tried reading the manga.
didn't really hook me in that much.
I'm not surprised. I've started with the anime and it was pretty good. But the manga wasn't my cup of tea and i've abandonned it when the tournament arc started. I'm pretty sure a lots of JJL followers did start with the anime.
For most shonens, the anime is better because the animation make the fight more dynamic. In paper, it's harder to have a very good result.