I definitely like the manual transmission more. I grew up on pretty much both as my mum enjoyed the automatic, and my dad stuck with the manual. 

I too always preferred the manual myself though, as I just think it has a more pure feeling to it. You know, like most people prefer a real book over an e-book, or leather to pleather. When I drive an automatic, it seems like I don't get the true sense of driving, like there's something missing.

Other than my personal opinion on how it feels, manual transmissions also have a few advantages to them. First of which, it's cheaper. Not just in the long haul, but also when you first purchase the car. And as the system is less complex, it is much easier to fix. 

The only downside I'd say there is to a manual transmission over an automatic one, is that there is a slight learning curve and it's not as comfortable when one is stuck in bumper to bumper traffic.