| This isn't meant to be a thread about derision of individuals preference, merely a means to understand what everyone prefers. I myself, can only watch subs, unless the dub meets my standards. For example; Yu Yu Hakusho, Space Dandy, Cowboy Bebop. These include voice actors matching the tones and personality of the original Japanese Dub as close as possible, too many dubs feel half-assed for my taste and alter the characters far too much. There's just a certain lack of emotions and subtleties devoid in the translation of a majority of dubs in my opinion, though admittedly I have very high standard when it comes to voice acting. To avoid coming off as anymore pretentious, I'll tell a short story... Initially I chastised anime for being cheesy and perverted, because that's how many dubs for me came off. (And I was a prude at the time too haha.) But anyway, it wasn't until I had watched Ghost in the Shell and its sequel subbed that I grew to appreciate anime, it was my means to segue into Japanese media... Now I'm sort of a weaboo lol. I digress, to my point. I couldn't get into anime and held prejudice against it because dubs evoked a certain cheesiness to me, but subs helped circumvent that for me. So fellow newbies, which do you prefer and why? |
TheSkiesAwakeDec 26, 2017 5:21 PM
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| Ｉ ｔｏｔａｌｌｙ ａｇｒｅｅ！ I also feel like a lot of the english voice actors can't get the right tones and personality of the characters and it throws it off a little. My first anime ever was in dub and I enjoyed it but after that I think I discovered sub and I just continued using sub from there on. It wasn't until I've watched a couple sub animes that I tried to go back and rewatch that anime again in sub and O M G, what a difference that was, specifically in this one character  who is refined and calm but I felt like in the sub it was a little too much. Overall, I generally tend to lean towards sub 9/10 of the time just because of my preference. I don't think dubs are bad nor do I think anyone who prefers dubs is "bad". I just feel in my opinion, especially if I have read the manga first before watching the anime and I've already developed like what I think they would sound like in my head based on their personality, sub usually matches up with my expectations.D U B Version 2:01-2:56 unless you want spoilers S U B Version 1:07-1:26 unless you want spoilers |
| I totally agree, I watched Death Note in latin spanish dub and I really have to admit it was awesome. I don't like dubs that much, but the spanish dub of Death Note matched the personality of the characters... this is just my opinion. I personally like subs way more than dubs, I sometimes feel that the dubbed voice doesn't match the character... and this doesn't happen in anime only... I always prefer to watch movies, series, or anime in their original language, even though sometimes I imagine a certain voice (while reading the manga, novel, book, etc) and the person that does it is nothing like I imagined... Again this is just my opinion, and I really respect the fact that there are people who like dubs and hate subs. |
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| I prefer subs myself but I'm not a total ass to dismiss anime that are dubbed, I learned to take the good with the bad. |
| Im gonna go against the grain and say that I would rather watch a dub than a sub. It is easier to follow more complex stories if they are dubbed and it also makes it easier to pay attention to the animation and cinematography. There are a couple shows that I have started where some of the voice actors were so bad that I couldnt continue watching them though so I can see the case for subs but for the most part I dont have problems with most of the dubs I watch. |
| I tend to prefer subs even if the dub is good quality. Something about dubs just feels a little off to me. Subs just seem to fit better. |
| When I started watching Anime I started off with dubs. Then I moved to subs. I don't prefer any. As long as the voice acting is decent in the dubs. I tend to watch subs though. |
| I prefer subs because I don't like dubs. I haven't got a reason but I prefer listening to the "original" version with the original voices :) |
| I definitely enjoy subs more than dubs. The main reason of why I have this opinion is because, I guess I feel more closer to the director and the original thought of how the anime was supposed to be presented. Even though some companies such as Studio Ghibli uses a lot of time and energy to cooperate with other countries to get the most fitting voice actors, I kind of have this stuck idea that the original version is the more polished one. I do see why people prefer no subs to enjoy other aspects such as the animation. And I hate it when I look away for a second and feel like I missed out on an important dialogue because I didn't understand the language. But I always prefer subtitles for all movies or series I watch. So I guess it has become more or less an habit for me, and because of that it's what I'm most comfortable with as well |
| All reasonable opinions here, nice, no vitriol. Usually you have it from both sides, either from your xenophilic otaku types, or from the often xenophoic dub fans. Missing out on animation due to subtitles is understandable, personally I've rarely had this issue, though it comes with experience with subs. My sub preference mainly comes from a previous hobby of mine, being a wannabe film buff when I was 15, even before I watched a subbed anime I had already watched many films subtitled out of respect for the directors and the actors. I personally find dubs with anime especially egregious because they take too many liberties with translations these days, completely altering characters for localization. This is mainly a problem with Funimation more than dubs though, honestly. |
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| Well, when I started watching anime, I watched dubbed animes. However, I moved to subs not so long ago. My reason for moving to subs was because I could understand what the character was saying without having to open the volume. That made it easier for me to watch anime without disturbing anyone. Also, it feels better to watch the anime in its original version. Even though some people might disagree, I think that the sub versions are better in graphics and sound than the dub versions. Anyways, I prefer subs over dubs, but I still watch dubbed animes when I find a good one. |
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| I prefer subs, as many here, I watched my first series in latin american Spanish, but when I started watching anime in Japanese, I couldn't get back to dubs, except for series I watched when I was younger and that I got used to them in Spanish. In my opinion, it's so hard for a dub to match the quality and catch the essence of the characters in their original language by their original voice actors, and although subs are not always that good and accurate, the feelings while hearing the original voices are. From my point of view, this applies not only to anime, but to any kind of audiovisual product. |
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| I prefer subs as well. Whenever I watch an anime in english dubs, I feel something lacking. I guess I'm just more used to subs by now. Besides, listening to Japanese audio in anime has at least given me desire to learn different languages, which is a good thing. |
Kyusuke_Ryu said: I prefer subs as well. Whenever I watch an anime in english dubs, I feel something lacking. I guess I'm just more used to subs by now. Besides, listening to Japanese audio in anime has at least given me desire to learn different languages, which is a good thing. ikr. I have learned almost half the Japanese language by now! |
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| For almost every instance, I prefer subs. I started off watching dubs when I was way younger, like, 5-8, but once I hit about 9 or 10, I switched to subs and never switched back. Reading subs and paying attention to the visuals at the same time isn't difficult for me at all. I just do a quick glance at the subtitles, and have them read, and use my peripherals if the text is pretty lengthy. I've definitely gotten used to it. Plus, Japanese just sounds right. Now there are a few exceptions, like, Panty and Stocking, which is just "okay" in subs, but absolutely hilarious in dub, or Cowboy Bebop being an acceptable dub, along with little kid anime like Pokemon, which I would always watch dubbed. In my opinion, dub voice actors never quite capture the characters or emotion very well at all. (I think the main reason is that in America (where most English dubs are made), we don't really convey a lot with our voice. We use gestures and facial expression more than a Japanese person would. I notice that Japanese people are really good at showing emotion purely through their voice. Anime doesn't really have the budget to draw incredibly detailed faces and the subtle changes that us Americans use to convey emotion, so Japan has to be good with their voice. Like, if you compare an American person screaming in anger, it sounds a bit weird in comparison to a Japanese person screaming in anger.) Idk, just something I've noticed |
| I prefer sub or dub. I just like the japanese vocie actors more. The englich vocie actores do a great job but I think the japanese vocie actors can bring the character forward better then the englich ones. I also love the unusual sound the character dose in japanes like ending evry sentence with -meow or when the "bad boy" says -tsk! to almost every thing he do not like or finds annoying. This do they most of the time take a way form the englich dub. However it depends on which I watch first. For for example Clannad and Clannad after story. This I watch in dub first and got used to ther voices and now I can´t stand ther japanese voices. All do I know the Clannads dub is not the best one. |
Time2FantasizeMar 10, 2016 11:44 AM
| Subs. thanks to subs, i have almost mastered half of basic japanese c: |
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| I prefer subbed anime than dubbed anime. The reason why I prefer subbed anime is because it feels "natural" than to those of dubbed anime. |
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| Generally I watch subbed, but I have a MASSIVE amount of respect and appreciation for dubs, and would defend their existence to the death. Besides the obvious fact that dubs help spread awareness for the anime industry and help it grow financially, they're a necessity for some people who simply can't read the subtitles and watch at the same time. My girlfriend's mom has had vision problems her entire life, and is legally blind. She's also suffered a lot of spinal issues, and has been stuck in bed a lot more lately, which led her to get into watching anime more. If it weren't for dubs, she would be unable to watch them at all, because she simply can not read and focus on the subtitles. So yeah, I prefer subs for my own personal watching, but dubs are a very important thing for the anime industry and it's fans. |
_LorDNiCo_ said: I prefer subbed anime than dubbed anime. The reason why I prefer subbed anime is because it feels "natural" than to those of dubbed anime. I watch subs but I do love some dubs. Like Toradora's sub. I think it's really a matter of opinion and neither are better or worse. They both have aspects that are good. It does feel more natural for them to speak Japanese but when the Anime is based in anywhere else then Japan. It seems kind of off. I was watching Gosick and it felt weird that even though the Anime is based in Europe. The whole entire cast speaks Japanese. |
| Jojo Phantom Blood takes place in Europe, and the Japanese is far more natural than the dub. With the dubs there's many amateur voice actors doing fake British accents that are beyond ridiculous, not the mention the German accents... European located anime is honestly better subbed, even without the accents, because the alternative is just stereotypical accents that are far too corny. There are exceptions I'm sure however. |
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| I tend to prefer subs, but I always appreciate a good dub. When I watch a new anime, I always check out the dub first. If I don't like it, I watch the sub and it's no big deal. However, once I've associated a voice with the character, their English or Japanese counter part will sound unpleasant to me, even if the voice acting is superb. |
| I fine with both subs and dubs. With subs I fine with them as long as they make sense when I'm reading them and there not going to fast on the screen. With dubs they're okay, but sometimes I just don't like the way a certain voice actor sounds when they're voicing a character I've heard in Japanese. |
TheSkiesAwake said: _LorDNiCo_ said: I prefer subbed anime than dubbed anime. The reason why I prefer subbed anime is because it feels "natural" than to those of dubbed anime. I watch subs but I do love some dubs. Like Toradora's sub. I think it's really a matter of opinion and neither are better or worse. They both have aspects that are good. It does feel more natural for them to speak Japanese but when the Anime is based in anywhere else then Japan. It seems kind of off. I was watching Gosick and it felt weird that even though the Anime is based in Europe. The whole entire cast speaks Japanese. I've rarely watched dubbed anime. I only watched dubbed anime if it's too fast to read. If the dialogue is too fast to read, I have to occasionally have to pause every second to read the dialogue which irritates me. But I still like to use subs as much as possible since lots of the "seiyuus", voice actors from Japan have talented voices, each one of them with their own personalities. That's what makes seiyuus unique. One of my favorite seiyuus from Japan is Morita, Masakazu. He voices Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach, and his voice expresses so much emotion into his character as if he is the character himself. That's what I love about subbed anime! |
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| I have found that nowadays I can only watched subbed anime. For some reason a lot of the english voice acting gets on my nerves! When I watch anime in english it tends to sound too cheasy! The subbed version at least I feel sounds more genuine...idk why :3 |
| I prefer dubs, because it allows me to focus more on watching the actualy anime, however, I have no issues watching subbed anime whatsoever. The only down side to subbed anime it when there's ALOT of fast-paced dialogue and you're reading more than you're watching. LovelyKat said: For some reason a lot of the english voice acting gets on my nerves! When I watch anime in english it tends to sound too cheasy! I tend to agree with you on this one ;) |
| Yeah. I know what you mean although I have no problems reading the subs. I find that with subs you aren't able to focus on the visuals as much. I don't mind either to be honest but I watch more subs then dubs. |
| I am very glad that I can read fast, because that way I can read and focus on the visuals at the same time. However, I did have some trouble at first, so I know what you mean. |
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| Subs and Dubs respectively, I am able to enjoy both. Some of my favorites of all time I preferred the dubs for such as Baccano!, Gurren Lagann, FLCL, Evangelion, Serial Experiments Lain, and of course Space Dandy. During my early anime "career" all I would watch was dubs. I soon learned how much anime you could miss out on if you only watch dubs. Kuroko no Basket, Tatami Galaxy, and at the time, the current airing shows which you would have to wait for a dub to come out if it even gets one at all. Do I prefer one over the other? I want to say no, I watch subs more than dubs though and I will say sometimes I feel like I'm missing some of the show when reading the subs but I am still really able to enjoy it altogether though. |
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| I prefer dubs, but I usually watch subs because most of the shows that I watch doesn't have a dubbed version when I watch it. I think I'll get used to subs and eventually prefer it like a lot of people on here, but that will probably in a very long time. Some of the dubs are unbearable though, but I only seen one like that. |
| All go subs most of the time. Though some anime are exceptions. |
| I always do subs. I first started watching anime to help with Japanese listening comprehension more than for the sake of watching anime, so watching with dubs would've been pointless. I still like using anime to hone my ear, and I feel like there are a lot of nuances that can't be translated into English anyway. Plus I find that the voice acting quality tends to be better. Sometimes it is hard to follow subtitles and text and the visuals all at once, though. That's my only complaint. |
| subs :) |
| Signature removed. Please follow the signature rules, as defined in the Site & Forum Guidelines. |
| I prefer subs, but I don't have any problem with dubs unless they are horrible. Also, there are anime which I enjoy more if they're spanish or galician dubbed (my native languages), like Crayon Shin-Chan, Detective Conan and Doraemon. |
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| If I had to choose between subs and dubs, I would usually choose dubs. The few times I've watched anime with English subtitles, I find that I can't enjoy it because my mind keeps trying to correct all of the translation errors to focus on the show itself. With a complete voiceover, I'm spared that kind of experience, unless, of course, I have some lines of the Japanese script memorized. That said, unless I'm watching anime with some of my American friends, I watch things "raw," as it's called on MAL, so I'm not sure if this question actually applies to me. |
| This is an age old question really. We'll be well into the year 2122 and probably still be discussing which we prefer, subs or dubs. We'll still be having flame wars over it too. You can count on that. I'd have to say that I look for the dubs of anime that seem to have more western influence compared to other anime. E.g. Cowboy Bebop, The Big O, Trigun, etc. While it doesn't have to distinctly feel "Western" it still makes them more enjoyable for me. Everyone speaking in Japanese while everyone is wearing a cowboy hat and holstering a six-shooter just wouldn't make much sense to me, ya' dig? (That's just an example don't take it seriously) Everything else (Dragonball being the exception) I watch in subs. It's just your overall preference that matters for the most part. Though it is commonly known that there's TONS of bad English dubs and maybe a few truly bad Japanese dubs. At the end of the day I guess my question would be, "Does Goku's Japanese dub voice make you want to tear off your ears just so you can never hear it again?" |
"It chooses one who uses the power of God created by man, one who is able to arrive at one truth!"  |
| I can't say that I truly have a preference since I have watched every single anime in dubs. I realize I'm in an extremely small minority here but I don't want anything taking up the screen except animation. I haven't ever watched a sub but I may have to if I ever want to catch the Garden of the Sinners movies. |
-ThatSenseiGuy said: This is an age old question really. We'll be well into the year 2122 and probably still be discussing which we prefer, subs or dubs. We'll still be having flame wars over it too. You can count on that. I'd have to say that I look for the dubs of anime that seem to have more western influence compared to other anime. E.g. Cowboy Bebop, The Big O, Trigun, etc. While it doesn't have to distinctly feel "Western" it still makes them more enjoyable for me. Everyone speaking in Japanese while everyone is wearing a cowboy hat and holstering a six-shooter just wouldn't make much sense to me, ya' dig? (That's just an example don't take it seriously) Everything else (Dragonball being the exception) I watch in subs. It's just your overall preference that matters for the most part. Though it is commonly known that there's TONS of bad English dubs and maybe a few truly bad Japanese dubs. At the end of the day I guess my question would be, "Does Goku's Japanese dub voice make you want to tear off your ears just so you can never hear it again?" It's a preference question... Just like "Which Anime is better?", I watch Animes in subs mostly now... But yeah, it's better to look at the question as "Let's see what the answers are." instead of "Oh, so subs (or dubs) are better." |
It's a preference question... Just like "Which Anime is better?", I watch Animes in subs mostly now... But yeah, it's better to look at the question as "Let's see what the answers are." instead of "Oh, so subs (or dubs) are better." Definitely! Never let someone ruin your love or preference for something, just because they disagree with it. Now, adjusting that for actual critical thinking is another matter...that's where the line is drawn and you need to face facts. But otherwise, I've learned that keeping enjoyment and actual critical outlooks separate is the best way to enjoy something. |
"It chooses one who uses the power of God created by man, one who is able to arrive at one truth!" |
| When it comes to watching anime, I mostly prefer sub because I sometimes don't appreciate the anime when it is dubbed into other languages, especially if the voice and the character don't match. Although sometimes I watch dub to understand the anime more, but there are maybe some things that I don't understand. |
 set by mal secret santa 2023 |
| Subs if there are no dubs available for me. |
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| Well at first I started just watching dubs because I thought I wouldn't be able to keep up with the subs. After awhile of being interested in exclusively subbed series I decided to take a leap and I have never looked back. Im just really comfortable with subs now so I rarely watch dubbed stuff unless I want to multi task or something. It all just comes down to personal preference in the end because I know their are a lot of really good english voice actors out there even though I can't name one off the top of my head :P. |
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| My preference is subs unless it has one of my all time favorite voice actors in it (looking at you J. M. Tatum) then I will give the dub a shot but most of the time I will gravitate towards subs. |
 Now, Titania, shall we bet? If those two would get along. Rather than that, it would be better to bet on how many are made. |
| Dubs because I watch late at night and tend to not focus on reading |
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| Crispin Freeman's voice... I dunno, I didn't watch Suzumiya Haruhi in English... But his voice is pretty nice as the main character in that. |
| I prefer watching subs more than dubs. The only dubbed anime i watched dubbed was Deathnote. |
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