Let's say that there's a story you want to watch/read, and this story has a novel, manga, and anime. In which medium will you first watch/read this story? (Not including visual novels, audiobooks, and god-forsaken live adaptations.) Edit: Personally, I would always go for the novel. Mangas and animes focus on the visuals and audio, splitting some of the attention from the story. They, to me, also limit my imagination in a way. I like to visualize characters, scenes, places, etcetera in my mind, rather than it be already visualised. Doing so allows me to mold said character, scenes, etcetera to my ideal form.
Manga is the lightest read. If it have interesting plot then I'll search the novel version. I wouldn't really bother to try watch their anime unless it has good animations since tv broadcasts have a very strict guidelines.
Depends on the source material. If it started as a novel, I'll probably take a look at the manga read to see if it's good and if I'm interested in it, I'll read the novel. I only start with the anime if I don't know it started from a novel/manga, unless it started as an anime original and got manga and novel adaptations. And if I read/watch the source material, it's quite unlikely that I'll read/watch the adaptations, unless it's something that you can enjoy more as an anime (music manga for example.)
True, true. But let's say that you don't know what the story is all about, if it is an adaptation, if it got adapted, etc. It's a blind pick between the three. What would you start with?
I've had experiences in watching first anime and then novel. It was horrible and I dropped both. I used to like soul land anime S1 but the S2 onwards it became more cringe worthy so I thought I'll give the novel a try, but I couldn't even get past 1chapter. Then Ze tian ji, my god it was the first Chinese dongua I loved the art style and the poetic feel, but it was quite fast paced there so I didn't know what I was getting into when I tried the novel, I dropped it somewhere in 20's. So I prefer reading the novel first, like what i did with ST, martial ancestor. And then I loved the anime even if it was flawed.
I always go for the novel first, then manga, because sometimes there are some big differences between the two, especially in Chinese manhua where they make it more kid-friendly (people don't die when they should or some strange mascot animal is added that doesn't exist in the story, or they throw in fart jokes in what should be a serious moment, etc). after that would be the anime version because those are usually made after the novel and manga have started/completed and gained popularity, and sometimes the season ends in the middle of the novel and season 2 never comes out. if I'm bored I'll look and see if they have a live-action version and watch that, but those are usually pretty bad (The Untamed being an exception since they actually followed the plot of the novel).
Depends of what is the original source, if it was a novel that got an anime or manga adaptation I would go for the novel, in the same way if the original source is another medium.
Mhm, then it depends on the genre. If it's a story about music, anime. Comedy, probably manga, but maybe anime as well (not sure here.) I haven't read comedy novels (or novels mostly about comedy) so can't really say if I would enjoy them or not. For fantasy stories with world building or really good and in depth lore, I would probably choose the novel. There are some anime which are done really well (right now can only think of Made in Abyss) so it's not set in stone, but for fantasy, probably novel(while not fantasy, I would put steam punk, scify,etc. basically things that could use good explanations, in this box as well). For the other genres, I don't have any real preferences. Romance, for example. I really don't mind if it's a novel, manga or anime, unless the art in the manga is godly. Then I'll devour the manga first, then whatever other medium that has more content than the manga. Still, I usually tend to keep to only one medium. There are exceptions though. If I start a manga that doesn't have many translated chapters, and I loved the story, I'll read the novel it is based on. If it doesn't have a novel, I cry. Anyways, the above is what would happen in an ideal world, but I will usually watch an anime and if I really like it, I'll read the manga and ditch the anime. In anime adapted from novels it has only happened twice iirc. High school DxD and Nejimaki Seirei Senki – Tenkyou no Alderamin, but didn't ditch the anime (novel was way better though.)
The original medium, always. If I really like it I can consider going for the adaptations, but I usually won't.
Novel or Manga (depends on what the original source or if it got translated) Anime will always be the last for me or i don't bother with it.