In this week's poll, our member Renzonokuken is wondering if you judge a book by its cover

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

Previous Poll Results:

Question: Do you prefer wired or wireless computer accessories (e.g., mouse, keyboard, headphones)?

Choices:

• Wired - votes: 977 (48.7%)
• Wireless - votes: 745 (37.1%)
• No preference - votes: 285 (14.2%)

There were 2007 total votes. The poll ended: August 2, 2025

No batteries. No worries about signal interference. But the tangle...

A just ruler amongst tyrants

...
There is no connection/relevance between the questions and the answers.
Q: "How strongly....?"
A: "My frequency is..."

It's like asking "how heavy is this boulder?", and giving the options for an answer, of 3, 5, or 10 hours.

I'm taking "sometimes" to mean "a somewhat considerable amount but not a deal breaker". I would pick up a series with an art-style I don't really like, but probably not from chapter 1, since there are lots of stuff with artstyles I like, and only if I hear good things of the rest (characters/story/etc).

I'm not one to drop a series due to art degradation, tho.

There is some consideration... As sloppy art style sometimes indicates series overall being sloppy... But usually i don't care much... So very rarely as in when art style is exceptionally bad...

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

I don't mind "ugly" art, but can't stand most moe blob pug face looking creatures anymore.

The art style often tells you what to expect. For example, some art styles are for depressing, adult stories about people living their lives in perpetual gloom, that kind of thing.

A lot , i can't personally read manga if the art is bad even if the plot/characters are good ,how I'm supposed to like characters that i can't even stand looking at ...

also compared to anime/vns manga don't have animation/voice acting/ost which can distract you a little from average/bad art

The question can be about two very separate things: Style and quality. (quality, as in how well it is drawn)

Art style can suggest what kind of feel the manga has. (and it is obviously best, if the style of the art, and the style of the story, fit each other)

...but I'd like to think it's not much of a factor, in terms of what I pick up.
Though I do remember impulse buying Yunagi no Machi Sakura no Kuni (though I generally only buy stuff I've already read), with the suspicion that it'd be a nice and easy going thing
...and it turned out to be rather more dark and serious. (didn't regret the purchase, though. It's quite good)

As for how well/good it looks, however...
I don't care.
Sure, I appreciate beautiful art, and it can increase the enjoyment of a series, a bit, but it's the contents that is the important thing, so I don't care if it's ugly:
Good content with shit art is good. Shit content with excellent art, is shit.

I can only think of one series, that I've avoided, because of the art: Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge

Not how the manga is drawn, in general, mind you.
I'm talking specifically about the faces of the four "exceptionally beautiful" "bishounens", that are the main supporting characters.
If someone makes a version of it, where their faces are... "censored", then I wouldn't mind reading it.
Their faces are just far too, unbearably, atrociously ugly, for me to be able to endure.

P.S.
On a related note, I can't watch the Skip Beat anime, because of the voice of the main character ...which is a unique exception. That is the only example, of me avoiding an anime, due to anything like art, animation (which is separate from the art itself), voice acting, or music.

When its about full color weak art is very forgivable. But even greatest art style cant forgive tragic plot continuity (khekhemanhuatraitkhekhe).

For me, it depends on the genre. Generally I care more about plot/dialogue, but if it's a genre where the art is fundamental to the storytelling (like action), I would be less likely to pick up a manga with bad art. For example, I can't imagine Akira being decent with bad art, but the characters in Boku to Kimi no Taisetsu na Hanashi could basically be two blobs and it would make no difference.

Quote from hkanz

a genre where the art is fundamental to the storytelling (like action)

I fail to see how the art would be fundamental to the storytelling, in action or any other genre.
In an artbook, yes, but...

I just checked the poll-suggestion thread. The proposal had a question and answers, that made sense. (though way too verbose)
Still doesn't really make clear if it's the style or how well it is drawn, but would still be easy to answer.
But with the answers being completely devoid of the context, that would make them make sense, for the question...

Also: The "don't care" option isn't in the proposal, and doesn't make any sense. (and why the always option was removed, I do not understand)

If things couldn't be shortened without making it meaningless, then it should either have been posted unshortened, or not at all.

I don't really care about the style of art, whether its hyper realistic, cartoony, or stylized. Its not really a strong factor in whether I pick up a series.

However, bad art/drawing is a different story. When you start seeing body proportions off, when the artist doesn't have a good tonal balance and blacks overwhelm the composition, when someone is overusing the blur tool because they think that's being cinematic, etc.

I also don't pickup a series on cover art alone. I need to read at least a chapter or two to decide if the art and story are worth my time. Both are important, the writer might have an interesting idea or hook, but if it looks like garbage I'm going to be distracted by how bad it looks. Similarly if it looks good, but the story is dumb as rocks with bad dialogue I will get frustrated or bored. Its got to have a good balance of both.

Artists have gotten good enough that, unless the art is significantly worse than average, I don't care. But, I do run across bad enough art often enough to say it's not rare. So my answer is sometimes.

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

Art styles have progressed. Maybe 10 years ago I wouldn't have minded as much. XD but these days if I don't get captured by the art I skip.