To those who prefer Japanese voices...

[Fappy]

I don't really have a preference. If the English voices in a Japanese game/anime are awful I'd prefer it subbed. If they are well done I'd prefer it dubbed. Simple is that.

As for Atlus games I have only played Catherine (have watched my girl friend play some Persona) and I can't fathom why anyone would complain about the dubbing in those games. They seem fine to me.

 

[SckizoBoy]

Really? Honestly everyone I talk to says the opposite about FMA. Almost everyone I heard says the dub is much better. I remember trying to watch the Brotherhood sub and I couldn't take it. The voices were horrible and Edward sounded like a six year old girl.

Really? I would've thought that's what you'd say about Al... *shrug*

I don't understand it! Unless you speak Japanese how would you know if the Japanese audio track is superior and how could it be if you can't understand it, may as well turn it off completely.

See, this is the reason why I find that most anime is shite regardless of language.

OT: I prefer the original Japanese audio, for the simple reason that the accents of most dubbing voice actors piss me the hell off. No disrespect, but something about their use of standard American rubs me the wrong way and I honestly don't know why ('cos I have absolutely no problem with them in WRPG's and western released games in general). Being English, I keep wishing for them to speak RP (and you'd understand why I'd have to watch Emma: a Victorian Romance in Japanese).

 

[Exius Xavarus]

it feels more natural and it sounds good to me whether it is good or bad because I don't know the language.

If only there were more people like you. (Not sarcasm. I mean that) Most people I see just can't even fathom admitting that might be the reason they prefer foreign dialogues.

Quite. Being foreign does make it a bit difficult to tell whether the voice acting is good or bad, so it often sounds good. For me, however, I prefer languages to be logical, if it can be helped. I want the Japanese to speak Japanese. Chinese speak Chinese. Americans speak English. Especially when the setting for a story is actually set IN Japan. It feels more natural, and when I get all these Japanese people speaking English like it's their mother tongue, it just feels weird and difficult to get into. When it comes to anime, I often prefer the subs, because I enjoy watching it with Japanese voices more than English.(this is because I like the Japanese language and think it sounds awesome when spoken, which leads to my desire to learn Japanese) This isn't always the case, though. I find the dubs for Samurai Champloo amazingly well done, and prefer that particular anime with English dubs.

 

[Vivace-Vivian]

Often I find the Japanese voices are just better. Perhaps somewhat ridiculous, but they don't have to change the pacing to make it fit the character's lips. Also I like to play the game as the developer intended it. Well, as close as I can get. I think that most Japanese developers put more time into choosing their original voice actors then the dubs. therefore, in their mind the Japanese voice is the real voice of a character.

 

[Pebblig]

When it comes to films I will always choose subtitles over dubbing, however I've never really thought about it with games.

 

[AppleShrapnel]

I've dabbled in anime since I saw a bootlegged Akira some twenty years ago... in that one, particular instance, dub>sub, but that's it.

Cowboy Beebop and Trigun are the only semi-current anime where the dub isn't excruciating. If there are other decent ones floating about now, I frankly don't care... I've had enough Michael Blum for a lifetime or six.

And as has been brought up already, dubs (atrocious quality notwithstanding) will often stray from the source material for lip-synch's sake. Dubs simply aren't the way a movie is meant to be viewed, or how a game is meant to be played.

And as for those that argue against "reading an anime" or whatever, I'm sorry. As I said earlier, I've been watching anime (and the occasional foreign film) for most of my life, and can read subtitles and follow what's happening on the screen just fine.

 

[Ordinaryundone]

If its a dialogue heavy show, or one that I know will be somewhat hard to follow or have some complicated concepts, I prefer English. Also, if the characters are supposed to have a majority foreign cast (to Japan), I prefer English simply because they actually try to get people with foreign accents (or at least people who can imitate it). I could never get into the Japanese version of Baccano for this reason (though it helps the English dub is fantastic).

However, I'll generally go out of my way to watch any kind of shonen action anime in Japanese. If the characters are going to going all hotblooded and yelling goofy things, I prefer it be in a language I can't understand.

 

[him over there]

Many people I know who watch anime tell me subbed trumps dubbed because it hasn't been ruined by localization or adaptation. I never really followed this because I watch both and find literally no differences besides the actual voices. People tell me the japanese voice acting is of a higher quality but if you don't speak japanese I don't think you're really in the position to make that call, If you don't understand what they're saying how do you know it sounds genuine?

 

[anthony87]

If I'm watching a Japanese film, I'd rather have the Japanese voices.

If I watching a German film, I'd rather have the German voices.

If I'm watching a French film, I expect to see some TEETIES!

Seriously though, you can see where I'm going with this. Watching something in its native language just makes it feel more natural. A bunch of VAs recording over what's being said just can't capture the same emotion of the situation.

Don't take away the impression that I'm completely against dubs though. If the dub is good I'll happily watch it. If I know that a certain VA that I know to be good is doing the voice, then I'll watch the dub before the sub. It's just that the ones that are bad are really REALLY bad.

Also, this:

I don't understand it! Unless you speak Japanese how would you know if the Japanese audio track is superior and how could it be if you can't understand it, may as well turn it off completely. So why don't people ask for a option to turn the voice acting off completely instead of a "foreign language I don't understand" option? I guess it's cool at the moment, fads often don't make sense though.

Is probably one of the stupidest things I've ever read. In fact I'd lump it up there with the whole "I hate the subtitles cause I don't wanna have to read while watching something" argument.

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

I don't speak Japanese and think the subs are better than the watered down dubs 90% of the time. Dubing tends to ad lib for the sake of either the translation or the lip sync. For the sake of my own sanity I rarely deal with dub'd games or anime at least with the sound on.

 

[Sandjube]

Basically it all boils down to the voice acting. I personally find that, in anime and such, the English voice actors just...aren't good. I mean, you get the odd one or two that sounds alright, but my GOD can they mangle the female voices sometimes. Or at least, make them completely not match the character they're playing.

 

[NeutralDrow]

I go with whichever sounds better to my ears. Most often, I will admit, it turns out to be the Japanese track. Whether it happens to be "the original intent" or somesuch like that doesn't really matter all that much to me, though; many things can be lost in translation, of course, but that doesn't discriminate between subbed or dubbed, and only the most egregiously bowdlerized dubs drive me away for that reason. I actually tend to just attribute it to the relative quality of the voice actors (there seem to be many more of quality in Japan), and the fact that I find Japanese to be a very pretty language.

I'm still always on the lookout for good English dubs, and I do find them more often than I'd expected. The English dub of the 2006 Kanon anime or the Haruhi anime far exceeded my expectations, for instance (oddly, I found Chris Patton and Crispin Freeman to outclass Tomokazu Sugita in both lead roles). I actually don't regret that Sengoku Basara 3 didn't come with a Japanese language track, because now that I've listened to both, I actually prefer more of the English voices...especially Vic Mignonya doing Tenkai (wonderfully creepy) and Liam O'brien doing Ieyasu (able to shout the cheesiest things, but instead sound legitimately awesome).

Another consideration is about which script is better. That was a huge factor in increasing my enjoyment of, say...the second anime season of Negima, or even the official manga localization by Del Rey. The original script (either the subtitles of the anime, or the scanlation translations of the manga) are just more dull, somehow.

After all, the localization gave us Negi being carried off by a group of schoolgirls and shouting "DAMN MY CHARISMA!"

 

[Tanis]

I think it has more to do with English DUB being SO-SO-SO bad sometimes that folks would rather PRETEND the Japanese DUB is better.

And I say PRETEND because I've had Asian friends/girlfriends that LAUGH at how bad the Japanese DUB sounds to them.

 

[AbstractStream]

This sums up my feelings very nicely. (When I'm watching a film though.)

If I'm watching a Japanese film, I'd rather have the Japanese voices.

If I watching a German film, I'd rather have the German voices.

If I'm watching a French film, I expect to see some TEETIES!(er, except this.)

Seriously though, you can see where I'm going with this. Watching something in its native language just makes it feel more natural. A bunch of VAs recording over what's being said just can't capture the same emotion of the situation.

When I'm playing a game, I don't think I really care. Playing in with English VA is just fine with me.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

If the English dub is good, I'll watch it in English, i.e., Ghost in the Shell, Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star.

But if the English dub is bad, i.e., Love Hina, Full Metal Panic, I'll watch it in Japanese.

Not because I think the Japanese dub is better, but because I can't tell if the Japanese dub is better.

I'd rather be in the dark about whether the voice acting is good than know that it's bad.

 

[Kotaro]

Usually, I'll go with the English dub, but if the dub sucks, then I'd like the option of switching.
One good example is the first four .hack// games. I found Kite's voice to be incredibly annoying, and the Japanese voice wasn't as bad.
Meanwhile, I did enjoy the dub of .hack//G.U. (because Yuri Lowenthal is actually pretty good).

 

[MPerce]

While it all depends on the individual dub, I assume the same general rule applies to Japanese games as it does to anime: the Japanese dubs tend to be better, largely because the translation to English sometimes comes across as really awkward; I like to use a moment from the movie "Spirited Away" as an example, where at one point the protagonist says 3 long sentences really quickly and hysterically. This came across as hilarious in English. It was quite touching in the original Japanese.
This isn't an absolute rule (Baccano's English dub is arguably better than the Japanese), but it usually applies. The Japanese and English languages are just too different to always make a seamless translation from one to the other.

 

[Epona]

If I'm watching a Japanese film, I'd rather have the Japanese voices.

If I watching a German film, I'd rather have the German voices.

If I'm watching a French film, I expect to see some TEETIES!

Seriously though, you can see where I'm going with this. Watching something in its native language just makes it feel more natural. A bunch of VAs recording over what's being said just can't capture the same emotion of the situation.

Don't take away the impression that I'm completely against dubs though. If the dub is good I'll happily watch it. If I know that a certain VA that I know to be good is doing the voice, then I'll watch the dub before the sub. It's just that the ones that are bad are really REALLY bad.

Also, this:

I don't understand it! Unless you speak Japanese how would you know if the Japanese audio track is superior and how could it be if you can't understand it, may as well turn it off completely. So why don't people ask for a option to turn the voice acting off completely instead of a "foreign language I don't understand" option? I guess it's cool at the moment, fads often don't make sense though.

Is probably one of the stupidest things I've ever read. In fact I'd lump it up there with the whole "I hate the subtitles cause I don't wanna have to read while watching something" argument.

That's a fantastic rebuttal. Hey next time you think you could add some substance instead of just saying "This post is stupid"?

 

[Type 90]

When it comes to film I always prefer subs, because really it's damn near impossible to dub those without it looking really, REALLY dumb(although I'll admit that for films like Kung Fu Hustle, that actually really works in it's favor, damn I love that movie).

When it comes to games and anime though I much rather have a dub. I see a lot of people complaining about bad dubs, which is odd to me, since most of the dubs I listen to are fantastic (Baccano, Eden of the East, Welcome to the N.H.K., Haibane Renmei, Black Lagoon, Catherine, Shadows of the Damned, Fatal Frame 2, etc) maybe I'm just really damn lucky when it comes to shows/games I like. Also the "it's more natural" argument doesn't work for me since having to read all the dialog,(and in some cases having to pause it, if I get really caught up in the action and miss some subtitles) really takes me out of the experience anyways, so much for that I guess. Also with subs, I can never get the full emotional impact of anything that's said because I'm always understanding what's being said a bit late, throwing off the timing somewhat.

Of course all my arguments are pretty much moot since it all comes down to personal preference, and personally I can't think of a single advantage to watching subs, other than really terrible dubbing, which from my experience (and I watch a lot of bloody anime) is rarely the case, lucky me I guess.

 

[Torrasque]

Not all dubs are bad, I watched Cowboy Bebop and Desert Punk dubbed and loved them both, they are not the same subbed.
That being said, there are so damned many terrible dubs... I prefer subs unless the voice actors for the English version are actually good. Most of the time the japanese cast puts more emotion into emotional parts and keeps un-emotional parts un-emotional (like Ghost in the Shell for instance).
I have not played any games with Japanese vocals, so I can't say anything about that.
It really depends on the quality of each, and the best advice I can give to anyone is "don't knock it till you try it"