[The Fujoshi]

This is a slight rant but I realized something afterwards as well.

I woke up early (accidently,) and decided on a whim to watch Yugioh Zexal. Now I have seen the dub of the first season and loved it and some of GX (I was kind of 'bitter,' and bias of GX because of a lack of Yami, but ended up loving it because of spiritshipping!!!! so I decided to give Zexal a chance, even though it.....well I was bias towards the plot and how it was set up and from watching 5D.

I seen one dub and I was....just shocked. Now I seen bad dubs and still enjoyed the show but this one is really out there. None of the voices fit the characters, very strange name changes, very strange songs, and it was.....just weird considering that I seen 5D. I decided to still give it a chance and ended up watching the subs.

Now the subs were totally different, to the point that I liked the epoxy Kaito, with his stupid sexy flanders Seto Kaiba epoxy voice and have the opening song on my mp3. I wasn't sure if this was because of the 4kids lawsuit rumor or something else but the sub and dub are really different for this show.

Spoiler

Even the part with Kaito humming his brother's song, in total awesome tangent, was REALLY EDITED and turned down. I was like wut.

Does anyone else deal with this? Like you end up watching subs over dubs? Or both? Due to the company or the voices or the songs?

Please keep it nice! I don't want to hear "Subs are better than dubs," or the like, so try to keep it not bias?

This post has been edited by The Fujoshi: 03 March 2012 - 01:41 PM

[Nikku]

The sub's are often better simply because its the show as it was made. Not how an american team of voiceover actors feel it should be.

[Rori]

I tend to watch subs just because I tend to find them first. The recent ones I've watched have been subs (Nana and Durarara).

Dubs for the Ghibli films have been fine though; I've had no major objections. I kind of prefer dubbed Princess Mononoke actually... the voice cast was spot on IMHO.

The Fruits Basket dub wasn't too bad either. I actually watched some of the subs but then switched back to the dubs JUST because I couldn't get past the fact that some of the Japanese voice actors were the same ones from Sailor Moon. ^.^;

Speaking of Sailor Moon, I don't think we even need to discuss how crazy the English dub was, lol. I can't say I enjoyed it very much.

[Animexcel]

I naturally prefer subbed anime. There could be rare dubs that are good like FLCL.
Last Saturday, I saw The Secret World of Arrietty. The dub as someone mentioned, was contained with ham-fisted voice acting, as if they were talking down to children level, which was pretty much what I thought throughout the movie. They added extra dialogue while the characters' back were turned and the narration at the end, which wasn't in the original. I saw a trailer for the british dub, and I actually think it sounds better than the american dub, haha.

[JujuFox]

I love watching subs so I can hear the original voices as the director intended them to be, BUT it has to be a good sub.

Bad subs exist?! Yes! Have you ever watched a Studio Ghibli film? Thanks to Disney the subs are exactly the same as the script for their dub! They add and take away whatever they want to make it more relate-able to American audiences.

Also, Akira's sub is horrible. I just got it on Bluray, and man did they screw it up bad! I was so disappointed.
EXAMPLE: At the very end Kaneda's friend(Yamagata I think?) gets up from the rubble to see Kaneda is just a ways in front of him he says in Japanese "omae" and the sub is translated as "Oh my!" instead of what "omae" really means is "you!" HOW DO YOU MESS THAT UP?!?!?!?!

[The Fujoshi]

Animexcel, on 03 March 2012 - 12:00 PM, said:

I naturally prefer subbed anime. There could be rare dubs that are good like FLCL.
Last Saturday, I saw The Secret World of Arrietty. The dub as someone mentioned, was contained with ham-fisted voice acting, as if they were talking down to children level, which was pretty much what I thought throughout the movie. They added extra dialogue while the characters' back were turned and the narration at the end, which wasn't in the original. I saw a trailer for the british dub, and I actually think it sounds better than the american dub, haha.

I didn't mind the FMA dub or the dub of Eureka Seven personally. Also the dub for RK was decent imo.

When I was younger I would watch anime on Toonami and I didn't have the option to watch subs or buy dvds back then. So I learned to deal with a lot of dubs and wasn't bias towards the "SUBS only," rule.

But Zexal......has to be the only exception. I tried really hard but they made Yuma sound a really young bratty kid, even though he could be 14-15, not 10-11. They left his age open in the series and his voice reflected that. This is the only YGO series that I can't watch dub and I feel bad about that, since I love the whole series in a whole.

There are bad subs out there in terms of voices; Persona 4 is an example, the game not the anime. I couldn't stand the voice of Chie or Yukiko; there were scenes that they sounded high pitch to the point of nails on the chalkboard. Teddy sounded very strange in my ears, compared to his english one. Although Naoto was a twist.

Spoiler

you couldn't tell if it was a guy or a girl by the voice compared to the dub.

Also P3 imo did a good job with dubs.

This post has been edited by The Fujoshi: 03 March 2012 - 01:52 PM

[cloudacmaster]

I prefer subs over dubs for the most part.

But there are a select few shows where I like the dub over the sub because they are done so well.

[Kickastina]

For most cases, I prefer the subbed version.
One show, Kodomo No Omocha (Kodocha), however, I did prefer the dubbed.
The original lead's voice really bothered me and I loved the dubbed version.
The dub was done by Funimation and the lead was Laura Bailey, who is my favorite American VA. =D

[Gabichox]

DavenEvanXaviour, on 03 March 2012 - 12:04 PM, said:

Bad subs exist?! Yes! Have you ever watched a Studio Ghibli film? Thanks to Disney the subs are exactly the same as the script for their dub! They add and take away whatever they want to make it more relate-able to American audiences.

URGH Don't even get me started on bad subs. I hate them more than bad dubs because they are misleading to people that don't understand Japanese. It's why I still can't buy into American releases because the subs are sometimes as bad as the dub. Like in Advent children. I just... /sigh/ I refuse to buy the American Heart no Kuni manga as well. They killed Peter White by making him rhyme. Considering the manga had already made him more fluffier than he was in the games... The rhyming just makes him seem like this cute bunny who is just a bit crazy heehee~ ....DX!!

I've always had a problem with overly liberal translating. Both fansubs and official anime companies are huge HUGE perpetrators of this. I prefer translations that are more on the literal side but I guess that gets hard sometimes for people that rely on them. I know a lot of people prefer dubs/bad subs because they add in "jokes" or make a show much more funny. They "spice up" a character. To me that's akin to completely taking the show and just throwing it in the trash. Why should you mess with the author's original dialogue? Takanashi would never swear like that!! Those 6th graders aren't saying those words!! What are you doing!?!?!......
I should stop before I turn this into a huge ranting entry :/

Mostly I watch raw anyway. I'm glad Nicodou is starting to broadcast anime as they are released.

This post has been edited by Gabichox: 03 March 2012 - 02:53 PM

[JujuFox]

I just thought of a really good dub that almost totally rewrites the script due to its heavy Japanese pop culture references that Americans would not understand... SHIN CHAN! I loooooove Funimation's approach to dubbing Shin Chan.

Does anyone remember the year Funimation hired(I think) a Shin Chan cosplayer? He came over to my booth in the AA and did the butt Dance! Yes, he pulled his pants down and actually wiggled it at me. It was hilariously awesome.

[-JUNK-]

I enjoy SUB better than DUB because I believe DUB makes the characters sound stupid or slow.

[Tiamat97]

dubs, because if i wanted to read my anime id read it as a manga. of course there are some things ill watch subs, which that just means things that arent coming to america translated like the DBZ specials

[obakasan]

I usualy get the DVDs so I can enjoy the best of both worlds. Either watch twice, or do both sub and dub at the same time.

The subs usually do indeed follow the original Japanese dialog, complete with the cultural references, but sometimes I feel the dub is just plain better (like a whole rewrite). Can go either way. Sometimes one is better than the other, sometimes they are about the same, and sometimes it's like two different stories!

One other thing I really do like about the DVDs is the fact you not only get two different "stories," you often get two different sets of music as well (maybe not with the BGM [background music], but often with any main themes). Even the OP and ED themes can differ. Again, like the dialog, sometimes one musical piece is better than the other, sometimes not. Sailor Moon R movie comes to mind (with Moon Revenge vs Power of Love - kinda liked em both although I give an edge to Moon Revenge), and the Haruhi Suzumiya concert sets (ditto). The musical changes in the DIC version (TV broadcast) of Saior Moon however... coulda been better.

When it comes to the dubs they make primarily for American TV however (like above mentioned DIC Sailor Moon)... they usually suck, partially also because they've butchered the original anime so badly the original story is gone (Cardcaptors anyone?).

As for VA choices, yes that is an issue. I agree that there are times I feel the voices don't come close to "who" the character is. A deep baritone American voice for a 10 year old kid is a bit disconcerting... unless it's a comedy. (I also have to admit I get tired of hearing some VAs over and over again in sometimes wildley different roles [sorry Greg].) Of course I sometimes find the voice used for the original Japanese character a bit out of whack as well... it may fit for the Japanese audience but still...


And when it comes to watching an anime in the video room at a con I'll take the dub cuz there are almost always the tallest people at the con sitting in front of me blocking the subtitles so I get absolutely nuttin from watching...


My thoughts at the moment.

[FlyingElf]

Typically I watch subbed anime. Its the best way to keep current with whats popular and being that I am on the board for Anime Punch, a con with strong academic focuses, I like to keep current as best I can.

Also, when I got into anime, dubs were just bad...laughably bad...Now that isn't so much the case anymore, but still as a matter of habit I typically prefer the subs. Plus, I like to enjoy things in as close to their original meaning as possible so typically I prefer the American references frequently thrown into dubs kept out.

[Fudgi P0pZ]

Tiamat97, on 03 March 2012 - 05:33 PM, said:

dubs, because if i wanted to read my anime id read it as a manga. of course there are some things ill watch subs, which that just means things that arent coming to america translated like the DBZ specials

Tiamat97, that's a totally legit reason, haha. I like dubs on occasion for superficial reasons, such as when I'm eating, laying down, or any other time my eyes may be away from the screen for an extended amount of time.

Otherwise, I usually prefer subs. As a language learner, it's an awesome source of input that I don't have access to in every day life. Subtitles (though they can be changed to suit the audience in question) over a very good check when I can't understand what I'm hearing and an awesome way to translate some of the slang I hear *in* context. So for me, watching anime w/ subs kills two birds with one stones; I can study language and I can enjoy anime! xD

Now, there are some American dubs out there that I prefer over the originals. One example would have to be Hetalia. xD Yes, some of those accents are stereotypical, but it's nice how they also used language to add to each character's personality. When I checked out a subbed version, I was hoping to hear some accents in the Japanese rendition but, alas, there were none. I came to miss that little change that the American dubbed made.

[Miyabi-chan]

I prefer to watch it in subs. If there is a raw verison I watch it in raw.

The resons are:
1)I am Japanese and know Japanese so it is more natural than dubs.
2)There are really bad dubs where the voices do not match with the character. (ex. dub version of Kanda from D.Gray-man sounded like a macho guy)
3)Japanese voice actors and actresses, in my opinion, are way better than American voice actors and actresses.
4)There are sometime changes by cutting out stuff or changing the meaning from the original.
5)Sometime, there are mistakes in the American dubs that was not realized until after they released the dub version.

There are some good dubs, but there are more bad dubs than good.

[Djm]

I honestly have no preference anymore. If a show that I'm interested in is dubbed, I'll watch it dubbed. If it isn't, I'll watch it subbed, and maybe dubbed later to compare the two.

Right now, I'm watching 2 shows that are subbed and 2 that are dubbed. For me, sub vs. dub isn't that big of a deal.

[JujuFox]

Miyabi-chan, on 03 March 2012 - 08:22 PM, said:

I prefer to watch it in subs. If there is a raw verison I watch it in raw.

The resons are:
1)I am Japanese and know Japanese so it is more natural than dubs.

If I was Japanese and knew Japanese there would be no point in watching subs or dubs for me! ;P

[TaiyakiOni]

I used to be fine just watching subs.

Then I started noticing mistakes in translations, especially in fansubs.

Now my otaku friends won't watch anime with me cuz I'm the guy who pauses the video and goes on a lecture about what should have been put in the subs as opposed to what they said.

I only like dubs for certain series which I feel did a good job like Full Metal Panic, Mushishi, World of Narue and Super Gals.

[Voxx]

I default to subs, but I will watch with the dubs only if it is a series I obsess over or a series has a favorite voice actor of mine in it.

The dubs sometimes misconstrue cultural references to make the wording flow better in English, or they just omit it completely. I like to watch things in their original format. It is just the same with foreign films. I can't watch them with English dubbing and they are so much better in their original language. It has a completely different feel to it when you watch it in it's original language vs dubs.

[jsieczkar]

In general I watch the show in whatever language I first heard it in. Once a voice is connected a voice to a character I have a hard time switching to a new voice. Since I am mostly only watching stuff streamed I am basically watching everything in Japanese.

[S1NN3R]

I mix and match. Subs are a great way to stay current but favorites via dub would be as follows: Noir in French will leave you breathless. Baccano is awesome in Italian, and Evangelion is fantastic in Russian.

[TheStrongJaeger]

I've not read the whole thread but I agree with the majority, in that I prefer subs but will gladly listen to dubs if done well. I think dubs got a bad stigma back in the day when they were very low budget and were genuinely bad. Nowadays it's gotten much better and sometimes on par with the Japanese as far as quality and translations. Like what you like but always keep an open mind.

[Kent]

TheStrongJaeger, on 04 March 2012 - 05:50 PM, said:

I've not read the whole thread but I agree with the majority, in that I prefer subs but will gladly listen to dubs if done well. I think dubs got a bad stigma back in the day when they were very low budget and were genuinely bad. Nowadays it's gotten much better and sometimes on par with the Japanese as far as quality and translations. Like what you like but always keep an open mind.

I agree with this.
Usually I base it off if the show has a lot of action in it, like stuff I don't want to miss. Then I will watch the dubbed version. It also depends on how good the dub is. Something like Excel Saga I thought had a really bad dub, but the sub was great. Sometimes you don't have a choice like ToraDora but I can't imagine that show ever getting a good dub...

This post has been edited by Kent: 05 March 2012 - 08:36 PM

[GITS SAC Motoko]

I prefer subs, but I will watch a dub if I'm not fully watching the anime, (like if the anime is in the background like if I'm cleaning the house, sitting in my bed falling asleep etc) or if its nostalgic to myself personally like Ghost in the Shell (which I think personally has a great dub, [and awesome sub ] because that anime is my super awesome ranked and always will be ranked #1 defines my middle school and high school years lol), Poke'mon and the original Full Metal Alchemist. Other than that I'm watching it subbed. Though I do like to hear dubs of all anime just to hear it and I like to be the judge after I hear a few episodes of it. I give it the benefit of the doubt. Or if there is a certain character/part I will re-watch an episode/certain part in English to hear how the American VA pulled it off out of strict curiosity.

[Oyuki]

I prefer dubs because that's what I'm used to. I know what bad ones are like so I avoid those animes. I gave into subs for Inuyasha: Final Act and it was more than worth it.

I don't know how original voices would arguably express how an anime should sound when in all languages, they're actors. It should be a matter of: Are you a good or bad voice actor? It's a shame that the bad ones come out to make dubs look bad.

[DioxideIL]

I'm one of those people who prefer subs so that I can enjoy the original voice work. I tend to watch everything both ways (subbed, then dubbed) to give the proper attention to both sets of voice actors. Maybe I'm a little odd...

[Gwydion]

I'll admit that about 99% of the time I prefer watching in Japanese with subs, but I do try to give the dubs a chance when available. For one thing, I like having background noise when I work on things, and subtitles can get distracting. So even if I prefer the sub, I tend to watch the dubs in those cases unless I just can't stand them. But I have heard bad English and bad Japanese actors, and I've also seen bad subs (almost makes me miss the days when I had no idea if subs were laughable or accurate), so I do try to give both versions a fair shake. I may not be as accepting as some, but if I feel a character is acted well, I'll give credit where credit is due, no matter the language.

[Dark Spellmaster]

Gotta go for dubs mainly from that i want to know what's going on first, then I'll rewatch it in Japanese. Subs are fun to watch but I tend to like the english dubs more, especially when they're well written.

[Fate Averruncus]

I typically watch dubs over subtitles---I don't like reading what I watch, I like to know what's going on without having to make sure to catch every single word on the bottom of the screen, and I do like to be able to enjoy the animation without having to worry about missing a sentence of dialog.
Aside from that, I can't stand how a lot of girls in the original Japanese sound. (Mikan Sakura from Gakuen Alice is an example of this. To me, her voice was like nails on a chalkboard). I've heard some good voice acting in the originals(DNAngel's Japanese cast is excellent), but for the most part, they're too screechy for my liking. And in some cases, it's awkward to hear characters who aren't Japanese speaking Japanese. Gunsmith Cats and Black Butler are examples of this. I would never be able to watch them subtitled. o-o;;. I know the same rule should apply to Japanese characters speaking English, but a lot of the time, the voices are too annoying subbed to enforce this rule. o-o;;.
That is not to say that I won't watch something if it's subbed, though--if something I like is sub-only, then I'll watch it regardless. Even if I do have to endure sometimes annoying acting.

This isn't to say that all dubs are so much better than the original cast, though. Card Captor Sakura is better subbed. BY FAR. I can't stand the edits to that show, and the original dub is AWFUL. I think the dub that Geneon made for the second movie was OK, but the first dub was just too awful to let slide. I'd watch that subbed over dubbed any time. I also felt Sailor Moon was better subbed. But only because the dialog is left alone, and there is no editing. Some of the English voices are OK, but others are the same nails on a chalkboard thing I felt while watching Gakuen Alice. >_<;. I'd rather just hear the original.