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Dub VS. Sub?


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Which do you prefer--Dubs or Subs?
Dubs
38%
 38%  [ 173 ]
Subs
61%
 61%  [ 277 ]
Total Votes : 450

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davem1992ftw



Joined: 30 Aug 2011
Posts: 41
Location: United Kingdom, Scotland
PostPosted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:04 am Reply with quote
Can't pick, I love both dubs and subs.
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Animegomaniac



Joined: 16 Feb 2012
Posts: 4064
PostPosted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 12:13 pm Reply with quote
The best way to watch any foreign movie or tv series is in the original language, with local idium intact.

The next best way is dubbed.

The third way is subbed and it is amazing how many people confuse the third one with the the first one.

I prefer dubs but I also watch subs and I also watch plain. But really, it comes down to content; A 12 episode subbed series is 300 minutes but the same series dubbed magically becomes 600 minutes. It's the only special feature worth anything.

"Dub" vs "sub"? The answer is "Yes". "Dub" vs "sub only"? That's different and the answer is "dub".

One last thing: There are no bad dubs, there are only bad viewers.
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Tenbyakugon



Joined: 11 Jan 2012
Posts: 786
Location: Ohio, United States
PostPosted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 3:47 pm Reply with quote
I have this theory that involves the real world origin of the characters (of course this theory would vary for those that are from a world other than our own) of an anime and who's voicing them. I've found that western voice actors do much more justice to characters that're from the Earth's western hemisphere, the same applying to those seiyu's for characters from the East. For example, the English dub for Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion long and far blows the original Japanese audio out of the water; I connect my theory to this because most of the characters from the North American empire of Britannia sound better voiced by western actors, and conversely, the characters from (the) Japan/Chinese Federation/general East sound better under their seiyu's. I extend this to characters from lands based off of the West and the East, as well. i.e. FullMetal Alchemist, where most of the characters are from lands based off of WWI-era Germany, Russia, Italy, and China. I appreciated, as respective examples, the dub voices of Bradley, the Drachman commander that Zolf Kimblee had killed, and Julia Crichton moreso than their original counterparts, but I don't care too much for Ling's dubbed voice.

...When you think about it, it seems natural that it'd be that way, though I can't really explain why that is other than what I'd said here, especially being that it shouldn't matter so much where they're from considering that the characters are purely fictional. In my opinion though, it just does, and some of the better things in life don't always require an explanation. That's just how I feel. Smile
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Gatherum



Joined: 14 Feb 2012
Posts: 773
Location: Aurora CO
PostPosted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 6:20 pm Reply with quote
I largely prefer subs. There's something about Americans trying to dub a character from Japan that, many a time, just doesn't work. I don't know why it is that American cartoons can have such good voice acting--maybe it's because there's less realism involved, I dunno. But unless you have very specific actors on board that have been in the business for years, or an all-star cast like Disney prefers to use for its Miyazaki dubs, the characters tend to have these really awkward moments. Sometimes, they sound underenunciated, sometimes overdramatic, sometimes just plain off. Sometimes, the voice they choose just doesn't fit the character... At least not like their seiyu does.

That said, there are some exceptions, and most of them involve Steven Jay Blum, honestly.

The Big O, I actually cannot watch subbed and be satisfied; it is far more fitting in English, which is good considering what its material and influences are. Cowboy Bebop is very good in English, to say the least. Outlaw Star, Death Note, and Fullmetal Alchemist aren't too bad, though I'd probably opt for subs in all three cases. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is exceptional. So are the Appleseed films, which do sound like they were professionally dubbed. I watch both in subs though because I'm used to both in Japanese.

Shōnen series are bloody hopeless in English. Naruto makes me want to destroy Viz with the fist of an angry god. One Piece was a horrible dub in the hands of 4Kids, and while it's slightly better in Funimation's hands, I still can't stand most of their voices...especially Luffy's and Zoro's. Bleach...meh. Claymore, I actually haven't heard in English, and I'm not entirely sure I want to. Dragon Ball Z actually wasn't terrible, but that may be childhood and nostalgia talking.

My favourite, Ergo Proxy, I cannot stand in English. Making Vincent sound like Gaara from Naruto was a stupid decision. Don't care for anyone else either.

A tolerable dub in recent memory would actually be Sekirei, I think. Tsukiumi's Shakespearean English speech patterns are awkward at first, but understandable when you realise that her original voicing was that of old Japanese. Everyone else fits relatively well, especially considering that it's another fanservice anime that Funimation really didn't have to spend a lot of time and effort to voice and bring up to standard in lieu of all of the breast shots.

It depends on what you're watching, and in some cases, who licensed it. I'll grant that newer dubs are slowly increasing in quality now that these companies realise that they have a veritable industry these days, and that it may actually be worth some care and finesse.
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Dorcas_Aurelia



Joined: 23 Jul 2006
Posts: 5344
Location: Philly
PostPosted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 6:34 pm Reply with quote
Animegomaniac wrote:
One last thing: There are no bad dubs, there are only bad viewers.

So there should be no standard on the quality of the voice acting?
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fataleflare



Joined: 24 Feb 2012
Posts: 3
Location: Wisconsin, USA
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 11:35 am Reply with quote
I take a sub over a dub but I will only watch certain things in dub one of them being FLCL. I mean come on the dub is hilarious.
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Chagen46



Joined: 27 Jun 2010
Posts: 4377
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:42 pm Reply with quote
Dubs all the way for me. I only watch subs if they're the only thing avaliable.

I've come to the realization that Japanese actors really aren't th gods of emoting some zealous sub-fans say they are. Especially girls. The constant need to be "cute" really hurts Female Japanese seiyū, as they are forced to remain "cute" and only end up sounding fake. I can't stand helium Japanese voices. Whenever I watch subs, I'm actually thankful and amazed when the girls actually sound like normal Japanese girls/women.

I watched the first two subbed episodes of Madoka Magica on Crunchyroll, and I really respect Madoka's seiyū, whoever she is. She actually sounds like a normal person and has a very cute voice--much cuter than the fake "moe" helium you normallly see in Magical Girl shows (or basically any bishōjo show).

I really cannot understand why subs fans adamantly say that female dub actors are too "old" sounding. It just goes to show how those nerds have never actually communicated with a girl their age in their whole lives, for if they did, they would realize that English-speaking women sound like that.

Well, anyway, dubs for me all the way. I'd love to be a dub actor one day, actually (people have told me that I have a knack for emoting--I think I'd be good at doing hammy villians). Maybe I should buy a mike and make a demo reel...
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LordByron227



Joined: 12 Feb 2011
Posts: 158
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 4:23 pm Reply with quote
Didn't vote since there was no Depends/Both option.

I'd say I'm pretty equal opportunity. I've preferred dubbed where settings more or less made it feel more natural, i.e. Black Lagoon, Black Butler, Spice and Wolf,Cowboy Bebop and Baccano. I've foud Spice and Wolf to be far more immersive with the English Dub as opposed to the JPN voices. I guess the appeal of the Oiran dialect is lost on me since I don't speak Japanese.

I've also liked a few dubs that may not have fit the setting, but still liked it, for ex. Welcome to the NHK (lol Suck me Dry), Haruhi, BECK, and P3/P4.

To me , based off of what I've watched/played I would say 55% of Anime/JRPGs sound better in Japanese, 35% have Eng. Dubs just as good, and 10% are better in English. Note: Not a scientific estimate at all.

Thats not to say I don't like sound of the seiyuu in the subbed versions of anime also, although I would admit that in that case I can only gauge the emotion of the acting without a true understanding of its relation/context to the words spoken, meaning I can't tell whether or not they're just overacting. So I would say, my ability to judge Eng. VA is significantly higher than what scale I can use for the JPN/foreign voices. I mean, I'm Chino and I do notice that non-fluent speakers don't notice the overacting.
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TitanXL



Joined: 08 Jun 2010
Posts: 4036
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 6:57 pm Reply with quote
I watch pretty much everything in it's original language. Anime or live-action German films. It was originally produced in Japanese for a Japanese audience. The Japanese voices are the original. If you consider anime to potentially be art in any way then the original voice acting is part of the original product. Not that I hate dubs (as long as they aren't 4Kids/Funimation hackjobs) but there's no real valid argument against that statement. It would be like drawing over the Mona Lisa with crayons, it ceases to be the original work, and there's quite a lot of times where dubs just flat out do not work for a series: Ojamajo Doremi, Pocket Monsters.. 4Kids really picked up some shows that are just flat out impossible to dub without losing something, even before their editing tools get fired up to butcher them.
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nikolai180393



Joined: 09 Feb 2012
Posts: 11
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 5:17 am Reply with quote
I perfer dub just for the ease. But I have to admit subtitles do give off a different experience, one that I missed when moving from sub to dub on the same series.
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Spastic Minnow
Bargain Hunter
Exempt from Grammar Rules


Joined: 02 May 2006
Posts: 4590
Location: Gainesville, FL
PostPosted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 12:43 am Reply with quote
Spambots be gone! What a difference that makes. I'm back in the majority.
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Chagen46



Joined: 27 Jun 2010
Posts: 4377
PostPosted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 11:07 pm Reply with quote
>Subs in the lead

:/
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Otishio



Joined: 04 Mar 2012
Posts: 73
PostPosted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 5:05 pm Reply with quote
I voted subs. When I first started I was clueless that the shows I was watching could be found subbed and thus was only watching dubbed. During this I would be watching Code Geass, Pokemon, Naruto, Fullmetal Alchemist. Anything that I could easily find on TV. Now, having gotten further into anime I found out later on that there was subbed. I had trouble at first changing from hearing everything in English to now reading it in English with Japanese voices but soon after I loved it. I still have recently watched some shows that have been out for a while (Dance in the Vampire Bund, Elfen Lied and a few others) dubbed and I didn't mind it. Now, having watched shows that I first saw in Japanese and then watching it over again or just hearing the voices of the English dub I just go "Bleh, it sounds pretty bad". I think that for the most part it just matters which I watch first and for the most part it's subs over dubs. I also had a thing against One Piece for a while watching it on 4Kids back when it was still airing and I didn't like it very much then but about 2 months or so ago I got into it with the subs and I pretty much turned my opinion around and I now love it.
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SereneChaos



Joined: 14 Oct 2011
Posts: 384
Location: Middle of Nowhere, USA
PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 11:17 am Reply with quote
I'm a slow reader, so dub. I'll watch something subbed if I have too, but if a dub is available, I'm going to watch that. I guess watching something dubbed is just more relaxing for me.
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Yosuke Suzuki



Joined: 23 Sep 2009
Posts: 77
Location: Indonesia
PostPosted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 9:47 am Reply with quote
of course it has to be subbed and i prefer subbed in english ,why's that ?
1.learn to study english
2.learn to study nihongo
3.i love Japan,and i love the seiyuu voice,their voice is soo cute,(Hocchan is the best) and their acting is perfect,always match the personality of the character they portrait
4.anime is made in Japan,and of course they have to be voiced by japanese
5.some language if you translate it,sometimes you can't understand it even when it was subbed,and if it was dubbed we can't understand it at all.gags for example

watching a dubbed anime to me,it was like i am riding a 1300cc Suzuki Hayabusa on Indonesian road(i'm a Indonesian,so trust me),you can't enjoy it to the fullest.
the first time i'm watching anime is on tv,and it was when i was a kid and the anime is dubbed in indonesian voice,and it was sucks,they don't have enough men,so one voice actor done many characters,which is annoying,,
i'm still remember when i watch indonesian dubbed Ultra Maniac on tv,and after done watching it on tv,i've decided to watch the sub version,which is great,awesome,the sensation which totally differ from dubbed anime,it was like Valentino Rossi riding a Yamaha YZR-M1 on Twin Ring Motegi Circuit.
watching subbed anime also made us know who is voiced by who,who is Horie Yui,who is Marina Inoue,who is Ikeda Shuichi,who is Furuya Tohru,which is made me able to recognize those japanese voice actors,and became a fan of their voice.
its not that i hate dubbed anime,its that its not for me,of course some people enjoys dubbed anime,and its their rights to choose,
to me its just feels strange to listen anime in other language,
peace.
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