Jul 11, 2016 11:58 AM
Article Commentary - "Subs vs. Dubs: Is Anime In English Really That Bad?"
Anime Relations:
Love Hina, Boogiepop wa Warawanai, Howl no Ugoku Shiro, Black Lagoon, Toradora!, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica
In this entry I'll be talking about an article which was just posted today:
Subs vs. Dubs: Is Anime In English Really That Bad?
Yes, the old Sub vs. Dub debate. People still love talking about it. Now I do touch on the subject of my personal preference in the "My Anime History" section of my MAL profile page, but I've never really elaborated on it. With this article coming out, I figured it'd be a good time to do so. For ease of reading, this is all that I mention about the subject on my profile:
I used to primarily watch anime dubbed and only watch things subbed on occasion. Boogiepop Phantom was the first series that I loved much more with subtitles. Then after watching the Love Hina anime I hated the dub so much that I became a total sub-only anime fan.
Now that's a bit of an oversimplification when it comes to my full opinion on English-dubbed anime, while it also doesn't really share my complete thoughts on the subject. Yes, I have become a bit of a purist when it comes to language not only in anime, but in pretty much any foreign entertainment. If I'm watching something, I'd prefer it to be in the original intended language, be it Japanese anime, a K-drama, kung fu movies, French films, etc. However, my preference when it comes to anime is particularly strong since I consume it more than any other foreign entertainment and because I'm more familiar with Japanese than any other non-English language. Although I'm not anywhere near fluent in the language, I took two years of Japanese courses in college and have gained a familiarity with it from watching tons of subbed anime over the last 15 years.
Before I go any further, I do want to emphasize one very small yet very important word in what I've been saying and what I will continue to say: I. Although I may have had some elitist feelings in the past when it comes to the Sub vs. Dub debate, I just don't really care much about how other people watch their anime anymore. My opinions are just that: Mine. This is all a personal preference and if people like watching English dubs, then that's just their preference. The only thing that really worries me about dub fans is that poor English voice acting can make them think a series is worse than it should be, like if someone has only experienced Toradora! or Madoka Magica in English. But in the end, I've just come to terms with the fact that dub-only/dub-preferred fans are just experiencing a different form of entertainment when they watch stuff in English.
Anyway, since this is supposedly an "Article Commentary" post, I should probably talk more about the points that the article made, huh? Well, I'd say I pretty much agree with all of the points brought up by the article:
Late to the Party: With the primary form of delivery for anime now being subtitled streaming on sites like Crunchyroll, many people are actually being introduced to anime in subbed format. This is vastly different from the old days when the majority of people consumed their anime on TV or home video which was almost always dubbed; my generation was exposed to English dubs more and were therefore accustomed to how it sounded. These days even if new fans first caught a glimpse of anime dubbed on TV, as they get deeper into the hobby it's only a matter of time before most of what they watch is subbed online. In recent years Funimation has been making an effort to make English dubs more relevant again. With their streaming service they have begun doing broadcast dubs of more than half of the shows they put online at the same time the subtitled version is released. Since they dub nearly everything that they put out on home video anyway and since they have the means, they are able to make this work. I'm not sure if this is enough to make more English dub fans, but I'm sure it goes a long way to keep dub fans happy.
Lost in Translation: Now, the article that was linked in this section is primarily composed of rather old anime. Even though I'm not a fan of English dubbed anime, I do acknowledge that most dubs released in recent years are vast improvements over those released in the early 2000s or earlier. However, the essential thoughts behind the mention of "moe" is basically why I'm primarily a sub-only anime fan. While the article specifically calls out moe, I'd personally expand this to all attempts to emulate Japanese-style speech. Personally, if any series is "too Japanese" (mainly meaning it primarily takes place in present day or past Japan), the possibility of me even considering the English dub for my own personal consumption is a resounding "Hell No!"
Past and Present: Give Dubs a Chance: So the last sentence of the previous section implies that I am willing to give an English dub a chance under the right circumstance. And yeah, that's kind of true. While I'd almost never choose to watch an anime dubbed for my first viewing when left to my own devices, I am okay with watching some things dubbed if watching them with other people who are not used to subbed anime. And again, as implied above, the main criteria to make this determination is if the series is not "too Japanese". What I mean by this is if a series primarily takes place in a non-Japanese setting or it takes place in a fantasy or sci-fi world, an English dub is much less likely to bother me. For example, I watched the first few episodes of Black Lagoon in English with a group of people and that was rather well done and appropriate since most of the characters are actually speaking in English most of the time as far as the story is concerned. I've also watched a number of Miyazaki movies in English and the dub for Howl's Moving Castle (a non-Japanese fantasy story) was actually rather good! Then there's Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt which was mentioned in the article. I watched the first two episodes of this subbed around when it first came out and had to drop it. The dialog was so fast that it was hard to follow (at least for me) and the humor didn't really seem to translate well; it just came off as dumb and boring. If there was ever an English dub that I may actually try watching by myself, this would probably be it. The dub has been praised not only in this article and by other anime writers online, but it was also highly recommended by a close friend of mine.
It's still kind of hard for me to get into the mindset of watching anime in English, but again, it is just a personal preference. I may have my own personal bias, but if someone likes English dubs, good for them. Whichever way you like your anime, it makes you no more or less of an anime fan. Just know that whenever I am talking about an anime, assume that I'm referring to the original Japanese audio with English subtitles.
Subs vs. Dubs: Is Anime In English Really That Bad?
Yes, the old Sub vs. Dub debate. People still love talking about it. Now I do touch on the subject of my personal preference in the "My Anime History" section of my MAL profile page, but I've never really elaborated on it. With this article coming out, I figured it'd be a good time to do so. For ease of reading, this is all that I mention about the subject on my profile:
I used to primarily watch anime dubbed and only watch things subbed on occasion. Boogiepop Phantom was the first series that I loved much more with subtitles. Then after watching the Love Hina anime I hated the dub so much that I became a total sub-only anime fan.
Now that's a bit of an oversimplification when it comes to my full opinion on English-dubbed anime, while it also doesn't really share my complete thoughts on the subject. Yes, I have become a bit of a purist when it comes to language not only in anime, but in pretty much any foreign entertainment. If I'm watching something, I'd prefer it to be in the original intended language, be it Japanese anime, a K-drama, kung fu movies, French films, etc. However, my preference when it comes to anime is particularly strong since I consume it more than any other foreign entertainment and because I'm more familiar with Japanese than any other non-English language. Although I'm not anywhere near fluent in the language, I took two years of Japanese courses in college and have gained a familiarity with it from watching tons of subbed anime over the last 15 years.
Before I go any further, I do want to emphasize one very small yet very important word in what I've been saying and what I will continue to say: I. Although I may have had some elitist feelings in the past when it comes to the Sub vs. Dub debate, I just don't really care much about how other people watch their anime anymore. My opinions are just that: Mine. This is all a personal preference and if people like watching English dubs, then that's just their preference. The only thing that really worries me about dub fans is that poor English voice acting can make them think a series is worse than it should be, like if someone has only experienced Toradora! or Madoka Magica in English. But in the end, I've just come to terms with the fact that dub-only/dub-preferred fans are just experiencing a different form of entertainment when they watch stuff in English.
Anyway, since this is supposedly an "Article Commentary" post, I should probably talk more about the points that the article made, huh? Well, I'd say I pretty much agree with all of the points brought up by the article:
Late to the Party: With the primary form of delivery for anime now being subtitled streaming on sites like Crunchyroll, many people are actually being introduced to anime in subbed format. This is vastly different from the old days when the majority of people consumed their anime on TV or home video which was almost always dubbed; my generation was exposed to English dubs more and were therefore accustomed to how it sounded. These days even if new fans first caught a glimpse of anime dubbed on TV, as they get deeper into the hobby it's only a matter of time before most of what they watch is subbed online. In recent years Funimation has been making an effort to make English dubs more relevant again. With their streaming service they have begun doing broadcast dubs of more than half of the shows they put online at the same time the subtitled version is released. Since they dub nearly everything that they put out on home video anyway and since they have the means, they are able to make this work. I'm not sure if this is enough to make more English dub fans, but I'm sure it goes a long way to keep dub fans happy.
Lost in Translation: Now, the article that was linked in this section is primarily composed of rather old anime. Even though I'm not a fan of English dubbed anime, I do acknowledge that most dubs released in recent years are vast improvements over those released in the early 2000s or earlier. However, the essential thoughts behind the mention of "moe" is basically why I'm primarily a sub-only anime fan. While the article specifically calls out moe, I'd personally expand this to all attempts to emulate Japanese-style speech. Personally, if any series is "too Japanese" (mainly meaning it primarily takes place in present day or past Japan), the possibility of me even considering the English dub for my own personal consumption is a resounding "Hell No!"
Past and Present: Give Dubs a Chance: So the last sentence of the previous section implies that I am willing to give an English dub a chance under the right circumstance. And yeah, that's kind of true. While I'd almost never choose to watch an anime dubbed for my first viewing when left to my own devices, I am okay with watching some things dubbed if watching them with other people who are not used to subbed anime. And again, as implied above, the main criteria to make this determination is if the series is not "too Japanese". What I mean by this is if a series primarily takes place in a non-Japanese setting or it takes place in a fantasy or sci-fi world, an English dub is much less likely to bother me. For example, I watched the first few episodes of Black Lagoon in English with a group of people and that was rather well done and appropriate since most of the characters are actually speaking in English most of the time as far as the story is concerned. I've also watched a number of Miyazaki movies in English and the dub for Howl's Moving Castle (a non-Japanese fantasy story) was actually rather good! Then there's Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt which was mentioned in the article. I watched the first two episodes of this subbed around when it first came out and had to drop it. The dialog was so fast that it was hard to follow (at least for me) and the humor didn't really seem to translate well; it just came off as dumb and boring. If there was ever an English dub that I may actually try watching by myself, this would probably be it. The dub has been praised not only in this article and by other anime writers online, but it was also highly recommended by a close friend of mine.
It's still kind of hard for me to get into the mindset of watching anime in English, but again, it is just a personal preference. I may have my own personal bias, but if someone likes English dubs, good for them. Whichever way you like your anime, it makes you no more or less of an anime fan. Just know that whenever I am talking about an anime, assume that I'm referring to the original Japanese audio with English subtitles.
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pluvia33
| Jul 11, 2016 11:58 AM |
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