Poll: Anime - Dub or sub?

[Lightspeaker]

And the reverse is true for subtitles, presumably because older anime had to be manually translated whilst these days the script can be fed through translation software and just stuck in.

Citation needed...because it hardly happens anymore and the only ones to do that are troll subs...

One thing I'm wondering about for the Sub-nayers complaining about "Accuracy" of the sub translation...:
How do you know it's accurate when you don't understand the language in the first place? This is assuming you're not watching troll-subs and there are no dubs.
I mean you're probably watching subs because you don't understand Japanese right?

...I literally cited an example of what I found to be pretty poor subbing in the same post. So...yeah...

As far as your "accuracy" argument goes its really very simple. Take a paragraph written in any foreign language and feed it through google translate. Although you might not be able to read the original language you'll frequently find that the grammar is off in parts of it and it reads extremely weirdly. For all the criticism that can be leveled at dubs (and there is a lot) one of the few things that is unlikely to be an issue is grammatically weird sentences, because a VA has had to say those lines at some point.


In any case, like I said earlier case by case. Also good call on people citing Hellsing Ultimate as a good dub. They nailed the VAs in that one.

 

[Angelous Wang]

Whatever I watch it first in.

I dislike the changing the voices, because the voice actors use different tones for the same lines and have different pitch, which results in ta slight change in perception of the character.

It's really impossible for me to listen to Luffy's original Jap voice, he sounds like he is joking around with helium or something the entire time compared to the Eng voice.

Of course sometimes that does suck.

In stuck on Ep 372 of One Piece until the next batch comes out, were as the sub is up to 600 something.

 

[Riot3000]

I would got dubs over subs if given the option because dubs have improved when compared to the past. I think the issues with dubs is that the talent is bottle necked and you get the same voice actors over and over which is a criticsim I have been noticing. I can understand for examples with video games it has become as is it Nolan North or Troy Baker game.

I most watched subs for ease of use because they were available and some anime's might not be dubbed and the process will take time, though I wish they did the at the same time like with Space Dandy I hope becomes an industry standard.

And Subs at times can be very surreal. Like watching Hellsing Ultimate subbed and Anderson just burst out scripture in English just made the whole scene more creepy.

 

[Drops a Sweet Katana]

Honestly can't decide. Dubs are great for shows where a lot's happening, there's talking or has animation that's too good to be distracted from. However dubs are more hit and miss, with a lot getting lost in translation. I tend to prefer either on a show by show basis, usually depending on how I first watched. I'll usually watch some of the first episode subbed then dubbed, then go from there. Some examples of what I preferred when both were available:
Subbed: Kill la Kill, FLCL, Diebuster, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Attack on Titan

Dubbed: Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Cowboy Bebop, Ergo Proxy

There are shows that I watched subbed simply because there was no dub or there was and I didn't know about it, like Katanagatari and Fate/Zero.

 

[Saltyk]

If I have a choice, I generally go Dub. I don't mind reading the translation, but prefer not to. Besides, sometimes I just dislike the Japanese voices.

 

[DocJ]

I watch subbed. Simply because it helps with my learning of the language.

 

[ryukage_sama]

The Japanese tend to have better casting choices. The American dubbing industry is pretty small and tends to utilize their own stable of actors. Japanese actors are also used repeatedly, but the larger pool seems to enable better casting. Of course, some English dubs can be an improvement, but that's not the norm.

 

[deleted+75193]

DELETED

 

[SidheKnight]

Dubbed. Because most of the anime in latin america has excellent dubs.

 

[Zalmoxis]

Subtitles are generally better for everything. Even if you don't understand the language, you can still experience the subtle emotions of the original performance. Actors aren't just reciting lines from a script, they are giving their interpretation of a character's personality, most of that is lost with a dub. A character who is comical but endearing in the original often ends up dubbed with an off-the-shelf "voice of stupid".

There are lots of European films that are brilliant with subs, but damn near unwatchable dubbed. Something that is supposed to be 19th century France but everybody sounds like they're from Ohio, you now the kind of thing.

 

[THE_JOKE_KING33]

I like both. Though I watch subs more only because, outside of Hulu, I can't find sites that have dubs with good video quality.

 

[Ryotknife]

Generally I prefer dub, although both have their downsides. Dubs can be pretty terrible, whereas while subs are not terrible in voice acting department, sometimes subs make me want to take a shower for a hour with how some of their female cast sound like.

 

[KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime]

Both can be fantastic if done right.

Often dubs have voice actors poorly matched to the character. It's still jarring to me that InuYasha from the anime of his name, sounds like Duo Maxwell from Gundam Wing.

On the other hand Goku's voice actress(I think?) in the Japanese version Dragon Ball, Z, GT and their OVAs has a voice that prevents me from being able to take the Japanese seriously.

So both have their merits, it just depends on the VAs and a good localization in the case of dubs,

 

[Netscape]

I enjoy both, but I find myself watching a lot more dubs. It's just easier to relax and watch a dub than trying to read subtitles and occasionally even pause and rewind to read text.

 

[likalaruku]

Subbed, hand's down.

Grew up with bad dubs. Good dubs were very rare. I could probably only think of 20, & I've been watching anime for about 25 years.

Dubs CAN enhance comedy when done right, so every once in awhile I give a dub a chance.

3/4ths of the time, I won't even make it half way through an episode before slamming the dub for ill-fitting voices, something I've only done to two nondubs; Chou Gals & Yu-Yu Hakusho.

Another boon subs have is for screencaps. If the image is funny, the text under it can enhance the humor & give context to the image, or make it infinitely easier to use out of context, taking the humor up to 11.

A lack of context coupled with silly subtitles can attract new viewers more than a plain image with no text can.
This is from a gag comedy spoofing Sailor Moon with a gender swapped cast. "Love Making" is their battle cry to transform. It's in poor taste & is hilarious.

For an example of dubs done right, I look to Excel Saga, Gensoumaden Saiyuiki, GetBackers, & the Slayers TV series, where the voices fit the characters perfectly. There's also the occasion that a dub is so horrible that it's hilarious. That'd be Photon: The Idiot Adventures.

 

[Lunar Templar]

while i picked 'can't decided' you should really read that as 'don't care'

All I really care about is whether I'm enjoying what I'm watching or not. So unless I hear about something like the scene with the Russians in 'Girls und Panzer' [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szdS3tt_xy0], where the dub is so bad/or has done something so bewilderingly stupid I'll avoid it, I generally don't care and will watch which ever I get first.

 

[Dandark]

I usually prefer subbed because it feels more natural and most English dubs don't do a very good job of matching the voice to the character. I also find that Japanese sounds a lot better with the overly dramatic acting a lot of anime does, I could never imagine an English dub of JoJo's bizarre adventure being as good as the Japanese dub.

There are a few exceptions I make for good dubs though. I watched Code Geass English dubbed and still prefer Hellsing Ultimates English dub if not just for Alucard's English voice actor.

 

[Casual Shinji]

With that said, the first person to tell me that Black Lagoon, Hellsing Ultimate, or uncut DBZ is somehow better in Japanese gets kicked through the fucking moon. You cannot seriously tell me that squeaky Goku somehow sounds better than booming-voice Goku or that the English voices of Revvy and Alucard aren't absolute perfection without me calling you a liar right to your face. I'm way too much of a voice-acting nut to hear such obscenities without blowing my top.

Well, prepare me for launch then, because when it comes to Revy I definately prefer the original voice. Yeah, when she goes into engrish mode it's ghastly, but she has a way more subdued vicious tone to her voice when compared to the dub. But then I feel the same about Spike in Cowboy Bebop; English Spike really tries to sound cool, while original Spike sounds naturally cool and laid back.

 

[solemnwar]

I preferred subs mostly because so many animes had AWFUL voice acting for women. They kept trying to replicate the Japanese sounds and it... really didn't work.

I dunno if they're better about it now or not. I dip into dubs occasionally on the DVDs but the only one I've actually ever liked is the one for Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt. Mostly because Garterbelt is a HYSTERICALLY over-the-top southern black man and it's pure gold (don't much care for the way Stocking is dubbed tho).

I know some people argue "well the Japanese voices can often be really badly voice acted!" but, see, here's the thing: I don't actually know Japanese! So I can't tell if they're bad! (Unless they're being EGREGIOUSLY terrible) Which makes it a much better experience overall than with English dubs, in which I can DEFINTELY tell they're bad.. I'm a very quick reader (I read a five-part series in as many days and if I wasn't awful anime trash, video-game-player, and employed it would've probably been 2 days) so the subs don't really distract me much.

 

[Lazy Kitty]

Almost always subs, except for things like DBZ, where I grew up with the dubs.