The "weeaboo" argument

[IamLEAM1983]

Do you guys think it's okay to watch anime in the original Japanese with English-or-whatever subtitles if you don't speak the language, even if it's already been dubbed into the language you speak?

It's perfectly fine. I think the term "weeaboo" is losing some of its effectiveness, as of late. The way I see it, a weeaboo is an obsessed Japanophile who insists on inserting elements of Japanese culture in as much of his or her life as possible, and who asserts that life would be *so* much better if he or she lived in Japan. Y'know, the kind of people who go out of their way to affix the -chan suffix on girls' names or who might actually shout "Itai!" if they stubbed a toe in a doorframe.

There's nothing wrong with that, in and out of itself, but weeaboos are, technically speaking, people who idealize a given culture based on only a few scraps of it. It feels akin to people who say Spain must be a great place to live in just because they've integrated the cliché that all Spaniards are sultry, sensual and sensitive.

So if you're not the type who laments not being able to wear cat ears in public, I'd say you're perfectly fine. It's no stranger than watching a Dogma movie in its original language or preferring to watch "Lola Rennt" instead of "Run Lola Run".

 

[boag]

I watch Anime in Japanese, not because one VA is better than the other.

I watch it in Japanese because I cant take hearing English spoken from flapping mouth animation, there is a complete disconnect when I see the mouth animation open and close, which kinda fits the intonations of the Japanese dub better than the English one.

 

[Adultism]

Who cares if people call you names, just ignore them, and like what you like.

 

[RaikuFA]

Question: Am I considered a weeaboo because I like a handful of anime, JRPGs and Miyazaki films?

 

[shadyh8er]

I don't think that if it's in english you definately have to watch it, but I am against people saying it's better in acting ability in japanese, because apart from tones and cues you can't tell because YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND IT.

Precisely! Like episode 00 of Haruhi Suzimiya. I had no idea Kyon was being sarcastic until I watched it in English. As a matter of fact, I prefer any comedy anime in English. Cuz most of the time I watch them subbed, I end up reading more explanations of jokes than the jokes themselves.

Not to mention with dubs, you get accents! Am I right Baccano!, Black Butler, and Hellsing: Ultimate fans?

 

[IamLEAM1983]

Question: Am I considered a weeaboo because I like a handful of anime and Miyazaki films?

Nope. If you were to start harping about how the art direction for My Neighbour Totoro is "like, totally kawaii, desu ne?" then I'd worry.

 

[RaikuFA]

Question: Am I considered a weeaboo because I like a handful of anime and Miyazaki films?

Nope. If you were to start harping about how the art direction for My Neighbour Totoro is "like, totally kawaii, desu ne?" then I'd worry.

I don't even know what that means(except for kawaii, I took latin not japanese in school, ok?)

 

[DanielDeFig]

I don't think this is exclusive to anime. If there is something I want to read/watch/listen to, an it's originally not in a language i'm fluent in, I will always do my best to get closer to the original.

Watching anime in Japanese with English subtitles, playing JRPGS in Japanese with English subtitles and text, watching Pan's Labyrinth in Spanish with English subtitles (My spanish wasn't good enough to get all of it without help), watch Trolljegeren in the original Norwegian with Swedish subtitles. These are all examples of what I have done to get closer to the original language.

After 6 years in French speaking countries, where everything is dubbed into French (Badly. Did you know that he French translation for Hogwarts is Poudlard? WTF!?! The Swedish translation stuck to Hogwarts, why couldn't they?), I knew that bad dubs were almost unavoidable, and all you could do was to get as close to the original material as possible.

 

[LobsterFeng]

I recently started watching DBZ Kai, and I'm surprised that the Dub Work is actually pretty awesome. They seem more self aware of the goofiness this time around, so they all sound like hilarious large hams.

I think it's because they could probably voice those characters in their sleep at this point. I was playing Dragon Ball Z Ultimate Tencaichi, which features animated cutscenes, and you could just tell that all the voice actors were just sick of DBZ.

OT: The only anime I've watched dubbed all the way through was Fullmetal Alechemist: Brotherhood. Because that was genuinely good voice acting there.

 

[kazriko]

I'm going to be in the minority here, but I'm just fine with Dubs. Mainly because I never get the time to watch Subtitled things. Dubs I can turn on and watch with my peripheral vision while working on other things. Subtitled things require my full, undivided attention... I just don't have a lot of full, undivided attention time to give to anything.

I have about 4 discs worth of shows sitting on my desk that have been there for months because they are only available subtitled...

 

[Edd4224]

There are certain anime that are pretty good dubbed. Gundam Wing has a great English dub and the DBZ English dub is good. Oddly I thought the Pokemon Dutch dub was better than the English, same for Yu-Gi-Oh (with Yugi as a child, I haven't watched any of the recent ones).

It basically comes down to personal choice. If there is anyone trying to tell you otherwise then you could try telling them that they are un-American.

 

[Ultress]

I like to watch the dub on occasion(usually for comedies or if I have the DVDs), Do some dubs suck,oh hell yes they do.Magic girl shows tend to have horrid dubs of the few I've seen. However sometimes both can be equally bad,Excel from Excel Saga is annoying in all languages. I do give the dub a chance especially If I'm doing a re watch. 9 times out of 10 I'll watch subbed for the same reason my friend does, quite a bit of what we watch is unlicensed. Plus for me I'm usually not aware it has a dub.

 

[Liquid Ocelot]

This.. this question has nothing to do with being a weeaboo. A weeaboo is someone who thinks the Japanese are the master race, and desire above all else to be one of them, even though they are some nerdy, pasty, white teenager.

 

[Toriver]

Dude, you're not even close to a weeaboo for liking subbed anime. A weeaboo is someone who obsesses over Japan to a ridiculous point, perhaps even deluding one's self into thinking all the Japanese would fawn over them and they'd be king (or queen) of the place if they were to come over here. If you just happen to like anime, I wouldn't call you a weeaboo at all.

As for subbed vs dubbed, do whatever you want. I have no real preference, myself. I tend to watch subbed more because it's easier to find and it helps me practice listening to Japanese conversation, even if much of the vocabulary in anime isn't everyday stuff. But I also know that there's some really good dub work. I watched the original Fullmetal Alchemist, Outlaw Star and Cowboy Bebop dubbed, and I thought they each did a really good job. But I'm certainly not going to look down on anyone for watching one or the other, that's just silly.

 

[Jitters Caffeine]

I have NEVER been bothered by labels like that. Personally, I say if you ARE bothered by something someone calls you, you're either ashamed of what you're doing or hold some kind of embarrassment about it. I've been called LOTS of things and it's NEVER hurt my feelings or anything of the sort because I'm not embarrassed of my hobbies.

 

[Daveman]

It's okay everyone, I speak weeaboo.

Chan chan desu, chan neko neko.

 

[The Funslinger]

What you've described doesn't really sound like a weeaboo to me.

A weeaboo is more like this.

What... the... fuck? I never really believed the stereotype all that much, but... this!?

God, people make the incredibly racist and ill-informed argument that through anime, asian people worship white people, and here's a shining example of that being the other way around. At least, I think he's white, he's that pasty, but his hair's dark and the camera quality makes it hard to figure if he's just squinting a little from being a shut in. Anyway, this is probably the strangest thing I've seen today.

Anyway, *raises flame shield* if an anime doesn't have a good english dub (don't generalize, those do exist) I don't watch it.

 

[Fishyash]

I don't watch anime much anymore, but was a fan. Not to the point of obsessing over japanese culture in general (although I do find it interesting), but I didn't really consider watching a subtitled piece of work obsessive at all. Why is it so bad with japan compared to spain or norway?

Anyways in regards to dub vs sub, I think both have their flaws...

As in, there is bad subbing AND bad dubbing. I can't really judge voice acting because I don't understand japanese intonation and language. I can't tell what they say is actually convincing to a japanese person. Obviously the more intense emotions they portray you can, but for more idle conversations I can't tell if it's supposed to be good or bad, hammy or underacted etc.

Anyways... bad subbing, like romanized japanese words within the subtitles, translator notes of visual or explanations of subbing (If I have to pause the video because you want to explain a japanese pun with more than 5 words then that's not a good thing), superimposing translations of signs (again, why?) and distracting animated text that flashes in the openings or when someone does a special move.

And then there's annoying voice acting on dubs, or edits that were unnecessary. I know I say less, but TBH I find these problems generally more annoying than the ones with subbing.

Most of the time I prefer watching a subtitled work than a dubbed work.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

I don't even know what that means(except for kawaii, I took latin not japanese in school, ok?)

Sure, man. Relax, I wasn't attacking you or anything. I also didn't take Japanese, but I grew up with one Otaku and I know one borderline Weeaboo, so I picked up a few terms. "Desu ne?" is basically Japanese for "isn't it?"

As far as Dub VS Sub goes, it really depends on the Anime. Personally, I'll settle with dubs for things that totally stand in the realm of fantasy like HellSing, Vampire Hunter D, Neon Genesis Evangelion, etc. Subs are useful when you don't have any other choice, or when you're saddled with an oldie. I remember watching Kurosawa's "The Bad Sleep Well" (1960) with a friend once, and we naturally stuck to subs because we obviously didn't have any other choice.

I'd recommend it, overall, and not because it's classic Japanese cinema, but because of its overall artistic flair. If you're interested in movies as a medium, you owe it to yourself to watch at least ONE Kurosawa in your life. Mostly everyone's going to suggest "The Seven Samurai", but it's also fun to see Hamlet and Macbeth transposed into Medieval Japanese settings.