Poll: Dubbed or Subbed?

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Naheal

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Thundero13 said:
Naheal said:
Thundero13 said:
Subbed usually, but DO NOT watch Haruhi Suzumiya subbed, it's terrib le compared to the dubbed version.
That's just because they got Crispin Freeman to play Kyon...
Never heard of him, I meant because in the subbed version it always seemed to overanalyse the humour out of everything, but I might be wrong I only watched a couple episodes subbed, and used it because it translated writing, I didn't watch the entire series both ways.
He's all over the place and has a fairly distinctive voice. You'd recognize him if you heard him. [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0293342/]
 

babinro

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Sep 24, 2010
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Dubbed...I hate watching the bottom 1/3 of a show. Also I hate pausing the show when characters speak quickly just so know what they are talking about.

I'll take terrible dubbing to subtitles any day.
 

Brainsaw

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May 8, 2008
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I must be strange because I go dubbed about 90% the last 10% is when I'm curious what it sounds like in the original language. The whole "Japanese language brings out more emotion" is utter BS. It depends on the actopr though I will take an Ok dub over the super sub any day of the week because I don't freaking understand Japanese.

If I'm watching something, I like to use my ears to listen to the audio to follow the story threads. That way, I can sit back and appreciate the visuals while knowing what's going on. With subs, your eyes are usually to the top or bottom of the screen and if you're among the lucky few that can watch both the show and the subs, then congratulations you weird human-chameleon hybrid. Unfortunately most of us can't do that so there's a bit of lag of watching the subs and the time the action is going on. Plus if I wanted to read with colored lights and shapes in the background with music playing, I'll get a book and read it next to a lava-lamp while listening to my iPod.

So dubs all the way for me. Some of those japanese VAs may be awesome actors but unfortunately I just don't know the bloody language so quite frankly I don't care about them. There's plenty of good english VAs as well and I can understand them so I'd go with them.
 

Pyroguekenesis

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Jan 20, 2010
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Oh, I dunno...
Persona 3 & 4 are kinda anime, and since there are anime adaptations to it...its hard.
Persona 3 and 4 voice actors are marvelous in both languages, and P4 anime will have the returning voice actors...and since I know how they sound like I like both.
 

Robert Ewing

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I speak a little Japanese, so it's interesting watching subbed episodes to get to learn words that I didn't otherwise know. But I still prefer dubs. Sure there are some terrible dubs out there, but there are also terrible subs. One Anime I saw just completely changed what they where saying, it really annoyed me.
 

jpoon

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Dubbed for the most part, I get tired of reading everything and not seeing all the action when it gets intense.
 

mireko

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Sep 23, 2010
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Subtitled. Not for special moral magical horse reasons, I'm just more used to it. I started off watching subbed anime, and kind of stuck with it. Watching dubbed just feels kind of weird now, especially since I'm studying Japanese and am finally beginning to understand some grammar.

Also, anime dubs today are usually decent. Compared to dubs from the 80's and 90's, they're fucking transcendent. If you started off watching older anime, you've already been trained to hate and fear them. Game dubs seem to be streets ahead of anime dubs half the time (at least when it comes to NIS and Atlus).
 

MikailCaboose

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Jun 16, 2009
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Both, and it depends. For some, you can tell the English dubbers simply didn't care. Some, however, like what I've seen with Hellsing, a bunch of Evangelion (although the TV series clearly showed who were minor characters) and Highschool of the Dead, I prefer the English dub. Some, though, I prefer the subbed version. Plus, teaching myself Japanese, the subbed versions help a little.
 

yanipheonu

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Really depends for me.

Subs tend to be better, but soemtimes the English dub is better. I find more seriou shows like Ghost in the Shell work better in English for me. Plus sometimes the English dub is genuinly better. I found FLCL's JPN dub too subdued compared to the English, and...
Mari's English voice in Eva 2.22 is friggin perfect


But overall, the Japanese dub tends to be better, especailly if it's a wacky/funnyy show. Gags are that much more funny in a goofy Japanese voice. Plus often I find English female VAs you can tell they're just acting in a girly voice (like if a girl you know tries to sound girlier) whereas it's done a lot better in Japanese.

Plus there is the issue of translation. Gurren Lagann's translation is pretty bad at parts on the DVDs, and the voice acting was too perfect in Japanese for me to even consider English (and what's up with the "Seamon" crap? It's SHImon or SIGHmon, get it right). Though it did lead to one hilarious moment...

And while I love the FLCL english dub, it does lose something in English (though the dubbers were well aware and did their best to get around it)

I'd say subs then, but I still like some dubs.
 

DarthFennec

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There are a lot of shitty dubs, but there are a lot of good ones too. I like to watch dubbed when it's a good dub, because I haven't completely mastered the art of paying attention to the subtitles, the cartoon, and the inflections in the audio as well as the music, all at the same time. I can kind of do it with SoLs like Lucky Star or whatever, because nothing much is happening visually so I can be sure nothing is really changing while I'm reading, but I still miss things and it gets tiring after a while because it's a very active experience (which I like, don't get me wrong) because the Lucky Star girls or whoever never ever stop talking. I can watch Bleach either way. Death Note has shitty dubs, and I can watch that subbed pretty easily. Miyazaki stuff I can't really focus on with subs, and all of them are brilliantly dubbed so I do that with those. I could go through every single anime like this, but basically what it comes down to is, it really depends on what kind of anime it is and how good the dubs are.

EDIT:
Also, sometimes it's not even about sub vs dub, it's about the fact that they changed the actual anime to make the english version. Take Cardcaptor Sakura for example. When they made the english version, they took out entire scenes, skipped entire episodes, reordered episodes, and rewrote entire dialogues. Cardcaptor Sakura is one of my favorite anime's ever, while Cardcaptors, the dubbed version, sucks balls. In that case, subs please. They did exactly the same thing with Naruto, which is a big reason why everyone thinks that show is shit.

EDIT 2:
I guess, now that I've thought about it, subbed. And then dubbed, if it works out like that. But I would never see an anime in english if I hadn't already seen it in japanese, or if I wasn't planning to. So yeah.
 

kortin

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I hate subs. Reason is, I like to do stuff as I'm watching tv, be it draw or text my friends. So having it subbed means I can't do anything, otherwise I might miss parts and have to rewind so i can see what they said.

So DUBS ALL THE WAY
 

Pearwood

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Mar 24, 2010
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I like dubs for things that'd otherwise be full of Engrish like Hellsing (helped by the fact that the dubbing performance for that is great) but otherwise I like subs.
 

Caeculus

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Apr 24, 2011
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Dubbed if it's done well (the Baccano dub is fantastic, and a far superior experience to watching it with subs) or if the translation's better, otherwise subs.
 

Contradiction

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May 20, 2009
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Jonluw said:
I always prefer to consume my media as close to the source material as I can get, so subs.
It's the same reason I try to read books in their original language.

That, and the Japanese voice actors are just better for the most part.
Urghghghablabaleh
Oh god...
I just... =| Didn't need to hear that.

On a serious note.

SUBBED.
Anyone who doesn't is missing out. There are so many jokes that English will never get. For example the comic sequence in Fooly Cooly. Actually alot of FLCL relies on Japanese to be relevant, "Mouth to mouth".
Also its the shows intended form, dubbing changes a character and can ruin things so easily.
I can only see Dubs as practical if your dyslexic like a friend of mine and can't keep up with whats going on if your reading.
Need more? See above =S I fear what azusa will sound like.
 

daftalchemist

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Aug 6, 2008
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Dubbed, unless the English voices are just that bad. I knit while I watch TV, so that makes religiously watching subbed shows a tad bit impossible.

I used to be the type who thought subbed was the best evar, and that anyone who watched dubbed was a loser who knew nothing about anime. But then I stopped being fifteen and realized calling myself an "otaku" was something I should be ashamed of rather than proud of.
 

KB Rocker

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Sep 27, 2009
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I'm really big on reading and most of the time dubs are absolutely terrible, so subs for me
 

DarthFennec

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kortin said:
I hate subs. Reason is, I like to do stuff as I'm watching tv, be it draw or text my friends. So having it subbed means I can't do anything, otherwise I might miss parts and have to rewind so i can see what they said.

So DUBS ALL THE WAY
lol that's what I like about subs though. I like the fact that it takes more of your focus, so watching TV becomes a much more active and fulfilling experience than if it were subbed. Which is something most people aren't used to, but I personally enjoy it ^^ And most dubs sound like ass.
 

Mikeyfell

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Aug 24, 2010
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In some cases the Dubbed versions are pretty good.

Elfen Lied, Ergo Proxy, Rin Daughters of Mnemosyne, Mai Hime and some others are better than the Japanese versions.

Most of the time I'll tolerable watch dubs just to avoid reading.

Sometimes though... Dear God the dubs are awful.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star, Code Geass and K-on have all made me either throw up or contemplate suicide.

Ponyo is incredible.

Liam Neeson, Tina Fey, Betty White. it's great.

EDIT: I also want to talk about Rumble School.
I think that anime is impossible to dub into English mostly because the entire first season is about trying to make a guy say the word "scythe" which in Japanese sounds a lot like "I love you". and how the Japanese language lacks proper pronouns so with out context it is impossible to tell who the subject of the conversation is.
Rumble School just wouldn't work in English.
 

II2

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Mar 13, 2010
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Subbed, usually, as long as the writing / story is worth it.

E.G.
Subs for Ghost in the Shell
Dubs for Fist of the North Star (the original)