The difference between manga and anime is that the anime is always going to be shorter while manga has a lot more details of the plot and characters. Your friends are probably saying that the anime is missing a lot of the story compared to the manga
@RoseParks yeah, I said that as more of a praise for Death Note. lol what saddens me is that Hunter x Hunter just stopped where it did. I know the writer is having health issues and the like but I want more
@BrianBrady of course there are exceptions but nowadays the industry is falling and they need to meet the demands and schedules so its normal that they cut some stuff from the manga.