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It really depends on the series, but for the most part I prefer dubbed. I just prefer hearing things in a language I'm fluent in.

Now, the series itself also matters too. Obvious if it's an airing series, I don't have a choice, but there are some series that do sound better subbed. If I'm watching Clannad or Cardcaptor Sakura, then I will go with subbed because it is superior. Those cases are getting far more rare then they used to be, though, and I find that I just prefer dubbed more often now.

Voice acting in the states is a rather niche occupation so it wouldn't be surprising to hear the same voice in different shows. However, as FUNimation is pretty much the only company producing dubs anymore, then, hypothetically (keyword being "hypothetically"), the exposure to the talent pool gets slashed to a fourth of its actual size. IE, you'd hear Texas-based talent more often than the VA's from California (VIZ) or New York (Media Blasters), the latter of which seems to be largely sub-only these days. Not to mention Canada (Ocean Productions). Isn't it sad, Brad Swaile?

It's a shame, too, since, when given the minimal opportunity, The Ocean Group generally muster well-acted voice work, like with Nana, Boys Over Flowers, Black Lagoon, and Death Note for example.

Both are good in their own right, but I prefer dubs personally. I am slightly dyslexic, so I read VERY SLOWLY, and it takes a lot of effort, eye straining, and video pausing for me to watch subbed anime. I like to be able to just sit back and watch a show without having to do work at the same time...

Just wanted to say that Dangos post is spot on. If you're arguing that these shows weren't meant to be seen with dubs then you could just as well argue that they weren't meant to be seen with subs either. But since most sub people can't understand Japanese they can't watch raws, and can't argue in their favor.

Also, in addition to everything thats already been mentioned. I find that many sub only fans, most of whom don't speak Japanese (No, knowing baka and arigatou does not count as knowing Japanese), basically have their "dub-hate" so to speak ingrained into them. Many grew up watching dubbed anime, but are likely watching fansubs now that they're older more "experienced" fans. Basically, its an elitist thing to hate dubs.

Also, I think it also largely stems from modern day anime watching. Nowadays you can load up any old streaming site or torrent site and find anything that airing in Japan RIGHT NOW. And if you don't watch the currently airing stuff then you're behind the times. Obviously none of this stuff is dubbed so everyone who watches it watches it subbed or raw. Then later down the line if a dub comes out those same people will often hate on it because its different than how they originally expirienced the anime much like how many watch older shows like Pokemon in english because thats how they originally experienced it.

So yeah, basically I fall into the usually watches subs. but also watches dubs and has nothing against them in general.

No, it's not. Read the comment directly below yours.

I agree that if you are watching your first couple (dozens?) of shows in japanese and never heard the language before, then you probably will not be able to tell whether the performance is good or not because you have no idea how the language sounds.

However, after getting you used to it you CAN differentiate between a good and a bad performance. Alot of people here, including myself, have seen hundreds of anime with japanese audio and I assure you I know when a VA sucks (although this is often completely subjective) and I'm sure as hell nowhere near being fluent in japanese.

I'll go ahead and burst your bubble, but that's not the case. Not at all. I can hear a plane take off a hundred times, but that doesn't mean I'll know what a good takeoff and a bad takeoff sounds like. I'll just know what a takeoff sounds like. It's the same with a language you don't speak. You can hear Japanese spoken hundreds of times, however that's not going to put you in a position wherein you can actively critique a performance. A voice is going to have to be blatantly bad for your to recognise it's bad. As much as you probably like to think you know the nuances of the Japanese language and how a character should and shouldn't sound based upon characteristics such as gender, height, age, physical build, lifestyle and external environment ... You most likely don't.

So you say I can't and I say I can. Now what?

(also this is one of the most stupid analogies I've ever seen)

For me, pretty much always "SUB > DUB", with very few/rare exceptions - Baccano! was one of them, due to it's setting.

So why do I think Sub > Dub?

- I don't know why, but English voices feel "out of place" a lot of the time.
- As a huge chunk of Anime are set around "high-school/Teenagers", English voices sound too "Mature" for their characters.
- Japanese voices generally portray the emotions more effectively. (This may be due to Japanese Voice artists being more experienced/talented due to its huge Anime Culture).

I don't have anything against Dubs, but I believe that any Show/Movie/Series will portray feelings and emotions much better in their original language, and even though I am "Reading" the dialogue, those emotions are "transferred".

where I live, everything has subs. only exception are some cartoons and anime (pokemon and dragonball in my language was just painful to watch). I never watched anime with english dub, so I can't judge those. however I've seen other cartoons with english dub (really old ones) and they didn't sound good to me. but I guess dub quality has changed a lot since then. as a kid I used to watch anime on german and it was alright to me.

I'm used to subs and I'll use them whenever possible; for example when watching something on english, I'll still download english subtitles. sometimes I don't hear well some word, so sub helps with this as well. I prefer watching movie/series/anime with their original voices.

I can relate to both sides, but in the end it's all about personal preference

I actually see a growing tendency to Japanese with subtitles for me. I used to regularly watch some shows dubbed, but they got less and less and by now I only watch shows dubbed when I rewatch them with friends (like Mushishi recently).
But I don't think it's really because of quality, although I also recognize more weak dubs than I did 1 or 2 years ago. I'm just so used to hearing japanese voices by now, that another language just doesn't seem to fit anymore for most shows I start. So it's mostly a psychological reason, but I can't help.
Also arguments against watching animes subbed only that I used to make don't seem as convincing any more (like not being able know what parts of sentences are stressed etc..). I totally have to agree on this:



I'm not fluent in japanese, but I'm pretty confident that I can see the differences in voice acting. Didn't use to believe that, but it's true.

Anyway, until a few months ago I really didn't care which version I watch, but now I actually see myself avoiding dubs, because a) the chances ARE a bit higher to get low quality voice acting and b) because I'm just so used to it by now, that other languages decrease my enjoyment of animes.

I won't say that dubs suck though, I've seen many and I've enjoyed most of them and I'm sure I could get used to them again, but I'm too lazy for that ^^.

It purely depends on the voice-actors, rather than the language itself. Watching a dubbed Anime with good English cast, like Black lagoon or Nabari No Ou, definitely tops wasting your attention on the subtitles, at least that's my case.

Your argument is so dead-on I can't see how anyone can argue this. If you don't speak the language it doesn't matter if you've watched a MILLION different animes, the fact of the matter is you don't understand the language and its complexity you in no position to judge the performance versus a dub in a language you DO speak and understand.

Concept of the day:Emotional mirror.
The power of acting is beyond just understanding of any language. Having an understanding of the words being said adds to enjoyment of acting but that understanding can come in the way of fluency, written translations, or just the context of the scene.
I am able to get satisfactory understanding from acting scenes because of the context at hand and the written translations. The emotions conveyed by the actors are easy for me to receive regardless of the language.

Well, I'm not really against any kind of dub other than Japanese original audio. If the sound of it matches the characters or if I can even imagine certain character with that voice I'll go with the dub, otherwise (95% of the cases dvd subtitles or fansub).
Since I know languages other than English, I may watch anime with Ukrainian\Russian dub or subtitles, even though choosing Ukrainian\Russian dub is as rare as choosing English dub.
Series which I really enjoyed watching with audio different from the Japanese original audio include
English dub:
- Gilgamesh
- Full Metal Alchemist (TV-1)
Russian dub:
- Shaman King
- Fairy Tail
Ukrainian dub:
- Spirited Away

Oh? I'll bet an experience pilot, or an airline mechanic, could tell how well a plane is running (or if it has any problems) based upon the sound it makes on take-off. I could have easily switched it out for a car and got the same result.



I've actually studied Drama and acting, and I can tell you emotional mirroring only works on the most basic level. It's not going to help you determine how good a person is at acting, it just means you're able to understand emotion no matter the language. Understanding emotion != knowing shit about acting ability.

The emotions are fake in anime because the people performing are acting. If the emotions come across to me well enough then that performance is well acted. Adding in the context of the scene and the translations with the emotional acting I then judge how well performed a scene is as a whole.

Of course though, I don't need to be an expert or fluent in anything in order to know what I like. Trying to assert that I am not able to form on adequate opinion about performances is duplicitous on your part.

Alright, so we've determined you don't care if something is overacted, as long as you understand that character A is sad and that character B is angry you're happy. Then, hey, why not like English dubs? You'd just be doing the same thing, you could just understand the words via your auditory sensors alone. Have you even given them a chance lately?

I can't change your preference, but hey, how can you like something you haven't tried for a while? I mean, it's not like you seem to judge acting on anything other than emotion.

Stop misrepresenting my statements. Nowhere have I said that I necessarily like overacting or that just knowing what emotion is being acted out is enough to make me "happy" over a performance. Also none of my posts give the indication that I have avoided current dubs in their entirety.

I support subs.

For one, they match the mouth motions of the characters in the anime. Second, their voices are more filled with emotion than the dubs are.

Third, Rie Kugimiya.

/thread