[Ashe Wednesday]

I usually watch subs except in a few cases. I'm a slow reader and I prefer dubs when there is so much going on in the scene that I feel like I'm missing important information because I'm busy reading and rereading subtitles. This only applies to fast moving anime with complex storylines (like Ghost in the Shell...I'm STILL trying to understand it all and it's been a few years now) or stories with a buttload of symbolism/metaphors that's only shown and not verbally pointed out (like Shojo Kakumei Utena). It helps it if the dubs are good themselves which, luckily, both of those shows are.

[Darkspawn]

I like dubs, actually. It really irks me when people say they prefer subs not because they want a more literal translation, but because "English VAs suck."

I mean, give me a break. There are some awful Japanese VAs out there. AWFUL.

[MasterHavik]

Don't hate on dubs bro. Go check the dub of Catherine, BB, Lucky Star, Desert Punk, and Tenchi Muyo. They go hard. They do what they can to match their Asian friends. I really suggest Catherine because it took English dubbing to another level.

Btw, if you want to hear bad Japanese Vas. Go check Vector's Sonic X voice in Japanese. You will want to punch somebody.

Edit: I prefer Dubs btw because I feel anime fans don't give them any credit and think they can do a better job than them, which makes me wonder why aren't you calling Funimation or whoever for a job? I mean, I should call Sega, so I can be the voice of Storm in the next Sonic Riders game because I feel I take a crap on whoever does his voice for that game.

This post has been edited by MasterHavik: 18 March 2012 - 02:45 AM

[MontelMaverick]

I watch dubs usually because I can get a good look at the art style of most shows and enjoy the actions of the characters expressions,beautiful backgrounds, and understand the language easily. Subs make you read text on the bottom of screen almost half that time when your watching you almost don't time to marvel at the animation or you'll have a hard time understanding the foreign language in the show if it's not in English.

[ninjaxllama]

I usually like to watch subs, but with netflix I have been getting used to dubbed anime. It really isn't that bad and I've come to like some of the voice over work. If I had the choice, I would still watch anime subbed, but I guess it's because I like to watch things in their intended form.

[Kroogah]

Subs. Especially for SoL shows and shows with a lot of Japanese cultural references, the original Japanese voice is better by default. On the other hand I usually go dub for shows with a more western feel (Cowboy Bebop, Baccano!, Black Lagoon, Spice & Wolf, all fantastic dubs)

And then there's Golden Boy and Ghost Stories, 2 of the funniest English dubs of all time. I tried watching Golden Boy in Japanese and just couldn't do it.

[Monica Rial #1 Fan]

I'm a dub guy. Have never really had an issue with most of the dubs I've heard. Funimation is terrific, and ADV before them were at worst passable, and most of the time good to great. I tend to watch shows with the subtitles turned on, that way I can see what was originally said, and compare it to what I'm actually hearing in the dub. I feel Funi does a great job of making sure things still stay close to the original context, while still actually sounding like real dialogue.

So in short, I'm a dub guy, and always will be.

[Sarahlicious]

Personally I like subtitles. It just seems more natural - but if I had to go with dubs I like Funimation's VA's best.

[MasterHavik]

There be typos and mistranslated bits in subs. While the main knock on dubs is how a character sounds. At least they have good grammar compare to all the guys that do subs. They are showing respect to the original by writing with a brain.

[Hantsuki]

I used to watch dubbed anime, especially when we still had Anime on Demand or whatever that channel was until they took it out. I saw parts of DN Angel, Angelic Layer, Kaleido Star, Full Metal Panic FUMOFFU, and others in dub, and I genuinely enjoyed it. Years later after I discovered that I can watch some of this stuff online, I watched the subbed versions and I have to say, I found some of it "better." FUMOFFU, however, I still preferred in dubbed form, but others like Angelic Layer made me realize that Misaki's dub voice sounded very annoying.

Now, I actually prefer to watch raw episodes because some of the subs are really terrible (but I understand why they made certain translations).

[Agatha]

I don't have a complete preference one way or the other. Sometimes I prefer the dub, sometimes I prefer the sub.

I have found that a lot of times the voices in dubs tend to bug me, and/or the way the dialogue is worded, but sometimes the dub is really good. Another advantage of dubs is that I can do something else (crafting, computing, whatever) while watching them because I don't need to have my eyes glue to the set.

Subs can be really good, but sometimes the translations are clunky and I feel a little like I'm missing out. Oftentimes there are things that I think were probably very funny or very meaningful in Japanese that weren't translated skillfully.

I guess both have their trade-offs. XD

[Noiz]

I actually like both dub and sub. But if I had to pick an anime that I didn't like the dub, that would be Gravitation. *Head blown.
Some of my favorite dubs would have to be Fullmetal Alchemist, Durarara!!, Tiger & Bunny (I saw a 8 min dub of it. It was amazing!), Black Cat and Elemental Gelade.

[gomez46356]

in all reality they are both dub if you think about it, just different languages, but it depends on which show it is , im not a big fan for reading words on the screen id rather watch the action, but some shows like blue exorcist and oreimo you got no choice. Theres also just as many bad Japanese as english dubs

[CrimsonAnime]

I often prefer to watch the subs simply because I like to see the show as it was intended. Before all of the editing and cultural translations that happen when they try to change it for a different audience.

However, I usually like to see both versions(at least one episode each) just so that I can compare things like the voices and the script. If they are similar, then I'll watch the dub since it's easier to listen and watch than to listen, read and watch. Yet if I find that the dub really takes away from the original storyline (IE. Sailor Moon) then I will abandon the dub for the subtitles.

[Kent]

I just watched Steins;Gate and WOW:w00t: that was probably the best dub I've heard in a long time. I don't think you will be disappointed in that dub.

[AriannaSterling]

I usually watch subs, because I usually follow things as they're airing...plus, watching things subbed is great practice for me since I've been studying Japanese.

There are a few dubs I enjoy though, like Ghost Hunt and FMA...and then of course there's dubs like Higurashi which should never be heard by anyone.

[Valkyrie]

I used to say I heavily preferred subs, although there were shows (such as Lupin the 3rd or Full Metal Panic) that had good dubbing. For the longest time my friends and I would avoid Funimation, since most of the time the voices did not do the characters justice at all. In college, I had fellow anime club members who were elitist enough to never, ever give any dubs a chance.

But then, some months ago, my husband and I found Black Butler and Ouran on Netflix. We decided to give them a chance, starting with Black Butler. We were floored by the wonderful voicing in that series. When we moved on to Ouran, we were impressed again.

Overall, I think it really depends on the studio, actors, and the show itself. Sometimes you'll get really great combinations. Others...well, not so much.

[aznskater14]

I prefer subbed anime over dubbed , there are rare occasions though

This post has been edited by aznskater14: 07 December 2012 - 02:01 PM

[Shiggitay]

I agree with the general consensus regarding preferring subs over dubs (I actually did read the entire thread). But, I will say that I have seen some stuff dubbed, starting with Sailor Moon, as it was my 'gateway' series to the whole anime phenomenon. I had started watching SM when Toonami was airing the end of Season 4 (SuperS) when

Spoiler

Super Sailor Moon was diving after Sailor Chibi Moon / Sailor Mini Moon for you Sailor Moon dub fans

(I placed that in spoiler tags just in case there's a random person here that's not seen Sailor Moon in any form. Fat chance of that by now, but I felt like playing it safe. lol) I was confused as heck. I then decided to go back and get the DiC VHSes (I'm dating myself a bit here lol) so I could see how it all began. That was around the same time as when I discovered fansubs. Man was it a BIG MISTAKE to watch the DiC dub. That stained me from watching ANYTHING dubbed for a long time. Even to this day I'm very picky with what I'll watch dubbed. As others have said one of the only exceptions would be the Studio Ghibli films/movies. Those I can watch subbed or dubbed. Another exception would be The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya to some extent, but since I saw that as it was airing in Japanese (as I do with many shows over the years) I'm partial to the original Japanese cast.

Another reason why I prefer subs over dubs is because sometimes there's a series that never comes to the US, or at least not right away. One such series is Minami-ke. That series has 4 seasons complete as of 2013, and not one of them has been grabbed by a US studio for US distribution.

A note about fansub scripts and how they tend to rewrite dialogue to fit American audiences: if you get the right subs for a certain show and there are Japanese culture references in them (for example one series might mention Japan's Golden Week) there's often a secondary subtitle track above the dialogue track explaining what, for example, Golden Week is, or in the case of Azumanga Daioh, explaining that Osaka, being in the south of Japan, tends to have the Kansai dialect that the north doesn't have much of, if any at all. Stuff like that. Not all subs are bad, but one such bad sub is that of GiTS:SAC back in the day. "Mass Naked Child Events!" or something like that hahah. Anyone remember that? I believe the fansub group was AnimeJunkies. I've not seen anything from them in ages, so I bet they disbanded since that fiasco. lol.

This post has been edited by Shiggitay: 06 May 2013 - 07:34 PM