Gonna start a thread on why an anime adaptation (when done right) is always better than the manga I will be using Showa Rakugo as an example. Mainly I will be comparing the director's cut of the first episode to it's manga counterpart

Already the anime sets itself apart from the manga with these establishing shots. This is an entirely new and was added by the anime. What the anime improves on here is giving the viewer a clean introduction into the story of Rakugo compared to the manga's which kinda has a..

immediate start to it. In addition the anime does a a great job of establishing Rakugo's popularity to the masses (plays a huge role later in the story). The anime also has incredibly smart storyboarding where it has the actions on screen relating to the words of the performer.

Here I again would like to point out a transition and the obvious improvement over the manga, rather than do a hard cut to Yotaro at the booth the anime does an incredible job of using the falling volleyball to transition to the falling bag indicating a shift in the narrative

All of this done within the first minute, of the anime, not only does it establish the world/setting but it also establishes the role Rakugo has in it, something the manga largely fails at doing in it's first chapter and pretty concerning as the changing world plays a huge role

in the development of the story and characters.

Here the two overlap and rather than following the manga panel by panel the anime expands upon it (ex below) giving the scene more room to breathe. When compared to the panels the anime seems considerably less cluttered.

This is largely seen here in these couple of shots as it gives a clear transition/indicator to the viewer that Yotaro is talking with the radio, which when compared to the manga is kinda cluttered.

Here another clear improvement is made in the anime, in the manga the officer doesn't really give a reaction to Yotaro's comment (other than the hahaha written at the left side <look above>) at all and the anime does well to provide one and continues to adapt the panels very well

Then rather than sit on the same shot of the officer talking the anime cuts to the first panel of the manga which Imo is a vastly huge improvement as the conversation had in that panel works better with the wideshot (as they are talking about where he will go) as it shows his...

location which pertains to the conversation being had as they are discussing where he will go from here. See while you get the same information one enhances the experience more opposed to the other. Also like to mention how not only does the anime improves upon the scene it still

finds ways to creatively adapt the panels of the manga.

Adding on upon that here the anime does it again adding new shots that tell us more about the characters (Yotaro eyes not being shown to indicate he's up to something and the officer looking up in curiosity) and like before it adapts a panel of the manga at a later time, this....

time adding action that wasn't there before (officer stamping the papers). Here the anime cleverly rearranges the panels of the manga to better fit the flow of the story although down below I will highlight an instance where I believe the manga does a bit of a better job.

Here I believe the anime largely improves on the panels again (for the most part) as Yotaro's lack of belongings is better shown in the shot of the anime as opposed to the manga where he is just shown with a bag over his shoulder. Now as you can see the shot of him I feel could..

be interpreted different ways, I think the anime is kinda showing him looking back at his past (prison, gang, etc) which allows for the transition where he looks to the left (seen below) where he's headed towards his new life. Now the manga I think interprets it where he i

is starting to look towards his new life either way I think you can't really say one is superior to the other. Now the shot with Yotaro's shoes I feel was done considerably better in the manga as it shows him ready to walk out of some gates which I feel is a better transition

Here was the shot I was referring to above anyways here again I think the manga does a slightly better job showing Yotaro walk out of the prison into the world, although I guess it could be argued that the reason it isn't shown in the anime is due to the director likely wanting..

to separate the locations Yotaro is in indicating to the viewer that he is entering a new world now separated from his past life and the prison in the back might not have that same effect. Either way it seems like something a MHA fan would complain about. Also notice the season..

this scene takes place, its spring time likely indicating/symbolizing Yotaro starting a new life (because of what spring represents you know)

Another instance where the anime improves is seen here as aided by the music and cut the anime lets the viewer know where we are in the story (act 1) which is relevant if you have seen the series. And it also provides a better transition to the next scene than the one in themanga

Here as the anime transitions into the next scene I feel it does a way better job of establishing the scale of the theater compared to the manga everything from the symbol of rakugo to Yotaro juxtaposed with the size of the theater (showing how small he is in this world of rakugo

And while I do like how the manga takes advantage of it's layout to show progression in the story I feel the anime takes better advantage of it's medium to show a shift in story and location as well as state of the characters. Everything from the cut to the act and the use of....

to convey the state of it's characters. Also notice how Yotaro feet are behind but not in the shadow above showing he's ready to step into the Rakugo world. You can tell this adaption was done with love as it heavily improves on the source material, this is how adaption should be

done not by following the manga panel by panel, as seen above doing so does not always yield the best results. An adaptation should improve on its original source material not follow it exactly. This largely goes for MHA fans as they overlook the good the anime has done and

complain about certain unimportant things missing in a shot of the anime that was included in the manga. Will update this thread later