Anime: Sub or Dub?

[Dreakon139]

Dub fan through and through. Which kind of perturbs me because 75% of the anime selection on Netflix is subtitled (despite many of them having dubs). I have my reasons for preferring dubs but I won't get into it until some unsuspecting sub fan lumbers in here angrily berating dubs.

Which do you prefer?

[DaRe]

i like the original cut of Anime more than the dubbed version, so Sub it is. Naruto is one example.

[screamomusic]

The sub is always the best,Because dub doesn't show all the gore.

[Black-Xero]

I mostly prefer the dubbed voices. I always liked it better when I can understand their English. The only problem I have with dubbed work is how the production team ends up censoring or editing the anime.

[Death]

I prefer dub. I can't stand listening to Japanese women scream... it's so fucking annoying! But the bad thing is, not everything is dubbed. For example Case Closed has only been dubbed up to Season 5 while in Japan, Case Closed is already on it's 20th Season or some shit.

[Parker]

Depends on what I'm watching. I like DBZ, Ruroni Kenshin, Tenchi Muyo and some others in English but there are others I prefer in Japanese as well, like Gundam.

Parker

[iraqoz]

Ofcourse Subbed, there is no feeling in the dubbed version.

[orenjikitty]

I watch both but I prefer sub a lot more than dub. Sub feels natural, where as dubs tend to have syncing issues. I tried to watch Naruto dubbed and it was horrendous. I know there are people who prefer dubs over subs because they find the Japanese VAs annoying but it can be said for dubs as well. Naruto sounded like a girl.

[LeeMcD-]

I just watch whichever buffers quicker Generally though I'd go for dubbed as I'm often watching it and doing something else at the same time so dubbed means I don't miss out too much

[cmgravekeeper]

I personally prefer dubbed versions....

[Aipher]

Subs ONLY! Really, there is no contest, except if you have to look away from the screen for some reason. I'm not only saying for anime, but I prefer to watch original voices on any material.

Firstly there's the conveyance of emotion, secondly is the timing due to different language structures and thirdly, the lips actually sync to the sound.

[Cer-be-rus]

Subbed for me, gotta stick with the original language.

I always have the feeling that dubbed sounds fake and awful/weird. Not trying to offend anyone though.

I have it with my language as well (Dutch), If an English spoken movie/serie/game is dubbed in my language it's mostly horrendous! :mellow:

[Dreakon139]

Firstly there's the conveyance of emotion, secondly is the timing due to different language structures and thirdly, the lips actually sync to the sound.

Firstly, most good dubs (of which there are more than many adamant sub fans like to admit) convey emotion just as well as a sub. The belief that the sub will automatically have "better" voice acting, more often than not, comes from people who don't speak or understand the nuances of the Japanese language... so their judgement is kind of just based on the fact they have a incredible amount of respect for Japanese culture (moreso than their own) and they think it's cool. In other words, biased. I'm not really saying this about you or anything, just my take on it in general.

Secondly and thirdly, most episodic anime are designed with the English dub in mind in terms of timing and lip syncing. Don't remember where I read it, but I believe it considering how 99% of popular anime these days find their way to North America.

[Aipher]

I suppose it's the jaded purist in me. I just have a personal issue with the artistic effort made by the original creators is practically undone and re-pieced together to cater to others 'who can't be bothered to read'. In other words, I like art the way it was intended with as minimal meddling as possible. I do agree somewhat about the emotion, but in the end a dub is still much more synthetic to my ears.

As for timing and edits to accommodate dubs I've never heard of them (not that they aren't there, just that I never cared for dubs to bother researching any). But that brings me to my previous point. It's akin to taking the Mona Lisa and adding some more cleavage because it would look more relevant to a certain group of people.

Trivial I suppose, that's why I say I'm jaded and prefer to experience/view things they way they were envisioned by their original creators, even if it does take me slightly more effort.

[bigbladiaman]

Obviously Sub. Dub is terrible in my opinion. Seriously, some shows were just not made to be spoken in another language Original language is the way to go for any show.

[Dreakon139]

I suppose it's the jaded purist in me. I just have a personal issue with the artistic effort made by the original creators is practically undone and re-pieced together to cater to others 'who can't be bothered to read'. In other words, I like art the way it was intended with as minimal meddling as possible.

Then learn the language so the glorious artistic effort of the original creators isn't shat on with big bolded yellow or white subtitles, which can also be poorly translated and/or poorly synced.

Most mature, artistic anime is treated with respect when it comes to dubbing. Look at Cowboy Bebop, Serial Experiments Lain, Mushi-shi, etc. Even Death Note, I don't know how someone can rag on the dub. Lights voice actor in the last episode is outstanding. I get chills listening to the latter half of that final episode dubbed. If you're upset that fucking Naruto sounds like a butch lesbian in the dub, let's just remember it's a show about the misadventures of a bunch of kids with magical, ninja powers. It's not exactly a passionate, emotional masterpiece.

[Aipher]

Then learn the language so the glorious artistic effort of the original creators isn't shat on with big bolded yellow or white subtitles, which can also be poorly translated and/or poorly synced.

Only are not all big bold yellow/white, nor poorly synced 99% of the time. Can't say the same about the fidelity of some crappy VAs which also shat over the original VAs work. As for learning the language(s)? I would if it were practical and could fit into my busy life schedule. Not everyone has unlimited time and/or money.

Most mature, artistic anime is treated with respect when it comes to dubbing. Look at Cowboy Bebop, Serial Experiments Lain, Mushi-shi, etc. Even Death Note, I don't know how someone can rag on the dub. Lights voice actor in the last episode is outstanding. I get chills listening to the latter half of that final episode dubbed. If you're upset that fucking Naruto sounds like a butch lesbian in the dub, let's just remember it's a show about the misadventures of a bunch of kids with magical, ninja powers. It's not exactly a passionate, emotional masterpiece.

Where did I say that dubs don't pay respect to the original work? I'm just saying they mostly sound synthetic to me, and no matter how much respect and effort is made, it is still not original. Seriously, I don't have a problem with you preferring dubs, they might be outstanding as you say, but I don't see why you have such a problem about me preferring subs. Take a chill pill, relax and enjoy what you enjoy, I know I do. And no, I don't watch Naruto at all, subbed or dubbed so I could care less.

[Dreakon139]

Only are not all big bold yellow/white, nor poorly synced 99% of the time. Can't say the same about the fidelity of some crappy VAs which also shat over the original VAs work. As for learning the language(s)? I would if it were practical and could fit into my busy life schedule. Not everyone has unlimited time and/or money.

Sounds like someone knows where to get the "good" subs. I've seen my share of garbage in the few times I've reached out to the sub community when shows weren't being dubbed fast enough (Yu Yu Hakusho comes to mind). On top of very obnoxiously colored subtitles (bold yellow and white, as I said before), they kept getting Hiei and Kurama's names mixed up and yeah, they were poorly synced.

And I'm sorry it's impractical for you to learn the language but that's the price of experiencing art (in this case) in it's original form, something subbies seem to hold very close to their hearts. Hearing the original VA's lacks any poignancy when the extent you have in the nuances of the language ends at about "man that language sounds neat". What you are experiencing isn't the original.

You can like what you like, that's fine. I'm just tired of people convincing themselves subtitles are a superior viewing experience solely because it's "the original". I would argue it's worse. Not only are you completely lost on the substance a VA has in a language you don't understand, but the subtitles are undoubtedly a distraction from the visual art itself. At least moreso than being able to appreciate it fully sans subtitles.

Where did I say that dubs don't pay respect to the original work? I'm just saying they mostly sound synthetic to me, and no matter how much respect and effort is made, it is still not original. Seriously, I don't have a problem with you preferring dubs, they might be outstanding as you say, but I don't see why you have such a problem about me preferring subs. Take a chill pill, relax and enjoy what you enjoy, I know I do. And no, I don't watch Naruto at all, subbed or dubbed so I could care less.

My "problem" stems from you completely misrepresenting dubs. I quote you... "I just have a personal issue with the artistic effort made by the original creators is practically undone and re-pieced together to cater to others 'who can't be bothered to read'." That doesn't sound like someone saying that 'it's not my cup of tea, but I appreciate if you like it'. It doesn't even sound like someone saying 'only some dubs are bad'. That's saying the whole damn thing sucks. And I don't like that. I get it, your jaded, but buck up and debate with me if your going to spread your silly misrepresentations all over the intarwebz.

And I don't care that much (though I do despise people who irrationally dislike dubs for the sake of "authenticity"... cause you know, Japanese anime should cater to overbearing English subtitles of varying quality)... in the end though I'm just looking for a fight. These forums get a little boring at times.

[Aipher]

Sounds like someone knows where to get the "good" subs. I've seen my share of garbage in the few times I've reached out to the sub community when shows weren't being dubbed fast enough (Yu Yu Hakusho comes to mind). On top of very obnoxiously colored subtitles (bold yellow and white, as I said before), they kept getting Hiei and Kurama's names mixed up and yeah, they were poorly synced.

Yeah it was one of the sub par subs, and really a bit unfair to compare to today's standards. Similarly, this argument can be used for dubs.

And I'm sorry it's impractical for you to learn the language but that's the price of experiencing art (in this case) in it's original form, something subbies seem to hold very close to their hearts. Hearing the original VA's lacks any poignancy when the extent you have in the nuances of the language ends at about "man that language sounds neat". What you are experiencing isn't the original.

You can like what you like, that's fine. I'm just tired of people convincing themselves subtitles are a superior viewing experience solely because it's "the original". I would argue it's worse. Not only are you completely lost on the substance a VA has in a language you don't understand, but the subtitles are undoubtedly a distraction from the visual art itself. At least moreso than being able to appreciate it fully sans subtitles.

Your 'you need to know the language' argument really isn't an issue. You pick up the vocabulary and nuances as you watch them in the original VAs and intrinsically develop understanding. It might not be exactly as a native watching, but it's a far cry from the english interpretation and 'hand-holding' of dubs. I don't find it 'cool' to watch in the original language, but I just can't really resonate with the dub. Is it inferior? Questionable, with regards to your stamp of approval, but that's not the point.

Since anime is both an audible and visual 'art' form, the visual distraction of subs is really moot when you consider what's lost audibly. But hey what am I to know right? I mean it's not like am capable of interpreting emotion through a voice in a familiar language, and it's impossible to appreciate the artwork/animation with text popping up on the screen

My "problem" stems from you completely misrepresenting dubs. I quote you... "I just have a personal issue with the artistic effort made by the original creators is practically undone and re-pieced together to cater to others 'who can't be bothered to read'." That doesn't sound like someone saying that 'it's not my cup of tea, but I appreciate if you like it'. It doesn't even sound like someone saying 'only some dubs are bad'. That's saying the whole damn thing sucks. And I don't like that. I get it, your jaded, but buck up and debate with me if your going to spread your silly misrepresentations all over the intarwebz.

Perhaps you are misinterpreting me. I said it's my personal issue and is just that. You are free to like dubs, but I state why I don't. It's not a matter of how good or bad the dub is, it's not about if they suck or not. It's the fact that I don't like them, with preference to original source material as it was intended. This dislike is by no means limited to anime.

What also irks me is that people (especially nowadays) are either just lazy or don't like being inconvenienced and insist on being serviced with a silver spoon rather than pulling their sleeves up and actually put an effort into something (learning languages aside ). Personally, I find the gains much more rewarding.

And I don't care that much (though I do despise people who irrationally dislike dubs for the sake of "authenticity"... cause you know, Japanese anime should cater to overbearing English subtitles of varying quality)... in the end though I'm just looking for a fight. These forums get a little boring at times.

In my case, it's not an irrational dislike. I'm not expert in Japanese, but I would argue that I can pick up inferences and nuances with relative ease, which is frankly lost or misrepresented with a dub.

[Piggie_Pie]

i didn't vote because i enjoy both...

thats my simple answer

[Dreakon139]

What also irks me is that people (especially nowadays) are either just lazy or don't like being inconvenienced and insist on being serviced with a silver spoon rather than pulling their sleeves up and actually put an effort into something (learning languages aside ). Personally, I find the gains much more rewarding.

I mean really? Is it that much more work (and more rewarding) to read while your watching something? What are you rolling your sleeves up for? Unless you're brushing up on reading the English language, you aren't exactly improving yourself in any way by reading subs. It's this fake sense of almost elitism that you're watching something "foreign" that somehow makes it feel more rewarding.

There's very little benefit to watching subs over dubs outside of maybe seeing a brief scene or two that got edited out for TV time restrictions that will show up on the DVD. Some cultural references may be lost as well (though I'd have to see some concrete examples where that ruins a show before I commit to that completely). Unless you branch into One Piece territory but I'm more or less talking about mature Anime that deserves to be (and usually is) treated with respect.

Yeah, yeah... the original voice actors... but again can you truly appreciate what they're doing when you don't know the language?

I once read an article where someone said that once they learned to speak Japanese fluently, they went back and rewatched some Anime and realized just how crappy the Japanese voice acting really was. It was just a guy who wrote an article on some site, so who knows how legit it was, but I'm inclined to believe it. Unless the acting is just outrageously laughably bad, how on earth could you tell good acting from bad acting in a language can't speak a lick of (outside of a few words you probably picked up over the years)?

My friend asks me "why does it make sense for people living in Tokyo to speak English" (as they do in dubs) when I argue with him, to that I say English is a pretty popular language these days and why does it make sense that people living in a clearly Western European culture (Full Metal Alchemist) speak Japanese? It goes both ways.

[A12]

I'll do both.

For example: Evangaleon 1.11.

The Sub sound quality is Way superior to the Dub. For some reason they cut the music volume by 30%.

I don't like that one bit, as I watch movies quite loudly.

On the other hand, I don't like being distracted from the eye candy, cause I'm trying to read the sub's.

And someone said they usually cut gore out of Dub's... Yeh in the children's cartoon's they do.

[Aipher]

I mean really? Is it that much more work (and more rewarding) to read while your watching something? What are you rolling your sleeves up for? Unless you're brushing up on reading the English language, you aren't exactly improving yourself in any way by reading subs. It's this fake sense of almost elitism that you're watching something "foreign" that somehow makes it feel more rewarding.

It was a general expression. A greater proportion of people nowadays are lazy. It's much easier to whine about how your life is crappy to get your way now, whereas several years ago, if you wanted to fix something you just went ahead and did it. That mentality is what I'm getting at, and it transfers to all facets of life. It was just a footnote and I didn't mean to make a big issue over it.

There's very little benefit to watching subs over dubs outside of maybe seeing a brief scene or two that got edited out for TV time restrictions that will show up on the DVD. Some cultural references may be lost as well (though I'd have to see some concrete examples where that ruins a show before I commit to that completely). Unless you branch into One Piece territory but I'm more or less talking about mature Anime that deserves to be (and usually is) treated with respect.

Yeah, yeah... the original voice actors... but again can you truly appreciate what they're doing when you don't know the language?

There might be no benefit for you to watch subs, but that doesn't mean there isn't for anyone else. I respect that you like dubs, but really you can't judge anyone else's experience based on your own. Dubs lose out on honorifics and seniority cultures prevalent in Asian cultures for one. Even if they are included it just sounds silly in english.

I once read an article where someone said that once they learned to speak Japanese fluently, they went back and rewatched some Anime and realized just how crappy the Japanese voice acting really was. It was just a guy who wrote an article on some site, so who knows how legit it was, but I'm inclined to believe it. Unless the acting is just outrageously laughably bad, how on earth could you tell good acting from bad acting in a language can't speak a lick of (outside of a few words you probably picked up over the years)?

I simply don't know where to start on this one. So a person, learned the language, and posted an article online and said how bad Japanese voice acting of 'some anime' is bad. Just another opinion out of millions, whether legit or not, it seems like another fart in the wind at this point.

Regarding voices, you would know that it's not about what is said, but how it is said, which in itself is universally understood and depends very little on actually understanding the language. As an example, there are studies that show babies perceive emotion in voices as early as 3 months old. I'm inclined to think that you're grossly underestimating the capabilities of human perception.

My friend asks me "why does it make sense for people living in Tokyo to speak English" (as they do in dubs) when I argue with him, to that I say English is a pretty popular language these days and why does it make sense that people living in a clearly Western European culture (Full Metal Alchemist) speak Japanese? It goes both ways.

Sure there are different cases like that, but anime is generally Japanese production aimed at Japanese people. Even anime set in western cultures often have some quirky Japanese twist or oddity to it.

In closing, I'm just saying that people like different things for different reasons. It's obvious you love dubs and I prefer subs. I'll leave it at that and we will just have to agree to disagree.

[Artemisthemp]

I don't favor one or another, since certain series are better in Dub, while other are better in Sub version

Example:

Devilman: The Demon Bird and Tales of Phantasia example is better in English Dub, than Japanse Sub.

Higurashi on the other hand I need to watch in Sub version or it sound wrong.

I watch mostly sub, because the new series come in that.

[Senshu573]

Subs.

I don't hate dubbers though, some of them are good, but what I dislike about dubs is the fact that some contexts lose their meaning when translated and spoken in a foreign voice.