Subbed or dubbed?

[frogge]

How do you like your anime?

Subbed, dubbed, or in the original Japanese only?

[sgtdraino]

I don't understand Japanese.

A good dub is superior to a good sub. A bad dub can be nearly unwatchable.

I vote for a good dub. NGE and FLCL are good examples.

[Houkou]

Subbed, everytime time.

Japanese voice actors seem to have so much more emotion in their voices, and give more life to the characters than in dubbed versions. Even with the really shrill annoying characters, I prefer subbed. :)

[TheBigCat]

Subbed. One reason is that a lot of the time the translators for voice will edit content so that things will make more sense to Americans who might not be familiar with Japanese custom, especially jokes or cultural references. Another reason is that while getting voices to sync with animation is easier than with live action it is still a distraction when it doesn't. And another is, as stated, the emotions just come through better in the original.

[sgtdraino]

I've seen some pretty hinky and bad subs out there, too. Poor translations.

I still maintain that a good dub beats a good sub every time.

It seems many english otakus favor subs over dubs. I think this preference is mostly cultural though. They are conditioned to think subs are better, because all their otaku buddies say they are. They say subs are better because they think that's the cool thing to say.

[Houkou]

I've seen some pretty hinky and bad subs out there, too. Poor translations.

I still maintain that a good dub beats a good sub every time.

It seems many english otakus favor subs over dubs. I think this preference is mostly cultural though. They are conditioned to think subs are better, because all their otaku buddies say they are. They say subs are better because they think that's the cool thing to say.

I base my preference on experience, not others. I've watched a few series in both English and Japanese (Wolf's Rain, Excel Saga, a few movies, etc), and still generally prefer the latter. Bad subs and translations are annoying, but for me it's worse with flat voices or words that don't match the character's mouths.

[frogge]

Interesting what's being said about dubbing that doesn't fit the mouth movements. For me, it's just the opposite: I often have more problems with dubbing that does fit the mouth movements! The reason is that they often have to re-word what is said to fit. This changes the phraseology away from a natural phrase or a phrase that character might say to one that can be a bit clunky.

As an example, a character might say "Jump!" in a situation where they have to leap a chasm, but due to the mouth movements which were animated for Japanese sentence structures, they might decide to change the line to "We must jump now!" Now that I notice this, it really bothers me.

[Leia Amos]

Subtitles.

The only exception is when, like with Princess Mononoke where Neil Gaiman was part of the translating it into English properly... that isn't really dubbing, but I am good with it.

[LPU]

Subtitles.

I don't even see why dubbing is a consideration.

[sgtdraino]

I base my preference on experience, not others. I've watched a few series in both English and Japanese (Wolf's Rain, Excel Saga, a few movies, etc),

OMG the dubbing on Excel Saga was so, so horrible. Nightmarish.

Now, the dubbing on NGE, FLCL, Cowboy Bebop, and Samurai Shamploo, completely different class.

[Lostaway]

Subbed, everytime time.

Japanese voice actors seem to have so much more emotion in their voices, and give more life to the characters than in dubbed versions. Even with the really shrill annoying characters, I prefer subbed. :)


Houkou got it here.

Subbed for me. :)

[Scott]

Subbed. Watching Ouran High School Host Club with perfect subs was the perfect anime experience. Amazing voice acting with the story entirely correct (assuming the subs were accurate). Every Japanese sign was given an English sign next to it to explain, and any puns made by the Japanese language were also explained with an English notice. If every anime was this thorough, I'd be a happy guy.

[MinaKitty]

Subbed.

And I think part of the difference comes down to the fact that Japanese voice actors often work together in the same recording session, therefor the acting is more immediate. In the US the voice actors often work alone with the director in a sound booth.

My son watches some anime (mostly Myazaki) and watches it dubbed. But my husband wants to switch him over to subbed as soon as he will sit still for the whole thing.

[Vitriol]

Subbed because the horrible voice acting takes me right out of it. On the other hand..stuff like Miyazaki's movies that have genuine voice talent working on them and (usually) professional translations by people like Neil Gaiman are just fine with me.

[Deus Ex Machina]

It seems many english otakus favor subs over dubs. I think this preference is mostly cultural though. They are conditioned to think subs are better, because all their otaku buddies say they are. They say subs are better because they think that's the cool thing to say.

I used to think this too, and watched dubbed anime almost exclusively for quite a while. There is a lot of good dubs. Out of curiousity I would often flick between the voice tracks on DVDs. Then came a day I was watching something online and couldn't find an english version of the next episode, so I watched it in japanese instead. I began to understand why there was such a big following for subbed versions. After this I never turned back, for various reasons.

I'm a 'purist' when it comes to certain things - it wasn't initially true for anime regarding voices, but did extend to it in the end. It was originally about my fave video game franchises - I wanted to know the official (as opposed to fan-made) names of the minor characters (whose names were not mentioned in-game), and the original backstories we didn't get in the english versions of the manuals.

I wanted to experience things the way they were meant to be, in their original form. Due to the writers trying to match the number of mouth flaps and making things more understandable to a western audience, what's being said is not always translated. The message still gets across. But, for example, in FLCL Naota's grandpa asks him to pick up a magazine with 'Shaku-chan' in it. The dub replaces Yumiko Shaku with Anna Nicole Smith. I just preferred the japanese reference better because at the time I first saw FLCL I had a crush on miss Shaku myself XD
Some of the more complex shows [where you have to be quick to pick up little details/hints] have a lot of 'technical' terms thrown around, which for some reason is often dubbed as different jargon, therefore you're not getting some of the hints. Also, if one term is ambiguous (eg; 'kikan', engine/organ) I want to be aware of this rather than coming away with what could be a misconception.

I would never watch a live-action foreign film dubbed in english (though I know this is not really comparable due to the number of poor performances here, and the distracting voice/mouth movement issue). Often characters sound 'wrong' in english (a lot of these instances are likely to do with the high pitched little girl voices japanese women often retain though I suppose). Sometimes the voice of a character is a large part of them. You know how sometimes you'll even have a predetermined sound for a character just looking at their design? I find the japanese voices 'match' more often, though there is sometimes instances that this is reversed (Steven Blum's Spike Spiegel). Sometimes neither match - Naruto (the character himself) didn't sound like I expected in either language.
Maybe this stuff is just me, though.

I've been teaching myself japanese on and off for years, and so when I began to get more serious I realised that listening to anime in its native language would help. And it did - I picked up a lot of things, learned how certain words functioned in different contexts, etc.

Similarly, through anime that provides notes regarding its subs, you learn a lot about japanese jokes, tradition and superstitions (for example, you sneeze when someone is talking about you behind your back). Also, I haven't watched the dub of Lucky Star so I don't know if they keep the references as they are, but I wouldn't want to miss any of the otakuriffic references there.

And speaking of jokes, that's something else that appeals to me - there's something about the sense of humor in many of the light jokes that doesn't carry over somehow. It perhaps has something to do with the delivery, but I'm not sure. There's some very funny banter between characters in Bleach (mainly happens early on between rivals, but it's everywhere that Pesche and Dondochakka), and I'm not sure this would be funny in english somehow.
The 'Shinigami Zukan' (Bleach) or Tachikoma (Stand Alone Complex) skits at the end of each episode sort of leave me going "Huh?" when I watch their english versions whereas I'll have a good chuckle at the original version. I don't know. I suppose some would argue these jokes aren't that clever or somesuch (and thus the reason they don't deliver in english), but they got a laugh out of me. I happened upon Bobobobo-whatever on TV once and I got the feeling that the 'Beauty' character's screamed comments at her comrades outlandish actions would likely be a hell of a lot funnier in the original. They're just annoying in the dub (but I don't watch Bobobo so I couldn't say, honestly).

I never used to understand seiyuu worship. I used to think "They're just a voice. How can you be a fan of a person just for their voice [outside of music]? Aren't you just projecting your love for the characters they voice onto them?" I get it now though. Eg; Konata (Lucky Star) is Aya Hirano. I don't think an english VA - let alone another japanese actor - could make Kona quite this charming. Just something about the way she says things - her delivery of sarcastic lines and teasing comments, her dark 'scheming' voice, her imitation of various TV characters, even just the strain in this cute yawn at one point (I cut n' pasted that from my post in "What are you watching?", haha).
Many japanese voice actresses have great range (Hirano as Konata, Haruhi, Misa) - I never even knew Fumiko Orikasa (whom I loved as Ruki Makino in Digimon Tamers) voiced Rukia Kuchiki in Bleach until I read about it, the voices were that different. Often I get tired of hearing the same english voice on various characters.

So I now personally prefer [well] subbed anime, but I see nothing wrong with dub lovers and disapprove of the hate that good english dubs get just for being dubs. It's ridiculous. I've watched a few shows both ways. Bebop and Big O arguably suit english better due to their style. Bebop is always mentioned when the topic of good dubs arises, and rightly so. That said, I prefer the girls in japanese. Wendee Lee as Faye is very good (she is a verteran after all) - very natural and suits the character perfectly, and portrays emotion well... and yet there's subtle things in Megumi Hayashibara's performance that just really appeal to me. Switching back makes Lee sound a bit flat at times (even though she is still great).

So sub or dub? Why choose? Thanks to DVD technology and the large number of good dubs around today means that the way you view/listen to stuff is completely up to you. That's pretty awesome.

tl;dr - Sub, but dub is cool, yo.

[MinaKitty]

I am so glad you mentioned Megumi. I love her acting and am more likely to pick something up if she is in it.

[Deus Ex Machina]

She's my very favourite in regards to both acting roles and music. Her roles I like the most are Rei (Evangelion. My fave char full stop ^^) and Anna (Shaman King. Another awesome character made even better by Megumi's voice work), and my fave album of hers is Feel Well.

[MinaKitty]

Mine is Lina Inverse (Slayers), and I love any intros and credits she sings (The only music I have ever bootlegged).

[frogge]

Often characters sound 'wrong' in english (a lot of these instances are likely to do with the high pitched little girl voices japanese women often retain though I suppose). Sometimes the voice of a character is a large part of them. You know how sometimes you'll even have a predetermined sound for a character just looking at their design? I find the japanese voices 'match' more often, though there is sometimes instances that this is reversed (Steven Blum's Spike Spiegel). Personally, one of the things I often like about the Japanese VA is that often they don't sound like what you would think. Take Piccolo in DB. In the American dub, he sounds like you would expect of a cool villain; Clint Eastwood-esque and deep voiced. But in the Japanese, he's not. Where would Bejita/Vegetta be if he weren't trying to overcome his height and voice? And Goku certainly does NOT sound like a hero! If the voices match too much, we start to see them as charicatures, not characters.

I've been teaching myself japanese on and off for years, and so when I began to get more serious I realised that listening to anime in its native language would help. And it did - I picked up a lot of things, learned how certain words functioned in different contexts, etc.:rotfl: I know many people that used anime to teach themselves Japanese. It never ends well!

I happened upon Bobobobo-whatever on TV once and I got the feeling that the 'Beauty' character's screamed comments at her comrades outlandish actions would likely be a hell of a lot funnier in the original. :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: I think you left out three "bo"s....

I never even knew Fumiko Orikasa (whom I loved as Ruki Makino in Digimon Tamers) voiced Rukia Kuchiki in Bleach until I read about it, the voices were that different. She is an amazing voice actress, the way she can go back and forth between syrupy sweet and ancient ruffian! And that is one of the main reasons I like subs; the talent of the Japanese voice actors can be so strong sometimes.

[merry slug]

Okay, I voted subbed, but I want to take it back. There are times when there's nothing better than a good dubbing.

[Deus Ex Machina]

I know many people that used anime to teach themselves Japanese. It never ends well!
It's okay, I'm not learning from anime. I'm using it as a supplement to my own studies (essentially it's just another resource to hear spoken japanese daily). I'm not about to open up a can of "DATTEBAYO!!"s and speak like either a coquettish schoolgirl or a narcissistic badass to the next japanese person I meet in the street (I've laughed at stories of people who've 'taught themselves japanese' via anime too).

That said, I haven't come very far in all these years. But then my study comes in bursts, and the time between each attempt (read; resurgence of interest) is very long. Where I lived I couldn't find a place that taught japanese, but now that I've moved I hope to finally be able to find a place to get actual lessons and therefore progress. If I can get actual lessons I'll obviously continue with and keep up my own studies so that I don't lose what I do learn in my lessons :)

Getting a job takes priority over learning japanese though sadly, so I don't know when I'll finally be able to attend lessons.

[AgonyAnne]

I definitely prefer subbed but, as I wrote over in "What Are You Watching", when both sub and dub are available to me, I watch both versions just because I think it's interesting to see what is emphasized or changed (the Westernizing of story lines and even details, such as food and cultural references -- TBC and DEM mentioned this as well -- irks me no end). It's not really true manga anime but take, as an example of a recently-seen animated film where the story was modified for the English cast, Howl's Moving Castle in which, for one thing, the subtitled narrative relied much more heavily on themes of superstitions than the English dub...

[Jinjur]

I don't understand Japanese.

A good dub is superior to a good sub. A bad dub can be nearly unwatchable.

I vote for a good dub. NGE and FLCL are good examples.


I have to agree with this. I cant stand a bad sub. However, for the most part I can take it either way.