i would treat the anime and magna as two separate entities. You cna complain that the anime does not follow the magna, but thats about as retarded as complaining that book X was way better than its movie redition.

IMHO i would say the anime (when they are actually trying) is better than the magna, for me mere purpose that you get an illusion of how fast the hits are happening, and the music adds to the atmosphere. the best example of this is the rock lee vs garra fight. damn i still watch that one.