Anime Dub vs. Sub

Dub or Sub?

  • Dubbed

    Votes: 8 21.1%

  • Subbed

    Votes: 13 34.2%

  • It depends on the anime

    Votes: 17 44.7%
  • Total voters
    38
Martel

Martel

All your username are belong to me.
Veteran
Joined
Nov 20, 2009
Messages
3,016
Age
35
Location
Somewhere else
Gil
18
I see a lot of English dub-bashing on the internet these days, particularly around 4Kids. So I was just wondering: what is your preference for language when watching anime if you have the choice? Do you prefer to watch the English language version, or would you prefer to watch the original Japanese version with subtitles?

For me, it depends on the anime...there are some dubs (The first two series of Pokemon, Hellsing, Ghost in the Shell, etc) that I think are vastly superior to the original Japanese version - the only reason I managed to tolerate Code Geass was because the dub cast was incredible, and I'd much rather listen to Crispin Freeman than Jōji Nakata when it comes to Alucard. Similarly, I will always think of Cardcaptor Sakura as Cardcaptors, because I think that version is just...better.

However, there are others - Death Note and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann in particular - that lessen the effect the anime has, I think. I couldn't take Death Note seriously as it was, but hearing Light actually say "I'll take a potato chip...and EAT IT!" in a language I could understand blew it completely out of proportion...similarly, Mikami saying "Delete" in English wasn't quite as dramatic as him saying "Eliminate" in Japanese. Similarly, Gurren Lagann doesn't feel quite as emotional or epic when I can understand what the characters are saying without the aid of subtitles. Hearing Katsuyuki Konishi scream "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?!" is much better than hearing Kyle Hebert say it.

There are other dubs - Princess Tutu being the best example - which are just plain diabolical, because the voice actors are awful. For me, a Japanese anime rarely has a voice actor I can't stand, because I can't really understand what they're saying, so on one level they all sound the same to me. I tend to think of it as just noise in the background, because I'm concentrating on reading the subtitles...in the English language versions, I'm paying more attention to the voices, so I have considerably higher standards. The result is I think the English language version is either vastly superior or absolutely awful.

I understand a lot of the hatred for dubbed anime comes from the omissions and Americanization that they go through, but I don't really see that as a problem - I find things a lot funnier and more enjoyable if I can relate to them. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is the funniest anime I've ever seen, but some of the jokes go straight over my head because they're Japanese-specific. Its no fun to watch something that you can't understand or relate to on some basic level. Some of the omissions anime go through when they're dubbed are highly unnecessary - making Uranus and Neptune cousins instead of lovers in Sailor Moon didn't censor it, it just made it extremely disturbing - but I don't think they ruin the anime overall.
...about the only exception for me to this is the shortening of "Giga Drill Breaker" to "Giga Drill Break" in Gurren Lagann. That "er" omission ruined the entire thing for me. It might not have been so bad if they hadn't of ruined the best part of it...

So, yeah. I tend to check the dub cast list for an anime I want to watch and watch a few clips before I make my decision. My preference is to dubbed anime, because English is a language I can speak and understand, but I have no problem with subbed anime.
 
Well, Seeing as I live in a country where anything foreign is subbed, I prefer subtitling in general. It doesn't matter if it's a movie at the cinema or an anime series I am watching. Subtitling is just an every day thign here so it doesn't bother me at all.

I am okay with dubbing too, but if I own the films I will always choose subtitles over the dubbing, if that makes sense to you? I think dubbing in Anime is somewhat better than it is in films. Such as Night Watch/Day Watch. One of my favourite film series, but the dubbing is fucking atrocious. Then when I look at it from an Anime Perspective, I have seen Gundam Seed of Destiny in both English and Japanese and it didn't bother me in the slightest. I much prefer the subtitles though I guess.

I don't really care if their mouths move out of place or if they don't do a great job of dubbing it. Though I LOVE when I read mistakes in subtitles. Not read any in anima subtitling though, but then again, I woulnd't understand anyway.

Nah, I think Subtitles are just as good/bad as dubbing. Neither are 100% accurate, are they? So it's just down to what is easier for you I guess.
 
This argument is usually infuriating because of the amount of zealots on either side of the debate. These things should be judged on an individual basis, there are some shows I prefer to watch subtitled but some have fantastic dubs where I'll prefer to watch those - Tenchi Muyo/Universe and Cowboy Bebop spring to mind here.

Basically, anyone who just says 'subs/dubs are rubbish' is a fool.
 
It depends on the anime for me. I watched Cowboy Bebop in english and then half way through, I watched an episode in Japanese and I didn't like it as much. Maybe it's because I don't understand what's being said or that the subtitles don't say who's saying what, the voices just sounded too similar to me. The movie in japanese was quite good though for some reason. 8(

Other ones like Samurai Champloo, I can't stand in english. Mainly because I think they used the same voice actor for Spike and Mugen. In particular, Mugen in english sounded very out of place when taking in the whole context of the anime.

I don't watch too many anime series to that's my take on it.
 
I dislike dubs, really. When I was little we still had cartoon network and everything was in English, I loved it! Powerpuff girls, cow and chicken, ed edd and eddy and more, every voices were amazing to me back then. Until they decided to dub everything in Dutch. I didn't like it that much anymore and watched cartoon network less. Some voices in Dutch were a pain.
Because of dubbing everytime (now even series as Hannah Montana and Zack and cody) I feel like the kids these days in Holland will suck in English.

For anime I always watch it in Japanese, (I only watch one anime now though) I can't stand the english Naruto dub. His voice is so annoying in english. Also Fushigi yuugi is a pain. Bleach sounded alright though. (only seen 3 episodes)
Some voice actor do an amazing job in English dubs, but yeah give me subs. I love to hear the original.
 
It depends on the quality of the dubs really. I'd only watch an anime in English if the voice overs were either convincing like Cowboy Bebop, Romeo x Juliet etc. or 'so bad it's good' like Baccano!. When it comes to 'anime movies' I always go with English. They're usually good.
 
It is the same with me, it depends. I usually go with Subs because they rarely have bad VA however I am open-minded enough to say I don't mind watching a Dub as long as it doesn't make my ears bleed. At least the good thing about Dubs is that you can turn your head for a second and not pay attention and still know what's going on but with Subs you have to pay attention to it unless you understand japanese.
 
I prefer dubs over subs. IMO, subtitles are too distracting from what's going on. At least with dubs, you can still actually watch your show/movie.

Besides, dubs of the old Godzilla movies were awesome! "His lips are still moving but he's not making any noise!" :awesome:

However, this is also coming from someone who watches an anime that was already dubbed when I got into it, so that is all I know. However, I did try to watch Advent Children with subtitles, but as I said before, I felt too distracted. I was too busy trying to read what was being said, and missing things the characters were doing.
 
Uhm I think it depends on the anime. Black Lagoon for instance had an epic dub, I might even say it's better than original. Also, I think the dub hate comes from the fact that since it's in the viewer's language, you can tell when it's a little cheesy/blown out. If it's in Japanese which most viewers can't understand fluently, you tend not to notice when certain words/phrases are out of proportion. Like in the DN potato chip scene. I lol'd tremendously at that scene but it was also pretty dramatic in the Japanese version as well when you really listen to it. Light was all like "TABERU!1!! :gasp:" and stuff, so honestly it's pretty equaled out I think. Maybe. -_-

Also, like LK once said "You may think the dubs are mistranslating, but the guys who fansub are masturbating" :wacky:
 
It really depends on the anime and how good the dubs are. Usually if it's a story that takes place in an English-speaking country, I think that English dubs really fit into the story better rather than Japanese. For instance, Black Lagoon, Cowboy Bebop, and Baccano!. I definitely enjoy Black Lagoon in English rather than in Japanese. Other anime that I think sound better in English would be those that I watched when I was a kid on network TV, like the stuff that came on Toonami. I got so used to hearing the characters in English that it just sounds too weird in Japanese. Shows like Pokemon, Dragonball Z, and Trigun.

There are some shows where it doesn't matter either way, like Outlaw Star, and Fullmetal Alchemist.

If it's live action movies, we're talking about, then I always prefer the movie in the original language with subtitles. I just don't think dubs work very well in live action movies.
 
Though I sometimes like watching live-action foreign films in the original languages with subs, I voted for dubs on anime :hmmm: Usually (in the ones I watch anyway) there are scenes that go by so quickly that I can't both read and watch what's going on at the same time, and trying to match up the audio and visual emotions/emphasis within the sentences is difficult at times, since the sentence structure in English seems to be a lot different than in Japanese. Plus, after playing some of my favorite games in English (Xenosaga's a good example :awesome:) that have popular English voice actors in them, I have a lot of fun trying to pick out who's who when I watch a new anime series--I'll sit there going "Oh, that's Albedo from Xenosaga! That guy is Margulis! And I think the scrawny dude was Allen from that other show! :x3:" It really adds an extra element of fun to the watching :D
 
TOTALLY original answer; Depends on the anime.

Karas and Hellsing Ultimate both had great dubs. As it is; I find that any attempt to dub an anime that prominently features schoolgirls (Haruhi, HiME) generally fails. The english VA's intentionally pitch their voices up to squeaks and it sounds unnatural.

TTGL and Death Note; as have been said, sound silly in English.

One Piece; I'm not certain on. Certain voices (Hiriluk) come across okay in English, while others just fit better in Japanese (Luffy).

That all said; when the One Piece dub reaches the moment; I want Tim Curry doing Emporio Ivankov.
 
I like to watch my animes mostly when it's subbed because I think the Japanese voice actors do a much better job than the North American ones. However it depends on which anime it is. The few animes I like to watch in dub are: Rurouni Kenshin, Witch Hunter Robin, Dragonball Z, Fruits Basket and Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu.

Everything else I prefer in Japanese like Neon Genesis Evangelion and Fullmetal Alchemist.
 
Dubbed. Every single time. I don't want to read my anime. I want to hear and understand it in my own language, and Japenese voices nearly all sound identical to my uncultured ears, with little in the way of emotion.
 
I think dubbed is horrible. I won't watch an anime unless it's subbed because it doesn't seem right if I don't. For years I watched subbed anime so dubbed just sounds awful to me.
 
Subs are always the best. More often than not, dubs suck. And the Japanese VAs do a much better job, I've see some of my favorite animes dubbed and I didn't liked it at all. There are many animes that seriously sucks when dubbed. Like Bleach, I'm a huge Bleach fan but I just couldn't take to watch the dubs. But there are also anime's that was great with dubs, but very very few of them. Like Cowboy Bebop, and the movie Spirited Away, they were awesome but just them. Nothing beats subs :busta:
 
I could go either way. I do like subtitles because I pay more attention to what's going on, and it makes the anime seem more original because it's all the original voice acting and all that. Plus I've noticed that subtitles tell more accurately what they're saying than dubbed versions
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top