Supplementary Lesson: Other Media

Manga and anime are often highly related, with manga becoming adapted to anime or a popular anime having manga "spinoffs". However, there are also two other sources of material that are often adapted to manga/anime forms or vice versa. These are:

• Light Novels: These are literally "light" or "short" novels, often with a few illustrations that are usually targeted towards young adults. 
• Examples: Toradora!, Spice and Wolf, The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi

• Visual Novels: Wikipedia calls these "an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art". Basically, think of a "choose-your-own-adventure" story but with graphics and in electronic form. These are typically targeted towards adults.
• Examples: Fate/Stay Night, Tsukihime, Clannad

Fate/Stay Night is a perfect example of how something can be adapted into multiple forms; it was originally a visual novel but its success has resulted in both anime and manga adaptations, as well as a light novel series that serves as a prequel, Fate/Zero (which, incidentally, is going to be adapted into an anime too!).