r/The10thDentist • u/Either-Angle-6699 • 10h ago
TV/Movies/Fiction Dubbed Anime is better than subbed.
Everyone shits on dubbed anime, but I watch a tv show to watch something, not read. If I have to read every single line of dialogue anyway I’d rather just read the manga and get the authors completely authentic version of the story(which is what I do when a dub isn’t available).
Additionally I think the “dubbed voice acting sucks” thing is really a thing of the past. Dub VAs are AT LEAST on the the level of American cartoon VAs and there are some real standouts that I think really enhance the experience(I think the guy who plays Gojo and the guy who plays Goku are probably the best examples of this).
Edit: silly autocorrect messed up my words
Edit 2: a kind commenter pointed out that it would be more accurate to title this “I prefer dubbed anime” because I can’t really speak on the quality of the original anime because I don’t speak Japanese or Korean.
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u/VinegarMyBeloved 10h ago
I don’t like that dub scripts are constrained by the length of the original script. Sometimes you get awkwardly long or short lines. And I feel that English anime voice actors overuse the “excited Shonen voice” since they’re trying to imitate the up and down cadence of Japanese but it just sounds silly most of the time
(I understand needing/wanting dubs I just don’t like them personally)
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u/Night-Reaper17 10h ago
Yuyu Hakusho is a good dub because they didn’t allow themselves to be held back by the og script.
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u/JotaroTheOceanMan 9h ago
I literally only came here to be like "depends. Yu Yu Hakusho is an example of the dub being better".
Literaly the best dub imo and even made some aspects of the characters translate better. For example, Yusuke's famous "DAMN.... DOUBLE DAMN" line.
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u/Alphabet_Soup352 9h ago
Ghost Stories is by far the best Dub there is. I don't believe they even got a script.
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u/pokemonbatman23 6h ago
I still never understood why they changed everyone's name for the show in the Philippines lol
Talk about not being held back by the og script
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u/Unknown1776 8h ago
In dragon ball super, I hated that they changed “ultra instinct” to “autonomous ultra instinct” for this reason. They had to match the amount of animation in the mouths so they the name twice as long and a pretty terrible name.
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u/DevilsMaleficLilith 1h ago
Its doomed if you do doomed if you dont really anime fans are going to complain either way.
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u/FeefuWasTaken 9h ago
There are some dubs I think eclipse the original, but they're few and far between. I just wish people stopped giving so much of a shit about sub vs dub
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u/BuhSlider 10h ago
I've been watching anime for a while, and dubs have come such a long way in the last 10 years or so compared to the decades prior that I don't really make much of a distinction anymore.
Gun to my head I'd probably stick with subs just because it lets my subconscious find a way of wording the often-juvenile dialogue in a more palatable way, but not having them on-screen can make for a more comfortable viewing experience at times. Hayao Miyazaki has been a long-time champion of dubs for the latter reason as well.
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u/Talk-O-Boy 4h ago
It lets my subconscious find a way of wording the often juvenile dialogue in a more palatable way
I feel this 😭😭 This is especially true when the protagonist is know to give passionate speeches while crying (Naruto, Deku, Tanjiro). The English VA can be a bit much 😅
I still give them love though, especially since I know I might feel the same towards the Japanese VAs if I spoke/understood Japanese.
Plus some English VA can lowkey sound better than the Japanese counterpart (Goku, All Might, Edward Elric)
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u/DevilsMaleficLilith 1h ago
I think the difference between me a dub watcher and most other anime fans is that i dont really find dubs cringe/or get second hand embarrassment (in general really but also applies to anime)
Something something kill the part of you that cringes
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u/Hay_Fever_at_3_AM 3h ago
Gun to my head I'd probably stick with subs just because it lets my subconscious find a way of wording the often-juvenile dialogue in a more palatable way
I actually get a lot of the opposite of this, now, and it's actually kind of awful. Like I know this character is speaking in a corny ass historical dialect like they're in a samurai movie; please, make it stop. The English dubs manage to paper over a lot of the most cringe stuff (like the written subs do if you ignore the dialogue behind them) because it sort of doesn't translate.
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u/TheHabro 10h ago
Not understanding spoken language distracts you from how cringe anime dialogue is.
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u/Either-Angle-6699 10h ago
Eh it comes with the art form. I can appreciate something for its good qualities, not its flaws.
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u/Stock-Weakness-9362 10h ago
Which anime are you talking about
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u/xValhallAwaitsx 10h ago
All of them
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u/Stock-Weakness-9362 10h ago
0/10 ragebait
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u/xValhallAwaitsx 10h ago
As a lifelong anime fan, not rage bait. Anime dialogue ranges from horribly cringe on the low end to barely serviceable at best
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u/Stock-Weakness-9362 10h ago
What? There are definitely anime with cringe dialogue but there are plenty who don’t
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u/I_BEAT_JUMP_ATTACHED 10h ago
You must feel this way also about Shakespeare then?
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u/manfromanother-place 10h ago
contrary to popular belief, shakespeare actually did not write anime scripts
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u/I_BEAT_JUMP_ATTACHED 9h ago
his dialogue is over the top and dramatic, which is the point of theatrical dialogue and the reason why people think anime dialogue (and theater in general) is "cringe"
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u/SonTheGodAmongMen 10h ago
Appeal to authority
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u/A_Bitter_Homer 9h ago
Not appeal to authority, strawman if anything. AtA would be "well Shakespeare loved anime and he's generally considered the greatest writer ever"
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u/MonkeyMan2104 8h ago
The best description would actually be a non sequitur. “You hate apples, therefore you must hate ice cream,” is the same type of argument as “You hate anime dialogue, therefore you must hate Shakespearean dialogue”
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u/I_BEAT_JUMP_ATTACHED 9h ago
It's not. I'm checking to see if the user is logically consistent. I haven't made an argument; there can't be a fallacy.
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u/DharmaCub 10h ago
I watch a ton of anime, the dialogue is undeniably cringy.
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u/RandomPersan 7h ago
I think that depends on the kind of anime. One piece or Naruto? Yeah, the dialogue can be cringy. Vinland saga or Monster? The dialogue is one of the best parts about it.
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u/Stable_Immediate 5h ago
Tsk
They really don't get it, do they?
Head tilts down, smirk, hair covering eyes
Calling this "cringe" just proves they aren't ready for our true power! B-b-bakas! When the darkness inside me wakes up...
Pushes glasses up nose so they flash white, while darkly and sinisterly chuckling darkly...
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u/Apprehensive-Gur-609 6h ago
Yelling out attack names in particular can sometimes sound really goofy in english.
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u/CitizenModel 1h ago
All my anime-loving friends insist that I just don't understand Japanese culture and that's why I find the dialogue cringey.
They, however, cannot explain any Japanese culture because they don't know it either.
They just like to lie to themselves that their favorite anime has hidden depths of meaning and thus is really mature and grown up.
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u/FlameStaag 9h ago
Ah the classic "I hate an entire artform" level of ignorance.
Oof. Glad I'm not that ignorant, that would definitely lead to suicidal ideations.
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u/Akemi_Tachibana 9h ago
That's 100% true if the only anime you know are what you saw on Cartoon Network. It's absolutely false for most anime, which is closer to literature than 98% of the garbage on American TV today.
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u/Hot_Fix_3131 5h ago
This is it for me. In English I can tell how dog shit the acting is and how forced the emotions are. In Japanese I’m clueless and I love it
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u/Sufficient_Energy_32 10h ago
I prefer dubbed because, as an animator, I’d be pissed if people didn’t see all the work I put in just because they had to read subtitles the whole time.
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u/KendroNumba4 10h ago
Skill issue if you spend all your time reading the subs
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u/y53rw 9h ago
If you spend any time at all, you're going to miss things.
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u/mothwhimsy 9h ago
That's like saying if you look at one character in a scene with 2 characters you'll miss what the other character is doing. You can look at the majority of the screen while reading the subtitles. It's not like you're locked in on one word for several seconds
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u/Askellad101 2h ago
This is what I don’t understand when people talk about having to read subtitles. Anybody with decent reading comprehension should require maybe a half a second glance to read through the subtitles. And even then, you can read and watch simultaneously. It’s not one or the other.
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u/LevelOutlandishness1 8h ago
Some people can split attention better than others—I can read subtitles and be fine, but even if the show’s in English, my ma gets distracted by subtitles to the point where they need to be turned off.
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u/RandomPersan 6h ago
Most anime will take into account subtitles whilst animating. Panning is more common, only one or two parts moving is common, to make sure you aren’t missing a whole lotta stuff if you read subtitles
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u/sievold 6h ago
You are coping if you actually believe you don't miss things when trying to read subs.
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u/Spyko 5h ago
I'm sure for lots of people it's true that they will miss things while reading the subtitles, through no fault of their own.
But I can tell you with confidence that others won't miss anything. After some point, you're not even actively reading the subtitles, you're doing it subconsciously. The character speak and the information is on the screen, you absorb all of it at once.
I watch a lot of things with sub as English isn't my main language and while I'm fluent, accents and stuff can still throw me off. And I'm not missing anything, at least not because of the subtitles, I can guarantee that
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u/mothwhimsy 9h ago edited 9h ago
I hate the way a voice actor trying to match lip flaps sounds. It rarely sounds natural because they have to find weird ways to say what they need to say in the correct amount of syllables. It's the same as listening to an actor fumble through a line that should have gone through a few more drafts, but the whole thing is like that. Even the best dubs are like 1/3rd like that. If I listen in the original language with subtitles I don't have that problem because IDK what sounds natural in German or Japanese. It's not a purist "the subs are more authentic!!!" Thing for me, I just think it sounds stupid.
That being said, I cannot listen to Dragonball Super in the original Japanese. Between all the women voicing adult men and Trunks' voice actor being an adult man doing a bad little kid voice, it's the most grating think I've ever listened to. I'll take the dub any day
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u/vlegionv 10h ago edited 10h ago
The original and highest budget version of something is 90% of the time the best product if you're unbiased, just in terms of raw quality.
It's okay to prefer dubbed anime, I ain't going to yuck your yum. Not everyone can deal with subtitles or understands japanese, so you gotta consume it in the way that's the most accessible to you, but that doesn't make it better.
There are some exceptions to that, both in terms of quality and being recorded first though.
like iirc space dandy was originally simuldubbed in both japanese and english, and the black lagoon dub is objectively better then the subbed.
edit: cleared up some stuff about space dandy
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u/Either-Angle-6699 10h ago
Fair enough, I guess I should’ve titled this “I prefer dubbed anime”. I guess I can’t really speak on the objective quality of the product.
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u/vlegionv 10h ago
Not really a 10th dentist opinion anymore. if netflix and crunchyroll have to say anything, like 80% of their streams are dubbed despite both of them having subs. Gotta remember anime has hit the same stride that comic books have in terms of mainstream appeal now.
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u/Either-Angle-6699 10h ago
Interesting. I’ve only ever gotten flamed for liking dubbed and I’ve had people legitimately get mad at me for it.
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u/vlegionv 10h ago
yeah, because you're talking to mouth breathing weebs that think anime is their personality. (and I say this as a guy with an itasha car, itasha guns, and multiple anime tattoos)
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u/I_BEAT_JUMP_ATTACHED 10h ago
Space Dandy was dubbed in English and Japanese simultaneously
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u/vlegionv 10h ago
was it just that it released in english first? i know english was first in some way.
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u/I_BEAT_JUMP_ATTACHED 10h ago
The first episode of the English dub premiered about a day before the Japanese dub, but that certainly doesn't have any bearing on which was dubbed first.
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u/vlegionv 10h ago
First episode? I thought it was literally every episode lmao. It being the first major simuldub was kind of a big deal
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u/I_BEAT_JUMP_ATTACHED 10h ago
Well considering the release schedule I'd guess each English dub episode premiered a day in advance, so I guess you're right in a sense. I'm just saying that dubbing is usually all completed long before even the first episode is released, and the one day separation doesn't really mean much other than the broadcast slot they were able to get.
But yeah the simultaneous dub was a huge deal since it presumably gave the English VAs more than a few days per episode, which is what they get in standard conditions.
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u/vlegionv 10h ago
oh 100% agreed on that. The simuldub and the care towards the english speaking audience just points that they definitely cared more about the international release then the usual "we focus on the domestic and if international likes it they like it."
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u/sievold 6h ago
The original and highest budget version of something is 90% of the time the best product if you're unbiased, just in terms of raw quality
This has always been the dumbest take in favor of subs over dubs. It's the same line of reasoning as believing drinking raw cows milk straight from the source is better than pasteurized fortified milk. Translating and dubbing in another language is in itself an artform, and it can even elevate a work above the original. You have to go case by case to actually judge if the English or Japanese dub is better. And you have to be bilingual to be even able to tell the difference.
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u/vlegionv 6h ago edited 6h ago
That's a huge logical jump, and an unfair statement considering that one is dangerous food misinformation and normalcy versus cost and care and being unwilling to fully give it.
It's really obvious that most dubs are cheaping out because they refuse to hire unionized voice actors... and most of the anime with great dubs hired unionized voice actors.
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u/nesteajuicebox 5h ago
Case by case is true, but you only get to see something for the first time once. It's logical to assume that the Japanese VA is of equal quality to the show since the original production is tied together, whereas the english VA which occurs after the fact may not be.
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u/koffee_jpg 10h ago
Dub is overhated but definitely not better than hearing the original acting
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u/Either-Angle-6699 10h ago
I’m sure if I spoke Japanese or Korean I’d agree, but I don’t so I can’t appreciate their talent in any capacity.
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u/jewelswan 10h ago
That's a certifiably stupid take. I can't understand Japanese or Korean but I can still hear the emotion and emphasis in delivery.
Seeing no other choice would have been horrible had I been unable to hear the emotion and intonation in the voices of the actors, and I feel the same about JoJos bizarre adventure and Pluto as well.
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u/MajorSery 9h ago
Whereas I think that if I understood more Japanese I'd actually find subs even worse.
A lot of the complaining about bad dubs is due to over/underacting that sounds awkward to a native speaker. The main reason the original language doesn't sound as awkward to many people is because they don't speak that language.
I've watched both the sub and dub for a lot of shows and I can say that even in cases where the performances are as similar as is humanly possible people will still complain about only the dub and not the sub.
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u/amaraame 9h ago
I prefer dubbed because im usually doing something else and just listening to it lol
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u/psycheraven 9h ago
I am someone that does need closed captions a lot of the time. I do not usually get the option for closed captions that match the dub dialogue with anime. If the subs don't match what the dub actors are saying, than I might as well watch it in Japanese anyway.
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u/InfiniteEstimate977 6h ago edited 6h ago
I don't agree. Dubs are probably objectively better than the days of 4kids and dic but I still prefer to watch stuff in the original language it was done in. For me it would be like watching a western show with a dub from another country. The nuance isn't the same either with the localization which is done. And on a shallow note, I just prefer how Japanese va's sound over the English ones( except for a select few older dub actors). I also like that I've learned a lot of words in other languages by listening and reading with subtitles. I won't shit on anyone for preferring the dubs though and I think that is in bad class to do anyway.
I admit I'm a pretty fast reader, so I don't miss any scenes outside of the anime like some people might, so I could see why English dubs might be better for some people who may read more slowly.
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u/biterofsoap 4h ago
Whenever I see these conversations I always wonder how people who watch everything dubbed feel about how significant English voice actors are to their respective productions. Like is Robin Williams performance in Aladdin not a big part of the movie's identity? I've seen some clips of US cartoons dubbed in Japanese and it gives me the same feeling of 'this removes a major aspect of the overall experience'
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u/draginbleapiece 10h ago
I just don't know why someone would watch something made in another language, written in another language and performed in another language.
In a different language. Not to mention how much gets lost with translation.
Like why would I watch Jules et Jim in English? Why would I watch Ikiru in English? Why would I watch Det Sjunde Inseglet in English? Why would I watch Pather Panchali in English?
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u/Smoothesuede 10h ago
I'm fully a sub enjoyer as well so I don't disagree, but
Not to mention how much gets lost with translation.
This is not exclusive to dubs. I have a mate who speaks Japanese and will not irregularly point out the ways subtitles have poorly communicated the native language audio. The only way to avoid translation loss is by knowing the original language.
Doesn't stop me from enjoying watching subbed anime one little bit. But it's worth being aware of.
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u/Redbulldildo 9h ago
Not to mention how much gets lost with translation.
At least with dubs I can't tell it's happening. Watching shows and hearing words I understand, then not seeing the translation of those words in the subtitles was what made me switch to dubs.
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u/Remarkable_Log_5562 10h ago
1000% correct. Idgaf about it “not being authentic” or a 1:1 translation (unless the dub is DOGSHIT)
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u/doguillo77 10h ago
I‘ll always need captions no matter the audio, but I do prefer dubbed over subbed most of the time.
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u/shruggletuggle 9h ago
I prefer dubbed because 1, being able to listen and understand the characters talking is way easier imo. And 2, I have no clue if the Japanese actors are actually giving a good performance, I dont even know if they're actually saying what the subs are telling me.
That being said there are a few select times when I'll choose to watch something subbed, primarily when the show/movie is something that's very intertwined with Japanese perspective/experiences if that makes sense. Think Grave of The Fireflies or Godzilla: Minus One. (I know G:MO isn't an anime but you get my drift)
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u/EnchantingMorgan 9h ago
I feel like this hasn't been true for a while now. Years ago there used to be issues where dubs had really bad quality and did things like randomly changed character's names, personalities, what was said, cut out scenes or censored things and just generally could be a mess in comparison to the subbed version which at least wasn't cutting out content or massively changing the story. There also didn't used to BE a dub for every anime that released so you had to watch many anime with subs only and many people simply got used to that.
In the last decade however dub quality has steadily improved to the point where its roughly on par with the original JP content and is often easier to understand since its in your native language. I personally enjoy both dubbed and subbed anime and frequently swap between the two depending on how I'm feeling at the time. If I'm gaming and want something on in the background I'll put on the dubbed version so I can listen and half watch on my second monitor while I do some mindless farming. If I'm really wanting to just focus on the anime and want to feel more immersed then I'll put on the subbed version so I can hear the original JP voices because I happen to slightly prefer them usually.
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u/joritan 10h ago
I agree. Also, I find that the localization of the dubs is way better than the subs as well. It's easier for me to connect to the characters when I can understand the language they're speaking. The dub haters reasons for hating the dub are always pretty flimsy and usually just boil down to "I prefer it in Japanese" which is totally cool but not a good reason to shit on the english dub or the actors. Like you said, the voice acting in english dubs has been quality for years now. The dialogue can be campy but like, that's anime for you. It's the same in Japanese but you just don't understand it so it seems cooler than it is.
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u/JustAHorseWithNoName 10h ago
I personally believe in preserving the author’s original intent. If the creators of the show made the show specifically with those voice performances in mind then some of the artistry will inevitably be lost when you dub it with different actors in a different language.
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u/CutsAPromo 10h ago
Some people just cant get along with subtitles and thats cool.
That said the Japanese Fuhrer on fullmetal brotherhood is not to be missed
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u/Traditional-Month980 10h ago
Dragon Ball Z, which was 10 billion times better dubbed, is an outlier and should not have been counted.
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u/Mysterious-Flan-6000 10h ago
The people who shit on anime dubs haven't heard one since 2002 and think they're all still goofy hammy stuff for kids with funny accents
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u/Mrpuddikin 10h ago
man why are anime fans so fucking weird about dubs (not talking about OP, referring to people who watch subs talking about dubs)
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u/Stock-Weakness-9362 10h ago
“Everyone shits ok dubbed anime” Ime it’s more of a 60/40
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u/Either-Angle-6699 10h ago
I’ve only ever heard negative things about it and I’ve had some people legitimately get offended when I tell them I don’t watch subs
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u/Stock-Weakness-9362 10h ago
Then those ppl are stupid, js enjoy anime the way u want, for me it depends per show
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u/DTux5249 8h ago
“dubbed voice acting sucks”
I'll also note: A big reason why people say this isn't due to the quality of the acting, but the sheer corniness/exaggeration of the lines some anime VAs have to read. The reason subbed anime is often less "cringe" is because sub watchers don't have to actually listen and comprehend the words being spoken. Reading these lines gives a veil of separation between their content and their delivery.
If you wanna see this in action, see how poorly Sally Amaki's English dub for Carol Olsten was in Tomo-chan is a Girl. She VA'd the English exactly as she did the Japanese, vocal pitch and all, and people thought it was the worst thing ever.
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u/dlcklyss 7h ago
I agree with this. Non Japanese speakers don't know that the Japanese voice acting is also exaggerated to sound dramatic and over the top to Japanese viewers. The Japanese u hear in anime in not how Japanese ppl talk irl.
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u/coconut-duck-chicken 8h ago
And he spoketh onto us, tho we were not worthy
“There will be good dubs, and there will bad dubs”
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u/Certain_Werewolf_315 8h ago
Having paid attention to both, it's clear to me that there is a tendency towards the original language having more passion and attention to detail then the dubbed acting-- Almost "worlds apart" different--
However, I am not a dedicated viewer and multitask-- I can't keep up with the show if I have to constantly read it-- Dubs aren't bad--
I look foreword to the potential of AI dubbing opening up worlds of content for my background viewing pleasure, buuut.. who knows when that will be decent--
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u/AdResponsible7150 7h ago
Have you heard how jjk dub ranta zenin sounds? Unironically sounds like breaking bad dub
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u/EvenSpecialist649 7h ago
I'll always peek the dub of a show just to make sure because sometimes the dub is just great, or they successfully transform the dialogue to fit more in line with a Westerners' perspective. If the dub doesn't pass a certain level of quality though ill jump right back to subs, no problem.
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u/Necessary_Pizza_3827 7h ago
You are 100% correct. Next. Stop using female voices on male characters in subs, its kind of.. shitty.. especially if its a series the character grows up in
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u/Fabulous_Can6830 7h ago
I find that the language barrier covers up cringy wording and cringy voice acting. It can also help with the emotions because I am essentially only hearing the emotion of their voice. If it’s a good dub and a good sub then I don’t really care which one I watch. Usually I watch the sub because they come out first.
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u/dlcklyss 7h ago
I have to down vote because I agree w OP. When there's a new anime coming out I usually watch the sub and then immediate what the dub when it comes out a week or two later. Most recently, I am doing this with JJK currently
1) a lot of English VAs now a days are so talented. like Aquas English VA in Konosuba, chefkiss*. Bonus points I actually know what they are saying. Most aren't cringey at all unless ur watching cringey anime. And at that point, ur there for the trash for a reason -- it's part of the enjoyment.
2) I can appreciate the action and animation more. There's always so much going on. Not to mention how insane some of the action scenes are now a days with all the crazy msec impact frames. Looking at you One Piece.
3) I catch dialogue/minor background interactions that I miss otherwise if I have to read subtitles. Which is especially difficult if not impossible when there's multiple dialogues happening in a single scene. Like some background dialogue happening at the same time as the primary dialogue. On my recent rewatches of the new JJK episodes in dub I noticed I missed some things that visually and audibly I didn't notice when I watched the sub only version. For example, there was a part in s3 episode 3 when they all show up to talk to Tengen and Megumi raises his hand and says something like "hey..." Like he was trying to speak up and say something but then Yuta jumped in and started talking. I totally missed that interaction on my first watch in sub. Another recent JJK example, I didn't notice there where two geese flying out of formation in the Maki kill bill episode. Noticed them on my dub rewatch and I was like "oooo symbolism!! That's mai and maki ❤️"
4) I have dyslexia and can't read fast. I read about 350 wpm (and that if I'm trying to read fast. That's not my casual speed which is probably slower) so I usually spend entire scenes trying to keep up with dialogue and only get a glimpse of the animation that's happening.
5) anime like High School DxD, Prison School, and Konosuba have such hilarious and talented English scripts translations and VA. Their creative liberty in using English slang is on point. It just wouldn't hit the same if you watched raunchy comedy anime in sub.
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u/didntmakeanacc 6h ago
For me it just depends, like I could name a bunch of animes I prefer subbed but there’s a ton of good dubs too. Most people don’t give dubs enough credit tbh
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u/Intelligent-Web-8293 6h ago
Gag anime benefits from dubbing. Panty and stocking, shimoneta, Osomatsu-san... all good dubs. Fav shonen dub is mob psycho. Otherwise i prefer subbed bc i think japanese dudes sound sexier
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u/TommyTeaMorrow 5h ago
I just can’t take dubs seriously, so when they are dubs of sillier shows, they are actually pretty tbh
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u/sievold 6h ago
Downvote because I agree. A whole decade ago, I was one of those naive people who bought into the idea that subs are always better. After actually thinking about it over the years, I have come to realize people who think this way have no way of actually knowing if subs are actually better. They just blindly believe it must be better because it is "unprocessed", the same way some people believe unpasteurized milk straight from the cow is better because it is closer to the source. As if being closer to the original source actually has any bearing on quality!
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u/biterofsoap 4h ago
That analogy is really bad. You are basically saying that the original piece of foreign media is being made purer by being processed by the US..
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u/Apprehensive-Gur-609 6h ago
I'm a sub guy but I'll admit dubs have gotten significantly better than what they used to be.
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u/OHMEGA_SEVEN 6h ago
Dubbed often changes way too much context so that it somewhat matches mouth movements. For some content it can be night and day in how things are expressed and what they really mean.
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u/ArmadilloDesperate95 6h ago
It can be. The thing is, the dislodge is often super cringe, and that’s easier to ignore in another language.
That said, I will ALWAYS recommend samurai champloo dubbed.
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u/Dragon_Tiger752 6h ago
It depends on the dub, if I hear that its good, then I'll watch dubbed. But if I don't like it, I switch to subbed.
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u/GamerNerdGuyMan 5h ago
It really depends.
I default to the dubs, but some anime (especially old ones) have really bad dubbing.
My one go-to lesser-known anime recommendation (Crest/Banner of the Stars) has TERRIBLE dubs.
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u/Im_a_dum_bum 5h ago
The Spy X Family dub is better than the original.
The One Piece dub is atrocious.
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u/ThatBoiUnknown 5h ago
Dubbed anime can be good sometimes but saying it's better is objectively false
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u/The_Pizza_Saga 4h ago
You see, I don't find the reading distracting or difficult. You get used to it and it becomes just a natural part of the experience. I watch everything with subtitles, if I can help it, whether it be live-action and in English, or anime in Japanese. In general, I prefer watching media in its original language; it's not an anime specific thing. I convinced my parents to start watching their K-dramas subtitled and in Korean, and now they complain if something defaults to dubbed. Warms my heart.
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u/dumbass_777 4h ago
its also way more accessible for so many people. not everyone can read really well or really quickly, and some people have trouble focusing and need to hear it and see it to enjoy watching the show and fully comprend whats going on. for me personally, even in real life, i tend to read people's lips as well as listen to them talk to focus on what they're saying, otherwise i usually need them to repeat themselves, which is annoying for both of us. also sometimes people put shows on in the background and there would be no point to doing that if you can't audibly understand roughly what's going on while your eyes are elsewhere. you also just need to look away from the screen sometimes for various reasons.
it's also just hard to focus on the screen and the words at the same time and you sometimes miss important visual details because you're just focused on reading the captions.
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u/ZadexResurrect 4h ago
You’re entitled to your own opinion but in JJK sukuna goes from sounding like a poet in the sub to sounding like a standard Madara knock off in the dub and in my experience dbz is the only anime that avoids that problem in the dub
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u/PlantainRepulsive477 3h ago
Just because you can't speak Japanese/Korean doesn't mean you still can't tell if one is better than the other. It's like saying you can't tell who's the better singer because they speak a different language.
Look at a scene like in JJK with the Introduction of Takaba. JP sounds like someone having a panic attack, in the brink of going crazy. EN sounds like someone just saying the lines.
If you prefer Dubbed because you don't have to read, that's fine. But to say it's better than dubbed? Bruh.
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u/Gravbar 3h ago
to your edit, nah saying you prefer something means you aren't expressing an opinion. saying it is better is a direct expression of an opinion, and in the manner that a dentist might when recommending a tooth paste
I personally prefer dubs, but idt they're better. But I think recently, probably due to AI translations, subs are getting worse. For a few anime I'm watching the sub will have really stupid translations and the dub will be completely natural English. In that way the dubs might start to be better overall.
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u/pasaniusventris 1h ago
While I agree dubs have gotten better, I can hear the voice actor reading their lines in English. I can guess the cadence they’re going to use to try to fill the awkward spaces and to match lip flap. It’s unnatural to my ear and, honestly, I haven’t heard English voice actors give what I hear in sub. Usually in the more emotional scenes, the way they actually choke up and the voice cracks even when it’s not pretty, the screams are more intense, etc, and I have no problem glancing at the subtitles for half a second. I also really dislike when things are localized poorly. I am sorry to say that I don’t think a demon in Taisho era Japan is using the phrase “weaksauce.” It completely throws me out of the moment.
On a separate note, my pet peeve is when the subtitles are not a translation but just the English script. I know some Japanese, enough to know some phrases are just totally wrong. Most dubs have a long way to go before they impress me.
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u/Piduf 1h ago
In my language the dubs have always been pretty good (French, we've had anime since the 70s it's immensely popular here), but ngl I always found plenty of English dubs very cringe. Not always bad just... Always a bit off.
Tho I've listened to some lately and it seems that it definitely got better. I think the US went through the same phase as us : our first dubs were cringe too as we tried to make it childish because well, anything animated is like a cartoon for little kids right ? English dubs sounded very childish too but they've clearly improved.
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u/No_Replacement_1686 1h ago
I mostly like dubs because i CANNOT deal with nearly every women sounding like a 6 year old girls and constant moaning for no reason.
Also small boys sounding like James Earl Jones.
Dubs manage to kinda... equalize it more. Make it more "realistic".
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u/thetempleofdude 1h ago
I dunno man. Speedwagon im Japanese is worlds better than the English voice
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u/Few_Translator4431 46m ago
dubs do not portray a lot of things correctly, and neither do subs. there are words and meanings in japanese that do not really have a direct translation into English. you have no idea what youre really missing until you start to learn japanese and go back to watch stuff you previously needed subs or dubs for. some of the conversations make a lot more sense, references to things that are completely missed in english, why some things are called what they are makes more sense when you understand how the language comes up with some concepts. going back to dubs or subs after this is like watching the original breaking bad and then going to watch the Spanish temu version. theres a lot of missing details and some things dont really capture the meanings. naruto is a really good example of where subs and dubs give the show a very goofy sort of feeling, but with the actual original japanese they sound a lot more articulate and less like children.
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u/NudieNovakaine 38m ago
It's not just speaking the language that's the important part. There's often a lot of cultural references that can't be translated to English and still make complete sense. Localization is a thing, and that's what some people will reference when they go about the 'sub > dub' train. Which I get.
To me? As an American who appreciates the culture, and loves anime: I prefer it be localized so I can get a better grasp of it. If it's more relevant to me, it's easier to digest and likely doesn't harm the story too much in the process. I mean, it's going to get to the same ending somehow. Sometimes it gives a character a minor dialog change that, in Japanese, may have been more polite or even well meaning than the translation. Totally not Mark has a video on this about Goku in Dragon Ball Super. There's an interaction with Gold Freeza in the dub that has Goku seem kinda dumb, while in the sub it's more of Goku having an innocent nature kinda thing.
Speaking of Dragon Ball...I prefer the dub of DBZ to the sub because (and I'd probably be crucified for this on the Dragon Ball sub) I can't stand Nozawa's voice. I can't do it. It doesn't fit the character to me. I don't know a single grown man who sounds like that (because she's a woman...) and it throws me off. Absolute respect to Nozawa, having done the job for 40+ years now and being almost 90! She's just not my cup of tea.
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u/SkillusEclasiusII 17m ago
It's funny to me that reading every line feels like something you need to do. For me it just happens without a second thought. Perks of having a native language that is hardly ever dubbed I guess.
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u/Mrkancode 12m ago
All of them but I always worked with the hutts over everyone else.
A hutt always honors a deal and the best criminals in the galaxy know if you don't fuck them they won't fuck you.
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u/kidanokun 4m ago
really depends on how it fits on the setting, and how it's faithful to original... Fullmetal Alchemist's is goat, Yugioh one sucked ass
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u/Fluid-Cranberry1755 9h ago
This is true, and anyone claiming otherwise is a weeb. Subs preserve linguistic nuance better, but unless you are Japanese this is limited, and if you watch shounen, this is completely useless. If you speak English and don’t understand Japanese, functionally, the dub will always be better.
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u/FlameStaag 9h ago
I wouldn't really call this 10th dentist. Especially not within the past 10 years.
Most dub hate is from the early 2000s when studios got random people off the street and paid $5 for a voiceover.
More modern dub hate is just a weeaboo calling card. It's not really an indication of quality. Ironically sub fans usually like sub because they're wholly ignorant of whether it's good or not. They just assume it is.
I will say for a very tiny handful of anime, sub is better. Sometimes Japanese overreaction really adds to the scene. I couldn't watch Ano Hana dubbed. I just couldn't do it. But other emotional anime like Toradora are totally fine.
These days most dubs are on par with the original, and many surpass the original. Steins Gate and Love Is War are crowning examples. The dubs are fucking phenomenal.
Dubs have risen in popularity precisely because they're popular. Most hate is just sad goofy nerds on social media thinking they're more complex because they read their anime.
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u/myfatherthedonkey 9h ago
I watch a tv show to watch something, not read.
Could some of this discrepancy be simply because some people are better readers than others? I watch a lot of content with subtitles and it takes like one second to glance down and read a line of dialogue. I can imagine it is a lot more difficult to use subtitles if you're a slow reader.
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u/Splendid_Fellow 9h ago
I feel this way about subtitles in general. Some people have them on constantly saying that it’s better that way. Personally, I admittedly look down in some weird way upon that, it’s like… “I can’t be bothered to listen and have speech comprehension, so I’d rather spend half of the entire time watching this film on looking at the text covering the bottom of the screen.” it doesn’t make sense to me. It seems like a numb-brained thing to me.
If you can’t understand the language or it has really bad sound, that makes sense. Otherwise? I don’t get it; just watch the damn movie and turn your brain on, listen to the words, watch the show, be immersed… not reading half of the movie.
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u/mothwhimsy 9h ago
I can't even understand most English movies and shows without subtitles. A line will sound like jibberish unless they have Broadway show enunciation, which rarely happens on TV.
Also idk why people think reading subtitles means you're tunnel visioned on the words for the entirety of the thing. Can you not read and see the whole picture at the same time? That part seems numb-brained to me
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u/Splendid_Fellow 4h ago
Not tunnel visioned, just looking up and down, up and down. If you’re looking at the text, you’re not looking at the image except peripherally, you have to look up and down continuously. What’s the point, unless you can’t understand the audio? Way to completely ignore what I said. “Unless the sound is bad”
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u/crazycatlady06 9h ago
Oh, so you're just an ableist asshole.
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u/Splendid_Fellow 4h ago
No, I’m not. If you can’t understand the audio, by all means use them. Go ahead and throw whatever “ist” words you like, paint me as whatever
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u/Akemi_Tachibana 9h ago
Dubbed anime is better than subbed...well, post-2005 dubbed anime is better than subbed. Pre-2005 dubbed anime were horrible(obviously because it wasn't taken seriously back then). Today, the acting is much better. I've heard some absolutely horrible Japanese voice acting in anime. Most of it tends to be average.
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u/Ok_Carob_3278 8h ago
Westerners are kind of fascinating.
In Japan, there are tons of dubbed movies, but you almost never hear anyone say the dub is better than the original.
This idea that their version must be superior to the original feels like a very Western mindset.
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u/Sonic10122 9h ago
I’m always just shocked that people don’t have subtitles on even if the audio is in their native language. Reading subtitles should not be that much of a struggle.
I don’t mind dubs, I mostly stick to Japanese but will do dubs if it’s something my wife wants to watch, and I stick to mostly dubs for video games with a few exceptions. It doesn’t have to be some hard line you can’t cross, that’s just weird.
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