Ask John: Do Japanese Fans Expect Anime to Duplicate Manga?

Question:
I’ve heard American fans complain for years about the differences in story between the anime and manga. Are Japanese fans this rabid about keeping the story pure?

Answer:
I don’t think I know quite enough about the attitudes and opinions of the collective Japanese anime fan community to estimate the degree to which Japanese fans expect animation to adhere to its manga origin. I do know for certain that Japanese fans and animators are conscious the faithfulness of anime adaptations because an early episode of the Sakigake! Cromartie High School anime TV series briefly parodies the expectations and demands of Japanese fans that an anime adaptation reflect its original source. But I suspect that Japanese fans may be a bit more understanding and flexible with their expectations for manga to anime adaptations than Western fans are. I think that if this wasn’t the case, we wouldn’t see so many anime series that are loose adaptations of their manga origins.

There’s certainly some appeal in seeing the manga page transformed into animation, but intense demand for strict adherence overlooks the circumstances of the anime production process. Anime is created by a different team of artists than those who create the original manga. Especially anime directors and writers may wish to make changes between a manga source and an anime adaptation to flex their own creativity. Directly transcribing manga panels into animation may get tedious quickly. Allowing for some creativity within the anime production allows for more vibrancy. Generally, I think the attitude within the anime industry is that manga is manga and anime is anime, and the two are not the same thing. So it’s appropriate that anime not be an exact duplication of manga.

Especially American fans may not think to consider that production schedules may also influence the production of anime adaptations. In the case of the Berserk TV series or Five Star Stories movie, a direct, faithful adaptation of the manga would have been impossible because the original manga series are too long or too complex to be faithfully adapted into the amount of anime allotted- 25 TV episodes or a theatrical feature running time, respectively.

Finally, fans may not want to see an exact duplication of a manga into anime because knowing exactly what’s going to happen drains some of the fun out of watching anime.