Somemangaare very faithfully adapted intoanime. A great one that always pops up isDeath Note. There are very few things added or changed to make either medium seem like something completely different. For some, this is seen as a good thing while others enjoy when anime slightly, or completely, differ from one another.
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For the most part, this is usually tied to how far along the manga is as opposed to whenthe animestarts.Death Note, again, didn’t have to resort to filler since the manga was already done by the time the anime launched. What then are some big manga series that were changed?
Updated on July 30, 2025, by Rhenn Taguiam:When manga achieves critical acclaim, it almost always gets an anime adaptation. However, as anime fans have seen, not all anime adaptations follow exactly the flow of their source material.
In fact, other anime adaptations dared to follow a different course of events to provide a different take on the original manga. As such, a franchise’s fans may often get divided as to whether an anime has done “true justice” when it comes to adapting its source. For newcomers to the genre, just which popular anime had a way different approach compared to the manga?
14Tokyo Ghoul
Tokyo Ghoulmight look like a typical “vampire” story, but its storyline evolved further away from supernatural story tropes. The manga explores life in an alternate Japan where nightmarish ghouls blend in with humans. The story officially begins once Ken Kaneki, an ordinary student, becomes a half-ghoul. Thanks to the guidance of ghouls running the Anteiku coffee shop, Kaneki adjusts to his new life while keeping his identity a secret.
While both the anime and the manga generally follow the same storyline, the manga gives more room when fleshing out the overall cast. Moreover, the anime provides a rather “mellow” depiction of the violence and gore that was very apparent in the manga. It doesn’t help that future seasons of the anime failed to explain certain discrepancies from the manga entirely, making it a more difficult experience to digest.
13Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters
Otaku who love TCGs can thankYu-Gi-Oh!for jumpstarting the craze. After all, the franchise not only featured an ongoing anime, but it also released periodical updates to its mechanics to continuously spice up the franchise. However, all of these go way back toYu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monstersback in 2000, where fans see Yami Yugi, the King of Games himself, take on various threats to the world through the power of card games.
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However, while the anime faithfully adapts all ofDuel Monsters’ original storyline,it did have its fair share of unnecessary filler arcs. For instance, the Duelist Kingdom finals getting sidetracked to Noah’s virtual world in “Virtual World” arc, fighting Dartz in “Waking the Dragons,” and participating in the KC Grand Prix in “Grand Championship” are not at all canon to the manga.
12Chrono Crusade
Set in the Roaring Twenties,Chrono Crusadefollows an alternate history where the aftermath of the First World War gave opportunities for demons to run amok in society. As such, the Order of Magdalene is dispatched around the worldto eliminate these demonic threats. InChrono Crusade, the demon Chrono is soulbound to his partner Sister Rosette Christopher as they search for her missing brother Joshua. As expected from a manga where a nun has gunslinging skills, there’s a ton of action to expect.
However, its anime’s presentation did diverge from the manga to some extent. While both media follow the same storyline, the manga emphasized more of Rosette’s points of view. Meanwhile, the anime had a darker tone, especially with the overarching theme of having to chase fate. However, the anime’s darker take did remove much-needed character development that was done in the manga, particularly for the antagonist Aion and his cronies. More importantly, even Rosette and Chrono’s relationships in both media received different interpretations.
11Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles
Fans ofClamp’sCardcaptor Sakurawill delight in howTsubasa: Reservoir Chroniclestakes designs from the acclaimed series. However, similarities end there asTsubasatakes place primarily in the same universe as Clamp titlexxxHolic. In it, archaeologist Syaoran will help Clow Kingdom’s Princess Sakura recover her memories throughout many adventures. Despite this simple premise,Tsubasawill forge a story about friendship and one’s sacrifices in the name of love.
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However,Tsubasa’s anime adaptation didn’t exactly follow its manga source through and through. For starters, the anime tried to “connect”TsubasatoCardcaptor Sakuraas a sequel of sorts, with the anime diverging a bit from the manga in the process. Given the aim to appeal toCardcaptorfans and children, much ofTsubasa’s darker themes in the manga were also scrapped. As such, even the manga’s surprising twists didn’t have room in the anime’s lighter storyline.
10Neon Genesis Evangelion
Neon Genesis Evangelionwas released first as a manga in 1994 with the anime starting in 1995. They were designed to exist together, which they did briefly but the show ended in 1996 whereas the manga didn’t finish until 2014 with fourteen complete volumes.
Needless to say, there were bound to be some differences between the two. That’s the whole point of this series though as it is a time loop, repeating the cycle with slight differences such as different Angels and character deaths.
9Fullmetal Alchemist
Fullmetal Alchemistwas released first as a manga in 2001with the anime starting in 2003. The anime took a few things from the manga such as the basic plot and some characters, but the execution is completely different.
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First of all, the anime ended in 2004 and the manga didn’t until 2010. The anime was so botched that they rebooted it in 2009 when the manga was nearing its end to fully adapt it better. The biggest difference fans can cite is The Truth being a portal to our reality during World War II.
8Boruto
Borutowas released firstas a manga in 2016 with the anime starting in 2017. Unlike most anime adaptations, this one started without following the manga at all. As the manga just started, the anime team wanted to give that storytime to breathe.
The first fifty episodes then flesh out this new history with the Hidden Leaf Village, what has changed, andBorutolearning the ropes more before it picks up in the first volume of the manga.
7Trigun
Trigunwas released first as a manga in 1995 with the anime starting in 1998. The first run of the manga finished up in 1997, however, in that same year it started up asTrigun Maximum, directly following the story.
In this manga, the Gung-Ho Guns are more fully fleshed out whereas in the anime they barely have time to breathe. This makes sense seeing as how the season was just 26 episodes long in 1998 andTrigun Maximumwould not finish until 2007.
6Hellsing
Hellsingwas released firstas a manga in 1997 with the anime starting in 2001. That may seem like a good enough time to give the anime plenty to work with but the manga would not end until 2008. The anime then is more or less its own thing without following much of the manga at all besides basic character points.
The main villains of the manga, aka the Nazi revival group Millennium, are nowhere to be found. However, a more faithful adaptation was made viaHellsing Ultimatestarting in 2006.
5Akira
Akirawas released first as a manga in 1982 with the anime film debuting in 1988. This may not be quite the same as the others as this is a film and not a series but it deserves a mention nonetheless.
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The film took basic ideas from the characters and setting and followed its own direction, giving the series an ending before the manga finished in 1990. For those that never read the manga, it is a massive, phone-book-sized collection that is well worth a read.
