Watch the anime, read the manga!

My cousin is in a very specific situation.  She has never, ever seen an anime before a few weeks ago.  I doubt she even knows what types of anime are out there, but I brought some of it into her life with Death Note.  I've seen tons of non-anime fans get completely sucked into Death Note before, so I figured it was the best anime to show a newcomer.  There's way more to the story than that, but I'll get to that another day!

Long story short, my cousin ended up really liking the anime.  We're only about halfway through, but she definitely enjoyed it enough to ask about the manga version.  My cousin happens to be a huge reader, so giving her the manga was the perfect solution.  See, we all watch the anime together as a group, so everyone is on the same episode.  It's a little hard to get everyone together every weekend, which makes it extra tough when you're dying to see what happens next.  In steps the manga as the perfect solution!

Now my cousin is blowing through the manga at record speed.  She has the lucky benefit of seeing the anime and manga in relation to each other, seeing just how faithful the anime adaptation is.  It's a really unique perspective that not a lot of people get to enjoy.  I read the manga, but not until after I'd seen the anime all the way through.  I really wish I was in the same position as her!

How do you feel about anime adaptations of manga?  Have you ever watched anime and felt compelled to read the manga it came from?  I know some people aren't into reading, but when you love an anime so much, you look for any method to get your fill!