[POLL] SUB VS. DUB

I'm pretty sure subs don't mean the voice acting can't also be bad.

Because... you know... anime is bad.

I don't watch much, but I prefer subs. I feel like the emotion and delivery of the scene gets across better in the native language and voice actors, and I don't mind reading. It's usually a better experience.

Go Subs or go home! :P

Why is this still a discussion?

(...the all time best is still learning the damn language and watching content in it's original undistilled form, but ain't nobody got time for that!)

One random thing about subs. Not related to anime since I haven't watched anime in fifteen years. But I've been watching some non-English movies recently. This thing mostly appears in movies from the far east. (Korea, China, Japan. Very non-indo-european languages) When I get my subtitles I find that they are... lacking. Now I do get my subtitles (like my movies) from dubious sources, but I've found similar things in... dubious DVD releases from the same region (read: terrible Hong Kong action dvd transfers).

The subtitles aren't very good are they? Often it seems the subtitle is a couple of words when clearly there was a whole exchange happening. I watched some Jackie Chan movie and also a random Kurosawa and in both there were fairly lengthy exchanges that were very brief in the subtitles sometimes. Now I wonder if this is just because I get my subtitles from dubious sources and they are not great at subtitling. Or if it is maybe a common problem in English-language subtitles. For some reason I find the subtitles in my native country flow a lot better. But they also have had more practice since literally every movie is subtitled. Meanwhile so many movies just are in English that their subtitlers are just... subpar at their job?

Or maybe it's just a random quirk of fate that I happened to watch a couple of movies where I noticed this.

author=Marrend
If I was going to sit down for Sailor Moon or Dragonball Z, I would likely prefer the dubs, if only because I grew up with the dubbed version of the show. Despite how much stuff was altered to target the shows to "kids".

Probably same for me. I'd love to rewatch Digimon Adventure and Tamers in its original Japanese, but I am too nostalgic for the Yu Yu Hakusho dub. Ehhh, guess that's what manga is for.

author=Sooz
Whatever the individual likes the most. There is no need to get all factional about it.)

Agreed. More than enough (insert literally anything here)-shaming in this world as it is.

author=Shinan
When I get my subtitles I find that they are... lacking. Now I do get my subtitles (like my movies) from dubious sources, but I've found similar things in... dubious DVD releases from the same region (read: terrible Hong Kong action dvd transfers).

The subtitles aren't very good are they? (...) Meanwhile so many movies just are in English that their subtitlers are just... subpar at their job?

That's a good point, actually. Translations are hardly one-for-one, and more than enough Japanese games have had funky English translations, and vise-versa. I'll never forget how Blade Cuisinart, a sword in the Wizardry series named after kitchen appliances, was taken seriously in Japan due to a culture barrier.

author=Yellow Magic
I am of the same opinion as Darken's omega brain: it depends on the setting for me. For example I think Black Lagoon is a lot better dubbed (most of the characters aren't Japanese), as is Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt.

That is also an interesting way to do it. I was able to watch Magi: Labyrinth of Magic dubbed for some reason, but I could never do that with Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger. Or the Yakuza series.

I appreciate that dubs tend to work well for introducing people to anime. I also appreciate that recently there's been some pretty great dubs that do amazing things (one of last years' anime had a dub that had a bunch of different languages in it for characters in their homelands and it was super cool).

That said, I'll usually hit up a sub if I want to watch an anime. Usually the voices aren't as grating or weird on the ears, the translation is a fair bit better and can get a bit more nuanced with wordplay and the emotive performance is as the source material demands.

I like dubs sometimes if I want to 'watch' an anime without watching an anime, but if I'm focussing on a show I'll usually go subs.


That said! I do enjoy some of the dubbed OPs a lot. The Pokemon, Sailor Moon and DBZ ones, especially, as I used to rock out to them as a kid and they're just fun. Not to say the originals aren't great, but knowing the words and what they mean in your own language, especially at a young age, can really help you bond with an anime.


Is there a both option? Because I want a both option. Sometimes you want a sub, sometimes you want a dub.


I will say, one of my favourite anime as a teen had The Worst Subs. It didn't stop me from loving the hell out of it (13 Kingdoms. The sub was just atrocious.) but it did scar me a bit for subs at the time ;.;

Thankfully I had access to stellar dubs of gems like Fruits Basket, Ouran High School Host Club and Excel Saga to make up for it. XD



I have learned that if the sub text is yellow, be wary. It's usually pretty shit.

author=Liberty
That said! I do enjoy some of the dubbed OPs a lot. The Pokemon, Sailor Moon and DBZ ones, especially, as I used to rock out to them as a kid and they're just fun.

Hot take: The stupid pirate rap OP of One Piece unironically owns.

English Dub all the times!

I'm not a native English speaker so for me "watching an anime" means "enjoying Japanese visual art while training my ears on English voices".