and the voices add so much to the feel of Dragon Ball.

Why is the pacing too quick? I think it's perfect.

If you take Boo Arc for instance, the pacing in the manga was too quick. Killing many potential character developments that Anime wisely expanded upon. Ex: whole Goku vs Majin Vegeta crisis, Goku & Veggie's search & rescue mission inside Boo's body, Boo's origin & moments building up to Kid Boo's defeat

Manga's pacing was jet-speed during these parts (presumably AT wanting to end the series). While Anime despite some horrible filler segments (infamous Worm Episode & such) gave some space to grasp.

[Kuririn Fan]

All those things didn't need to be any longer. I like what anime did with them (except for the worms) but it wasn't super necessary.

[Tyro]

All those things didn't need to be any longer. I like what anime did with them (except for the worms) but it wasn't super necessary.

Toriyama knows best how to work his magic, but even I think that so much more could have been done with Goku vs. Majin Vegeta. It probably could have been a whole volume unto itself. At least half a volume, for sure.

[TheGreatness25]

I was always thinking that the anime was much better than the manga (based on what little exposure I had to it) because of the actual action, voices, music, etc. But then, when I ran out of Dragon Ball videos to buy, I decided to by the manga and I've got to say that I enjoy the manga much, much more than the anime now.

I feel like it really helps to know the music and voices so you can bring life to the manga a little more, but the art and pacing and everything is just so well done in the manga. The fights aren't the most incredible looking in the manga, but in the anime, it's not like there's much to the fights either. So for me, the manga wins.

[Kuririn Fan]

All those things didn't need to be any longer. I like what anime did with them (except for the worms) but it wasn't super necessary.

Toriyama knows best how to work his magic, but even I think that so much more could have been done with Goku vs. Majin Vegeta. It probably could have been a whole volume unto itself. At least half a volume, for sure.

I don't know, the whole fight felt unnecessary and its only purpose was to revive Boo.

[Danfun64]

I'd say the story is a little better in the manga, mainly as its more consistent due to the lack of filler. While I like some of the filler, there are occasional moments which wreck havoc with continuity (Dr. Flappe, Piccolo destroying Goku's capsule, what happens to evil people when they die, can you die a second death etc)

The manga fights go too fast, while the anime can go the opposite direction at times. That said, the fights benefit a lot from the animation, so I'll give a point to the anime for the fight scenes.

TL:DR Manga has better story, Anime has better fights.

[sintzu]

All those things didn't need to be any longer.

They kind of did.

Goku and Vegeta's rematch was anticipated by fans ever since their 1st battle back in the Saiyan arc so that should've been the 2nd longest battle after the final one against kid buu

Vegeta's battle with Buu was his last solo battle so that also should've been longer.

Goku's 1st battle using Ssj3 should've been longer due to it being the debut battle of a new form.

Gohan's mystic powers were being very hyped up so his fight with Super Buu also should've been longer especially since it was his final battle in the manga.

The story's final battle was extremely short in the manga so the anime also did a really good job by making it longer.

The fight lengths in the other arcs were great but for some reason Toriyama decided to rush through them in the Buu arc but with it being the last arc it should've gotten the same long battles as the previous arcs if not longer so thankfully Toei knew this and went the extra mile to deliver battles that are among the franchise's best.

[Kuririn Fan]

The whole final fight, from Gotenks to Genki Dama kill is 28 chapters, that's not exactly short. But, yeah, Toriyama was doing Dragon Ball for over 10 years at that point (15 when you count Dr Slump), he needed a break.