Anime & Manga Subbed or Dubbed Anime

[vxios]

since i watch newer anime most of the time, i'm used to subbed, but i actually like quite a few dubs, sometimes more than the sub. no preference overall, and sometimes it really does depend on the art style of the anime, or the location/setting. (i second that the dubbed version of space dandy is so good and ghost stories is SO funny as is the story behind it)

 

[RavenWing13]

I don't think I can actually vote. I love both equally. I usually watch the subbed, than dubbed.

 

[kibou]

I watch 99% of anime subbed.

Not only are most of the dub voices extremely annoying to me/voice acted in an awkward overexaggerated way that you only hear done for anime, its extremely easy to edit animated mouth movements to fit your needs. Most people who abridge series for fun can edit the mouth movements to match their audio just fine, so that's not the reason why.

There's also the fact that it seems dubs tend to take more liberty with their translation and they tend to be a little less literal to make it flow better in English, but in exchange for being less accurate.

I watch normal English television with cc so that's also partially why. It's more convenient than having to go back over and over to try to figure out what someone said, and most dubbed anime don't have English subs.

If a dub is famous for being hilariously bad, I might watch it specifically for that reason. Or if it's a comedy anime that relies on a lot of nuance in the language or cultural references I won't get, then occasionally the dub is better. Still most of the time I'll watch comedy anime subbed and I think crayon shin chan and panty and stocking might be the only two i know of that fit that definition.

 

[Tabby]

I usually prefer subbed. No offense to dub actors but honestly, a lot of the time I feel they just fuck up the lines or sound weird for the character, and there's also the aspect that I'm so used to watching anime in japanese that that's just "the norm" for me. Plus the desync between voices and lips is typically jarring for me.

There is one main exception though - Dragon Ball Z (and its various pre and sequels). The japanese voices for that series are almost universally absolute trash on a level that in some cases I feel like I'm being trolled, whereas the english dub is pretty much what I expect these people to sound like.

Special props to the English dub of Ghost Stories for being genuinely the greatest dub in all of history and to the German dub of the Naruto opening for being the worst.

 

[marshmarrow]

I watch it subbed because I'm tired of hearing the same dozen English voice actors. It was funny at first, like watching "darker" Fullmetal Alchemist and hearing Tamaki's voice from Ouran High School Host Club, but after a while, hearing those same voices in every other anime became annoying and dull. For younger characters, their voices were grating. It feels like the voice actors aren't even trying anymore.

 

[aaaah]

It depends. If an anime I want to watch doesn't have a dub or the dub for the anime is garbage, I'll watch it with subtitles. If the anime I want to watch has a dub and it isn't complete trash, I'll watch it dubbed.

 

[FluffyBuns]

Its a struggle to vote because i enjoy both. Sometimes subs more because the voice actors can sound horrendous, be it anime or some other animated thing from over there. Aka, Lady actor being a kid character and being too damn whimsical about it and speaking a hundred miles an hour.

 

[thumbelinaaa]

I personally prefer subs 98% of the time. I’m a fast reader, so having to look up and down constantly doesn’t bother me lol, and I like that I came to understand bits of the Japanese language now. Some things I don’t like about dubs is that so many of the same voice actors get used that it gets on my nerves and sometimes the way the female characters are voiced are awful, especially if it’s a series with a lot of cutesy girl characters. Like that fake saccharine voice really grates on my nerves...

Of course, there are exceptions. Anime I’ve watched from childhood I’m not too inclined to watch the subs for, such as Yu Gi Oh! And there are some anime where it kind of feels... so western in writing that the English voices actually fit well, maybe even better than the original (cough, CowboyBebop cough)

Meh that’s just what I think

 

[Mini_Quini]

there's the acceptation to the sub dub rules like FMA, has a really good dub, DBZ kai has a good dub, and then there's the horrible dubs like Jojo and naruto.

 

[Wendigo_]

I pretty much watch subbed exclusively. I'm not an elitist about it, I just think the original Japanese voice acting usually carries more emotion behind it and the subbed translations tend to be better than dubbed rewrites (for an example of this I think of a moment in the Boku no Hero Academia dub where All-Might originally says "Oh my goodness" and the dub re-write had him say something that made me cringe a little). There are definite exceptions to this but I just prefer sub

 

[foxlaux]

I pretty much watch subbed exclusively. I'm not an elitist about it, I just think the original Japanese voice acting usually carries more emotion behind it and the subbed translations tend to be better than dubbed rewrites (for an example of this I think of a moment in the Boku no Hero Academia dub where All-Might originally says "Oh my goodness" and the dub re-write had him say something that made me cringe a little). There are definite exceptions to this but I just prefer sub

I agree, unless a dub has some pretty good voice actors the translation leaves it kind of tacky and it often just sounds bad ^^:

 

[Wendigo_]

I agree, unless a dub has some pretty good voice actors the translation leaves it kind of tacky and it often just sounds bad ^^:

Yeah that's a good way of putting it. A specific case I remember when the Akame ga Kill dub came out I felt like a few of the character's VA's sounded especially tacky

 

[foxlaux]

Yeah that's a good way of putting it. A specific case I remember when the Akame ga Kill dub came out I felt like a few of the character's VA's sounded especially tacky

The tackiest part of dubs are the characters that are over the top sometimes. I'm thinking of characters like Alex Armstrong from FMA

 

[Wendigo_]

The tackiest part of dubs are the characters that are over the top sometimes. I'm thinking of characters like Alex Armstrong from FMA

For sure, and with characters like that the Japanese VA's usually do a much better job in my opinion. In English dubs, whenever voice actors try to make the voice that most stereotypical female anime characters have the end result isn't usually very appealing to listen to

 

[Mini_Quini]

The tackiest part of dubs are the characters that are over the top sometimes. I'm thinking of characters like Alex Armstrong from FMA

Alex Armstrong is very well done i thought, he's supposed to be over the top and silly

 

[foxlaux]

Alex Armstrong is very well done i thought, he's supposed to be over the top and silly

True, I just think it's a little too extra over the top and silly in the dub. Though it makes me laugh, so maybe it's not all that bad

 

[Mini_Quini]

True, I just think it's a little too extra over the top and silly in the dub. Though it makes me laugh, so maybe it's not all that bad

 

[Monumentalist]

Like most have said, it depends. Because I am a multi-tasker, I will first start animes with a dub. I find it difficult and rather tedious pausing the anime repeatedly when I want to look at another screen. I'm not saying sub is bad, though. Each has their own pros and cons.

 

[Jolly Roger]

My viewing choices usually gravitate towards the dub, as subtitles can be annoying to read. If the show has a fairly appropriate dubbing cast, even if the voicework isn't "professional" or the script is a little awkwardly written, I'll watch it. The US voice acting industry suffers from subpar productions because many studios don't get enough of an audience to earn money for better resources, and making an effort to patronize those companies can help improve that.

 

[Onmyoji]

If I have a choice I always watch subbed, not only anime but movies and game cutscenes as well. Just prefer the feel of the original voices.
I'm not saying all dubs are bad, there are some amazing ones. But every dub is still an adaptation so it doesn't always convey the same thing as original voice. Sometimes dubbed character gives off a different vibe than original character. For example there were cases when a character felt more sassy in dub version than in original version and as a result my opinion of that character was totally different.

 

[mooncake]

i like subs because 1) i'm not a native english speaker, so hearing the english voices instead of japanese doesn't mean much to me, and 2) i prefer to watch anything in the original language. it gives me a better idea of the producers/author's original view and take on the lines and atmosphere.

 

[GreatSaiyaman31]

If its morning or middle of the day when I'm not tired, I'll watch subbed. When its night time and I'm laying in bed getting ready to fall asleep and put an episode on I prefer dubbed so I can hear and understand what's going on without having to keep my eyes open to read subtitles.

 

[ThePastelWitch]

I'm a dub gal. Mainly because I'm someone who likes to multi-task. I feel like I've wasted the day if I just sit down and watch a show all day (I can't just do one episode for some reason lol). And unfortunately, I can't speak Japanese, so that means only dub for me.
I'll watch sub if I'm spending time with someone else (since that's kind of productive in a way), but otherwise, nah.

 

[Idea]

Dubs always come off as so awkward to me, plus they lack some of the undertones of the original because of the lack of extreme significance of each word in the English language as opposed to the nuances that honorifics and kanji mixing have, which at times constitute huge plot points that the dub has to either overlook or pad in some way. I am also far more used to subs, and find that I generally can get more invested in the subs voices than dubs.

Lastly, I watch a metric ton of anime, many of which are too out there to even have dubs to my awareness. In fact I think even my favorite anime, Re:Creators, never got a dub.

I think I've made my preference clear.

 

[fatjm]

I'll watch the dub if it's available/good. There are several anime with amazing dubs (Kyon's english Dub in Melancholy was AMAZING). I also liked the english dubs for FMA:B and NGNL. Dubs can be good if they're done right, but usually, they are not. I'll also watch subbed simply because it comes out earlier.