When I first learned of an anime called “Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne“, a series I highly recommend by the way, I remember doing some brief research and learning that a light novel was in release before the anime started airing. Without pursuing it further, I assumed that the anime was an adaptation. Of course, you know what happens when you assume! Some time later, I actually looked deeper and learned that the novel had only begun a month before the anime started airing and was only completed after the anime had ended! Similarly, many original anime series may decide to release manga tie-ins prior to the anime airing and so I thought it might be interesting to take a look at a few examples and to consider why a company, likely a production committee in these cases, would choose to do this.
When I think of manga tie-ins that came out before their anime, the first one that comes to mind is Neon Genesis Evangelion. Beginning nearly a full year before the anime began airing, the manga adaptation was done by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, who also served as the character designer for the TV series, and ended up running for over 18 years. It’s since proven to be quite financially successful with about 25 million copies sold and has also been very well received and, while this is very much a personal statement, I actually ended up preferring the manga over the anime TV series.
