Dragon Ball: Anime or Manga?

[mfwlegend3]

What would you personally prefer and why? Excluding filler, when it came to the anime actually doing canon material from the manga, they would extend on it and actually make it "better" (all depends on preference, really) than it was in the manga.

For example, Goku's transformation into SS -- in the manga, Goku literally snaps after Krillin is murdered and turns into SS all in one page without any dramatic scenery event occurring as opposed to the anime where it remains an iconic and memorable moment to this day. Another example would be the Vegetto vs Buuhan fight, whereas Vegetto in the manga had went into SS immediately upon his introduction and fought Buuhan, in the anime, Vegetto fought Buuhan in base for a good while before eventually turning into SS. Finally, and this would be most noticeable, the Goku and Uub battle -- the manga covered this fight in the course of four pages, whereas the anime, of course, extended upon it.

If you were to ask me, the manga is ultimately the most superior product of the two. It's simple and to the point instead of being unnecessarily dragged out, IMO. I've read through all of Dragon Ball and Z but haven't watched all episodes of its anime adaptation, and don't plan on it any time soon.

[OhHiRenan]

I vastly prefer the manga. The anime really elevates a lot of moments like Goku turning SSJ as you said, but I find that the anime also ruins a lot of moments and completely destroys the series' pacing. I actually consider the anime to be quite a poor adaptation. The performances and music are great, but they can't make up for the inconsistent animation, art, and abysmal pacing.

[Bansho64]

Anime without a doubt. While the original Z anime had some of what I consider to be unnecessary filler, it was still great. And I only really have problems with the filler when it comes to certain arcs like the Garlic Jr and Freeza parts. Other than those, I can live with it and love a lot of it

Plus, there are many places where I feel the anime really improved upon things. The Saiyan and Buu arcs, along with the 22nd and 23rd Tournaments, are places where I think the anime did best with improvements. I do think there are mistakes here and there, but the positives really crush the negatives here IMO. I'd say I'm half and half when it comes to considering how much the anime improved on the Freeza arc. I didn't like a lot of the filler, but it gave me a lot of my fav moments in DB. The Kaioken X20 KameHameHa, the SSJ transformation, a LOT of the fighting.

[sintzu]

The anime for me. I think the voices, music, special effects & animation brings the story to life in a way the page never could. The anime also expands on certain things like fights (especially the Buu arc's) moments like transofrmations and adds its own like Goku and Goten meeting for the 1st time.

[FortuneSSJ]

No matter how better the manga may be in some cases, anime is always my answer to this question.
The animation, soundtrack and voice acting just make it a much more entertaining experience.

[Lord Beerus]

Manga, without a doubt. The anime is a good visceral experience with great voicing acting and terrific music, but it's bogged down heavily by atrocious pacing, uneven art and animation, and at times, terrible filler.

[SaiyanZ]

Manga easily. Better pacing and art, also no moments of Toei trying to change a character with various bits of dialog here and there, no matter how small.

[SaiyanGod117]

It depends on the arc.

[mfwlegend3]

It depends on the arc.

and why?

[MajinMan]

It's tricky. While the anime has many high points, the manga will always be the original and most consistent of the two. When it comes to pacing, like many have already said, the anime can sometimes grind to a halt. But there are also times when the anime expands and improves upon the source material with its slower pacing, like the Saiyan arc for example. They had some of the best filler in that arc and wonderfully filled in a portion of the story that was sadly glanced over by the manga.

The Freeza arc, however, is the complete opposite. While I do enjoy the voice acting and music, the pacing was utterly destroyed in the Freeza arc. The Red Ribbon Army arc also suffers from padding, especially at the Muscle Tower and Pirate Cave portions.

Overall I feel that both can be enjoyed equally, but people's preference over pacing and filler may sway them heavily in one way or the other. When it comes to individual arcs, I truly do think that the anime improves upon the source material for a few of them. I would probably list them like this:

Hunt for the Dragon Balls arc - Manga
21st Tenkaichi Budokai arc - Anime
Red Ribbon Army arc - Manga
22nd Tenkaichi Budokai arc - Anime
Piccolo Daimao arc - Anime
23rd Tenkaichi Budokai arc - Anime (this one was close)
Saiyan arc - Anime
Freeza arc - Manga
Cell arc - Manga
Buu arc - Anime

As you can see, I prefer the anime very slightly.

[ABED]

Hunt for the Dragon Balls arc - Manga
21st Tenkaichi Budokai arc - Anime
Red Ribbon Army arc - Manga
22nd Tenkaichi Budokai arc - Anime
Piccolo Daimao arc - Anime
23rd Tenkaichi Budokai arc - Anime (this one was close)
Saiyan arc - Anime
Freeza arc - Manga
Cell arc - Manga
Buu arc - Anime

My list is very similar:
Hunt for the Dragon Balls arc - Anime
21st Tenkaichi Budokai arc - Anime
Red Ribbon Army arc - Manga mostly
Fortuneteller Baba arc - Anime
22nd Tenkaichi Budokai arc - Anime
Piccolo Daimao arc - Anime
23rd Tenkaichi Budokai arc - Anime
Saiyan arc - Anime
Freeza arc - Manga
Cell arc - Manga
Buu arc - Manga mostly, except for the fights.

[Cipher]

I think the manga is uniformly better with the possible exception of the Boo arc, and that's only because Toei was on their A-game there presentation-wise, while Toriyama's interest in the manga was visibly waning. The added scenes mostly, though not entirely, benefit the content, and I think Toei really nailed the tone Toriyama was going for.

Depending on the day, I might give the anime the edge for the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai as well, though I love it in both versions and a few of the fights and gags do drag in the adaptation. The gags that do translate well, though, I think benefit from movement, spoken dialogue, and the slightly less break-neck pace of the anime.

The arcs I think suffered the most in adaptation are the Red Ribbon Army and Namek arcs. They're two of my favorite portions of the manga, and the pacing of the anime just destroys them.

[ABED]

I think the manga is uniformly better with the possible exception of the Boo arc, and that's only because Toei was on their A-game there presentation-wise, while Toriyama's interest in the manga was visibly waning. The added scenes mostly, though not entirely, benefit the content, and I think Toei really nailed the tone Toriyama was going for. It's all kind of serendipitous.

Depending on the day, I might give the anime the edge for the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai as well, though I love it in both versions and a few of the fights and gags do drag in the adaptation. The gags that do translate well, though, I think benefit from movement, spoken dialogue, and the slightly less break-neck pace of the anime.

How does Kai change things for you, if it does at all?

What about the Saiyan arc?

[SaiyanGod117]

It depends on the arc.

and why?

In some cases the anime can be better than the manga and vice-versa. For example, to me the Saiyan arc is better in the manga because of the consistently crispy art, at the time Toriyama's art just had so much intensity, energy, and expression the anime wasn't able to capture it. Although some people might say the anime did it better, because the filler supported Gohan and Piccolo's character development and relationship. While I do agree, I just prefer the manga for this arc.

Edit: Yamcha's death in the anime (Saiyan Arc) was actually pretty sad, some you should rewatch that, you will be surprised how well Toei executed that scene.

[Cipher]

How does Kai change things for you, if it does at all?

Kai provides a watchable Namek arc, and of the two adaptations it's the one I'm more likely to revisit for that particular story line. Though even that arc suffers from Kai's usual directorial problems—namely the awkward scenic pacing that accompanies trying to rejig the old footage into a new series and the limited soundtrack. Outside of that arc, in which Z slows to an absolutely unbearable crawl, I think the original anime is the better of the two-presentation-wise, and its occasionally languid pacing is worth putting up with for its strengths.

What about the Saiyan arc?

I love a lot of the filler episodes, but I hesitate to say it's a better or more coherent story than the manga offers. There's really nothing wrong with the original version in this case, and the trade-off for those excellent Gohan episodes is, in my opinion, a much weaker version of the fight against Vegeta and Nappa.

[ABED]

How does Kai change things for you, if it does at all?

Kai provides a watchable Namek arc, and of the two adaptations it's the one I'm more likely to revisit for that particular story line. Though even that arc suffers from Kai's usual directorial problems—namely the awkward scenic pacing that accompanies trying to rejig the old footage into a new series and the limited soundtrack. Outside of that arc, in which Z slows to an absolutely unbearable crawl, I think the original anime is the better of the two-presentation-wise, and its occasionally languid pacing is worth putting up with for its strengths.

What about the Saiyan arc?

I love a lot of the filler episodes, but I hesitate to say it's a better or more coherent story than the manga offers. There's really nothing wrong with the original version in this case, and the trade-off for those excellent Gohan episodes is, in my opinion, a much weaker version of the fight against Vegeta and Nappa.

You thought the fight against Vegeta and Nappa was weaker in the anime?

[Cipher]

You thought the fight against Vegeta and Nappa was weaker in the anime?

Definitely. The padding and cutaways, the inconsistent art, the failure to capture the raw energy and impact of the battle and its toll on the characters, etc.—all of it combines into something that, while not bad, fails to live up to the original.

It's all fine, but Toriyama is on fucking fire at that point in the manga.

[ABED]

I agree about cutaways, not all, but most, hurts the pacing (Kai fixes the bulk of this issue), but I feel the opposite as to the brutality of the battle. The added fight material like Goku driving Vegeta gut first into the edge of the mountain, makes the fight far more brutal than in the manga. The art work is inconsistent, but overall really great in the anime. Maybe I'm just so used to the anime, but I feel the manga moves too quick, to its detriment. In the case of the fight against Vegeta, I can specifically recall Vegeta reaching his boiling point far too quickly in the manga.

[Cipher]

I agree about cutaways, not all, but most, hurts the pacing (Kai fixes the bulk of this issue), but I feel the opposite as to the brutality of the battle. The added fight material like Goku driving Vegeta gut first into the edge of the mountain, makes the fight far more brutal than in the manga. The art work is inconsistent, but overall really great in the anime.

There isn't anything really wrong with the fight in the anime, were that to be the only version we were ever offered. And, yes, there are some extremely brutal cuts.

But for every one of those, there are others I just don't feel have the same impact. The entire fight against Nappa comes to mind, from his initial assault on the team to being knocked around by Goku, as does the end of the fight against Vegeta, after he's reverted back to his humanoid form. When I picture those scenes in the manga, all the characters seem truly battered, caked with blood, unable to move, etc. Yajirobe slashing Vegeta across the back reads like the quick and savage action it should. When Vegeta is calling for his ship at the end, when Kuririn is stumbling toward him with a sword, I believe these are characters who should barely be moving. Everything's a little cleaner, a little less visceral, in the anime. Goku using Kaioken against Vegeta is probably the highlight for the anime's portrayal of visceral action, and it's great, but I feel like the manga maintains that frantic, brutal energy from start to finish.

[ABED]

I agree about cutaways, not all, but most, hurts the pacing (Kai fixes the bulk of this issue), but I feel the opposite as to the brutality of the battle. The added fight material like Goku driving Vegeta gut first into the edge of the mountain, makes the fight far more brutal than in the manga. The art work is inconsistent, but overall really great in the anime.

There isn't anything really wrong with the fight in the anime, were that to be the only version we were ever offered. And, yes, there are some extremely brutal cuts.

But for every one of those, there are others I just don't feel have the same impact. The entire fight against Nappa comes to mind, from his initial assault on the team to being knocked around by Goku, as does the end of the fight against Vegeta, after he's reverted back to his humanoid form. When I picture those scenes in the manga, all the characters seem truly battered, caked with blood, unable to move, etc. Yajirobe slashing Vegeta across the back reads like the quick and savage action it should. When Vegeta is calling for his ship at the end, when Kuririn is stumbling toward him with a sword, I believe these are characters who should barely be moving. Everything's a little cleaner, a little less visceral, in the anime. Goku using Kaioken against Vegeta is probably the highlight for the anime's portrayal of visceral action, and it's great, but I feel like the manga maintains that frantic, brutal energy from start to finish.

Fair enough. I don't necessarily agree, but thank you for taking the time to explain it for me. I feel like many would take issue with me asking "why" about their opinion.