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Reasons:
1. Different target population. The anime is supposedly a kid show (target population aged <13), while the manga's content grows with the readers.
2. The story of the second part of the anime is original and Takei is completely not involved in the production of the anime. So expect it to feel like a fan-fiction version...
3. The anime has it's good points to enjoy: the original Japanese official dubbing is so excellent that if you don't watch the anime, listen to it. The opening and ending themes are excellent!!
4. Face it. Manga and Anime are two different (though closely related) medium. Things that look good in the manga version might not be able to be transported into anime... (e.g. design of clothes) One of the main reason for this incompatibility is money *and* time.
5. Some of the original stories and gags in the anime is really good/hilarious.
Famous criticism of the anime when compared to manga:
1. Inaccurate character portrait (Yoh is stupid instead of wise and relaxed, HAO is simply mad instead of a tragic figure with much inside-story)
2. Boring 'filler' episodes.
3. Good fighting scenes but characters become ugly when there is no action.
4. A controversial ending and a tail with unknown meaning. Some said it's just childish. If I were to give an objective comment, I would say that there are too many mysteries and illogical incidents at the ending which need much explanations to be understood.
5. Lack of explanation to many important plots. Many characters (including main ones) has a role more like props rather than a sentient entity. Therefore audience who are not satisfied with only the flashy fights and gags were disgruntled.
For more explanations and examples to the above points, read the complete version *spoiler warning*
Recommendation:
If you wanted to get a better experience, read the manga first and then the anime. Then the anime won't look so childish because you can automatically fill the gaps in and correct those which are not very well written.
First, expect it to be a VERY LONG story. If you want to start from volumn one, please imagine yourself as a 12 year-old kid who would like to read a shaman story.
The manga is much much richer in details (e.g. we got to know that HAO loves adding soya sauce into his food, and Opacho is the one who hands him soya sauce at meals). Oops. I missed the main point.
The most important difference between the Manga and the Anime is the plot. The plot in the manga was much mature and well-thought, and managed to display the wisdom and depth of the characters, which is something the anime didn't quite succeed in doing.
The Manga has got more fights where intelligence and tactics are seriously involved. This means that you missed many good fights if you only watched the anime.
Some characters (quite important ones) appeared in the manga but not in the anime. But as this is the spoiler free version, I won't even tell their names here.
Also, as the target population grew up, Takei managed to put many serious issues he wanted to discuss and expressed his own opinions on into the story. He has managed to discuss many issues, from crime and punishment to death-penalty to Karma, from personal relationship to life attitudes to Buddhism to "What is Love" etc, and we wonder what is to come next.
For more explanations and examples to the above points, read the complete version *SPOILERS WARNING*
Recommendation: There are many things in the story which you might need to think about a bit to understand. Also, the story is generally quite packed in rhythm so try not to read too much each time (no more than 2 volumns) if you can. Or else you will mess yourself up or miss many interesting things.
Mail me at z262501@hotmail.com if you found any mistakes above. Thank you for your help.
Discuss about this article or anything about Shaman King with me and AKIDA! *new*
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