Why is it always subs over dubs?

[Random Argument Man]

Nah, I'm a dub only guy. I get annoyed if I'm hearing something I don't understand even if there's text to give me hints.

Plus, most subs are translated by some team. They don't always get everything right.

Note* Besides, bad dubbing gives me the chance for some good jokes.

 

[l0rD ChUcKl3s]

i prefer subbed because i usualy find that if its dubbed by a company they censor out some of the blood

 

[Kagim]

"Dilly-dally-shilly-shally." Um... what? Unless you're watching Advent Children Complete, which released years after the original, there is no real explanation in the movie for exactly why Cloud is having such problems, and this pivotal scene where Cloud understands that he is dragging an emotional burden replaces the most important word of the entire movie to "DIlly-dally-shilly-shally?" Dilly-dallying doesn't even mean anything close to "dragging" in the first place

Dilly-Dally-Shilly-Shally means your dragging your ass and your behind everyone else because your to distracted by something else, usually daydreaming. In other words Cloud is living in the past because he can't stop thinking about Aerith's death.

It's an artistic translation rather then a literal one.

...It made sense to me? It replaces Tifa saying Zurro Zurro, which is a Japanese phrase meaning the same thing just about.

See, I've never heard "Dilly-dally-shilly-shally." Ever. In my life. And a search online yielded no examples or meanings beyond those that are defined by the context of Advent Children. Seriously, every single place I looked at held either guesses as to what it meant or people figuring out based on the etymology of the original Japanese translation. I suppose you may be able to figure it out in context, but there's a difference between writing nuanced dialogue and writing nonsensical dialogue.

The subtitles simply translate it as "drag." Which makes a heck of a lot more sense, and is an actual word on top of that.

Eh, my Grandma used to say it when i would doddle behind her when we went on walks if i started zoning out to much.

As well what Tifa says doesn't actually translate to drag, i can't remember specifically but it's pretty much the exact same thing in Japan. its just a bit of non sense you say to a kid to get them to focus and keep up when there heads in the clouds. So if your translation just said drag i actually find that kinda weak because what Tifa was going for was calling him a child that needed his mother to snap him out of it. Just saying drag takes away that emotion behind what she is saying to him.

 

[Rigs83]

There is no difference if the dub is good but a lot of anime fans have been burned by bad dubs that completely distort the true meaning of many anime stories. I remember watching the dub of "Wrath of the Ninja" on vhs and then reading the sub on DVD and was amazed how much better and in depth the story was.

 

[masher]

For one: It's the original.
Two: I can read just fine
Three: The original is just more into it. They're more emotional at the right times. They're more... believable. It belongs to them... or something.

Would you like to watch Scrubs, Futurama, etc. in German, French, Japaneses, etc.? It just wouldn't be the same.

And to top it all off... It always dribbles down to personal taste and opinion. ^_^

 

[cathou]

i prefer dubs. But i'm not english, so i'm pretty much used to see dubs movies and tv shows.

i dont know for you, but in my language the dubs industry is pretty big and have a lot of talented voice actor.

 

[stiborge]

Dubs are usually atrocious, and I want it in its original form.

Full Metal Alchemist is only good in dubs.

I strongly disagree. Just saying.

If you started out watching it in dubs then it's really weird switching over. I tried watching it subtitled, but because I'd been watching it dubbed it was just too weird.
OT: It doesn't really matter to me. I generally watch dubbed but I like watching some stuff subtitled. When watching a DVD I usually just pop it in and hit play and whichever it is is what I stick with. If voice overs are atrocious I'll change it to subtitles though.

 

[fluffybunny937]

I use to only watch the subs of One Piece back when it was being dubbed by 4kids. but now I watch the dub because FUNImation is doing the dub and it's actually really good, so check it out. But I do watch the latest episode to come out in Japan sub they put on their website.
www.onepieceofficial.com

 

[Thaius]

"Dilly-dally-shilly-shally." Um... what? Unless you're watching Advent Children Complete, which released years after the original, there is no real explanation in the movie for exactly why Cloud is having such problems, and this pivotal scene where Cloud understands that he is dragging an emotional burden replaces the most important word of the entire movie to "DIlly-dally-shilly-shally?" Dilly-dallying doesn't even mean anything close to "dragging" in the first place

Dilly-Dally-Shilly-Shally means your dragging your ass and your behind everyone else because your to distracted by something else, usually daydreaming. In other words Cloud is living in the past because he can't stop thinking about Aerith's death.

It's an artistic translation rather then a literal one.

...It made sense to me? It replaces Tifa saying Zurro Zurro, which is a Japanese phrase meaning the same thing just about.

See, I've never heard "Dilly-dally-shilly-shally." Ever. In my life. And a search online yielded no examples or meanings beyond those that are defined by the context of Advent Children. Seriously, every single place I looked at held either guesses as to what it meant or people figuring out based on the etymology of the original Japanese translation. I suppose you may be able to figure it out in context, but there's a difference between writing nuanced dialogue and writing nonsensical dialogue.

The subtitles simply translate it as "drag." Which makes a heck of a lot more sense, and is an actual word on top of that.

Eh, my Grandma used to say it when i would doddle behind her when we went on walks if i started zoning out to much.

As well what Tifa says doesn't actually translate to drag, i can't remember specifically but it's pretty much the exact same thing in Japan. its just a bit of non sense you say to a kid to get them to focus and keep up when there heads in the clouds. So if your translation just said drag i actually find that kinda weak because what Tifa was going for was calling him a child that needed his mother to snap him out of it. Just saying drag takes away that emotion behind what she is saying to him.

I get the deeper meaning of the phrase; that makes sense. But I think the localization still fails when you're the first person I've ever met who actually knows what the heck the phrase means. 'Cause everyone else I've talked to was similarly confused by their choice of words: you're the first I've met who knew what it meant.

 

[Kagim]

"Dilly-dally-shilly-shally." Um... what? Unless you're watching Advent Children Complete, which released years after the original, there is no real explanation in the movie for exactly why Cloud is having such problems, and this pivotal scene where Cloud understands that he is dragging an emotional burden replaces the most important word of the entire movie to "DIlly-dally-shilly-shally?" Dilly-dallying doesn't even mean anything close to "dragging" in the first place

Dilly-Dally-Shilly-Shally means your dragging your ass and your behind everyone else because your to distracted by something else, usually daydreaming. In other words Cloud is living in the past because he can't stop thinking about Aerith's death.

It's an artistic translation rather then a literal one.

...It made sense to me? It replaces Tifa saying Zurro Zurro, which is a Japanese phrase meaning the same thing just about.

See, I've never heard "Dilly-dally-shilly-shally." Ever. In my life. And a search online yielded no examples or meanings beyond those that are defined by the context of Advent Children. Seriously, every single place I looked at held either guesses as to what it meant or people figuring out based on the etymology of the original Japanese translation. I suppose you may be able to figure it out in context, but there's a difference between writing nuanced dialogue and writing nonsensical dialogue.

The subtitles simply translate it as "drag." Which makes a heck of a lot more sense, and is an actual word on top of that.

Eh, my Grandma used to say it when i would doddle behind her when we went on walks if i started zoning out to much.

As well what Tifa says doesn't actually translate to drag, i can't remember specifically but it's pretty much the exact same thing in Japan. its just a bit of non sense you say to a kid to get them to focus and keep up when there heads in the clouds. So if your translation just said drag i actually find that kinda weak because what Tifa was going for was calling him a child that needed his mother to snap him out of it. Just saying drag takes away that emotion behind what she is saying to him.

I get the deeper meaning of the phrase; that makes sense. But I think the localization still fails when you're the first person I've ever met who actually knows what the heck the phrase means. 'Cause everyone else I've talked to was similarly confused by their choice of words: you're the first I've met who knew what it meant.

Maybe its a Canadian thing because all of my friends have at least been called a dilly dally.

 

[Thaius]

Maybe its a Canadian thing because all of my friends have at least been called a dilly dally.

Well I have heard "dilly dally," but it always simply meant that one was getting distracted, screwing around instead of keeping focused; it doesn't at all involve dragging around a burden from the past, or even dragging a burden at all. And I've never heard the "shilly shally" on the end. So I guess it may just be a California thing. Unless the phrase is widely used and understood (including the shilly shally), I would still consider that a pretty epic fail on the parts of the translators and localizers. But if my area is the only one that doesn't get it, I guess I was just born in the wrong place.

 

[Flack]

In my experience the dubs are usually HILARIOUSLY bad which detracts from the show.

 

[RelexCryo]

I won't speak for other people, but personally I prefer to get the anime in it's purest form, and the closest thing I can get to that without teaching myself japanese and watching it raw is to find anime subbed. It allows me to get the purest, original experience and watch the anime how it's originally intended on being watched. That's why whenever I watch my anime, I look for subs first and foremost.

Pretty much this.^

 

[Kagim]

Maybe its a Canadian thing because all of my friends have at least been called a dilly dally.

Well I have heard "dilly dally," but it always simply meant that one was getting distracted, screwing around instead of keeping focused; it doesn't at all involve dragging around a burden from the past, or even dragging a burden at all. And I've never heard the "shilly shally" on the end. So I guess it may just be a California thing. Unless the phrase is widely used and understood (including the shilly shally), I would still consider that a pretty epic fail on the parts of the translators and localizers. But if my area is the only one that doesn't get it, I guess I was just born in the wrong place.

Well, the Dilly Dally should be enough, think of it this way.

"but it always simply meant that one was getting distracted, screwing around instead of keeping focused" Cloud isn't focused on the true problems at hand and he is to distracted and brooding over Aeriths death. Tifa is trying to describe this to him in a condescending way. Shes telling him to stop thinking about the past and focus on the now in a way that's treating him like a child.

In the original Japanese Tifa is doing the exact same thing, using a line a mother would use on a distracted child. In neither the original nor the translated version is tifa saying anything about dragging along your past burdens. Like i said, Zurro Zurro is something a mother would say to a child screwing around. The translation you watched that just said 'drag' is wrong.

On a note, the 'shilly shally' is just something you say to the child to embarrass them so they respond quicker, it has no meaning. Dilly Dally is the phrase and shilly shally is just a way to embarrass the child into reacting properly.

 

[darkkan2125]

dubbed is just unnatural

 

[h3lblad3]

What about anime with word-based jokes?

 

[Thaius]

Maybe its a Canadian thing because all of my friends have at least been called a dilly dally.

Well I have heard "dilly dally," but it always simply meant that one was getting distracted, screwing around instead of keeping focused; it doesn't at all involve dragging around a burden from the past, or even dragging a burden at all. And I've never heard the "shilly shally" on the end. So I guess it may just be a California thing. Unless the phrase is widely used and understood (including the shilly shally), I would still consider that a pretty epic fail on the parts of the translators and localizers. But if my area is the only one that doesn't get it, I guess I was just born in the wrong place.

Well, the Dilly Dally should be enough, think of it this way.

"but it always simply meant that one was getting distracted, screwing around instead of keeping focused" Cloud isn't focused on the true problems at hand and he is to distracted and brooding over Aeriths death. Tifa is trying to describe this to him in a condescending way. Shes telling him to stop thinking about the past and focus on the now in a way that's treating him like a child.

In the original Japanese Tifa is doing the exact same thing, using a line a mother would use on a distracted child. In neither the original nor the translated version is tifa saying anything about dragging along your past burdens. Like i said, Zurro Zurro is something a mother would say to a child screwing around. The translation you watched that just said 'drag' is wrong.

On a note, the 'shilly shally' is just something you say to the child to embarrass them so they respond quicker, it has no meaning. Dilly Dally is the phrase and shilly shally is just a way to embarrass the child into reacting properly.

It makes sense, I suppose, it's just not quite how the phrase was used around me. When I grew up, if we were working out in the yard or something and I got distracted by a shiny rock and bent down to play with it instead of working, that was dilly-dallying. The context in which it was always used when I was a child-OOH SHINY!!!

I get that Tifa's treating him like a child, and that's pretty good for the scene. It makes sense. But the phrase still doesn't have the connotation of what the nature of his distraction is, only that he's distracted. And everything I've read and heard from friends seems to say that the original Japanese words have the connotation of dragging; the most common phrase I've found online is that it's a "Japanese onomatopoeia for dragging."

Sorry, I'm not trying to be difficult, it's just weird that so much of this seems contrary to everything I've seen and read on the subject. It seems that the line is meant to be more specific than just saying he's distracted.

 

[WrcklessIntent]

I'll watch both but i generally lean towards subs because like you said there are only a few good dubs out there. Funimation i've found seems to do decent dubs and when i can i normally watch it but than there is also the thing of hearing like the actual voice in japanese that just seems great to me.

 

[Kagim]

Maybe its a Canadian thing because all of my friends have at least been called a dilly dally.

Well I have heard "dilly dally," but it always simply meant that one was getting distracted, screwing around instead of keeping focused; it doesn't at all involve dragging around a burden from the past, or even dragging a burden at all. And I've never heard the "shilly shally" on the end. So I guess it may just be a California thing. Unless the phrase is widely used and understood (including the shilly shally), I would still consider that a pretty epic fail on the parts of the translators and localizers. But if my area is the only one that doesn't get it, I guess I was just born in the wrong place.

Well, the Dilly Dally should be enough, think of it this way.

"but it always simply meant that one was getting distracted, screwing around instead of keeping focused" Cloud isn't focused on the true problems at hand and he is to distracted and brooding over Aeriths death. Tifa is trying to describe this to him in a condescending way. Shes telling him to stop thinking about the past and focus on the now in a way that's treating him like a child.

In the original Japanese Tifa is doing the exact same thing, using a line a mother would use on a distracted child. In neither the original nor the translated version is tifa saying anything about dragging along your past burdens. Like i said, Zurro Zurro is something a mother would say to a child screwing around. The translation you watched that just said 'drag' is wrong.

On a note, the 'shilly shally' is just something you say to the child to embarrass them so they respond quicker, it has no meaning. Dilly Dally is the phrase and shilly shally is just a way to embarrass the child into reacting properly.

It makes sense, I suppose, it's just not quite how the phrase was used around me. When I grew up, if we were working out in the yard or something and I got distracted by a shiny rock and bent down to play with it instead of working, that was dilly-dallying. The context in which it was always used when I was a child-OOH SHINY!!!

I get that Tifa's treating him like a child, and that's pretty good for the scene. It makes sense. But the phrase still doesn't have the connotation of what the nature of his distraction is, only that he's distracted. And everything I've read and heard from friends seems to say that the original Japanese words have the connotation of dragging; the most common phrase I've found online is that it's a "Japanese onomatopoeia for dragging."

Sorry, I'm not trying to be difficult, it's just weird that so much of this seems contrary to everything I've seen and read on the subject. It seems that the line is meant to be more specific than just saying he's distracted.

I know, and i am sure some people have probably analyzed it anally. I was told it means "pushing something heavy in circles" as a way of berating a child for doing something pointlessly. Ultimately I prefer Tifa calling him a child who needs to stop focusing on the past then a direct translation that removes the the emotion behind the words. Whether the line is about dragging or not the overall meaning is "Your dwelling on the past and acting childish. Stop it"

Either way to me the feeling came through perfectly. That's all. I prefer when my anime's captures the spirit of the dialouge rather then being a direct translation as it's impossible to keep the true emotion of the words from dialect to dialect. It doesn't really change the story in any way and it keeps the spirit of what Tifa is trying to say. So i feel it works splendidly.

 

[Blair Bennett]

...you know it's interesting.

But there is a big difference between mistranslations and mistakes. Akward phrasing is always a problem that comes from skill in the language. Skilled translators must also be skilled writers/speakers. There are plenty of monolingual people that produce atrocious grammar and word choice.

A fair point. But in the end, I believe it's as many have stated before: that it really all just comes down to preference...Also, the mistranslations can be some of the most unintentionally hilarious things out there.