You may not even realize that your favorite manga was not the original version of the story.
We are all used to watching anime knowing that it has a primary source in the form of manga. It also happens the other way around, you really like the manga and you want to see how it has been adapted.
But sometimes the anime is the original script and the manga is just an addition to it.
1. Neon Genesis Evangelion, 1995-1996
There is a popular myth that Evangelion is an adaptation of the manga of the same name because the manga was published eight months before the anime, but this is a misconception.
The idea of the anime series still belongs to the director of the anime, Hideaki Anno. According to him, the idea for Evangelion came up during a difficult period in his life, when Anno was being treated for a long depression.
In the anime, he reflected on his entire experience of depression and social isolation, and wanted to share it with people who had similar problems.
2. Serial Experiments Lain, 1998
Serial Experiments Lain can be described as a philosophical and psychological anime on a par with Evangelion. Although such labels as cyberpunk classic and philosophical melodrama cannot fully describe the power of this work.
The main character is a schoolgirl named Lain, who has always been very withdrawn and uncommunicative. One day she receives an email from a deceased friend, and then events begin to take on a dramatic character.
The manga was quite successful, some of its parts were included in an art book that was also published after the anime.
3. Puella Magi Madoka Magica, 2011
Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a destroyer of the canon of the magical girl genre. The story revolves around five little schoolgirls who live ordinary lives and suddenly become brave sorceresses who must fight evil witches in exchange for granting any wish. It seems that what can surprise the viewer?
A series of events occurs, and this cute story about magical girls turns into a real horror, where those who fully dedicate themselves to the fight against evil do not get what they deserve, and their sacrifices become in vain.
The manga, according to the readers, reveals the plot and the world of Madoka a little bit more. However, the world of the witches and the fight scenes in the anime turned out to be much better.
4. Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, 2011
The plot of Anohana is based on a tragic event. A group of six friends broke up over the death of their mutual friend Menma.
The leader of the group, Jinta, felt enormous guilt for what had happened, and the others went their separate ways: one entered an elite high school, one rushed to travel, and one tried to live an ordinary life.
Menma's ghost suddenly appeared among the friends, and no one but Jinta could see it. The anime has not only a manga, but also a novel, and all of them were well received by the fans.
5. Darling in the Franxx, 2018
Darling in the Franxx was highly anticipated, as the creators included industry giants A-1 Pictures and Trigger. The manga was created in parallel with the anime, and it has some differences, especially the ending.
This is a post-apocalyptic story, where humanity is on the verge of extinction due to strange creatures called klaxosaurs, which began to appear from the ground and attack all living things.
As strange as it may seem, only children can stop them. The main character just failed the exam to become the protector of the Earth, when their Plantation was unexpectedly attacked by a powerful klaxosaur.