Dubbed verse Subbed

[ZehMadScientist]

OP, to be fair, Higurashi and DNAngel weren't exactly the pinnacle of voice acting perfection (And Higurashi wasn't even that bad, was it?).

I watch subs, obviously. Because here in the Netherlands everything that comes on tv that isn't for children gets subbed. I grew up with subs, so I've never really understood the complaint of "Having to read". The only reason I can come up with why people wouldn't watch their shows subbed is watching the Tatami Galaxy. Subs and dialogue go at the speed of sound I tell ya.

But the main reason I watch subs is a simple one: A lot of the shows I watch never get dubbed at all. And even if they do, I watch them mostly when they air in Japan.

So... Go subs \(^_^)/

 

[Kennetic]

I prefer dubs most of the time because Japanese voice actors are often very high-pitched and I find it incredibly annoying. I will watch subs if I want to watch an episode that hasn't been dubbed yet, though. I will admit that Naruto's dubbed voice is annoying but the rest of the characters are good.

 

[-Samurai-]

It depends on the movie or show, for me. Sometimes I prefer one over the other for various reasons, but I always try to watch it in its native language first.

 

[Cerebral Force]

I mostly prefer subbed, but when the dubbing is done to the point that it's on par, then I prefer dubbed, if only for being able to watch it without having to read the subs or actually watch, e.g. when playing grinding in mmo's.

DBZ is probably one of the best cases for this, the subbed version sounds horrible and the voices really don't suit the characters. The dubbed voices are great, they suit the characters much better, and in some cases makes more sense than the subs, though I don't know if that's due to any incorrect translations or not.

 

[cathou]

i prefer dubbed. i'm not really a lot into anime, but since i'm not an English speaker, whenever i want to watch something from tv shows to movies, i must choose to be sub or dubbed, because let's face it, 75% of what we see come from the US.

i would say that most of the dubbed movie we get here are well dubbed, because they choose professional actors to do the voice, and that they keep the same voice for the same actor most of the time (so they keep the same voice from movies to movies). When i see people complaining about dubbed version in the US, i'm under the impression that the companies that are doing the dubbed versions use undertalented actors, and put very little effort in their work. i mean would you complain so much about dubbing if they cast the voice of the actor like they cast it for a pixar movie ?

there's also nothing wrong to localize the content. our version of the simpsons work only because of the good localization. people relate to it, because they do not have to lookup every reference that are not familiar with.

so, dubbed all the way for me

 

[Macgyvercas]

I prefer subbed personally. Don't really know why. Probably because the dubs I've seen (with the exception of FMA, Spice & Wolf, and a few others) generally suck.

 

[bluegate]

Grew up with most of my cartoons being in English with Dutch subtitles, not only the cartoons but also movies and the such. Because of this I have no problem watching a movie with subtitles, I myself would recommend it to smaller children even, it is a great way for children to get accustomed to the sounds of a foreign language. And later on, learn phrases and expressions just by hearing them being said and reading the translation in their own language.

When I watch something, I like it to be in its original language, whether that be English, German, Japanese, Chinese or Spanish. Especially when I'm watching something with real people in it, I can't stand real people's voices getting dubbed over. Every time I flip through some German channels on my tv and see some american movie dubbed in German, I cringe. Although, some older Chinese kung fu movies are quite funny in their dubbed form, left quite the cultural mark on society too.

 

[Fijiman]

Abridged. Sure they may completely mock the original, but they are quite often hilarious.

 

[TheAceTheOne]

Out of the few I've watched... I prefer subbed.

Dubbed is kind of okay, or was back when I was like, 10. Meh.

 

[NiPah]

Oh hey its this thread again...

Sure you can't objectively define quality, its subjective and each person is different. There are some people who would rather have a McDonalds Big Mac instead of a steak from Ruth's Chris steak house, this is completely fine since it's their own tastes and you do what you want. Thats what English dubs are, Big Macs, the money and time spent on them are hardly a fraction of what you see in Japanese VAs, and the same actors get repeated for every series to make it nice and homogeneous, plus it's something you get used to so its like a comfort food.

Now some people get used to the taste of steak from Ruth's Chris, they're no longer satisfied with the cheap knockoff that is McDonalds, just like those who get used to the Japanese VAs no hardly switch back to the English Dubs.

If you're happy with the quality of English dubs the more power to you, nothing is wrong with liking a Big Mac.

 

[Jekken6]

I prefer subbed usually, but there are good dubs, like Haruhi, Cowboy Bebop, Akira and the Studio Ghibli films.

 

[Composer]

subs
i started on them
the original language (and voice actors) are more pleasing to the ear for me
and a bad sub usually leads to hilarity (albiet sometimes crude, best example being the "why cant you eat her poo" sub)

 

[NiPah]

snip

If this post got any most condescending, the ground would start crying from being talked down to.

The dubbing work done is the U.S. (minus 4kids, obviously) has been phenomenal in 85% of series'. Several works (DBZ, Almost any Gundam, FMA, Cowboy Bebop) the acting has surpassed the original, even by the claim of original actors.

A more apt comparison would be a 5-star Italian Restaurant or an Olive Garden. While the quality isn't entirely perfect at the Olive Garden, it is still damn good, and more comfortable to boot.

No I'm keeping my comparison to a Big Mac, mostly because of Vic Minogna and the pain of working with him in conventions. Christopher Sabat and Lisa Ortiz might be Olive Garden status, but not Vic Micnolia.

 

[Rinshan Kaihou]

Subs for a couple reasons.

#1: Because only a very small percentage of anime are dubbed, I spend most of my time watching subs purely because there is NO other alternative, and thus I'm so used to it that I prefer listening to the Japanese voices and reading subs. I find if I watch a dub, I keep looking for the subs.

#2: I pay more attention to the anime, and the dialogue when I actually have to read the subtitles.

#3: A lot of stuff can kind of get lost in translation when you dub. Especially because most dubs localise pretty heavily as well. Often times reading onii-chan translated as "big brother" can rub me the wrong way. Not all the time. For example, crunchyroll subs are usually pretty darn good even though they are localised pretty well. A lot of cultural meaning can get lost when translated poorly into english. Subs can kind of capture it a little bit better, since they are usually slightly more literal.

#4: And of course, generally the Japanese voice actors are much better suited to the roll, and at least usually sound somewhat into it, whereas most of the english voice actors might as well be reading a particularly boring piece of literature in turn to their high school english class.

 

[theSteamSupported]

Subs.

Being someone from Sweden, I am used to English-speaking movies and tv-shows to have subtitles (unless it's targeted towards children). So when I was watching a continental European channel on TV once, I was really caught off guard witnessing George Clooney speaking German.

So yeah, I prefer when the original language is spoken.

 

[toothofymir]

Subbed. Some of the dubbing can be PAINFULL.

 

[Yuno Gasai]

Most of the time, I actually want to watch something, so I'm more inclined towards dubs. The fact of the matter is that I'm the type of person who feels like they have to constantly watch the subtitles, which then distracts me from what's actually happening on screen. Subtitles also mean that I can't really look away, even for a few seconds, for fear of missing something.

I understand how I'm potentially gimping myself (god knows that some of the English dubbing for animes I've watched has been awful), but at least it's less irritating than badly translated subtitles, often with horribly inaccurate grammar (with spelling mistakes to boot).

 

[Vuavu]

With anything animated I usually go with dubs, but if it's live action I can't stand the dubbing so I put on subtitles. I even use subtitles on English movies a lot of the time so I can watch the movie more quietly. Ha but maybe that's why I fall asleep so easy during movies... On the other hand, the subtitles give you something to focus on to keep awake. Eh, such iz life...

 

[Yopaz]

Subs.
In Norway, dubs are seen as a childrens' thing. When you learn to read at an acceptable speed, you watch shows with subtitles, and I've grown up with this mindset.

That, and I get the Japanese voice acting which is most of the time far better than the English. And I don't have to wait for shows to be dubbed to watch them.

And I'm a bit of a purist. I always want whatever media I consume to be as close to how it was originally intended as possible.
It really annoys me when people try to not only dub, but also localize shows. Ugh.

Yeah, fellow Norwegian here and I got the exact same view when it comes to dubs. Seeing live action shows getting dubbed is the worst, but take Pokemon as an example. That has some of the worst dubbing I've ever seen. It makes the English dub seem fantastic!

 

[Jonluw]

Subs.
In Norway, dubs are seen as a childrens' thing. When you learn to read at an acceptable speed, you watch shows with subtitles, and I've grown up with this mindset.

That, and I get the Japanese voice acting which is most of the time far better than the English. And I don't have to wait for shows to be dubbed to watch them.

And I'm a bit of a purist. I always want whatever media I consume to be as close to how it was originally intended as possible.
It really annoys me when people try to not only dub, but also localize shows. Ugh.

Yeah, fellow Norwegian here and I got the exact same view when it comes to dubs. Seeing live action shows getting dubbed is the worst, but take Pokemon as an example. That has some of the worst dubbing I've ever seen. It makes the English dub seem fantastic!

I haven´t watched Pokemon since I was too young to notice the horrible dubbing. I wouldn´t want to ruin it by checking it out again.

To be fair, we do a pretty good job of dubbing Disney films.