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For any of you who have seen quite a bit of both, and know the major glaring differences between the two, what do you think? Which do you prefer? Many of the characters have been changed between the anime and the manga, and many situations have changed as well. So which is better, if either?

I personally prefer the manga. The anime is very cute indeed, and I absolutely adore it, but I find that it's too cute compared to the relatively dark themes being addressed in the manga. The anime is like Fruits Basket Lite, in that it only gives you a tiny glimpse of the darkness of the Sohmas' world. I much prefer the manga, where you get to see just how deep the curse goes.

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I also enjoy the characters more in the manga. Not only are the characters fully realized and developed, but some of the things about them, like the famous Chapter 97 Spoiler, add even more depth to already deep characters. Akito being female explains so much. I also prefer the manga take on Akito's abuse of Yuki. Rather than physical abuse, it is neglect and emotional abuse, which would lead to the way Yuki is far more than physical abuse would. I really like the relationship between Haru and Rin, and I love Rin and Kureno, and there are so many things that just mystify me about the manga that simply aren't present in the anime. Can anyone say Ritsu/Mitchan?! And other such pairings that just aren't seen in the anime.

So, let's discuss. I've noticed that everyone's been pretty good about making sure their spoilers are whited-out, so let's keep on that trend and put any spoilers in white text.

I have to argue this point... I think you don't get as good a feel for the characters in the anime as in the manga. There are entire facets of the personalities of characters like Kagura, Ayame, Ritsu, Hiro, Kisa and Haru that are NEVER delved into. These characters become either comic relief (in the case of Ayame, Ritsu and Kagura) or are sloughed off as being one-dimensional assholes (like Hiro and Haru). In the case of Kisa, her personality is a little better explored, but not by much. She's played off as this meek little fraidy-cat, when really, in the manga, she's got a lot more personal strength than that.

If we went simply by the anime, these characters would be totally undeveloped. Ayame, for instance, has a serious and thoughtful demeanor that, sure, it gets explored a little in the anime, but I find the anime made him seem that he's totally flakey, with the possibility of being more than that. Really, he hides his serious side. It's not that it only comes out once in a while... it's that he only lets it out once in a while.

Kagura... I hate her in the anime. I absolutely despise her because she's so violent and irrational. When you look at her in the manga, though, that violent streak is very much downplayed, and the real her shows through a lot more. The Kagura who takes care of her friends and truly cares about her family... you don't get to see her much in the anime because she's just comic relief. She comes in, beats Kyo up, and leaves with a trail of destruction following after her. It's totally unfair.

And Ritsu... don't even get me started on Ritsu. They don't even give him justification, let alone any serious introspection on his character. They offer a half-hearted explanation as to why he cross-dresses, and then just let him get the laughs. It's an injustice to such a wonderful character, that he is represented as this flakey, suicidal angst-mongering cross-dresser instead of the fragile, vulnerable, self-conscious man who wants desperately to be strong but has no idea how to do so.

So my thing is that the manga delves into the characters much more than the anime does, with the exception of Yuki, Tohru and Kyo. Those three are well-represented, but the rest of the cast sort of gets pushed aside.

manga is better in my opinion. i've always prefered reading a book at leisure to planning my whole day around a tv show stare