This week's poll was suggested by lollylopmr. Generally, do you think a series is better if the author and the artist are the same person? I'm surprised we never asked this question before.

You can submit poll ideas here: https://www.mangaupdates.com/topic/kilkdnn/site-manga-poll-suggestions

Previous Poll Results:

Question: Would you cut your sandwiches into rectangles or triangles?

Choices:

• Triangles - votes: 668 (27.6%)
• Rectangles - votes: 239 (9.9%)
• I switch between them - votes: 256 (10.6%)
• I don't cut my sandwiches - votes: 1026 (42.3%)
• I don't make sandwiches - votes: 198 (8.2%)
• Other - votes: 36 (1.5%)

There were 2423 total votes. The poll ended: October 25, 2025

When you take your first bite, is it at the edge or the corner?

A just ruler amongst tyrants

I don't think it's a massive deal, but...
Yes, of course!
The art of the writing and the art of the drawing, should of course match as well as possible. To unify. Work in concert
...which it cannot possibly do better, than if they are both made by the same person.

That said, not all authors can draw that well, or might not draw in the style that would most fit a particular story. There are plenty of situations, where the author either can't be the artist, or where they technically can, but it'd be a lot better if someone else does it
...but, in principle, by default, it's better, all else being equal, if the art is done by the author.

Release interval will be longer.

Yes, I want a singular creator's vision.

When I see an author I like become just an artist on someone else's story it really disappoints me.

Quote from YuriM

Release interval will be longer.

The poll specifically asks which would make the series better. You may argue that it is better for it to be released faster, that is a perfectly valid point, but the speed has no impact on if the series is better or worse.

I tentatively selected "yes" just because I read a lot of novel adaptations, some of which are good and some of which are not, and I feel like the works in the rofan genre that are original works done by a singular artist/author are often standouts, less formulaic and not relying on as many clichés, but that could just be my own bias.

Really, I would have preferred a "sometimes" option since it's so heavily dependent on the creator being good at both things at once, which not everyone is.

In a perfect world, yes... however, there is a reason this quote exists. "Getting the right people in the right jobs is a lot more important than developing a strategy" - Jack Welsh

~4400 manga completed
~1700 ongoing...

yes. I have run across series where the artist can't draw the main subject well.
Examples:

• a child focused series with badly proportioned children (aka drawing children with adult body proportions and big heads)
• tiger is a main character but the artist can't draw tigers

I'm surprised to see that the majority of votes are in the negative, here.

Personally, I think this one is a clear yes.

I've made the following assumptions in making my answer:

1. We're talking about the average manga artist's ability to write.
2. It's significantly easier for an artist to get their foot into the door of authorship than for an author to get their foot into the door of decent drawing skills.

In 9/10 cases: absolutely not. The artist does not usually make the best story writer. I have come across so many fantastic artists that draw for decent to great stories, but then I'll follow up on what other stories they drew and, almost always, their lowest rated stories are the ones they wrote themselves—that is, if they have written any.

With that said, when the artist does happen to be a competent writer, you get some of the best manga out there. Gintama instantly comes to mind as one of these. But those are the exceptions, and not, in my experience, the norm.

I'm a jack of all trades but master of none. Too many jars and not enough hands.

I don't know how to answer this for manga. It seems that Japanese manga culture has found a really good spot on the balance between authors' and artists' work, many good works come from big collaborations where no particular person holds unlimited creative control over others. That being said, Japanese mangakas are beasts and the amount of one-man-team masterpieces existing out there is staggering.

A lot of my favorite manga have been from duos, but I wouldn't make a blanket statement either way. On one hand, yeah it's not a single person's vision and things can get lost in translation from one person's mind to the other's. On the other, manga has never been purely a single person's vision, at least those with professional editors on board or those who found assistants. And having someone to bounce off of or point out things that aren't inherently obvious often makes for a more well rounded story.

Like, I don't think Death Note would have been nearly as good as it was if it were just Ohba doing both writing and drawing (partially because if his identity is actually who people theorize, uh. Well. Listen there can only be so many Black Hazes and One Punch Mans)

Depends om author... so dunno

I am envoy from nowhere in nowhere. Nobody and nothing have sent me. And though it is impossible I exist. © Trimutius

I don't really check for that much less remember and I don't really think I would care too much if I did either. It's what it is, not like I can do anything about it. If it works, it works, and if it doesn't, well...

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