Why is it always subs over dubs?

[icaritos]

First Japan is a lot more open with their topics and dont care as much about censorship (which i think is retarded) as the US. Second subbed anime is accessible a lot quicker than a dubbed version. Third anime companies in Japan have been going for a looong time so the voice actors are generally more experienced. And finally forth, even if there is poor voice acting all you can pick up as a non-native speaker is raw emotions, making the experience overall more enjoyable (for me).

Well at least these are the reasons why i prefer subbed.

 

[TheGreenManalishi]

*snip*

I was trying to sound more general, but let's use GitS as an example.
With the series, there was a lot of fast-paced technobabble alongside the equally fast-paced action. Therefore, it was difficult to follow subs, and watching the enitre first series dubbed has not, I feel, devalued my experience of it in the slightest.

However, the 1995 film suffers from the same subbing problem, ie. difficult to follow. Unfortunately, Major Kusanagi's dub leaves a lot to be desired. I remember seeing a quote from the VA director, who said something along the lines of "the english actors can't emote the lines properly", which I felt was a bit unfair to most of the cast (who sounded fine) but hit the nail on the head when it came to the two central characters (Major and the Puppetmaster).

It's all a matter of context. Some anime has good dubs, some anime has bad dubs, you can't generalise that one is superior to the other.

 

[Legendsmith]

Voices rarely match character in Dubs.
I find a lot of American voice actors lack a serious tone of power in their voice, instead they come out as whiny teens who haven't hit puberty yet.

But I'll admit there are some good dubs, thought rare.

Agreed, dubbers never get teh voices right, not to mention they change the dialouge when thre was no need.
One excellent exception to this is FLCL, the dub is absolutely spectacular in its quality.

 

[Legendsmith]

*snip*

I was trying to sound more general, but let's use GitS as an example.
With the series, there was a lot of fast-paced technobabble alongside the equally fast-paced action. Therefore, it was difficult to follow subs, and watching the enitre first series dubbed has not, I feel, devalued my experience of it in the slightest.

I loved Ghost in the Shell, (series and movie). I can understand why some people would want to watch it dubbed, as you're right, it can be hard to focus on reading the subs and watching it at the same time. However, for people who can read fast enough that's a non-issue. I find no trouble reading subs and watching at the same time.

 

[GundamSentinel]

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.

Nail on the head if you ask me. I only watch dubs when I'm doing something else besides watching anime.

 

[VulakAerr]

I don't tend to watch much anime other than the Studio Ghibli films. When available I really enjoy the English dubs. They're done by accomplished voice actors who give the films the effort they're due. I don't mind the subs, but I guess I just find the dubs easier to stomach.

 

[Kukakkau]

It's really simple - subs only require it translated and the words displayed at the bottom of the screen. Whilst dubbed requires it translated, script written out, voice actors found and paid to do the voiceovers.

Subbed is cheaper and quicker to do from dubbed straight from the raw. In fact fansubs can have a subbed episode up within a day of raw releases, whilst dubbed episodes tend to be 100+ episodes behind the raw.

Also the goddamn censorship! "You bastard!" gets translated to something like "Why you!" and the video gets edited to no tomorrow to protect the children.

 

[Mr.Squishy]

From experience, I can say this - watch "Friends" in french and you will understand why, most likely

 

[^=ash=^]

The only animes I have watched dubbed are Pokémon and Digimon, and thats because I grew up with the dubbed and thus it seemed reasonable, but now I will only watch subbed since (in my opinion) the voice acting is done much better.

 

[Hexenwolf]

Depends how good the voice actors are. I'll happily go with dubbed if the voice actors are good, but i don't mind going with subbed occasionally either.

In some cases i just have to go with subbed though. I've spent the last few days trying to figure out how to get subs for Kung Fu Hustle to work on my PS3, the English voice actors on that are fucking URGH.
Because it's a comedy they must've thought they could get away with 10 years olds doing the voices in their worst foreign sounding accent.

I'm pretty sure that they weren't trying to "get away with it," they did it on purpose. It's part of the comedy. I personally think it wouldn't be nearly as funny with serious, realistic voices.

 

[Et3rnalLegend64]

I prefer subs. I wouldn't know why anymore, but that's how it is. That isn't to say I'm one of those freakishly opinionated people who step on anyone who doesn't do it their way. I do listen to dubs at times and there are definitely some that I prefer over the original Japanese every single time, but those are few and far between. There are also some respectable dubs that don't exactly surpass subs, but I can definitely watch one or the other without caring much. I like to believe that I'm near the middle in preference, but lean towards subs.

Another thing. There are certain shows that you kinda have to watch subbed lest some important things become lost in translation. My little brother is watching Yakitate Japan at the moment and I'll tell you from watching one episode that it's full of puns that would NEVER translate into English.

 

[Xeros]

I never really cared. I watched whatever I could find, though I looked for it dubbed first because I am one of those "lazy" people who would rather watch the show, than read it. Plus I like watching stuff as I go to sleep, and you can't read too well when you're doing that.

 

[Cerrax]

The biggest problem for me is that the way people speak in different languages is radically different. Dubs usually sound awful not because the actors are that bad, but because (in the case of anime) Japanese people speak differently than English-speaking people do, so hearing English spoken in a Japanese style just sounds awkward and terrible. Japanese have very exaggerated gestures and emotions, they tend to make small grunts and noises when they are startled or confused, and their language is engineered to be spoken quickly. English on the other hand, is much more subtle and subdued, and rarely do English speakers make a sound when startled or confused. To hear a person speaking English perfectly natural, but acting like a Japanese speaker is very unsettling.

 

[Silver Patriot]

It really depends for me. I have seen some truely horred English dubs. Not to mention you have the infamous Salor Moon dub. However, I have seen some truly great dubs as well. Cowboy Bebop comes to mind, as does Ghost in the Shell. So really it depends on the quality. I would rather watch it in my language, but I am not going to sacrifice the story or my enjoyment to do so.

Case in point. I love Galaxy Angel, but english Milfeulle can't sing.

Also I end up watching subs because I can't wat for their transition to english. Fullmetal Alchemist is almost done in Japan (Episode 60), but in America they are at what? Episode 22 I think.

 

[nondescript]

This is an on-going debate between me and a relative. Subs have the benefit of relaying the translation without having to worry about lip-sync, whereas in dubs you can focus on the show and not sit there glued to the captions at the bottom. It's an even trade-off, if you watch it the first time. I will often, if I have the choice, play them both subbed and dubbed, so I can compare the accuracy of the translations. Another complaint I've heard against dubbing is that the voice actors often don't match up. Or grate on the ears. Then again, the high-pitched squealing teenage girls grate in either language.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

I don't watch anime, but in movies and shows, it is more distracting for me to try and watch it with the voice not lining up than it is to read subtitles. Unless it is something like MXC.

 

[Dexiro]

Depends how good the voice actors are. I'll happily go with dubbed if the voice actors are good, but i don't mind going with subbed occasionally either.

In some cases i just have to go with subbed though. I've spent the last few days trying to figure out how to get subs for Kung Fu Hustle to work on my PS3, the English voice actors on that are fucking URGH.
Because it's a comedy they must've thought they could get away with 10 years olds doing the voices in their worst foreign sounding accent.

I'm pretty sure that they weren't trying to "get away with it," they did it on purpose. It's part of the comedy. I personally think it wouldn't be nearly as funny with serious, realistic voices.

I'm not saying they should have serious voices, just that they should at least sound like real people. In native comedy you don't have actors doing silly high pitched voices, it'd ruin it.

 

[esperandote]

The dub actors rarely have the same acting skills than the original actors.

The only problem I have with that is, how can you really tell if they are doing a good job if you don't really know the language? What may sound good to you, might sound like shotty voice acting to them. Not saying its like that all the time, It's just the two-sided blade...argument...thing.

Again, just trying to back up my opinion for some of the dubs. If it fits the setting, it turns out amazing in english. Most voice-overs directed by Taliesin Jaffe(Hellsing, Beck, and Street Fighter 4)are incredible.


I can't say anything on any Shonen/Shonen Jump dubs, most of those are pretty bad...but I don't really much Shonen in the first place.

In anime I dont know the original language but even then the original voices sound better to me than the dubs.

What may sound good to you, might sound like shotty voice acting to them

I don't understand how is this an argument. I think the dubs in my language sound less good to or a lot worse on my language, and if the japanase think their voice acting isn't good then they can fix that.

In any case, I was mostly speaking about american series, on mexican tv channels that transmit dubbed shows (english to spanish) I find them terribly translated and bad acted specially when I've watched the show in its original audio.

The only anime I've watched dubbed and subbed is Saint Seiya, in that case I don't know if it is well translated but I think the original version has better voice acting.

 

[Nihilism_Is_Bliss]

The biggest problem for me is that the way people speak in different languages is radically different. Dubs usually sound awful not because the actors are that bad, but because (in the case of anime) Japanese people speak differently than English-speaking people do, so hearing English spoken in a Japanese style just sounds awkward and terrible. Japanese have very exaggerated gestures and emotions, they tend to make small grunts and noises when they are startled or confused, and their language is engineered to be spoken quickly. English on the other hand, is much more subtle and subdued, and rarely do English speakers make a sound when startled or confused. To hear a person speaking English perfectly natural, but acting like a Japanese speaker is very unsettling.

hear hear! you just explained something very well that I have been failing at getting across.

I don't get all this 'can't follow the show cos too busy reading da subs' business, i watch a lot of anime and i only ever watch subs.
I've never had any trouble following what's going on while reading the subtitles before, and may only have to pause to read everything if there is a subber's editor note as well as the subtitles.
Besides, usually if there's a lot going on on the screen, like an action sequence there's minimal dialogue, and if there are two people sitting having a conversation there isn't much to follow anyways...

Anyway, I know I'm not an exceptionally speedy reader, so are all you guys just slow readers or what?

 

[hannan4mitch]

Subs, however, are (almost) impossible to get wrong. Almost.

I think I found one.

Spoiler: With plot events like this...

...you know it's interesting.

I think the first one was a computer subbing. If you know about the "All your base" meme, you know that computers are not the best translators.